Journal of Social Review and Development

Trajectory of rural asset creation: the efficacy of MGNREGA vs. Fund security vulnerability of VB G RAM G

Dr. Jyoti Atri, Dr. Reena Singh — Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This study attempts to examine the impact of employment generation on asset creation using panel data regression under MGNREGA in Uttar Pradesh from 2014-15 to 2021-22. Regression results show a positive impact of labour days generation on asset creation under the scheme. The generation of more labour days leads to more asset creation. The regression results are also supported by the trends of employment generation and asset creation. This highlights that money spent on the scheme is not a waste of resources, and the scheme can very well achieve the twin objectives of employment generation and development of rural infrastructure. On the contrary, replacing MGNREGA with the new scheme VB-G-RAM-G may lead to less asset creation in rural areas in the absence of a guaranteed supply of funds.

Intersections of caste and gender: a systematic review of women’s literacy and employment disparities in India

Mamta, Dr. Neha Yadav — Mon, 06 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Women’s literacy and employment in India one of the major socio-economic challenges caste-based disparity that affecting. However significant progress has been made in improving educational access and increasing women’s participation in the workforce, inequalities continue to persist across caste groups. Women who belong to socially disadvantaged communities face multiple forms of rejection due to the combined effects of caste and gender. These inequalities influence access to education, skill development, employment opportunities, income generation, and overall socio-economic advancement. This study examines the extent and pattern of caste-based disparities in women’s literacy and employment with the objective of understanding how caste influences educational attainment and workforce participation among women. Secondary data sources such as census reports, government publications, labour force surveys, and published research studies are used to analyse trends and regional differences. Thus, women from historically marginalized caste groups generally experience lower literacy rates, reduced educational attainment and limited access to formal employment compared with women from socially advantaged groups. Findings revealed there are many factors that influence women literacy and employment such as early marriages, children’s burdens, safety concerns and mobility especially in work place and transport.

Impact of health infrastructure on under-five child mortality rates in Nigeria

Onyekwelu Chidimma Vera — Wed, 08 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The study examined the impact of health infrastructure on under-five child mortality rates in Nigeria. Specifically, the study sought to: determine the impact of stock of health practitioners on under-five child mortality in Nigeria; ascertain the impact of health immunization programme on under-five child mortality in Nigeria and assess the impact of hospital bed space on under-five child mortality in Nigeria. This study made use of ex-post-facto research design. The data analytical techniques were descriptive Statistics, Augmented Dickey-Fuller Unit Root test and dynamic ordinary least square method (DOLS). These variables of the study consist of under-five-child (UFCM), stock of health practitioners (SHP), health immunization programme (HIP) and hospital bed space (HBS) were sourced from the CBN Statistical bulletin and World Bank database (WDI) from 1991 to 2025. The empirical result shows that stock of health practitioners have negative and significant impact under-five child mortality (t-statistic -2.1518< Sig-value; 0.05; P-value; 0.0445); health immunization programme has negative and significant impact under-five child mortality (t-statistic -2.8988 < Sig-value; 0.05; P-value; 0.0092) and hospital bed space has negative and significant impact under-five child mortality (t-statistic 17.5220 < Sig-value; 0.05; P-value; 0.0000). The study recommended that Nigeria government at all levels from the federal, state and local to massively invest in the provision of health infrastructure which is a strong viable means of reducing mortality incidence in Nigeria. Nigeria’s share of government expenditure to the health sector falls massively below the minimum standard of 16% as recommended by UNESCO for a developing country.

Reconceptualising sustainability and sustainable business practices in contemporary management

Dr. Kokila Negi, Varun Panwar, Ayon Chakraborty — Fri, 10 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Sustainability has become an essential pillar of business strategy in the contemporary business landscape of globalisation. Businesses are increasingly expected to balance between economic performance alongside social responsibility and environmental stewardship to optimise long-run business growth and value creation for stakeholders. Sustainability is an integrated approach in business, which involves incorporating principles of environmental, social and governance (ESG) into business decisions and operations.

The present study highlights the role of sustainability and sustainable business practices as a multidimensional framework that includes environmental stewardship, social responsibility, and economic viability in improving corporate reputation, customer trust, brand loyalty, corporate efficiency and long-run competitive advantage. The present study also explore the rising significance of sustainability in consumer decision-making, as today’s consumers are more likely to choose companies that shows ethical behaviour and environmental responsibility.

Moreover, the strategic significance of sustainability in relation to current issues like climate change, scarcity of resources, government regulations, and stakeholder expectations are also discussed. It further provides directions on how to create and execute sustainable business strategies, such as engaging with stakeholders, adopting technology and technology-driven innovations, good governance, and circular economy practices.

Furthermore, the research highlights the key challenges to sustainability adoption, including implementation costs, lack of expertise, knowledge and resistance to change. The present study is based on the existing literature and real-life business illustrations and the authors conclude that sustainability is not only a moral duty, but also a strategic one, necessary for being resilient, profitable, and gaining a sustainable competitive advantage.

Evaluating students’ performance in the 10 bagless days program: Validation of a suggested framework

Dr. Prasenjit Pal — Mon, 13 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Guidelines for 10 Bagless Days in school clearly specified that the program aims to provide students with experiential learning through exposure to different vocations connected with their culture and community. The central focus is to reduce the curriculum load and heavy reliance on examinations. Keeping these purposes in view, it is necessary to structure the linkage of objective, content, pedagogy, and evaluation in such a way that makes learning enjoyable. The present paper proposes a framework for evaluating students’ performance in the 10-bagless-days program. The framework of evaluation has been validated by a small-scale try-out. The activity for the 10 bagless days program was “A Day's Visit to Nagaland State Museum”. Presentation, Field trip, Demonstration, and Group discussion were used as a pedagogy of teaching and learning. 16 samples, including students of Class 6 to Class 8 from the middle stage school, were selected purposively as the sample of the study. A PowerPoint presentation, a movie presentation, and a field trip to the Nagaland State Museum were used to deliver the content. Predominantly, demonstration and group discussion were the pedagogical methods. The evaluation of learning outcomes was done by using a field test questionnaire, portfolio and rubrics of assessment. The tools were developed by the researcher and validated by 90 experts chosen purposively. The outcome is the development of a conceptual framework to evaluate students’ performance in the 10 bagless days program.

Entrepreneurial orientation and sustainable business growth of small and medium enterprise South-East in Nigeria

Obiora-okafo Chinedu Afamefuna, Onuorah Kenneth Ikechukwu, Amuka Ikenna — Fri, 17 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The study examined the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and sustainable business growth of Small and Medium Enterprise South-East in Nigeria. The specific objectives were to: evaluate the relationship between pro-activeness and long-run survival and ascertain the relationship between innovativeness and increased market-share. Study area was South East of Nigeria. The research design of the study was descriptive survey design. The sample size of 362 respondents was drawn from population of 265 registered Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in South-East Nigeria with 6,455 total numbers of staff. The selected SMEs under study were Benny Brothers & Company Limited, Rice-Mill Company Nigeria Ltd, Tummy-Tummy Foods Industrial Ltd, Camela Vegetable Oil Company Ltd and M.O. Nnaji Bakery. Research questions were answered using frequency, mean and standard deviation. The hypotheses stated were tested using Pearson correlation statistic. The empirical results showed that pro-activeness has significant relationship with long-term survival (r-statistic = 0.861; p-value 0.00 < Sig-value (0.05) and innovativeness have significant relationship with increased market-share (r-statistic = 0.780; p-value 0.00 < Sig-value (0.05). The study recommended that SMEs entrepreneurs should innovate and launch new products and services that meet the demands of their market. SMEs should prioritize innovation as a central component of their business strategy.

Enhancing public participation in Gram Sabha: Identifying barriers and developing effective strategies - a case study of Tufanganj-I Block, Cooch Behar, West Bengal

Mithun Debnath, Dr. Aleya Mousami Sultana — Sat, 25 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Gram Sabha serves as the constitutional platform for participatory governance within the Gram Panchayat. The absence of awareness, interest, favourable disposition, comprehension, and consensus among Gram Sabha members frequently results in restricted attendance and engagement. The current state of the Gram Sabha's operations across much of the country is quite precarious, given the premises upon which it was established. Following a thorough assessment of these specific aspects, the current study reveals that rural populations possess inadequate understanding of Panchayati Raj Institutions and the developmental initiatives enacted for their advantage. The citizen participation in the Gram Sabha in Tufanganj I Block of Cooch Behar is more or less unsatisfactory. Individuals regard Gram Sabha as a simple formality, as representatives have already been elected. In this communication we have analysed obstacles to participation through gradual survey in the Gram Sabha meetings in Tufanganj I Block and delineates solutions to enhance engagement. Also, we have enlightened the ways of increasing people’s participation in Tufanganj-I Block, Cooch Behar, West Bengal. These approaches would also facilitate enhanced participation and engagement in Gram Sabha, so reinforcing the democratic process in other regions of the country.

Marxism: Essence towards the development of Nigeria's twenty-first century

Mas'ud Bello, Yusuf A. Jimoh — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Marxism is not a religion, but a socio-economic thesis of collectivization, a bedrock of progress for human social formations in the contemporary epoch of Nigerian history. The idea of Karl Marx economic theory of history can be found in his work "The Communist Manifesto" (1848). It makes sense and meaning that no human society can develop without material wealth. The economic factor, or the materialistic well-being of that society, is the basis of development. According to Walt Whitman Rostow in his theory of development, pinned down the five stages of the progress of every social formation is tied to the economy, which is the base of a society's progress. Theorists of underdevelopment such as Celso Furtado, Andre Gunder Frank, Paul Baran, Peter Jalee, Rosa Luxemburg, Marion J. Levy, Samir Amin, Joseph Emmanuel Stiglitz, Walter Rodney, etc., blamed the "core” satellite social circle for the underdevelopment of the social "peripheral" divides. These theorists regarded the material wealth as significant to the development of “backward” societies today. To crown it all, Adam Smith reflected on relevance of the economic structure, hence his work on "The Wealth of Nations". It is in the light of the above that this paper examined the place of Marxism vis-à-vis its essence in the socioeconomic development of Nigeria in the twenty-first century millennium. The pedagogy applied is the use of textbooks, journal articles, conference papers, Internet sources, etc. The recommendations are exhaustively examined before the conclusion.

The influence of materialism and cultural orientation on Nigerian politics and economic development

Mas’ud Bello, Musa Abdullahi — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Language and culture are inseparable elements in human society, with language serving as the primary medium through which culture is expressed, transmitted, and preserved. Culture encompasses the beliefs, values, norms, customs, and patterns of behaviour that shape every aspect of social life, including politics, economics, religion, education, and governance. In Nigeria, cultural orientations have historically influenced political participation, selection and election of leaders, and this has grossly affected Nigeria’s social and economic development. However, the country's contemporary political landscape has witnessed a growing culture of materialism, where the pursuit of wealth and monetary inducements increasingly determines political behaviour and electoral outcomes. This development has transformed the political mindset of many Nigerians, making voting decisions more reflective of ethnic loyalties and financial incentives than competence, ideology, or commitment to national development. The paper examines the influence of materialism and cultural orientation on Nigerian politics and national development, with particular emphasis on the impact of these factors on citizens' voting behaviour and intergroup social relations in the twenty-first century. It argues that the interplay between ethnic identity and money politics has weakened democratic values, undermined the emergence of credible leadership, and hindered sustainable national development. The study adopts an interdisciplinary qualitative approach, drawing on primary sources, archival materials, and relevant secondary literature to analyse the historical evolution and contemporary manifestations of these phenomena. The paper concludes that promoting issue-based politics, strengthening civic education, enforcing electoral laws against vote-buying, and fostering a stronger sense of national identity are essential to deepening democracy and advancing sustainable national social and economic development in Nigeria.