This paper evaluates the constitution, significance and limitations of direct payment policy to farmers in hilly mountainous areas (i.e., Japan's less-favoured areas), where small-sized terraced paddy field farming is predominant. A significant period of depopulation and the successive aging of...

This article describes how traditional leaders play important developmental, administrative and political roles in rural areas, despite modern state structures. They regulate rural life, control access to land, and settle various disputes. They are respected leaders in their communities. The...

The potential of telecentres to bridge the digital divide can only be realised when their services are appropriated by all groups in the community. Previous studies show that in Malawi only a few women use telecentres. This article used Domestication Theory to explain the processes through which...