Innocenti Research Briefs Ethical Considerations When Using Social Media for Evidence Generation AUTHOR(S) Gabrielle Berman; James Powell; Manuel Garcia Herranz Published: 2018 Innocenti Research Briefs As of January 2017, 2.78 billion people worldwide were classified as active social media users. Of these users, 1.87 billion use Facebook. Thirty-nine per cent of Facebook users are between the ages of 13 and 24 (approximately 729 million young people). Available data also show that in 2014, approximately 31 per cent of users of the top five social media platforms were aged between 16 and 24 years. With the enormity of this coverage as well as over 40 per cent growth in usage from the previous year in countries like India, UNICEF has and continues to look at ways to use these platforms and the data generated to connect with and understand the reality of children today and to ensure more child-centred/user-centred policies and services. This brief provides an overview of the critical ethical considerations when undertaking evidence generation using social media platforms and using third-party data collected and analysed by social media services. It is supplemented by checklists that may be used to support reflection on the ethical use of social media platforms and social media data. This brief is based on a more in-depth Innocenti Discussion Paper which provides further guidance and tools. + - Cite this publication | Thematic area: Ethical research | Tags: computers, ethical research, technology × COPY BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATION Gabrielle Berman; James Powell; Manuel Garcia Herranz 2018 Ethical Considerations When Using Social Media for Evidence Generation.
Innocenti Research Briefs Ethical Considerations When Using Geospatial Technologies for Evidence Generation AUTHOR(S) Gabrielle Berman; Sara de la Rosa; Tanya Accone Published: 2018 Innocenti Research Briefs Geospatial technologies have transformed the way we visualize and understand situations. They are used to acquire, manipulate, store and visualize geographical information, including information on where individuals, groups and infrastructure are located in time and space. For development and humanitarian based organizations like UNICEF, the value of these technologies includes the ability to collect and process real-time information from places that are hard to reach or navigate such as dense forest, conflict zones, or where environmental disasters are occurring or have occurred. This brief provides an overview of the critical considerations when undertaking evidence generation using geospatial technologies. It is supplemented by a checklist that may be used to support reflection on the ethical use of geospatial technologies. This brief is based on a more in-depth Innocenti Discussion Paper which provides further guidance and tools. + - Cite this publication | Thematic area: Ethical research | Tags: ethical research, technology × COPY BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATION Gabrielle Berman; Sara de la Rosa; Tanya Accone 2018 Ethical Considerations When Using Geospatial Technologies for Evidence Generation.
Innocenti Research Briefs ‘Cash Plus’: Linking Cash Transfers to Services and Sectors AUTHOR(S) Keetie Roelen; Tia Palermo; Leah Prencipe Published: 2018 Innocenti Research Briefs Cash transfers have been successful in reducing food insecurity, increasing consumption, building resiliency against economic shocks, improving productivity and increasing school enrolment. Despite the many successes of cash transfer programmes, they can also fall short of achieving longer-term and second-order impacts related to nutrition, learning and health outcomes. A recent study highlights how so-called ‘Cash Plus’ programmes, which offer additional components or linkages to existing services on top of regular cash payments, may help address such shortcomings. + - Cite this publication | No. of pages: 4 | Thematic area: Social Policies | Tags: cash transfers, child well-being, household food security × COPY BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATION Keetie Roelen; Tia Palermo; Leah Prencipe 2018 ‘Cash Plus’: Linking Cash Transfers to Services and Sectors. , pp. 4.
Innocenti Research Briefs Zimbabwe's Harmonized Cash Transfer Programme Improves Food Security and Reduces Reliance on Food Gifts AUTHOR(S) Garima Bhalla Published: 2018 Innocenti Research Briefs In 2016, approximately 815 million people were chronically undernourished globally. In recent years, food security has worsened in some parts of the world, including sub-Saharan Africa. In Zimbabwe, latest estimates show that about 45% of the total population are undernourished1. To address the challenge of growing food insecurity, effective social protection programmes must be implemented and scaled-up. Cash transfers are one such programme, the primary objectives of which often include poverty alleviation and food insecurity reduction. This research study utilized longitudinal data collected for the impact evaluation of Zimbabwe’s Harmonized Social Cash Transfer Programme (HSCT), an unconditional cash transfer that targets ultra- poor, labour-constrained households. It accomplishes two things: It provides evidence on the relative merits of using an aggregate consumption expenditure measure versus a food security scale, to assess household vulnerability and food insecurity; and it contributes to a growing literature on the effects of state-sponsored unconditional cash transfers in Africa on household behaviour and food security. + - Cite this publication | No. of pages: 4 | Tags: cash transfers, food security × COPY BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATION Garima Bhalla 2018 Zimbabwe's Harmonized Cash Transfer Programme Improves Food Security and Reduces Reliance on Food Gifts. , pp. 4.
Innocenti Research Briefs The Malawi Social Cash Transfer Programme Increases Household Resiliency Published: 2018 Innocenti Research Briefs This research brief provides a summary of the impacts on household resiliency generated over three years by Malawi’s Social Cash Transfer Programme. Results show that beneficiary households increase overall measures of resilience, and have increased ability to positively cope with shocks. + - Cite this publication | No. of pages: 4 | Tags: cash transfers, household income, resiliency × COPY BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATION 2018 The Malawi Social Cash Transfer Programme Increases Household Resiliency. , pp. 4.
Innocenti Research Briefs The Importance of Understanding and Monitoring the Effects of Cash Transfer Programmes on Child Labour and Education: Findings from Malawi. A Policy Brief Published: 2018 Innocenti Research Briefs The Malawi Social Cash Transfer Programme (SCTP) has been demonstrated to have a wide range of positive effects on beneficiary households, including an expansion of household agricultural business activities. This brief summarizes the results of two studies which examine whether households rely on children to expand their agricultural businesses. The studies confirm that children support the expansion of household agricultural activities and conclude that the SCTP increases overall child engagement in economic activities. However, working hours are generally moderate and other child wellbeing indicators such as school participation and physical health improve. This suggests that the SCTP nevertheless plays a positive role in the lives of children. These findings contribute to our understanding of the impact of cash transfers on children’s wellbeing and highlight the importance of monitoring the possible impact on child labour of programmes – such as graduation strategies – that encourage the expansion of household entrepreneurial activities. + - Cite this publication | No. of pages: 6 | Thematic area: Social Policies | Tags: agricultural enterprises, cash transfers, child labour, household income × COPY BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATION 2018 The Importance of Understanding and Monitoring the Effects of Cash Transfer Programmes on Child Labour and Education: Findings from Malawi. A Policy Brief. , pp. 6.
Innocenti Research Briefs Malawi’s Social Cash Transfer Programme: A comprehensive summary of impacts Published: 2018 Innocenti Research Briefs This brief provides a comprehensive summary of the main impacts and related policy implications generated by Malawi’s Social Cash Transfer Programme between 2013 and 2015, including positive impacts on poverty, income multipliers, food security, productivity, education and health + - Cite this publication | No. of pages: 8 | Tags: cash transfers, child education, child health, child poverty, evaluation, food security, household food security × COPY BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATION 2018 Malawi’s Social Cash Transfer Programme: A comprehensive summary of impacts. , pp. 8.
Innocenti Research Briefs Growing Inequality and Unequal Opportunities in Rich Countries AUTHOR(S) Emilia Toczydlowska; Zlata Bruckauf Published: 2017 Innocenti Research Briefs Inequality can have wide-ranging effects on communities, families and children. Income inequality (measured through the Gini index) was found to have an association with higher levels of peer violence in 35 countries (Elgar et al. 2009) and to influence the use of alcohol and drunkenness among 11- and 13-year olds (Elgar et al. 2005). On a macro level, countries with greater income inequality among children have lower levels of child well-being and higher levels of child poverty (Toczydlowska et al. 2016). More worrying still is that growing inequality reinforces the impact of socio-economic status (SES) on children’s outcomes, limiting social mobility. Concern about growing inequality features prominently on the current international development agenda. Goal 10 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) calls specifically to reduce inequality within and among countries, while the concept of ‘leaving no one behind’ reflects the spirit of greater fairness in society. But with a myriad of measures and definitions of inequality used in literature, the focus on children is often diluted. This brief contributes to this debate by presenting child-relevant distributional measures that reflect inequality of outcomes as well as opportunity for children in society, over time. + - Cite this publication | No. of pages: 5 | Thematic area: Economic Development, Social Policies | Tags: inequality, SDGs, socio-economic status × COPY BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATION Emilia Toczydlowska; Zlata Bruckauf 2017 Growing Inequality and Unequal Opportunities in Rich Countries. , pp. 5.
Innocenti Research Briefs Exploring Women's Empowerment through Asset Ownership and Experience of Intimate Partner Violence AUTHOR(S) Audrey Pereira; Amber Peterman; Kathryn Yount Published: 2017 Innocenti Research Briefs Intimate partner violence (IPV) is widespread globally, with an estimated one-third of women aged 15 years and over experiencing physical and/or sexual violence at the hands of an intimate partner during their lifetimes. Economic empowerment, or the financial standing of women, is often thought to protect against IPV, signalling sufficient economic autonomy to leave abusive situations or to prevent abuse. Asset ownership is one measure of economic empowerment, and can convey substantial agency as a wealth store, especially for large productive assets, such as agricultural land or home ownership. Despite the important implications of IPV reduction for policy and programming, evidence of this relationship is scarce.We hope this research will advance our global understanding of this potential. + - Cite this publication | No. of pages: 3 | Thematic area: Social Policies | Tags: assets, ownership, violence against women, women's empowerment × COPY BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATION Audrey Pereira; Amber Peterman; Kathryn Yount 2017 Exploring Women's Empowerment through Asset Ownership and Experience of Intimate Partner Violence. , pp. 3.
Innocenti Research Briefs The Transformative Impacts of Unconditional Cash Transfers: Evidence from two government programmes in Zambia AUTHOR(S) Luisa Natali Published: 2017 Innocenti Research Briefs Unconditional cash transfers are on the rise in Sub-Saharan Africa, with recent estimates indicating a doubling of programmes between 2010 and 2014. This brief provides an overview of the comprehensive impacts across eight domains of two unconditional cash transfer programmes implemented by the Zambian Government: The Child Grant Programme (CGP) and the Multiple Category Targeting Programme (MCP). Although the primary objective of these programmes is poverty mitigation rather than economic empowerment, we document protective and productive outcomes in order to assess whether these programmes generate transformative effects and have the potential to offer a sustained pathway out of poverty for poor households. + - Cite this publication | No. of pages: 3 | Thematic area: Economic Development | Tags: cash transfers, poverty alleviation × COPY BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATION Luisa Natali 2017 The Transformative Impacts of Unconditional Cash Transfers: Evidence from two government programmes in Zambia. , pp. 3.
Innocenti Research Briefs The State of Evidence on Social Cash Transfers in Africa: Transfer Project Workshop Brief 2017 AUTHOR(S) Michelle Mills; Gean Spektor; Max Terzini Published: 2017 Innocenti Research Briefs The annual workshop of the Transfer Project, “The State of Evidence on Social Cash Transfers in Africa” focused on new challenges arising from moving from fragmented programmes to integrated social protection systems, combining cash transfers with complementary (also referred to as ‘plus’) interventions, as well as the assessment of social protection in emergency contexts.This year’s workshop was organized through the Transfer Project by the UNICEF West and Central Africa Regional Office (WCARO), UNICEF Office of Research – Innocenti, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill (UNC), in Dakar, Senegal, from 7 to 9 June 2017. Approximately 125 social protection experts and stakeholders from over 30 countries gathered for the workshop to review the rigorous evidence from impact evaluations across Africa. In recognition of the complexity of this work and the continued growth of cash transfer programmes globally, the workshop brought together researchers, policymakers, and development partners to debate, discuss and reflect on current experiences, new evidence and future directions. + - Cite this publication | No. of pages: 4 | Thematic area: Economic Development | Tags: cash transfers × COPY BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATION Michelle Mills; Gean Spektor; Max Terzini 2017 The State of Evidence on Social Cash Transfers in Africa: Transfer Project Workshop Brief 2017. , pp. 4.
Innocenti Research Briefs Gender Socialization during Adolescence in Low- and Middle-income Countries: Conceptualization, influences and outcomes AUTHOR(S) John A. Neetu; Kirsten Stoebenau; Samantha Ritter; Jeffrey Edmeades; Nikola Balvin Published: 2017 Innocenti Research Briefs This brief summarizes the key insights and conclusions from a discussion paper on gender socialization during adolescence, with a focus on low- and middle-income settings. By reviewing theories from psychology, sociology and biology, significant societal changes and effective programme interventions, the paper sets out to provide a more holistic picture of the influences and outcomes of gender socialization for adolescent programming and policy. + - Cite this publication | No. of pages: 6 | Thematic area: Adolescents, Gender Issues | Tags: adolescents, gender analysis, socialization × COPY BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATION John A. Neetu; Kirsten Stoebenau; Samantha Ritter; Jeffrey Edmeades; Nikola Balvin 2017 Gender Socialization during Adolescence in Low- and Middle-income Countries: Conceptualization, influences and outcomes. , pp. 6.