Completed Projects

Funding Source: AHRC-MRC (GCRF) (Grant Ref: AH/R005923/1)

Lead Investigator: Dr. Shahaduz Zaman, Reader, Brighton, and Sussex Medical School, University of Sussex, UK

Co-Investigators: Prof Nezam Uddin Ahmed (BSMMU), Prof Malabika Sarker (BRACU), Prof Din M Sumon Rahman (ULAB), Dr. Janaka Jayawickrama (University of York), Dr. Maya Semrau (University of Sussex)

Project Timeline: February 2019 - January 2020 (12 months)

Description: This was a follow-up project to a previous study titled “Partnership to ensure the sustainability of a public health palliative care project in Bangladesh through Community Theater”. This project attempts to support the sustainability of community-based palliative care in a resource-poor setting. Like the previous study, this study was an interdisciplinary collaborative partnership. This partnership was between the University of Sussex (US), Community Empowerment Programme (CEP), Especially Popular Theatre of BRAC, James P. Grant School of Public Health (JPGSPH) of BRAC University, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), and Center for Critical and Qualitative Studies (CQS) of the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB). Once again, the script was developed from information and data gathered from an ethnographic study. The script was performed along with interactive graffiti in Narayangonj.

Funding Source: Centre for Entrepreneurship Development (CED), BRAC University, Bangladesh

Lead Investigator: Dr. Kazi Mahmudur Rahma

Project Timeline: September 2019 – January 2020 (3 months)

Description: This four-year-led project on Ready Made Garment (RMG) Industry was in its halfway phase. This project was implemented by the Centre for Entrepreneurship Development (CED), BRAC University (BRACU). A qualitative methodology approach was employed to assess the objective and address the research questions. This midline evaluation gathered information and lessons which led to the betterment and development of constructive recommendations to enhance the compatibility and prospect of the MiB project.

Funding Source: WaterAid Bangladesh

Lead Investigator: Prof Din M Sumon Rahman, PhD

Project Timeline: January 2020 – June 2020 (6 months)

Description: The way individuals select and participate in recreational activities is an essential part of the affirmation of their identities. This study delved into the existing forms, and mediums of entertainment, as well as the recreational and cultural activities of RMG workers in Bangladesh during their leisure times, while it aimed to understand the use of different media among the population in relation to their class, gender, working conditions, migration history, and health.

A mixed-method research design was utilized in this study. Data was collected through case study, focused ethnography, in-depth interviews, and observation. In addition, the survey, frequency distribution analysis, correlations, regression, and a chi-squared test were also utilized. The data of this qualitative approach was triangulated and cross-checked from the points of view of both elements: inter-tools and inter-methods. Data gathered from secondary research was triangulated with primary research and vice versa. Quantitative and qualitative data collection tools were employed to gather data through intensive fieldwork. The snowball sampling technique was utilized for this study.

Based on the findings, this study proposed a strategic SWOT analysis that explains the comparative strength and weaknesses of different mediums, platforms, and content, to reach this population with necessary development interventions. Thus, it proposed three-tier policy recommendations (individual/community level, organization level, and national level) for development practitioners and policymakers. These recommendations provided several policy impetuses for the policymakers and development practitioners while formulating an effective communication strategy for reaching out to this important segment of the population of Bangladesh.

Funding Source: BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD)

Lead Investigators: Dr. Shahaduz Zaman and Prof Din M Sumon Rahman, PhD

Project Timeline: March 2020 – May 2020 (3 months)

Description: COVID-19 has greatly affected the world, and each country has experienced it differently. In times of crisis, information is needed to lessen fear, anxiety, and uncertainty. The information needs to be accurate and communicated effectively. This project aimed to understand how the Coronavirus crisis had been understood and how the communication messages had been received and practiced by the diverse population. This project employed a qualitative study design. Netnography, content analysis, telephone interviews, and shadow observation were utilized in this study. All data collected were triangulated.

Funding Source: Bangladesh Health Watch

Lead Investigators: Dr. Shahaduz Zaman and Prof Din M Sumon Rahman, PhD

Project Timeline: March 2020 – May 2020 (3 months)

Description: Fear, stigma, and discrimination come along with the arrival of an epidemic outbreak. This held true with the arrival of coronavirus in Bangladesh. The fear of being socially marginalized and stigmatized may cause people to deny early clinical symptoms and contribute to their failure to seek timely medical care. Mitigating the fear and stigma directed toward persons infected with, and affected by, coronavirus is important in controlling its transmission and minimizing damages. With this in mind, a rapid explorative study was done. It was to understand the localized nature and source of coronavirus-related fear and stigma in Bangladesh using various anthropological tools. It also investigated the source of fear, stigma, and rumors. The study used a qualitative approach and utilized netnography, content analysis, shadow observation, and telephone interviews. Due to the situation created by the coronavirus, a classic ethnography and participant observation could not be conducted since it would pose a risk to the health and wellbeing of the researchers and the respondents.

Funding Source: South Asian Small Grants Program (SASGP)

Supervised by: The Asia Foundation

Lead Investigator: Prof Din M Sumon Rahman, PhD

Focus Area: Jashore, Barisal, Satkhira, Bhairab, Sreemangal

Project Timeline: November 2020 to October 2021 (11 Months)

Description: The “Being Safe, Being Cyberpositive” project targeted teenage internet users outside the urban centers of Bangladesh, where there is a critical dynamic between access, awareness, and risk. Undoubtedly, the journey into rapidly evolving cyberspace is exciting amongst an age cohort who are growing digitally leaps and bounds in every sense of the word, adopting new technology and pioneering forms of communication and self-expression at a pace this country has never seen before.

However, Bangladesh has 7,400,000 students enrolled in secondary level education in diverse educational institutions. The unique internet consumption habit of this sizable population needs to be understood and addressed in its own right. With this in mind, this project was designed to empower teenagers beyond major urban centers with the skills and information they need for cyber safety using a cyber-positive approach. A mixed method approach was applied in data collection, data analysis, and interpretation of the evidence in order to conduct this project. A total of 34 teenagers took an active part in a series of workshops where they were trained and informed to raise cyber awareness among themselves. The participants, who are called Cyber Aware Youths, were asked to create creative content (photography, art, video, poster) for a competition. After a thorough observation (both on the quality of their content and the reaction of the public about it), a total of 15 content were shortlisted and finally, 5 teens were selected as winners for the creative content they had made for the competition and were awarded laptops. All the teens who participated in the creative content-making competition were provided with certificates.

Funding Source: Facebook

Lead Investigator: Prof Din M Sumon Rahman, PhD

Focus Area: A baseline assessment of around 60-100 web portals operated mostly from remote areas of Bangladesh (Khulna, Kushtia, Satkhira, Jessore, Sylhet, Cox’s Bazar, Brahmanbaria, Rangpur, Rajshahi, Mymensingh, and Bogura)

Project Timeline: April 2021 to December 2021 (8 months)

Description: The project aimed at carrying out a series of workshops to build the capacity of Bangladeshi Web Portals and Human Rights Organizations at the peripheral level to increase online safety and combat misinformation. The widespread sentiment of Social Media websites being the sole producers and circulators of rumors and misinformation is hard to dispute but undoubtedly demands a broader understanding of its underlying nuances. Therefore, the aim of this project was to conceptualize this knowledge intervention to devise a series of workshops that will better equip the grassroots of HROs and regional web portals to address safety and misinformation concerns. A baseline assessment of around 60-100 web portals operated mostly from remote areas of Bangladesh has been done using a structured questionnaire survey, 20 in-depth interviews, and 10 online assessments/netnographic observations of selected web portals following a cluster purposive sampling framework. This study has covered web portals published from districts such as Khulna, Kushtia, Satkhira, Jessore, Sylhet, Cox’s Bazar, Brahmanbaria, Rangpur, Rajshahi, Mymensingh, and Bogra. The outcome of the baseline assessment was used to design workshop content, which is mainly built up from publicly available resources including those available on Facebook’s Help Center and FJP on misinformation and safety.