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Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > Social work > Aid & relief programmes
The Magarini Settlement Project in Kenya is typical of many large Third World rural development projects of recent years, not least in its failure to fulfil even minimum goals. First published in 1991, Development in Practice explores the reasons for this projects failure, and looks at the lessons to be learned from this experience for development in general. Challenging many assumptions and approaches, its provocative conclusions will generate much interest amongst development practitioners.
This book examines the sociological consequences of disaster relief and recovery, and uncovers its impact on the communities that were affected by the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004. It is the most extensive and intensive study of post-disaster community rebuilding yet reported in the literature on the subject. The authors draw on this research to develop a three-phase strategy for moving from quick and effective relief to long-term social recovery work. While there have been many big natural disasters since then, none have affected so many local communities spread over so many nations and none have evoked the same kind of global response. A great deal of post-tsunami recovery work was done in India and Sri Lanka, with more than 500 international aid and humanitarian agencies involved in Sri Lanka alone - many with little experience in long-term community development. This book argues that international aid agencies must work patiently to put in place meaningful partnerships with local, community-based organisations as soon as long-term physical and social planning becomes possible. The authors explain that such an approach could help address some pre-existing vulnerabilities in disaster-affected communities. They argue that it is much easier to rebuild damaged infrastructure than to rebuild shattered lives, and to ensure that traumatised communities are not put under new stresses and strains, the 'fault-lines' within these communities need to be lessened.
Disasters, both natural and man-made, are on the rise. Indeed, a catastrophe of one sort or another seems always to be unfolding somewhere on this planet. We have entered into a veritable Age of Catastrophes which, in the 20th century, grew both larger and more complex, to the point where disasters are now routinely planetary in scale and scope. The old days of the geographically isolated industrial accidents, of the sinking of a Titanic or the explosion of a Hindenburg, together with their isolated causes and limited effects, is over. Now, disasters on the scale of Hurricane Katrina, the BP oil spill or the Japan tsunami and nuclear reactor accident, threaten to engulf the very order of civilization. This book analyzes the efforts of Westerners to keep the catastrophes outside, while maintaining order on the inside of society. These efforts are presently breaking down, as Nature and Civilization have become so intertwined they can no longer be clearly separated. Catastrophe is everywhere, and natural disasters, moreover, are becoming increasingly more difficult to differentiate from ""man-made.
This book offers a concise and detailed analysis of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) foreign aid as a main instrument in its foreign policy. Exploring the cultural factors that have impacted on the foreign policy behaviour of the UAE and its foreign aid, the author argues that Arabism and Islamic traditions have shaped the country 's foreign policy in general and foreign aid in particular. Examining in depth the motives and purposes of this large aid program through the lens of International Relations theories (mainly Constructivism and Rationalism), the book details the UAE 's foreign policy and aid program since its inception. Drawing on a comprehensive analysis of two major recipients of aid from the UAE Palestine and Pakistan the focus moves beyond the UAE to show how cultural factors have impacted on the behaviour of the authorities across the wider Arab Middle East. This critical assessment and analysis of the UAE 's foreign policy will be of particular interest to students, researchers and academics interested in Middle East studies, the Gulf States, Middle East politics, and foreign aid and foreign policy.
"Ending Hunger Worldwide" challenges the naive notion that everyone wants hunger to end. Hunger ensures that employers make good profits and consumers enjoy cheap goods. Most of the hungry are far away. Those who are well-off have little interest in ending hunger. Action to end it has not matched the talk about it because those who have the power to end the problem are not the ones who have the problem. The powerful care about hunger, but not enough.Hunger analysts typically focus on agriculture yields and interventions with capsules and supplements. They rarely acknowledge that hunger is a deeply social issue that is shaped by the ways in which people treat each other. The central concept that drives the book is that in strong communities, people don t go hungry.Strong communities have high levels of concern about one another s well-being. People may provide food to one another when that is necessary, but more fundamentally, they ensure that all have decent opportunities to provide for themselves. Given decent opportunities, people will not allow themselves or their families to go hungry. There is no shortage of food in the world; there is a shortage of opportunities. People who have decent opportunities either to produce food or to earn money to purchase food will manage to provide for themselves and their families."Ending Hunger Worldwide" argues that if people do not care enough about other people s well-being, there is little prospect for ending hunger in the world. Strengthening communities by building care certainly would not be an easy route to ending hunger. The argument for this approach is that it is true to the realities of the hunger problem. Without adequate caring, the many things that could be done to end hunger will not get done."
The Magarini Settlement Project in Kenya is typical of many large Third World rural development projects of recent years, not least in its failure to fulfil even minimum goals. First published in 1991, Development in Practice explores the reasons for this projects failure, and looks at the lessons to be learned from this experience for development in general. Challenging many assumptions and approaches, its provocative conclusions will generate much interest amongst development practitioners.
First published in 1987, this reissue explores contemporary United States foreign aid policies and thinking in the Reagan era. The author argues that aid policy is often confused as a result of bureaucratic decision-making processes. The book contrasts the experience of the many countries where aid-giving has produced unwished-for effects with the few countries where the desired results have occurred. The author concludes by arguing for a new approach to aid-giving by the United States.
"Ending Hunger Worldwide" challenges the naive notion that everyone wants hunger to end. Hunger ensures that employers make good profits and consumers enjoy cheap goods. Most of the hungry are far away. Those who are well-off have little interest in ending hunger. Action to end it has not matched the talk about it because those who have the power to end the problem are not the ones who have the problem. The powerful care about hunger, but not enough.Hunger analysts typically focus on agriculture yields and interventions with capsules and supplements. They rarely acknowledge that hunger is a deeply social issue that is shaped by the ways in which people treat each other. The central concept that drives the book is that in strong communities, people don t go hungry.Strong communities have high levels of concern about one another s well-being. People may provide food to one another when that is necessary, but more fundamentally, they ensure that all have decent opportunities to provide for themselves. Given decent opportunities, people will not allow themselves or their families to go hungry. There is no shortage of food in the world; there is a shortage of opportunities. People who have decent opportunities either to produce food or to earn money to purchase food will manage to provide for themselves and their families."Ending Hunger Worldwide" argues that if people do not care enough about other people s well-being, there is little prospect for ending hunger in the world. Strengthening communities by building care certainly would not be an easy route to ending hunger. The argument for this approach is that it is true to the realities of the hunger problem. Without adequate caring, the many things that could be done to end hunger will not get done."
When this volume was published in 1993 it was the first comprehensive analysis of the major policy issues confronting Japan's massive foreign aid programme. It deals with the philosophy behind Japan's aid, Japanese reactions to the severe criticisms of its programmes and the beginnings of meaningful administrative reform of the complex aid system. Alan Rix goes on to examine the widespread innovation in programmes and policies to make Japan's aid more responsive and the impact of the Asian bias in Japan's aid.
The international development community invests billions of dollars to improve organisational capacity. But real-life practice is poorly understood and undervalued as a distinct professional domain. Written by practitioners, this innovative publication is designed to make capacity development more professional and increasingly effective in achieving development goals. This title includes practical illustrations that draw on experiences from the civic, government and private sectors. A central theme is to understand capacity as more than something internal to organisations. This book shows how capacity also stems from connections between different types of actor and the levels in society at which they operate. The content is crafted for a broad audience of practitioners in capacity development - consultants, managers, front-line workers, trainers, facilitators, leaders, advisors, programme staff, activists, and funding agencies.
Since the early 1990s, Japan has played an increasingly important and influential role in Africa. A primary mechanism that has furthered its influence has been through its foreign aid policies. Japan's primacy, however, has been challenged by changing global conditions related to aid to Africa, including the consolidation of the poverty reduction agenda and China's growing presence in Africa. This book analyzes contemporary political and economic relations in foreign aid policy between Japan and Africa. Primary questions focus on Japan's influence in the African continent, reasons for spending its limited resources to further African development, and the way Japan's foreign aid is invested in Africa. The context of examining Japan's foreign aid policies highlights the fluctuation between its commitments in contributing to international development and its more narrow-minded pursuit of its national interests. The contributors examine Japan's foreign aid policy within the theme of a globalized economy in which Japan and Africa are inextricably connected. Japan and many African countries have come to realize that both sides can obtain benefits through closely coordinated aid policies. Moreover, Japan sees itself to represent a distinct voice in the international donor community while Africa needs foreign aid from all sources.
This book is designed to educate vulnerable communities, emergency practitioners, and disaster researchers to increase the social and physical capacity of communities to mitigate and adapt to disaster impacts. With climate change escalating the intensity and range of disasters, we have entered an unprecedented time. The tools in this book allow researchers, practitioners, and community leaders to adopt new training techniques that are more engaging and effective, using a bottom-up framework to integrate knowledge, attitude, preparedness, and skills (K.A.P.S). This book is uniquely designed to support instructors, researchers, practitioners, and community leaders in their effort to promote preparedness across marginalized communities. The book contains a full range of templates, worksheets, survey questions, background information, and guidance for carrying out training; the material has been field-validated to meet research standards. The K.A.P.S. Framework outlined throughout the book is designed to serve as an adaptable model that national and international audiences can utilize to better prepare their communities for disasters due to hurricanes, floods, and tornadoes. As climate change continues to ravage communities, the K.A.P.S. training program will prove to be an important tool for community trainers and academics across a range of hazards and disasters.
Earthquakes come without warming, and often cause massive devastation, resulting not only in the loss of property but also of lives. Many of the survivors suffer from intense and lasting psychological trauma. This book covers the experience of recent earthquakes in India, and what has been learnt (and what we have failed to learn) in the process of managing the aftermath in each case. This includes immediate medical attention, long-term mental health care, and the reconstruction of housing and infrastructure in both rural and urban areas. The experiences of the contributors, many of whom have actively contributed their expertise to disaster management and recovery, help us understand what problems require a swift response and which aspects should be based on detailed analyses keeping in mind local conditions. Reconstruction is seen as offering an opportunity to rebuild society such that all sections of the population are empowered and brought into the community's decision-making process. It is also an opportunity to develop construction techniques that are suited to local materials and skills but are also more earthquake-resistant than the old. And finally, there is the realisation that the best first responders are local community groups which need to be nurtured, and trained in crisis management and risk mitigation.
This book explores what difference development aid has made to the size, complexity, style of functioning, values and future direction of the NGO sector in India. It does this, first, by giving a comprehensive documentation of the experience of Indian NGOs with foreign aid since Independence. Simultaneously, it also analyses, in a broad historical perspective, some of the issues which are the subject of contemporary debate regarding the voluntary sector and aid, such as who decides ?what? is development and ?how? it should be brought about; whether foreign donors have hidden agendas, and if their aid amounts to cultural imperialism; and whether aid has made NGOs more self-reliant. The book also looks at the tripartite relationship between NGOs, donors, and governments, examining, for instance, whether the government is justified in imposing restrictions on receipt of funds by NGOs on the grounds that terrorist activities and religiously motivated communal strife are often financed with funds from abroad, with NGOs being used as fronts for both.
Oxfam, in partnership with Save the Children, conducted a series of annual surveys of the effectiveness of NGO relief efforts in northern Sri Lanka. Men, women and children were interviewed in depth and their perceptions and criticisms were recorded. The results of these surveys were used to inform and improve the relief programme, to make it more responsive to the needs of the displaced communities. This paper offers a critical assessment of the project, describing the methodology, assessing the outcomes and identifying lessons for other agencies interested in conducting similar participative, longitudinal studies.
Disasters are not natural. Natural events such as earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, etc. become disasters because of the fragile relations that exist between the natural, human and built environments. Sadly, major disasters will always occur in towns and cities in the developing world where resources are limited, people are vulnerable and needs are particularly great. The prevailing state of emergency challenges thoughtful and sustainable planning and construction. Yet it is possible, in theory and in practice, to construct them in a way that provides a sustainable environment and improved conditions for current and future generations. Rebuilding After Disasters emphasizes the role of the built environment in the re-establishment of lives and sustainable livelihoods after disasters. Expert contributors explain the principal challenges facing professionals and practitioners in the building industry. This book will be of great value to decision makers, students and researchers in the fields of architecture, social sciences, engineering, planning, geography, and disaster recovery.
This book sets out to develop a new framework for the analysis and understanding of large natural disasters occurring in developing countries in the last three decades, and their effects on the economy and society. In doing so, it challenges many of the accepted wisdoms of disaster theory upon which policy prescriptions are built. A number of important issues are addressed and analysed within this framework. The reliability of current statistics about disasters is questioned, and the effects of disaster situations on the main economic aggregates are examined. The author also looks at the importance of indirect disaster effects, the motivations of disaster response, and the impact of both capital loss and disaster response on output. He assesses the minimum level of additional investment required to secure a balanced recovery, and the extent to which a society's structure and dynamics determine people's vulnerability to disasters. Finally, the overall effects of disaster situations on economy and society are considered. The author concludes that although disasters are primarily a problem of development, they are not necessarily a problem for development. What we should be looking at are the underlying social and economic processes within developing countries which structure the impact of natural disasters, rather than at disasters as unforeseen events requiring large scale intervention. An important feature of the book is the deconstruction of the notion of disaster. Disasters, the author points out, cannot be analysed in isolation from the particular social and political setting in which they occur.
The field of humanitarianism is characterised by profound uncertainty, by a constant need to respond to the unpredictable, and by concepts and practices that often defy simple or straightforward explanation. Humanitarians often find themselves not just engaged in the pursuit of effective action, but also in a quest for meaning. That is the starting point for this book. Humanitarian action has in recent years confronted geopolitical challenges that have upended much of its conventional modus operandi and presented threats to its foundational assumptions and legal frameworks. The critical interrogation of the purpose, practice and future of humanitarian action has yielded a rich new field of enquiry, humanitarian studies, and many thoughtful books, articles and reports. So, the question arose as to the most useful way to provide a critical overview that might serve to bring some definitional clarity as well as analytical rigor to the waves of critique and shifting sands of humanitarian action. Humanitarianism: A Dictionary of Concepts provides an authoritative analysis that attempts to rethink, rather than merely problematize or define the issues at stake in contemporary humanitarian debates. It is an important moment to do so. Just about every tenet of humanitarianism is currently open to question as never before.
Perhaps no country benefitted more from the Marshall Plan for assistance in reconstruction of Europe after World War II than Austria. On a per capita basis, each American taxpayer invested $80 per person in the Plan; each Austrian received $133 from the European recovery program, more than any other of the sixteen participating countries. Without the Marshall Plan, the Austrian economic miracle of the 1950s would have been unthinkable. Despite this, contemporary Austria seems to have forgotten this essential American contribution to its postwar reconstruction. This volume in the Contemporary Austrian Studies series examines how the plan affected Austria, and how it is perceived today.The political context of the Marshall Plan in Austria is addressed in essays by Jill Lewis and Matthew Berg. Dieter Stiefer describes the vast Soviet economic exploitation of their Austrian occupation zone. Andrea Komlosy shows how the Marshall Plan helped complete the division of Europe. Siegfried Beer suggests the secret involvement of the CIA in the Marshall Plan, while Hans J(3)rgen Schr der analyzes the effectiveness of Marshall Plan propaganda programs in Germany and Austria.The macroeconomic impact of Marshall Plan funds on Austrian economic policy is outlined by Hans Seidel. Kurt Tweraser, Georg Rigele and G(3)nter Bischof suggest the microeconomic importance of funds for the steel, electricity and tourist sectors of the Austrian economy. Wilhelm Kohler's sweeping analysis compares the American transfer of funds to postwar Europe with current debates about the cost of European Union enlargement. The legacy of the Marshall Plan is addressed by former Austrian Finance Minister Ferdinand Lacina. Kurt Loffler and Hans Fubenegger summarize the activities of the Economic Recovery Program Fund. Coming on the heels of the fiftieth anniversary of the Marshall Plan, this compelling overview of the Plan and its impact will be important for historians, those interested in international politics, and Austrian scholars.G(3)nter Bischof is professor of history and associate director of Center-Austria at the University of New Orleans; Anton Pelinka is professor of political science at the University of Innsbruck and director of the Institute of Conflict Research in Vienna; Dieter Stiefel is professor of social and economic history at the University of Vienna and executive secretary of the Schumpeter Society in Vienna.This volume offers a collection of articles, mostly by contemporary Austrian-born historians, touching on various phases of the Marshall Plan administered through the European Recovery Program (ERP) and its successors counterfunds' assistance to the present. A splendid introduction followed by the key thirteen articles on the plan is augmented by several nontopical essays and book reviews, along with a survey of Austrian politics in 1998. A number of articles emanated from a 1998 conference at the University of New Orleans. Both novice and specialist will appreciate this book."-The Historian
This book aims at uncovering the politics behind the provision of US foreign aid to Pakistan during three distinctive periods: the Cold War, the post-Cold War and the "war on terror". Focusing on a comprehensive analysis of aid allocation and delivery mechanisms, this book uncovers the primary factors behind historical as well as contemporary US aid to Pakistan so far not thoroughly and empirically studied, especially in the post-2001 period of the "war on terror". Furthermore, based on findings that have emerged from interviews with over 200 respondents, including government officials, representatives of donor aid agencies, the private sector, civil society organizations and primary beneficiaries of US-funded projects, this book offers significant insights to researchers, policy-makers and practitioners interested in the discipline of aid and development effectiveness. Making use of both quantitative and qualitative data and based on extensive fieldwork and primary data, this book fills a significant gap in the empirical analysis of US aid to Pakistan. As such, it will be of great interest to students and scholars of Asian and US politics, as well as to those who have teaching and research interests in disciplines such as international relations, history, strategic studies, international political economy and development studies.
This book explores the vital role of faith-based organizations (FBOs) in compensating for the market's and government's inability to provide vital services. Its key theoretical contribution is the notion that poverty is the result of a triadic failure-when markets, government, and civil society become dysfunctional at the same time. Using data on Catholic missionaries' development work, this study presents the various ways by which FBOs mitigate market and government failures in healthcare, education, and social services, and in the process build and strengthen civil society. This study has two main objectives. First, it aims to present an overview of missionaries' development work, evaluating the socioeconomic significance of their faith-based development work. In addition, various comparative advantages and disadvantages have been imputed to FBOs in the religion-development literature, and we assess to what extent missionaries actually exhibit these posited qualities in practice. Second, the groundwork is laid for future religion-development scholars by presenting a theoretical framework and a method for evaluating the role and contributions of FBOs in the larger community. This is an important investigation of contemporary worldwide Christianity and its relationship with development. As such, it will interest scholars of religious studies and missiology, as well as development economics, public service and the political economy.
Religion has always played an important, if often contested, role in the public domain. This book focuses on how faith-based organisations (FBOs) interact with the public sphere, showing how faith-based actors are themselves shaped by wider processes and global forces such as globalisation, migration, foreign policy and neoliberal markets. Focusing on a case study of an FBO in Morocco which gives aid to sub-Saharan African irregular migrants, the book reveals some of the challenges the organisation faces as it tries to negotiate at once local, national and international contexts through their particular Christian values. This book contends that the contradictions, tensions and ambiguities that arise are primarily a result of the organisation having to negotiate a normative global secular liberalism which requires a strict demarcation between religion and politics, and religion and the secular. Faith-based actors, particularly within humanitarianism, have to constantly navigate this divide and in examining the question of how religious values translate into humanitarian and development practices, categories such as religion, the secular and politics and the boundaries between them will need to be interrogated. This book explores the diversity and complexity of the work of FBOs and will be of great interest to students and researchers working at the intersections of humanitarianism and development studies, politics and religion.
The Aid Chain explores the role of funding conditions in shaping co-operation and resistance as aid moves from donors, to NGOs, to local communities. Significant proportions of aid flow through the non-governmental sector but questions are increasingly being asked about the role of NGOs and whether they can deliver on their ambitious claims. This study examines whether the existing aid processes widely used by donors and NGOs are effective in tackling poverty and exclusion. Findings from fieldwork in Uganda, South Africa and the UK are used to show how the fast changing aid sector has, in the context of a dynamic policy environment, encouraged the mainstreaming of a managerial approach that does not admit of any analysis of power relations or cultural diversity. This increasing definition of the roles of NGOs as essentially technical, limits the extent of the very development that the organizations were initially established to promote. 'This disturbing and dramatically important book has been crying out to be written. It is a stark revelation of uncomfortable realities from which we often try to hide...Anyone working in an aid organization who is serious about achieving the MDGs has to read this book, and to act on its lessons. ' Robert Chambers
Every year the Administration and the Congress battle stubbornly and often bitterly over appropriations for foreign aid. Clearly much more is at stake than a difference of opinion over a small fraction of the annual budget: the tug-of-war stems from clashes of basic political philosophies, divergent approaches to one of the most important elements of our foreign policy, and inherent conflicts among various domestic power blocs. In his book, which adds a much-needed dimension to the discussion and analysis of United States foreign policy, O'Leary reveals the many complex factors that go into the making of American foreign aid policy. While placing the emphasis on the political system as a whole--its components, the relative power of actors in the system, and the manner in which they interact to create policy--the author presents a detailed and enlightening picture of the attitudes of the general public, the political parties, the pressure groups, and Congress itself to the issue of foreign aid. Basing his work on poll data, press comment, Congressional and Executive documents, Congressional roll-call votes, and interviews with congressmen, their assistants, foreign aid officials, and lobbyists, O'Leary makes clear how the workings of the American political system affect our foreign aid policy and programs. Originally published in 1967, it remains useful for all courses dealing with our foreign relations, Congress, or the specifics of the operation of our government. "Michael Kent O'Leary" is a professor of political science at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. He has held a research fellowship at the Brookings Institution and has taught at Princeton and at Dartmouth College, where he was also an assistant to the director of the Public Affairs Center. He is the co-author of "Congress in Crisis: Politics and Congressional Reform" and has edited and contributed to "Congressional Reorganization: Problems and Prospects" and "European Views of America: Problems of Communication in the Atlantic World."
This timely work presents cutting-edge analysis of the problems of U.S. foreign assistance programs - why these problems have not been solved in the past, and how they might be solved in the future. The book focuses primarily on U.S. foreign assistance and foreign policy as they apply to nation building, governance, and democratization. The expert contributors examine issues currently in play, and also trace the history and evolution of many of these problems over the years. They address policy concerns as well as management and organizational factors as they affect programs and policies. "Foreign Aid and Foreign Policy" includes several chapter-length case studies (on Iraq, Pakistan, Ghana, Haiti, and various countries in Eastern Europe and Africa), but the bulk of the book presents broad coverage of general topics such as foreign aid and security, NGOs and foreign aid, capacity building, and building democracy abroad. Each chapter offers recommendations on how to improve the U.S. system of aid in the context of foreign policy. |
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