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Books > Reference & Interdisciplinary > Interdisciplinary studies > Development studies
Despite an avalanche of literature over the last 30 years there has been relatively little written on the role played by strategic planning in the transfer of technology, particularly from developed to less developed countries. Technology transfer, which involves the acquisition of inventive activity by secondary users, is conceded vital to socio-economic growth, but usually it is looked at internationally from a micro perspective. Unlike other books, Madu's volume looks at technology transfer holistically. It examines the advantages of technology transfer and its limitations by viewing recipient nations as systems, in which social, economic, behavioral, and political influences converge to help shape technological decisions. Only when a systems perspective like this is adopted and technology seen as a strategic variable can technology transfer be understood and successfully implemented, says Madu. Madu thus identifies the failures of technology transfer as the result of malfunctions in three components of the system: technology, structure, and behavior. He analyzes these malfunctions, offers ways to repair them, and considers technology from the viewpoints of both transferrer and receiver, whose missions, goals, and objectives are often not only disparate but sometimes in conflict. He then offers what he calls prescriptive frameworks and guidelines to help implement transfer, and to see it as a variable that must be integrated into national development planning. Throughout, Madu makes it clear that the objective of technology transfer is the maximizing of social welfare. Using this overarching premise he is able to evaluate both the benefits and the social costs associated with technology transfer and to develop his prescriptive, integrative models. Intended for specialists in international finance and development and international business management, Madu's book will be of special value to teachers of graduate courses in socio-economic development, public policy, and economics, and to policymakers throughout government.
According to recent estimates, around 6,000 people - mostly children under five - die every day from diseases caused by inappropriate water and sanitation (WS) services. Much of the academic and political debate surrounding this issue has focused on private sector participation. By shifting the attention towards the influence of governance, Krause examines the political and sectoral institutions that are essential for the provision of WS services. Utilizing data from sixty-nine developing countries, Matthias Krause demonstrates that the level of democracy has a statistically significant positive impact on access to WS services and that low-quality governance of sub-national governments compromises the internal efficiency of providers and the widespread access to services. This book makes a critical contribution to the water and sanitation research and will help academics and policy-makers to rethink the way in which they deal with water issues.
Targeting regional economic development (TRED) has a long and rich tradition among academic economists and in the world of economic development practitioners. This book builds on a series of workshops and papers organized by The Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development (NERCRD) at the Pennsylvania State University and the Rural Policy Research Centre (RUPRI) at the University of Missouri. Through the coordinated efforts of NERCRD and RUPRI, a network of university based researchers and Extension education specialists was developed and provides the foundation of this new edited volume. For the first time in a single book, Goetz, Deller and Harris present an innovative approach through a collection of chapters discussing industry targeting and the relevance of TRED as an important analytical tool for practical targeting purposes. The papers present issues surrounding community economic development, clusters in industry and rural communities and the role of agglomeration economies. The book provides the reader with insights into not only the theoretical foundations of targeting as well as empirical methods, but also approaches for using the community-level analysis to affect policy directions.
This book examines the processes of economic and political reform in Tunisia, placing the current policies of Zine el Abidine Ben Ali within their historical context. Emma Murphy develops a theoretical understanding of the relationship between economic liberalization and political change in the Arab world, developing the concept of the disarticulation of the corporatist state and concluding that, despite efforts at democratization, an authoritarian political system is a more likely successor in the era of economic transformation.
As the growth of the world's population requires the continued search for residential space, the urbanization of natural lands is an inevitable process, but that process does not have to be one that is accomplished without regard for environmental quality. This book presents the unique perspective of naturbanization, the urbanization of protected and highly valued natural spaces that are geographically removed from current urban centers. It discusses the search and selection of new residential spaces, economic planning and policy in such areas, environmentally sensitive construction, and public investment in infrastructure to make the areas more accessible and habitable. Specifically, the book analyzes naturbanization as it is occurring in National Parks located along the European Union borders. Recent declarations have made the parks more accessible to development and consequently they are serving as models for ways to reach workable solutions and encourage the sort of economic development that will satisfy both developers and environmentalists
Scholars have become increasingly concerned about the impact of neo-liberalism on the field of development. Governments around the world have for some time been exposed to the forces of globalization and macro-economic reform, reflecting the power and influence of the world's principal international economic institutions and a broader commitment to the principles of neo-classical economics and free trade. Concerns have also been raised that neo-classical theory now dominates the ways in which scholars frame and ask their questions in the field of development. This book is about the ways in which ideologies shape the construction of knowledge for development. A central theme concerns the impact of neo-liberalism on contemporary development theory and research. The book's main objectives are twofold. One is to understand the ways in which neo-liberalism has framed and defined the 'meta-theoretical' aims and assumptions of what is deemed relevant, important and appropriate to the study of development. A second is to explore the theoretical and ideological terms on which an alternative to neo-classical theory may be theorized, idealized and pursued. By tracing the impact of Marxism, postmodernism and liberalism on the study of development, Arresting Development contends that development has become increasingly fragmented in terms of the theories and methodologies it uses to understand and explain complex and contextually-specific processes of economic development and social change. Outside of neo-classical economics (and related fields of rational choice), the notion that social science can or should aim to develop general and predictive theories about development has become mired in a philosophical and political orientation that questions the ability of scholars to make universal or comparative statements about the nature of history, cultural diversity and progress. To advance the debate, a case is made that development needs to re-capture what the American sociologist Peter Evans once called the 'comparative institutional method.' At the heart of this approach is an inductive methodology that searches for commonalities and connections to broader historical trends and problems while at the same time incorporating divergent and potentially competing views about the nature of history, culture and development. This book will be of interest to scholars and students of Development, Social and Political Studies and it will also be beneficial to professionals interested in the challenge of constructing "knowledge for development."
Foundations of Social Entrepreneurship presents definitions of social entrepreneurship, explains its benefits and challenges, describes the components of an ecosystem of support, and presents practical tools to approach social entrepreneurial projects. It is designed to be easily approachable by anyone without prior in-depth knowledge of the subject. The book is divided into two parts; the first provides readers with theoretical foundations to understand the phenomenon of social entrepreneurship, its different interpretations, the context in which it developed, and its socio-economic function. The second part of the book covers what it takes to create and manage a social entrepreneurial initiative. Pedagogical features are incorporated throughout to aid learning. They include summary tables, international case studies of social entrepreneurs from both developed and emerging economies, as well as suggested exercises and examples of how the tools presented are used in practice. Truly global in its scope, with a strong emphasis on combining theory with practice, this text should be core reading for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students studying Social Entrepreneurship, Enterprise, and Responsible Business. Online resources include links to resources, chapter-by-chapter PowerPoint slides and instructor's manual.
This interdisciplinary study applies human rights theory to the problems of rural poverty in the Third World. Considering the interdependence of minimal food and health security with minimal assurance of basic freedoms, political scientist Alan G. Smith traces the linkage to the need of the food-insecure to seek "clientelistic dependencies" on better-off neighbors--relationships that often operate to restrict freedom of choice. In contrast to conventional rural development aid, which can introduce new client dependency if pursued alone, Smith stresses the need to find other forms of aid that would provide the option of assured minimal survival while avoiding the constraints imposed by dependency. Arguing for bolstering bottom-up human rights momentum, he suggests the transfer of appropriate tools into the hands of the target group. Recipients would make use of them to enhance autonomous food-crop production, thereby making client dependency a matter of choice rather than necessity. Smith illustrates the Third World predicament of food insecurity leading to infringement of rights by drawing together empirical evidence from Bangladesh, Botswana, and Tanzania. He further argues that respect for human rights involves a duty on the part of advantaged nations to address the Third World predicament with practical measures fully consistent with human rights, and for each of these three country cases, Smith recommends direct locally specific minimalist aid. His model, its practical illustration, and recommendations should be valuable to academics and students in the fields of rural sociology, anthropology, and political science--especially those focusing on human rights, poverty, and Third Worlddevelopment--as well as bureaucrats and consultants in the development aid field.
This volume engages in an in-depth discussion of Nigerian politics. Written by an expert group of Nigerian researchers, the chapters provide an overarching, Afrocentric view of politics in Nigeria, from pre-colonial history to the current federal system. The book begins with a series of historical chapters analyzing the development of Nigeria from its traditional political institutions through the First Republic. After establishing the necessary historical context, the next few chapters shift the focus to specific political institutions and phenomena, including the National Assembly, local government and governance, party politics, and federalism. The remaining chapters discuss issues that continue to affect Nigerian politics: the debt crisis, oil politics in the Niger Delta, military intervention and civil-military relations, as well as nationalism and inter-group relations. Providing an overview of Nigerian politics that encompasses history, economics, and public administration, this volume will be useful to students and researchers interested in African politics, African studies, democracy, development, history, and legislative studies.
Around the turn of the millennium it had become painfully evident that development aid, charity or "global business-as-usual" were not going to be the mechanisms to alleviate global poverty. Today, there is little dispute that poverty remains the most pressing global problem calling for innovative solutions. One recent strategy is the Base of the Pyramid (BoP) concept developed by Prahalad and Hart, which relies on entrepreneurial activity tapping into the previously ignored markets of the economically most disadvantaged. It is a process requiring innovations in several disciplines: technological, social and business.This book covers a number of areas. First, much of the current BoP discussion emphasises targeting products to the needs of the poor. But do we actually know what the real needs of the poor are? This book takes a bottom-up human-centred approach and examines examples that truly engage the poor in BoP product and service development. What types of needs assessment methodologies are indicated considering the cultural differences in BoP countries? Are the existing methodologies adequate? Do they need to be redefined and redeveloped? Second, the book considers how we can balance poverty alleviation and stimulate economic growth without stressing the ecosystem. Tragically, the poor are hardest hit by the adverse effects of environmental deterioration such as water shortages, climate change or the destruction of habitats. While the economic welfare of the poor is critical, the BoP approach must balance its inherent paradox of encouraging greater consumption while avoiding further pressures on environmental sustainability. The link between the BoP approach and sustainable development is a key feature of this book. Third, it looks at innovation and asks what kinds of"bottom-up" innovation (open source, technological, social and business) support BoP initiatives (and sustainable development)?Fourth, the book deals with the relationship between development assistance and BoP. Is a BoP strategy the antithesis to development aid or can these two co-exist or even complement each other?Finally, the book raises questions about the relationship between corporate responsibility and BoP. Is BoP a new form of corporate neo-colonialism or a new form of corporate responsibility? Although the BoP concept has unleashed an extensive and generally enthusiastic response from academics, businesses, NGOs and governments, the knowledge domain around this concept is still in the early stages of development. This book addresses that need with a focus on the needs of the end-users - the poor - as a starting point for BoP products and innovations. With contributions from both supporters and critics, it provides a treasure trove of global knowledge on how the concept has developed, what its successes and failures have been and what promise it holds as a long-term strategy for alleviating poverty and tackling global sustainability.
The crucible of innovation in wildlife and habitat conservation is in southern Africa where it has co-evolved with decolonization, political transformation and the rise of development, ownership, management and livelihood debates. Charting this innovation, early chapters of this volume deal with the traditional 'fines and fences' conservation that occurred in the colonial and early post-independence period, with subsequent sections focussing on the experimentation and innovation that occurred on private and communal land as a result of the break from these traditional methods. The final section deals with more recent innovations in the sector, focussing on building and strengthening the relationships between parks and society. Importantly, the book provides a data-rich summary of experimentation with more inclusive models of conservation in terms of ecological, social, political and economic indicators. Published with the Southern African Sustainable Use Specialist Group (SASUSG) of IUCN.
Assessing the vulnerability of human populations to global environmental change, particularly climate change, is now the main imperative of research and international action. However, much of the research into vulnerability is not designed to feed directly into decision making and policy, creating a gap between the knowledge created by researchers and what is required by decision makers. This book seeks to rectify this problem and bridge the gap. It discusses vulnerability as the central theme and brings together many different applications from disaster studies, climate change impact studies and several other fields and provides the most comprehensive synthesis of definitions, theories, formalization and applications to date, illustrated with examples from different disciplines, regions and periods, and from local through to regional, national and international levels. Case study topics cover sea level rise, vulnerability to changes in ecosystem services, assessing the vulnerability of human health and 'double exposure' to climate change and trade liberalization amongst other issues. Research outcomes stress that science-policy dialogues must be transparent to be effective and concentrate on a mutual understanding of the concepts used. A key research finding is that the most useful information for decision makers is that which shows the separate causes and drivers of vulnerability, rather than presenting vulnerability in an aggregated form. The book concludes with a unifying framework for analysing integrated methodologies of vulnerability assessment and guiding how research and policy can be linked to reduce vulnerability.
In 2005, The United Nations launched its Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, which recognises that education, including Higher Education is the key to the change in social attitudes that will be needed to protect the welfare of future generations. This involves helping learners to live as though the future matters and to achieve ecoliteracy. This includes the understanding that personal lifestyle decisions may have consequences, ranging from climate change, through loss of biodiversity, to pollution and resource depletion that may permit environmental degradation on a planetary scale. It also involves helping them to develop the skills needed to cope with such challenges. This international collection of research papers and position statements from special issues of the Journal of Geography in Higher Education and Applied Environmental Education and Communication, written by many of the leading practitioners in the field, aims to provide resources and practical guidance for all seeking to promote and engage in education for a sustainable future. Rabindranath Tagore encouraged each learner to make their actions demonstrate a harmonious union between education and environment. David Orr argued that the world needs people who live well in their places to make the world both habitable and humane and that the main challenge for education is to help learners make their minds fit for life on Earth. This book tries to chart a practical route towards these objectives. This book was previously published as special issues of the Journal of Geography in Higher Education and Applied Environmental Education and Communication
'Ann and Robert Seidman have written an invaluabe theoretical (and practical) guide for those concerned with the role of the state in development.'- Bereket Habte Selassie, Professor of African Studies, Howard University 'State and Law in the Development Process is a scholarly work and essential reading for undergraduate and postgraduate students taking courses on the Third World, its history and development. It provides an excellent bibliography and analysis which sets out the fundamentals of research into the future development of the Third World. Expertly written, it embodies a research methodology which is linked to a theoretical perspective.' - John F. McEldowney, Senior Lecturer in Law, University of Warwick The post-1945 collapse of colonialism and the emergence of new nationalist governments seemed to promise plenty for all third-world peoples. Four decades later, those promises lay in shards. This book proposes a theory to explain the failure of third-world states to transform the institutions that produce poverty and powerlessness for the mass of the population. Based on that theory, it proposes a methodology designed to facilitate the democratic exercise of state power through law to empower third world peoples to play an effective role in building a peaceful world of plenty for all.
The debate about languages of instruction in Africa and Asia involves an analysis of both the historical thrust of national government and also development aid policies. Using case studies from Tanzania, Nigeria, South Africa, Rwanda, India, Bangladesh and Malaysia, Zehlia Babaci-Wilhite argues that the colonial legacy is perpetuated when global languages are promoted in education. The use of local languages in instruction not only offers an effective means to contextualize the curriculum and improve student comprehension, but also to achieve quality education and rights in education.
This book examines the subject of Development Finance, or more specifically how financial systems can help or hinder the process of human development. As an expert in this field, Stephen Spratt reviews the components of the domestic and international financial systems, and considers reform options objectively against the central goal of human development. The result is a combination of orthodox and more innovative approaches, which provides a thorough grounding in development finance theory and practice in the 21st century. Topics covered in the book include: The Millennium Development Goals Financial crises and international capital flows The role of the private sector Microfinance. Focusing on the roles of the World Bank and the IMF and with a host of case studies and real world examples from Asia, Africa and Latin America as well as the "transition" economies of Eastern Europe, the author examines developing countries' engagement with the international financial system and its influence on the process of human development, both positive and negative.
Social protection is fast becoming one of the most important themes in development policy. This book examines the political processes shaping the formulation of social protection policies; compares the key conceptual frameworks available for analysing social protection; and provides a comparative discussion on social protection policies focused on the poor and the poorest.
The Young Lives project is a long-term study of childhood poverty in developing countries. International experts follow two groups of children in poor communities in four countries as they grow into young adults with five rounds of surveys, interspersed with on-going participatory research with a smaller number of the children, planned to cover a period of 15 years. This book represents the engagement of Young Lives with researchers and debates in the field, reflecting on the first two rounds of data coming from Ethiopia, India, Peru and Vietnam, with supporting material from Tanzania and South Africa. Topics include the ethics of research, the long-term causes and consequences of childhood poverty, and the resilience and optimism shown by children and their families. The authors also look at the dynamics of childhood poverty -- how and why some families move in and out of poverty as well as learning, children's timeuse and life transitions -- focusing on children's daily lives, their families and communities.
This book discusses the conditions that underpin configuration of specific places as resource peripheries and the consequences that such a socio-spatial formation involves for those places. The book thereby provides an interdisciplinary approach underpinned by economic geography, political ecology, resource geography, development studies and political geography. It also discusses the different technological, political and economic changes that make the ongoing production of resource peripheries a distinctive socio-spatial formation under the global economy. Through a global and interdisciplinary perspective that uncovers ongoing political processes, socio-economic changes and socio-ecological dynamics at resource peripheries, this book argues that it is critical to take a more profound appraisal about the socio-spatial processes behind the contemporary way in which capitalism is appropriating and transforming nature.
Three little known facts: Africa is now the world's fastest growing continent, with average GDP growth of 5.5% the past 10 years. Malaria deaths have declined by 30% and HIV infections by 74%. Nigeria produces more movies than America does. The Lion Awakes is the true story of today's Africa, one often overshadowed by the dire headlines. Traveling from his ancestral home in Uganda, East Africa, to the booming economy and (if chaotic) new democracies of West Africa, and down to the "Silicon Savannahs" of Kenya and Rwanda, Ashish J. Thakkar shows us an Africa that few Westerners are aware exists. Far from being a place in need of our pity and aid, we see a continent undergoing a remarkable transformation and economic development. We meet a new generation of ambitious, tech savvy young Africans who are developing everything from bamboo bicycles to iPhone Apps; we meet artists, film makers and architects thriving with newfound freedom and opportunity, and we are introduced to hyper-educated members of the Diaspora who have returned to Africa after years abroad to open companies and take up positions in government. They all tell the same story: 21st Century Africa offers them more opportunity than the First World. Drawing from his business experience, and his own family's history in Africa, which include his parents' expulsion from Uganda by Idi Amin in the 70s and his own survival of the Rwandan genocide in 1994, Ashish shows us how much difference a decade can make.
First textbook in the literature to treat sustainability as a powerful concept to create optimal workplace experiences FM is a growth area and this book pushes the boundaries to teach sustainability in a new way Most other textbooks dedicated to this topic focus on describing specific best practices or case studies, that is simply not enough to take the next step in truly integrating sustainability in the facility management industry. This book seeks to do that.
This collection draws on a range of methodologies and approaches to explore the similarities, differences and overlaps between the contemporary debates on international development and humanitarian intervention and the historical artefacts and strategies of Empire. The parallels between the language of nineteenth-century liberal imperialism and the humanitarian interventionism of the post-Cold War era are striking. The American military, both in Somalia in the early 1990s and in the aftermath of the Iraq invasion, used ethno-graphic information compiled by British colonial administrators. Are these interconnections accidental curiosities or more elemental? The contributors to this book articulate the belief that these comparisons are analytically revealing. From the language of moral necessity and conviction, the design of specific aid packages, the devised forms of intervention and governmentality, through to the life-style, design and location of NGO encampments, the authors seek to account for the numerous and often striking parallels between contemporary international security, development and humanitarian intervention, and the logic of Empire. This book will be of great interest to all those concerned with understanding the historical antecedents and wider implications of today's emergent liberal interventionism, and the various logics of international development.
Since the end of the cold war, civil wars and state violence have escalated, resulting in thousands of deaths. This book provides a toolbox for donors, international agencies, and developing countries to prevent humanitarian emergencies. The emphasis is on long-term development policies rather than mediation or reconstruction after the conflict ensues. Policies include democratization, reforming institutions, strengthening civil society, improving the state's administrative capability, agrarian reform, accelerating economic growth through stabilization and adjustment, reducing inequalities, and redesigning aid to be more stable.
Currently, the research community lacks the capacity to provide accurate, up-to-date information about conditions and trends in rural areas. Bringing together some of the best known rural development researchers, this volume begins to build an information base that can serve as a foundation for rural development policy. It deals with four components of development--education, entrepreneurship, physical infrastructure, and social infrastructure. The opening chapters address two aspects of each component--the use of the component to achieve rural development and measuring the impact of its use. The volume then applies specific analytic methods of measuring impact to each component. The opening chapters address two aspects of each component--the concept of using that component to achieve rural development and the concept of measuring its impact. The volume then examines analytic methods of measuring impact. Following an overview of analytic methods, chapters apply a different analytic technique to each of the components. The techniques considered include econometric models, computable general equilibrium models, input-output analysis, and the case-study method.
The child labour debate, the Child Rights Convention and the target of universal primary education in the Millennium Development Goals have drawn increasing attention to children in developing countries. Alongside, a debate has waged on the need for child participation and the appropriateness of spreading allegedly western norms of childhood. This book aims to uncover the daily life of children in selected areas in Vietnam, India, Burkina Faso, Tanzania, Nicaragua and Bolivia against the background of those debates. Children, Structure and Agency takes a close look at the activities, the aspirations and the deliberations of hundreds of poor children in the age category from 9 to 14, on the basis of a dawn-to-sunset observation over a couple of days. By empowering children to make people listen to them, children can play a more an active role in their community. The book addresses the issue of such child agency and the structural constraints to that agency. This text would be of interest to child-centred development aid organisations and scholars dealing with issues of child participation, child rights, child labour and education. |
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