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Books > Reference & Interdisciplinary > Interdisciplinary studies > Development studies
This unique work by the Centre for Conflict Resolution (CCR), Cape Town, South Africa, tracks the progress Africa has made in achieving the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) since 2000. Thirteen analytical chapters written by scholars and practitioners with expertise in the various areas covered by the eight MDGs are organized around the larger themes of political economy, structural issues, sustainable goals, and human development goals. They critically assess the progress that Africa has made towards the achievement of the MDGs, discuss how to accelerate that progress, and offer alternatives and recommendations in support of institutions in Africa that are engaged in promoting the achievement of sustainable development. Throughout, they examine the role of various actors (including the African Union; Africa's regional economic communities, the United Nations, the European Union, etc.), civil society, and other external development partners in light of their contributions, shortfalls, and viable options in shaping the continent's development agenda. Together they provide a unique assessment from experts on the ground of whether the goals were a success and what remains to be done to achieve sustainable economic and human development in Africa.
In addressing humanitarian crises, the international community has long understood the need to extend beyond providing immediate relief, and to engage with long-term recovery activities and the prevention of similar crises in the future. However, this continuum from short-term relief to rehabilitation and development has often proved difficult to achieve. This book aims to shed light on the continuum of humanitarian crisis management, particularly from the viewpoint of major bilateral donors and agencies. Focusing on cases of armed conflicts and disasters, the authors describe the evolution of approaches and lessons learnt in practice when moving from emergency relief to recovery and prevention of future crises. Drawing on an extensive research project conducted by the Japan International Cooperation Agency Research Institute, this book compares how a range of international organizations, bilateral cooperation agencies, NGOs, and research institutes have approached the continuum in international humanitarian crisis management. The book draws on six humanitarian crises case studies, each resulting from armed conflict or natural disasters: Timor-Leste, South Sudan, the Syrian crisis, Hurricane Mitch in Honduras, the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami in Indonesia, and Typhoon Yolanda. The book concludes by proposing a common conceptual framework designed to appeal to different stakeholders involved in crisis management. Following on from the World Humanitarian Summit, where a new way of working on the humanitarian-development nexus was highlighted as one of five major priority trends, this book is a timely contribution to the debate which should interest researchers of humanitarian studies, conflict and peace studies, and disaster risk-management.
The political, social, and economic problems of southern Africa cannot be resolved until nations of this critical region effect educational reform. But this process requires more than change in the educational system; it involves the thrust for social transformation in national institutions. This unique study addresses key issues relative to both educational reform and social change in southern Africa. Topics discussed include the need for educational reform; approaches to educational reform; and the results of such reform on the individual and society. A bibliography and an index complete the text.
Central to the dynamics of India's post-interventionist era has been the performance of its corporate sector. A lot of hope has been placed on its ability to deliver increased growth rates and levels of 'development'. In the light of this view, the author here examines critically the nature of the Indian corporate sector as a specific socio-historical and political-economic formation. Particular emphasis is placed on the nature of corporate profitability in India, its historical roots and its effects on development.
Within the context of regional integration, comparative regionalism, organizational change, and regional security literatures, this book investigates three cases wherein regional economic organizations were confronted with conventional security threats: the 1978-91 Association of Southeast Asian Nations-Vietnam Standoff, the 1990 Economic Community of West Africa-Liberian Civil War Challenge, and the 1990-91 European Communities-Balkans Crisis. While the literature suggests multiple possible explanations for regional economic organizations' response to these security challenges, including systemic and power-related factors, organizational factors and functional needs, and cognitive and social factors, the author argues that the decision to transform a regional economic organization into a conventional security actor is most influenced by decision makers' perceptions of threat and functional necessity.
This book examines and compares the diverging security approaches of the UK, China and India in peacebuilding settings, with a specific focus on the case of Nepal. Rising powers such as China and India dissent from traditional templates of peacebuilding and apply their own methods to respond to security issues. This book fills a gap in the literature by examining how emerging actors (China and India) engage with security and development and how their approaches differ from those of a traditional actor (the UK). In the light of democratic peace and regional security complex theories, the book interprets interview data to compare and contrast the engagement of these three actors with post-war Nepal, and the implications for security sector governance and peacebuilding. It contends that the UK helped to peacefully manage transition but that the institutional changes were merely ceremonial. China and India, by contrast, were more effective in advancing mutual security agendas through elite-level interactions. However, the 'hardware' of security, for example material and infrastructure support, gained more consideration than the 'software' of security, such as meritocratic governance and institution building. This book will be of much interest to students of peacebuilding, development studies, Asian politics, security studies and International Relations in general.
This edited volume brings together research on symbiotic themes of entrepreneurship, resource planning, and regional development and their impact on global-local business imperatives. Discussions in this volume critically analyze the convergence of entrepreneurship, innovation, technology, business practices, public policies, political ideologies, and consumer values for improving the global-local business paradigm to support regional development. This book also delves into contemporary entrepreneurship models, converging business strategies towards entrepreneurial and industrial alliance in manufacturing, services, and marketing organizations. It contemplates the development of new business models and hybrid entrepreneurial perspectives to match the changing priorities of regional economic development in developing countries. This volume offers scholars new entrepreneurial visions and business perspectives of industries in emerging markets, while presenting a more integrated view to enable companies to innovate for long-term profitability and sustainability.
This book explores, in a series of detailed case studies, how public policy is actually made in Qatar. While Qatar is a Gulf monarchy, its governance is complex. Other analysts have tried to come to grips with this complexity using qualified descriptions of the system such as 'late rentier,' 'pluralized autocracy,' 'tribal democracy,' or 'soft authoritarian.' The authors of the volume use the lens of a transformative state. Qatar is deliberately engaged in a rapid process of radical economic and societal transformation. That process has its contradictions and tensions, particularly with regards to achieving a balance between Islam, social traditions, and modernity. This book explores how it also has a specific policy dynamic of generating ideas and institutions, developing policy and program designs, implementation and coordination.
The book is the first attempt to offer a holistic and integrated exploration of the political-economic framework underpinning economic regionalism. In doing so it provides a much-needed contribution to the literature on international political economy, international relations and Asian political economy in relation to economic regionalism. The existing literature provides broad generalizations and limited discussion on economic integration (i.e. free trade agreements, FTA) with most analyses of regionalism generally contained to the field of economics with a focus on the welfare implications of FTAs, both for participating countries and the world as a whole. Readers of this book can view economic regionalism from a variety of perspectives with input from Chinese, Japanese and Korean research institutes, business and industry groups, and government officials. Drawing on the considerable country experience and expertise of the authors, the book attempts to unravel the paradox of the market-driven economic globalization process (regionalism) and address a serious gap in the current literature relating to the political-economic characteristics and strategies of China, Japan and Korea in relation to economic regionalism.
This book introduces readers to a powerful method for cross-cultural due diligence in mergers and organizational collaborations. It employs the context of joint ventures between local communities and companies in the domain of hospitality in emerging tourism destinations. The book first analyzes the impact of cultural diversity in mergers between local communities and the private sector, revealing the characteristics and functions of culture and paying specific attention to the roles of organizational and community cultures in hospitality. In two subsequent methodological chapters the book presents a theoretical framework for cultural due diligence and identifies the principal actors, technical aspects and core principles. On the basis of a separate case study from northern Thailand, the book provides an example of cultural context analysis and presents the findings and results. In a concluding chapter the book presents an outlook on further research and development in this field.
This is the first book to analyze the role of the new circumpolar universities in northern development. Since 1960, over twenty new universities have been built in the northern regions of Canada, Russia, the United States, the Nordic countries and Japan. This book analyzes and compares the reasons for their establishment, the impact they have had in providing greater access to advanced education, and the effect they have had on economic, social, cultural, and political development of these various northern regions.
This book explores the complex problem of how to measure the 'success' of social organisations, projects and activities. Whether improving a local situation, organizing a campaign around sustainability, or assessing the intangible effects of perceived social benefits, currently we have only have a very limited range of mechanisms for judging effectiveness. On the one hand, a market-driven logic demands that qualitative perceptions and experiences are quantified into simplified and numerically defined variables. On the other, community projects are left un-assessed, as one-off outcomes of local and situated processes that must somehow automatically 'make things better'. For academics, researchers and other professionals working in this field this has resulted in the deep frustration of not being able to assess the things that are most centrally important: higher human values such as integrity, trust, respect, equality and social justice. Measuring Intangible Values argues that we can make shared social values - and their measurement - central to decisions about improving civil society. But because these social values are intangible, we need to develop ways of eliciting and validating them at the local level that can capture people's shared meanings across multiple goals and perspectives. We need to develop mechanisms for evaluating whether these values are met that use rigorous but also relevant measures. And we need to develop ways of doing this that are scalable, transferable and comparable across different kinds of organisations and fields of activity. This book will be valuable for researchers in all social science disciplines which touch on human values, such as sociology, social psychology, human geography, social policy, architecture and planning, design and community studies.
If the political and social benchmarks of sustainability and sustainable development are to be met, ignoring the role of the humanities and social, cultural and ethical values is highly problematic. People's worldviews, beliefs and principles have an immediate impact on how they act and should be studied as cultural dimensions of sustainability. Collating contributions from internationally renowned theoreticians of culture and leading researchers working in the humanities and social sciences, this volume presents an in-depth, interdisciplinary discussion of the concept of cultural sustainability and the public visibility of such research. Beginning with a discussion of the concept of cultural sustainability, it goes on to explore its interaction with philosophy, theology, sociology, economics, arts and literature. In doing so, the book develops a much needed concept of 'culture' that can be adapted to various disciplines and applied to research on sustainability. Addressing an important gap in sustainability research, this book will be of great interest to academics and students of sustainability and sustainable development, as well as those studying sustainability within the humanities and social sciences, such as cultural studies, ethics, theology, sociology, literature and history.
This book reviews the latest methods of sustainable investing and financial profit making and describes how ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) analysis can identify future business opportunities and manage risk to achieve abnormal returns. Megatrends such as climate change, sustainable development and digitalisation increase uncertainty and information asymmetry and have an impact on the future returns on investments. From a profit perspective, it is largely about how ESG factors affect the long-term value added by companies and the valuation of companies in the financial markets. Although sustainability provides an opportunity for abnormal returns, this phenomenon must be considered in a critical light. The book describes the risks and limitations associated with the accountability and availability of ESG data and tools. This book provides both academic findings and practical models for assessing the sustainability of investees and introduces practical tools and methods to make ESG analysis practice. It focuses on the ESG analysis of equity investments and fund investments in institutional investment organizations and provides a handbook for all investment analysts who are involved with investment decisions. Readers will benefit from understanding the methods, opportunities and challenges that professionals use in their ESG analysis with cases, interviews and practical tools for both institutional and private investors.
The movement of people from small towns and villages of India to places outside the country raises a number of questions- about the networks that enable their mobility, the aspirations that motivate them, what they give back to their home regions, and how their provincial home worlds engage with and absorb the consequent transnational flows of money, ideas, influence and care. This book analyzes the social consequences of the transmission of migrant resources to provincial places in India. Bringing together case studies from four regions, it demonstrates that these flows are very diverse, are inflected by regional histories of mobility and development, and may reinforce local power structures or instigate social change in unexpected ways. The chapters collected in this volume examine conflicts over migrant-funded education or rural development projects, how migrants from Dalit, Muslim and other marginalized groups use their new wealth to promote social progress or equality in their home regions, and why migrants invest in property in provincial India or return regularly to their ancestral homes to revitalize ritual traditions. These studies also demonstrate that diaspora philanthropy is routed largely through social networks based on caste, community or kinship ties, thereby extending them spatially, and illustrate how migrant efforts to 'develop' their home regions may become entangled in local politics or influence state policies. This collection of eight original ethnographic field studies develops new theoretical insights into the diverse outcomes of international migration and the influences of regional diasporas within India. These collected studies illustrate the various ways in which migrants remain socially, economical and politically influential in their home regions. The book develops a fresh perspective on the connections between transnational migration and processes of development, revealing how provincial India has become deeply globalized. It will be of interest to academics and students in the fields of anthropology, geography, transnational and diaspora studies, and South Asian studies.
The literature on innovation in Africa is rapidly expanding, and a recurring thread in the emergent literature is the pervasiveness of systemic weaknesses that inhibit the innovation process. Despite these, firms are able to innovate in Africa. It is then logical to ask: how do African firms manage to overcome the prevalent constraints and learn to innovate? This book directly tackles this question, with a view to improving our understanding of the innovation landscape in Africa. The book brings together some of the latest innovation research from across the African continent, ranging from Tanzania and Ethiopia in the east to Nigeria in the west. The chapters included in the collection adopt different but complementary theoretical and methodological approaches to address a rich mix of interrelated issues. These issues include the factors that enhance or inhibit innovation in African firms, the sources of (knowledge/information for) innovation, policy options for overcoming constraints and facilitating firm-level innovation, the nature and roles of brokers and intermediaries in dealing with innovation constraints and in facilitating the innovation process and the role of interactive learning and acquisition of embodied technology in the innovation process. This book was originally published as a special issue of Innovation and Development.
The fourth volume in the "Handbook of Comparative Economic Policies," this book provides an overview of the development problems and experiences of developing countries. Rather than focusing on development economics per se, the volume discusses the problems faced by developing countries, the way they sought to overcome those problems, and their progress in overcoming the problems. Written by renowned international experts in development economics, the chapters provide the most comprehensive and current comparative studies available, making the handbook a useful tool for students of development economics, economists, and policy makers.
In this new book, twenty of the nation's foremost technology management experts have pooled their vast knowledge and experience to bring you the first comprehensive, fully integrated guide to effectively managing new technology throughout the product development process. From the generation of a viable product idea to the launch of that product into the marketplace, this in-depth survey takes you sequentially through the life cycle development of a new product/technology and presents proven methods for managing the activities required at each stage in the process. You'll find detailed coverage of the full range of technology management issues, including conceptualizing new products and technologies; defining markets and users for new technologies; organizing for technology and innovation; managing technical professionals and project teams; managing the new product development effort; and transforming R&D and manufacturing capabilities. Using examples of actual industrial applications, the book fully explores such key concepts as compressing cycle times... parallel development methods... using teams and task forces... managing customer interfaces... the strategic management of technology... managing technology in global markets... co-venturing... and more. In addition, summary guidelines demonstrate how engineering, R&D, and marketing managers can apply these concepts within their own organizations.
This book shows how domestic political institutions and the lack of time pressure have an impact on negotiations at the WTO. It provides detailed information on WTO ministerial meetings as well as on the political economy of trade policy in the EU, U.S., Brazil, and Australia.
This pathbreaking book analyzes a highly successful participatory development program in Indonesia, exploring its distinctive origins and design principles and its impacts on local conflict dynamics and social institutions.
The contributors respond to the absence of critical debate surrounding the ways in which spaces of the city do not merely contain, but also constitute, urban poverty. The volume explores how the spaces of the city actively produce and reproduce urban poverty.
This book presents a comprehensive analysis of the existing nature of India's groundwater laws. In the backdrop of the gravity of groundwater crisis that threatens to engulf the country, the book examines the correlation between the imperfections in the law and water crisis and advocates a reform agenda to overhaul the legal framework. It accomplishes this objective by examining how some of the States and Union Territories regulate and manage groundwater through the legal instrumentality against the backdrop of the two conflicting paradigms: the "elitist" and the "egalitarian." The book's fundamental premise is that despite being an extraordinarily critical resource that supports India's burgeoning population's ever-increasing water demands, groundwater is abused and mismanaged. The key argument that it posits is that the elitist paradigm must give way to an egalitarian one where groundwater is treated as a common property resource. To place this message in perspective, the book's introduction explains the dichotomy between the two paradigms in the context of groundwater. This sets the stage, after which the book is divided thematically into three parts. The first part deals with some of the general groundwater management concerns brought to the fore by the operation of the elitist paradigm. Since water is constitutionally a State subject, the second part analyses the groundwater legislations of different States and Union Territories set against their unique circumstances. As these laws do not dismantle the elitist paradigm that interlocks groundwater rights to land rights, the next part articulates the legal reform agenda where a case is made to re-engineer groundwater laws to reflect a more sustainable basis. The findings and arguments resonate with the situation in many developing countries around the world due to which the book is a valuable resource for researchers across disciplines studying this area, and also for policy makers, think tanks, and NGOs. Groundwater Management-Inter-state Water Conflicts-Aquifers-Water Markets-Water Security-Water Law Reform-Groundwater Law-Water Law-Sustainable Development-Hydrology
An encyclopedic dictionary that treats organizations, persons, and federal legislation that document the history of grass-roots community organizing. Focusing on neighborhood associations in the US from the 1880s to the present, the work includes more than 100 signed entries, which average one to two pages each. Numerous cross-references and thorough name and subject indexes are included. . . . The] excellent bibliographic essay by Robert Fisher contains] 12 pages of accessible books, articles, and papers on the topic as a whole and by time period. The editor has also provided a useful introductory essay on the changing notion of neighborhood. This well-planned and well-edited resource is further enhanced by its attractive typography and layout. Highly recommended to academic libraries with programs in sociology, social work, local politics, and urban history, and to all urban public libraries. "Choice" This new historical dictionary brings together informaton about the formative years of community organization and material on the more recent explosion in the organization of America's urban areas. The organizational activities included in this volume focus on the geographical community rather than on issue-oriented activities; are dedicated to the involvement of neighborhood residents in both the planning and implementation of local activities; and share a commitment to provide not only fuller services but also to serve as agents for potential social change.
Provides a comprehensive and in-depth examination of the ongoing process of development and societal transformation in a dynamic region of the Third World. Written by a team of specialists from the fields of development studies, sociology and political economy, the book looks at some of the fundamental problems facing South East Asia by addressing the following issues: the social constellations; class, culture and political legitimation; and industrialisation and labour regulation. |
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