Payment by results in international development: Evidence from the first decade

Payment by results is a relatively new way of giving development aid, where a recipient's performance against pre‐agreed measures determines the amount of aid they receive. Advocates for the mechanism argue it provides donors with both a ready justification for maintaining aid budgets and better results through innovation and autonomy. It has proved popular, with most bilateral aid donors having at least experimented with the mechanism and the variety of measures stretching from individual health workers being paid for each procedure, to national governments being paid for students' test scores. However, there has not been a robust assessment of whether Payment By Results (PbR) achieves its aims for greater effectiveness. I synthesize the evidence from eight projects fully or partially funded by DFID, the recognized world leader on PbR. This represents the best evidence currently available, and is critically analysed using the leading theoretical framework that breaks each agreement into its constituent parts. I find no evidence that PbR leads to fundamentally more innovation or autonomy, with the overall range of success and failure broadly similar to other aid projects. This may partly be due to the current use of Payment by Results, with no readily identifiable examples of projects that truly meet the idealized PbR designs. Advocates of PbR may thus conclude the idea is yet to be tested. I argue PbR does not deal with the fundamental constraints that donors face, and so it is unsurprising that PbR is subject to the normal pressures that affect all aid spending.     

Sixty years of “peaceful liberation” at the Tibet Museum in Lhasa: triumphant modernization at the rooftop of the world

In recent years, China has developed an increasingly ambitious public diplomacy program to enhance its soft power abroad. Although several scholars have sought to assess the effects of this program, little attention has been paid to the Chinese governmental conception of soft power and its use in propaganda. This article explores how the state's view of soft power is transformed into policy through the cultural bureaucracy and, conversely, how it limits the program's effectiveness. The article concludes that the limited success of soft power is due to the following main factors. First, although China's public diplomacy programs are planned and implemented in ways that reflect its domestic cultural policy, they are rarely successful even in their home markets. Second, China's conception of soft power focuses on top-down, State-centered image management, thereby overlooking the relational and context-dependent aspects of soft power.     

Through community eyes: the transition of international organizations from community aid to development in postconflict Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone experienced an 11-year civil war, brutalizing its people and destroying its communities. With the cessation of violence, international organizations helped to secure peace, deliver aid and supplies, and, after, assist with development projects. This grounded theory study, which aims to understand the role these organizations played from the viewpoint of community members in 2 communities, posits that community members’ regard of international organizations lessened as their efforts transitioned from securing the peace and relief efforts to aid for development. Highlighted are the successes and challenges of this work and a broad discussion of implications and recommendations.     

Agenda-Building role of state-owned media around the world: 2014 Hong Kong protest case

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to advance theoretical and practical knowledge of political public relations and mediated public diplomacy through analyzing the agenda-building relationships between state-owned media and foreign news coverage in 16 countries during the 2014 Hong Kong protest. The results indicated significant correlations of issues and stakeholders between the Chinese state-owned media and the English language media outlets of 16 foreign countries, thereby supporting the international agenda-building role of Chinese state-owned media. An exploratory analysis was conducted to test the role of intercultural or international relations variables in the agenda-building process.     

Capacity Building Contributions of Short-Term International Volunteers

Previous research suggests that international volunteer service may have both positive and negative effects on host organizations. Applying a capacity-building perspective, this study uses semistructured interviews to ask staff in hosting organizations to identify the main outcomes of short-term volunteer service. These views were compared with perspectives of staff from matched organizations that do not host international volunteers. Findings suggest that international volunteers may increase organizational capacity by supplying extra hands, providing technical and professional skills, contributing tangible resources, and enhancing intercultural understanding. Volunteers may also challenge organizations as they absorb staff time and resources. Staff members from both types of organizations identify individual and institutional variables that may affect the quality of these outcomes, including volunteers' language capacity and the intensity of the service placement.     

后危机时代国际投行的发展动向、发展趋势及其启示

自2008年发生全球性金融危机以来,国际投行发生了哪些重大变化,呈现怎样的发展趋势,由此给我国证券行业带来了哪些有益的借鉴和启示,这些都值得我们思考。本文试图对这些问题进行探讨,以期加强并进一步深化我国证券业的金融创新,加快建立证券业的自主创新体系,同时加强金融衍生品的全面审慎监管与风险控制,有效防范和化解金融风险,从而促进证券业的持续、稳定、健康发展。     

Managing national reputation and international relations in the global era: Public diplomacy revisited

The purpose of this paper is to review and re-examine the concept and practice of public diplomacy in light of the incredible pace of change in global politics and communication, and to discuss implications for future research. It first explains the significance of national reputation and its linkage to public diplomacy. It then surveys and assesses a broad range of literature on public diplomacy, characterized by three basic discourses: public diplomacy as policy-driven rather than relationship-based, the primacy of nation-state governments in the structure and process of public diplomacy, and an emphasis on mass media communication. The paper finally suggests and outlines further research efforts based on the existing literature and the evolving contexts.     

物联网发展模式及推进战略国际经验借鉴与启示

借鉴国际上主要国家(地区)物联网产业发展的推进战略及发展模式,结合上海实际情况,目前上海应该主要采取政府主导的发展模式,以技术发展的基本方向为依据,以推动服务提供商的应用服务创新为重点,确定物联网的基本商业模式,以商业模式整合物联网产业链,以市场创造带动新一轮技术升级和网络建设。政府应重视和调动民间的力量,提供引导机制,将推动物联网发展的政策重心适时转移到鼓励和支持服务提供商开拓应用市场和开发商业模式上来。     

Charm offensive: mediatized country image transformations in international relations

ABSTRACT

This paper focuses on what has come to be known as a ‘charm offensive,’ a diplomatic technique countries may use to shift their international image through strategic public relations campaigns utilizing personal magnetism. The charm of the selected representative is meant to appeal to a broad international audience with the hope of improving the country's brand. The paper examines the concept and practice of a charm offensive through two case studies. The first is the Iranian charm offensive during the 2015 negotiations of the nuclear deal with the United States, when Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mohammad Javad Zarif aimed to improve his country's controversial international image through gentle, diplomatic communication and an aura of civility. The second case study is the charm offensive of North Korea from the 2018 Winter Olympics until the historic meeting of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald J. Trump in June 2018. Both case studies analyze the media representations of the particular charm offensive in two countries, the United States and a regionally more proximate, and therefore likely more directly affected country: Israel and South Korea, respectively. I argue that quick image-transformations often characterize contemporary, highly mediatized international diplomatic communication. Unlike classical cases of soft power, the temporary alliances forged through charm offensives are not built on shared values, but on momentary appearances, and sometimes on deception.     

Occupational inequalities in volunteering participation: Using detailed data on jobs to explore the influence of habits and circumstances

In this paper we present empirical results that show that detailed occupations have distinctive patterns of association with voluntary participation. We draw upon data from four secondary survey datasets from the UK (coverage 1972–2012). Occupations are shown to link to volunteering in a wide range of scenarios and in individual, household, and longitudinal contexts. We argue that these linkages provide insight into social inequalities in volunteering, and that they can help us to understand the relative influence of “circumstance” and “habits” in enabling or inhibiting voluntary participation.     

Public-private partnerships: How institutional linkages help to build organizational legitimacy in an international environment

Gaining legitimacy in their host country environment is a key priority for multinational corporations’ public relations efforts since it secures their local social license to operate. By applying neo-institutional public relations to corporate diplomacy, this paper argued that institutional linkages between corporations and local government could enhance the building of legitimacy. The study sought to determine whether institutional relations affect the perception of organizational legitimacy, focusing on the United Arab Emirates. In non-democratic countries, public relations tends to be perceived as less sophisticated, and legitimacy becomes even more critical for foreign corporations. Therefore, a one-factorial (corporate diplomacy with/ without governmental involvement) between-subjects experimental design study surveying a representative sample of residents in the United Arab Emirates (N = 199) was conducted. The results imply that corporate diplomacy with governmental linkages leads to a higher perception of moral, pragmatic, and regulative organizational legitimacy, partially mediated by media credibility, governmental legitimacy, and issue legitimacy.     

Qualitative benefits of livestock development programmes. Evidence from the Kaonafatso ya Dikgomo (KyD) Scheme in South Africa

The objective of the study was to develop an index which circumvents the need for quantitative measures in evaluating Livestock Development Programmes (LDPs). This was done through a conceptual framework which integrates indexing and the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework (SLF) to attain qualitative benefits. The study utilised a cross-sectional survey of Kaonafatso ya Dikgomo (KyD) Scheme participants in KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape and Limpopo Provinces, South Africa, as a case. Data were collected through a questionnaire. Multiple sampling methods were used to identify 164 respondents. The results showed low benefits as exhibited by an index of 0.26. The Scheme showed highest benefits through social capital, followed by human, natural, financial and physical capital, respectively. The study concluded that concentrating on income proxies through conventional cost-benefit analysis (CBA) tends to mask the qualitative benefits exhibited by livestock improvement programmes. The theoretical lessons learnt included the exhibition and possibility of measuring qualitative benefits through indexing. Recommendations include further inquiry and refining the construction of the index to circumvent its subjectivity.     

An analysis of other countries’ international public relations in the U.S.

The purpose of this study was to examine the various aspects of international public relations by other countries in the U.S. Based on the Foreign Agency Registration Act (FARA) report in 2002, this study analyzed client, activity types, purpose of activity, and key U.S. partners for activity. This study found that (1) business organizations and central governments were major clients of international public relations in the U.S., (2) meeting with governmental officials and congressional leaders was the primary type of activity followed by information dissemination, and (3) economic purpose led by trade promotion was the primary motive for these activities.     

Ethnic enclaves transcending space Chinese international students’ social networks in a European University town

ABSTRACT

Each ethnic enclave has its own idiosyncrasies, leading to disagreements as to the functions they serve for the migrants inhabiting them. However, three main functions may be identified across scholarly literature: shielding, economic and cultural. This article explores to what extent the spatial organization of the ethnic enclave is necessary for fulfilling these functions by taking the case of the Chinese international students in a Norwegian town. These students comprise a relatively cohesive group, and their conational social networks serve most of the same purposes of ethnic enclaves without the need for a separate neighbourhood. While most of their material needs are met, the students still express a lack of belonging, a need for a place that is ‘for us’, and they present an example of how an ethnic space is constructed without the need for a traditional ‘Chinatown’.     

Bringing experiential educational groups to the United States: an analysis of group development in an international travel and study program

International exchanges and travel and study projects have been gaining popularity in many fields including social work. Embedded in a group context, the success of these initiatives depends heavily on the group process of all members involved. This article analyzes the impact group dynamics have on an international travel and study project that brought 11 doctoral students and their dean from Ethiopia for a one-month experiential education program. A model of group development, which emphasizes behavioral outcomes in groups (forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning), is presented as an organizing framework. The discussion draws on a qualitative analytical study, which revisits Tuckman's model, and proposes a revised model that defines group development stages by individual, group, purpose, and work concerns that drive conflict throughout all group stages. Implications for social work education include de-emphasizing stages of group development, being mindful about what is known about small groups, and improving empirical research and training for leading international groups.     

Having it all overseas: Aid workers and the international division of reproductive labour

This article examines the dynamics of power and privilege at work in international development through the prism of domestic service for expat aid workers in developing countries. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork amid aid workers and their domestic staff in Dakar, Senegal, I argue that access to affordable care work greatly enhances the lives of women who work overseas in development. The postcolonial underdevelopment and poverty that aid work addresses is paradoxically critical to the aid workers' own access to affordable care, family balance and the means to do their jobs. I put this insight into the larger scholarly conversation about domestic work and global inequality, including on the Global Care Chain.     

Policy development: An analysis of disability inclusion in a selection of African Union policies

Contemporary debates in international development discourse are concerned with the non‐tokenistic inclusion and participation of marginalized groups in the policy‐making process in developing countries. This is directly relevant to disabled people in Africa, which is the focus of this article. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities delineates the principles of inclusion in society. Furthermore, the African Union (AU) plays a key role in advising its Member States about disability issues, and this advice should be reflected in disability‐inclusive policies. This article analyses nine policy or strategy documents produced by the AU, covering the policy domains of education, health, employment and social protection that are crucial to the inclusion of disabled people in international development. These were analysed according to seven discrete elements (rights, accessibility, inclusivity, implementation plans, budgetary allocations, enforcement mechanisms or disaggregated management information systems) using a rating scale of one to four, with four being the highest level of inclusion. The process (for example, level of consultation), the context (for example, the Sustainable Development Goals) and actors involved in the policy development were reviewed as far as was possible from the documents. None of the policies reached even 50% of the total possible score, indicating poor levels of genuine inclusion. Rights scored a highest rating, but still at a low level. This suggests that there is recognition of the rights of disabled people to inclusion, but this is not generally integrated within inclusive implementation plans, budgetary allocations, enforcement mechanisms or disaggregated management information systems for monitoring. The limited socio‐economic inclusion of disability within AU policies is a lost opportunity that should be reviewed and rectified. The findings have broader ramifications for the non‐tokenistic and genuine involvement of poor and marginalized groups in the international policy‐making arena.     

Antecedents of Total Factor Productivity Change: Empirical Evidence from the Chinese Banking Sector

By applying the non-parametric Malmquist Productivity Index (MPI) method, this paper attempts to investigate the sources of productivity changes of China’s State Owned Commercial Banks (SOCBs) and Joint Stock Commercial Banks (JSCBs) during the period 2000–2005. The empirical findings suggest that the China banking sector has exhibited productivity progress attributed to the increase in efficiency. The empirical findings suggest that the SOCBs and the JSCBs have exhibited productivity progress of 0.2 and 1.3%, respectively.

Broadening the scope: Gender and international economic development

The central claim of this essay is that gender is a key term for understanding economic development insofar as it reveals fundamental aspects in the organization of production and labor. Following a cursory review of influential approaches to development and their relationship to the parallel theorization of gender, I compare two recent modalities of industrial restructuring: the expansion of export-processing plants (maquiladoras) along the U.S.-Mexico border and the survival strategies of electronics firms in Southern California. My theoretical focus is on the specification of gender as a process that allows for the maintenance of a substratum of labor, predominantly female, outside of market exchanges. That labor is recurrently tapped by employers seeking competitive edges in domestic and international markets. The same mechanism enables the replication of patterns of unequal exchange through the articulation of two interdependent models of production — one domestic and one market oriented — by which capitalist accumulation is fulfilled.