Participatory action research in local development: an opportunity for social work

Even if related to the seminal work of Kurt Lewin dating back to 1946, participatory approaches like action research still represent a relevant theoretical and practical set of methodologies for social work and research. In this article, after a brief overview of this methodological approach, the use of this paradigm in social work is explored, with a special focus on the development of symbolic and material resources within local communities. The processes and forms of involvement are examined with regard to the Italian experience of local development. An application of the participatory methodology stemming from a phenomenological approach proposed by Achille Ardigò, a well-known Italian sociologist, is employed. Following these premises, a procedural model enhancing the development of social groups is considered as the building block of community development. Short examples are provided. It is concluded that, in the process of local development, the symbolic and the immaterial dimensions need to be stimulated, as well as the material and the infrastructural ones. In order to achieve this, correct tools are needed.     

Religion and community philanthropic organizations: The case of the United Jewish Appeal‐Federation of New York

This article explores the processes that occur when community philanthropic organizations develop religious expressions and practices by examining the shifts that took place within the United Jewish Appeal‐Federation of New York between 1990 and 2014. As the findings indicate, the gradual integration of ethnoreligious practices, norms, and expressions into the Federation's missions, routine, activities, and distribution of resources, as well as among staff and volunteers, reshaped the Federation's identity and faith‐based orientation. This process led the Federation to move beyond being a faith‐background organization toward becoming a faith‐affiliated organization, expressing Jewish beliefs through its charitable work and philanthropic activities. The article highlights the resulting dilemmas and obstacles faced by the Federation and concludes with a discussion of the implications for understanding the process of increased religion among community philanthropic organizations.     

Domestic institutions and foreign assistance in Haiti: Requisites for economic development

Considering institutional and geographic explanations for economic development, the institutional thesis is relevant to explain the historically weak governance structure, even as there have been robust foreign assistance efforts for development in recent years. Taken together, the weak role of the state and low levels of human development are evidence of the challenges. Reviewing the post‐colonial legacy of Haiti, and its impact on economic development, this article discusses the lack of an integral state resulting in weak institutions. Especially since the earthquake in early 2010, the international development community has been an essential partner for reform initiatives, which will require accountable and inclusive domestic institutions to be effective.     

Public‐private partnerships (PPPs) in development policy: Exploring the concept and practice

Public‐private partnerships (PPPs) have proliferated in development studies over the past decades. However, the partnership notion often remains loosely defined, thus making it difficult to grasp the concept and evaluate practice. This article aims to contribute to conceptual and empirical exploration of the PPP concept. Based on a comprehensive review of the literature, we frame eight characteristics of PPPs in development policy. Turning then to exploration of empirical practice, we present a longitudinal analysis of PPPs in Danish development policy over a 20‐year period. The conceptual and empirical insights are aimed at PPP development researchers and practitioners alike.     

Policy strategies for economic development in Cuba: A simulation model analysis

The economic reforms implemented in Cuba since 2008 do not adequately deal with the structural issues that hamper the country's economic development. The article presents a system dynamics model to investigate Cuba's development process, and a simulation analysis to compare different policy scenarios that may be realized in the future as economic reforms will continue. The results indicate that the most effective development policy would be to combine active public policies to enhance the research and development sector on the one hand, and to foster the emergence of an efficient private sector that will develop the capital infrastructure of the economy on the other.     

Local economic development and urban poverty alleviation: the experience of post-apartheid South Africa

Urban poverty is a policy issue of growing significance in post-apartheid South Africa. In terms of the new Constitution the developmental role of local governments is given considerable attention. Against a background analysis of the best practice of local anti-poverty strategies in the developing world, this paper reviews the experience of eight case studies of local economic development (LED) initiatives. The case studies review a cluster of research findings from South African metropolitan areas (Midrand, Port Elizabeth, inner-city Durban, Khayelitsha and Winterveld) followed by issues from secondary cities (Nelspruit, Harrismith) and small towns (Stutterheim). A key conclusion from the experience of post-apartheid South Africa is that LED practitioners are currently struggling to find means to integrate their LED initiatives with the task of poverty alleviation.     

The contribution of the intervention in social networks and community social work at the local level to social and human development

ABSTRACT

The primary task of community social work is building social networks by reinforcing people's resources and those of the different environmental and social contexts from three dimensions: personal development, social development and organisational development. The new information technologies today establish a relationship of communication with local communities and citizens that promotes proximity to social networks. Social intervention is supported by a set of methods from human geography that can be used as tools to create maps of the territory and the networks for planning, diagnosing and classifying the management of community network intervention. In this discussion we set out to analyse the contribution of the intervention in social networks as a means of achieving a new configuration of social networks at the local level. This information is obtained from semi-structured interviews with social workers and other professionals in the social sphere in municipalities with over 100,000 inhabitants in the Madrid region (Spain). The research results show that intervention in social networks locally multiplies the opportunities to enhance the quality of people's social relationships, thus expanding their social support by strengthening their bonds, their personal network and support systems; secondly, it increases empowerment to facilitate a type of intervention to strengthen human potential and to gain autonomy and full citizenship.     

Trying to stay ahead of the curve in Chile's economic development: exploring a way out of the middle‐income trap through pragmatic export development

Underneath impressive growth levels, the Chilean economy displays signs of being caught in a middle‐income trap. It has been unable to improve its productivity, increase the added value of its exports or upgrade its value chain. Its economy cannot compete either with low‐wage countries or highly productive, innovative countries. Its export strategy based on export promotion seems to have outlived its usefulness. It achieved remarkable quantitative success, but must now attend qualitative attributes. Instead of regarding market‐driven export promotion and state‐led export development as substitutes, this article proposes to view them as alternatives in different stages of development. To choose the appropriate time, more attention should be given to non‐traditional, structural indicators, like export sophistication and political‐institutional capabilities.     

Mechanisms for participation in the public system of social services in Spain: opportunities for the development of social work with a citizenist approach

ABSTRACT

This article presents an analysis of the opportunities for participation of citizens in the public system of social services in Spain and their impact on the design, implementation, execution and evaluation of public policies of social services at a municipal level. The study also involved performing a comparative analysis of cases, assessing the impact, in terms of contributions and possibilities of the councils, upon the increased democratization of local public policies in terms of social welfare and the improvement of the efficiency with which social services and benefits are managed. The results of these investigations permit us, first of all, to present the diverse opportunities on offer for participation at a regional level in social services in Spain and then to identify, from its participants, dimensions that intensify processes of democratization and therefore help to improve efficiency of public well-being policies at a municipal level. In the case of the autonomous communities, we must highlight the changes that new social services laws have brought about in terms of widening citizens’ participation and opening up feedback for users of the system at a local level. In addition, this article discusses the role of different typologies and explores mechanisms, bodies and processes of participation that are applied in the design, management and assessment of social services policies at a local level. Finally, we determine which factors help to increase the efficiency of social public policies, as revealed by increases in citizens’ participation in local governance.     

Social determinants of health in the Human Services: a conceptual model and road map for action

The Social Determinants of Health Framework is well known as a reliable way to understand and predict poor health outcomes and health inequities among individuals who are disproportionately impacted by poverty, discrimination, residential segregation, and other social problems. Since becoming recognized by the public health profession as key to addressing the root causes of poor health among these individuals, integration of social determinants of health (SDOH) interventions in the health-care industry has become a national and global priority. This essay offers a theoretical and practical explanation of the integration of the SDOH in the Human Services by proposing key recommendations and strategies for Human Services Organizations (HSOs) and providers to implement new practices, policies, and research methods that may ameliorate the conditions that create inequities in health.     

Policy and practice: non‐governmental organisations and the health delivery system for displaced children in khartoum,Sudan

The civil war in Sudan and natural disasters have led to the displacement of many people of whom 2.2 million live in and around Khartoum, half of whom are under the age of 18. These children, living in barren, remote areas, must find ways to survive and meet their basic needs of food, shelter, health and education. This article focuses on the work of an international organisation working in health services for displaced people in one of the camps in Khartoum in order to argue the case for a rights‐based approach to health care, for separate provision of services to adolescent mothers, for education on sexual and reproductive health for children before they become sexually active, and for sexual and reproductive health services and education for adolescent boys and men. This article concentrates on health education, in particular sexual and reproductive rights and how gender‐based differences impact on the health and well‐being of children. By concentrating almost exclusively on pregnant and lactating women and children under five, the organisation may reduce the possibility of successful outcomes for women and may not contribute to the reduction of sexually transmitted diseases, early pregnancy and related morbidity and mortality. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An application of the nonprofit virtual accountability index: Accountability in sport for development and peace

In this research note, we examine web-based accountability practices of human service nonprofits. Data were collected directly from the organizational websites of an international sample of 532 organizations involved in operating sport for social change programs, more commonly known as the field of sport for development and peace. Websites were coded using the nonprofit virtual accountability index—a theoretically grounded and robust tool—to measure information and interactivity available for stakeholders across five dimensions of accountability. Analyses of variance and independent t-tests were used to test potential group differences based on geographical region, the thematic types of social change efforts, and the type of sport used to deliver programming. The results of this analysis highlight the critical importance of geographical location and other organizational variables for web-based accountability practices. Furthermore, the results allow nonprofit leaders to identify common areas in need of improvement for smaller and emerging nonprofits.     

Religion in the everyday lives of second‐generation Jains in Britain and the USA: resources offered by a dharma‐based South Asian religion for the construction of religious biographies,and negotiating risk and uncertainty in late modern societies

While the growth of spiritualties is associated with post‐traditional societies and the ability of individuals to engage in reflexive construction of religious biographies in late modernity, these arguments ignore various dimensions of reflexivity and processes of re‐traditionalization. In this article I explore linkages and affinity between social discourses in late modernity and a religion, with a distinctive ontology, originating in South Asia. Drawing on qualitative data, I examine processes involved in the construction of a religious self among second‐generation Jains in Britain and the USA. Living in late modern societies, young Jains have established a reflexive habitus. Such reflexivity has affinity with a neo‐orthodox tendency in Jainism that rejects the authority of ascetics and rituals while elevating one's own knowledge, discipline and insights in the construction of a Jain biography. I find that neo‐orthodox Jainism provides resources for young Jains to constantly reflect on and actively choose how to be a Jain; to enact cataphatic reflexivity in the construction of a Jain self. For some second‐generation Jains, the Jain tradition also provides resources to enact a non‐instrumental, apophatic reflexivity; a calm equanimous state that enables them to create ontological security in the face of risks and uncertainty in late modernity.