Lapses,infidelities, and creative adaptations: Lessons from evaluation of a participatory market development approach in the Andes

Participatory approaches are frequently recommended for international development programs, but few have been evaluated. From 2007 to 2010 the Andean Change Alliance evaluated an agricultural research and development approach known as the “Participatory Market Chain Approach” (PMCA). Based on a study of four cases, this paper examines the fidelity of implementation, the factors that influenced implementation and results, and the PMCA change model. We identify three types of deviation from the intervention protocol (lapses, creative adaptations, and true infidelities) and five groups of variables that influenced PMCA implementation and results (attributes of the macro context, the market chain, the key actors, rules in use, and the capacity development strategy). There was insufficient information to test the validity of the PMCA change model, but results were greatest where the PMCA was implemented with highest fidelity. Our analysis suggests that the single most critical component of the PMCA is engagement of market agents – not just farmers – throughout the exercise. We present four lessons for planning and evaluating participatory approaches related to the use of action and change models, the importance of monitoring implementation fidelity, the limits of baseline survey data for outcome evaluation, and the importance of capacity development for implementers.     

The witch doctor's pharmacist

This article explores the state of, and prospects for, training and development within the South African maritime industry, and is based on a series of in-depth interviews conducted with employers, the principal union, training institutions and regulatory bodies. Findings are that a deeply embedded racial division of labour persists, that there is a serious shortage of employment opportunities, and that training and certification remain fragmented. The article concludes that the quality of training provided is of a high standard, but there is a vital need for a coherent overall policy linking initial training with employment opportunities, ongoing skills development and the promotion of greater equality.     

INFORMATION INTERDEPENDENCE: Keohane and Nye's complex interdependence in the information age

A well-known and respected attempt to theorize interdependence in the field of international relations is complex interdependence. In Power and Interdependence , Robert O. Keohane and Joseph S. Nye, Jr define interdependence as reciprocal effects among actors resulting from 'international transactions - flows of money, goods, people and messages across international boundaries'. Though much research has been done on the effects of interdependence on the first three, the flows of messages have been studied less often. Keohane and Nye addressed the issue in a 1998 article in Foreign Affairs , discussing changes in the global environment resulting from the information age which have had an impact on their ideas. This article proposes to go deeper into complex interdependence. The world is becoming increasingly 'information interdependent' and this essay is an attempt to apply the assumptions and concepts presented in complex interdependence to the information age. In the final analysis, complex interdependence complements research from the field of communications, that information flows should be understood as underlying mechanisms and processes that facilitate contextual understanding of issues. It maintains the integrity of the assumptions of complex interdependence, while adding an understanding of the nature of information and information flows.     

‘A load too heavy’: Critical reflections on the child labor problem in Africa's small-scale mining sector

This paper provides an extended analysis of the child labor problem in the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector, focusing specifically on the situation in sub-Saharan Africa. In recent years, the issue of child labor in ASM has garnered significant attention from the International Labor Organization (ILO), which has been particularly active in raising public awareness of the problem; and, has proceeded to implement policies and collaborative project work aimed at curtailing children's participation in ASM activities in a number of African countries. The analysis concludes with a critical appraisal of an ILO project recently launched in the Talensi–Nabdam District in the Upper East Region of Ghana, which sheds light on how the child labor problem is being tackled in practice in ASM communities in sub-Saharan Africa.     

环渤海区域物流国际合作研究

环渤海地区目前所面临的竞争十分激烈,加快这一地区的区域物流国际合作研究具有十分重要的意义。由于这一地区临近日韩东北亚经济圈,距离东北和华北也十分近,因此具有十分优越的物流优势,这些优势表现在:首先,具有地理资源优势,其次,具有交通优势,第三政策扶持优势,第四,辐射优势。但是,这一地区的物流发展却存在一些障碍,一个是区域性国际经济合作的结构性障碍,另一个是区域内经济合作开展不充分。为了解决这一问题,应该采取加强海港和空港物流合作,发展大型国际物流企业集团,加强基础性物流合作,加强发展区域物流措施的交流等措施。     

华洋义赈会与二十世纪二三十年代的农村信用合作社

20世纪二三十年代,中国农村陷入空前危机,华洋义赈会在合作思潮的影响下应运而生。他们通过与银行联合提供贷款,部分满足了小农对资金的渴求,一定程度上抑制了农村高利贷的盘剥。但是,从这些农村合作社借贷资金的来源和构成状况上,我们可以看到合作社的社内资金极其微小,转而不得不依赖于社外资金,而社外资金对于农村合作社的支撑又极不稳定,从而限制了合作社对农村社会变革所发挥的作用。     

Distance education and international social work education

As a result of the development of new communication technology, distance education has become a rapidly growing area over the last few decades. Market and commercial pressures are major factors in its developing impact. Distance education has also been applied to social work education. Because it is a small field it may be both positively and negatively affected. Social work education requires face-to-face communication training. Educators need to respond to the limitations of distance education technologies and processes to provide for cultural and linguistic diversity, through openness to joint work across different cultures, anti-standardisation and -discrimination, reflexivity, user control and resources, and cultural and language translation.     

我国企业应对美国反垄断诉讼的策略研究

应对美国对华反垄断诉讼案的策略研究，是一项庞大的系统工程。针对低价出口将会遭到反倾销制裁，而高价出口又可能遭到反垄断诉讼这一矛盾关系,提出“我国企业应对美国反垄断诉讼的策略研究”之主题，并结合相关案例，具体分析了应对美国反垄断的抗辩策略，以引起我出口生产、贸易行业企业对自觉维护经济安全问题的高度警觉和高度重视。     

International alliance commitment and performance of small and medium-size enterprises: The mediating role of process control

Improving alliance performance is a critical issue that both managers and researchers have attempted to resolve. Recently scholars have suggested that firms can use alliance commitment and process controls to improve alliance performance. Yet research has only found weak support for these direct effects. In this paper we examine the mediating role of process controls on the relationship between alliance commitment and alliance performance. When tested on samples of SMEs we find support for our theoretical predictions. We then discuss the managerial implications of using commitment and process controls in SME international alliances.     

国际新闻记者的素质分析

国际新闻在当今世界发挥着越来越重要的作用,而作为国际新闻报道的传者身份,国际新闻记者的地位和作用也渐渐凸显。本文从国际新闻的定义说起,分析了国际新闻记者所应具备的素质,如政治素质、专业素质、国际视野、受众意识及身体和心理素质等,并进一步指出了国际新闻记者素质亟需提高的迫切性。