Brazil's International Development Co‐operation: Old and New Motivations

Brazil has entered the world of development assistance, but with its own twist. This article argues that Brazil is taking a cross‐government policy approach to the provision of development assistance, and which includes recruitment of business interests. There is a genuine concern with global poverty alleviation in Brazil, but this does not preclude policy‐makers from using aid and development‐related activities to advance national interests. The added quirk that sets Brazil apart from Northern counterparts is that the provision of development assistance offers significant benefits in terms of building up international bureaucratic experience inside the country and helping national firms internationalise their market activities.     

A shift in Western development agency thinking? The case for second best

This review essay illustrates a turn in Western development agency thinking in two recent publications intended for development agencies and African “reformers,” by authors with long careers in Western development institutions. Both publications explicitly reject – at least for the short to medium term – a comprehensive “good governance” approach to development. Subsequently, a publication entitled Violence and Social Orders, authored by three American scholars with an interest in the role of institutions in historical change, is reviewed since it is a crucial influence in the consolidation of this turn in thinking. This new Western approach is more restrained in its ambition to introduce new governance institutions in the developing world. This implies that it is prepared to tolerate what it considers to be imperfections in both the state and the market, viewing these as a second best result (in the short to medium term) in exchange for greater chances of realising positive development outcomes over the long term.     

Good Governance as Managerialism: Rationalisation and International Donors in Vietnam's Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Sector

Donors’ appreciation of their relationship with Vietnam as a ‘mature development partnership’ requires explanation. Drawing on Rural Water Supply and Sanitation policy, the article argues that the success of donor collaboration with Vietnam is based on Vietnamese political culture coincidentally aligning with a managerialist ‘world culture’, presently extant in the form of neoliberal ‘good governance’ development orthodoxy. The article shows that Vietnam ‘delivers’ rationalised development policy to international donors through its system of state administration and planning, the implementation of target‐oriented planning and the role of statistics in the policy process. The strength of the ‘darling’ partnership is explained in relation to this cultural dimension of legitimacy creation through the performance of rational development planning and administration.     

浅谈公立医院医疗慈善救助基金的设立

在2006年全国卫生工作会议上首次明确提出公立医院要建立医疗救助基金。医疗慈善救助基金的建立有十分重要的现实意义,是解决目前公立医院欠费困扰、切实帮助弱势人群的需要;是顺应国际惯例,为慈善资金帮助医疗弱势人群搭建平台的需要;是解决民政部门实行的医疗救助基金医院无法受益的需要;也是树立公立医院良好的公益形象,为合法赞助提供渠道的需要。文章分析了基金建立的可行性和面临的主要困难,提出了基金的建立、管理、募集等一系列设想。     

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.     

How to promote institutional reforms in the agricultural sector? A case study of Uganda's National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS)

This study provides alternative explanations to the limited success of the National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS) programme in Uganda, which was considered a role model for a demand‐driven, decentralized and market‐oriented agricultural extension reform in Africa. The analysis shows that the reform process was shaped by the interaction of two coalitions of actors: a donor‐dominated coalition that pushed for radical reform and advocated the total overhaul of the existing structures and the creation of new ones, with the aim of changing the mindset of the extension workers and managers towards the adoption of a more efficient, farmer‐oriented and performance‐based system. The other was a domestic coalition that believed in a “gradual” or “incremental” approach to promote changes and adjustments in the existing system to make it more efficient and accountable. This group was opposed to the complete overhaul of the existing extension system—taking an apparently more conservative stance. The study shows that the exclusion of the gradual reform coalition in the design and early implementation of NAADS increased the vulnerability of the programme to political capture and governance problems.     

Open Mic: reciprocity,parallel process,and mutual aid in a discussion group for faculty working with adult students

ABSTRACT

This article describes Open Mic on Mentoring Practices, a mostly online and occasionally in-person discussion group for faculty and professionals at a geographically dispersed public college serving adult students. The evolution, purpose, membership, and themes present in the group discussions are explored. Specific group dynamics of Open Mic follow, including the role of parallel process, mutual aid and reciprocity, are addressed, with attention to their relevance for adult learners. Finally, the paper ends with a discussion of challenges, surprises, and recommendations for replication or adaptation of Open Mic groups.     

关于高校家庭经济困难学生认定工作的思考

高校家庭经济困难学生的准确认定是做好资助工作的基础,但目前学校认定、学生个人申请及生源地认定的结果之间存在较大的差距,这就需要从加强宣传,建立诚信,转变观念,改革资助方式,优化并准确掌握学生信息,重视思政育人,加强研究和队伍建设多个方面入手,改进认定措施。