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1 – 10 of over 4000Argues the importance of foreign aid for industrial developmentprogrammes in Africa. Suggests desirable management and administrativeobjectives and outcomes of foreign aid for…
Abstract
Argues the importance of foreign aid for industrial development programmes in Africa. Suggests desirable management and administrative objectives and outcomes of foreign aid for industrial development in terms of discussion of the strategic adaptation to foreign aid culture and “tame” industrial development base in Africa. Argues that African countries should make effective use of foreign aid received from the developed countries. But for this to take place, African countries should examine foreign aid in terms of commodities that can be bought and sold. Suggests that foreign aid should be “project‐tied” and its implementation closely monitored. Discusses the effects of foreign aid on industrial development in Africa.
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Amy Beech, Do Won Kwak and Kam Ki Tang
The purpose of this paper is to explore the interdependence between donor countries’ health aid expenditures. The specific form of interdependence considered is the leader effect…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the interdependence between donor countries’ health aid expenditures. The specific form of interdependence considered is the leader effect, whereby an influential country has a positive leverage effect on other donor countries’ aid expenditure. The opposite case of a free-rider effect, whereby a single donor country has a negative leverage effect on its peers, is also considered.
Design/methodology/approach
Focusing on the identification of the leader effect avoids the estimation bias present in the identification of the peer group effect, due to endogenous social effect. The empirical analysis focuses on Development Assistance for Health provided by 20 OECD countries over the period of 1990-2009. Aid commitment and aid disbursement are distinguished.
Findings
When aid dynamics, country heterogeneity, and endogeneity are accounted for, there is no evidence that the biggest donor – the USA, or the most generous donors – Norway and Sweden, exhibit any leverage effects on other donor countries’ aid expenditures.
Originality/value
This is the first paper to examine the leader and free-rider effects in health aid provision as previous studies focus on peer effects. Any evidence of leader or free-rider effects (or the lack of it) adds to the understanding of international political economy especially in the area of foreign aid provision.
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Three main claims have generally been made regarding the beneficial impact of increased global integration on local women's movements. First, increased global integration is said…
Abstract
Three main claims have generally been made regarding the beneficial impact of increased global integration on local women's movements. First, increased global integration is said to create opportunities for local movements to participate in international conferences and partnerships with international organizations (Gray, Kittilson, & Sandholtz, 2006; Sassen, 1998, pp. 96–97). Second, it is said to help local movements participate in transnational networks that work together on global issues such as trafficking or domestic violence and are able to exert pressure both on transnational organizations such as the UN and the European Union and on national states to adopt policies that support norms of equality for women (Keck & Sikkink, 1998; Moghadam, 2000). Third, it is argued that both these forms of cross-border contact create opportunities for learning feminist framing strategies that focus on gender equality and freedom of choice and are superior to local forms of activism that are organized around motherhood or “parochial” identities (Sassen, 1998).
Nobuntu Sibisi and Anoosha Makka
The purpose of this paper is to understand the financial challenges experienced by non-profit organisations (NPOs) when implementing corporate social responsibility (CSR…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to understand the financial challenges experienced by non-profit organisations (NPOs) when implementing corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives in South Africa. These challenges have a negative impact on NPOs because they impede the successful implementation of CSR projects.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative research method and a purposive sampling strategy were used in this study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 employees from three NPOs in South Africa from the education, enterprise development and health and social development sectors. Content analysis was used to examine the data.
Findings
The findings revealed that NPOs in South Africa experience serious financial resource challenges, notably, overreliance on donor funding; difficulty in obtaining donor funding; limited donor funding available; intense competition from other non NPOs to secure donor funding; donors unwilling to fund operational costs and prescribing exactly how funds should be used; and donors signing non-binding contracts on the provision of funding.
Research limitations/implications
The sample size of the study was small, namely, three NPOs from Gauteng Province (Johannesburg) in South Africa. Therefore, this study covered only one geographic area of South Africa and the findings cannot be generalised across other provinces of the country.
Practical implications
The results of this study could have implications for donors and NPO employees involved in CSR activities in South Africa.
Originality/value
This study bridges a gap in literature by revealing the key financial challenges experienced by South African NPOs in implementing CSR initiatives and the impact of those challenges on their CSR efforts.
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Laurence Leigh, Michael Bist and Roxana Alexe
The aim of this paper is to motivate blood donation among international students and demonstrate the applicability of marketing techniques in the health care sector.
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to motivate blood donation among international students and demonstrate the applicability of marketing techniques in the health care sector.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper uses a combination of focus groups and a questionnaire‐based survey.
Findings
The paper finds that donors primarily find gratification from their altruistic acts through awareness of their contribution to saving lives. Receiving information on how each individual donation is used is seen as a powerful means of reinforcement. Practical benefits such as receiving free blood test information are also useful motivators, while communicating the professionalism of the blood collection techniques are important for reassuring the minority of prospective donors who expressed fears about possible risks associated with blood donation.
Research limitations/implications
Since this was a small‐scale study among Hungarian and international students in Budapest, further research is necessary to validate its results among other demographic groups.
Practical implications
Findings were reported to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in Hungary in order to increase blood donations among students in Hungary. Subject to validation through further research, applying recommended approaches in different countries and other demographic groups is suggested.
Originality/value
This is the first research paper on motivation toward blood donation among international students and offers new and practical suggestions for increasing their level of participation in blood drives.
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Joshua Sarpong, Sean Sturm and Cathy Gunn
In the era of the knowledge economy, universities are expected to contribute to the economic development of their countries. Therefore, their research agendas must be relevant to…
Abstract
In the era of the knowledge economy, universities are expected to contribute to the economic development of their countries. Therefore, their research agendas must be relevant to the local context and geared, though not uncritically, to the national educational agenda. To do this diligently requires research autonomy. However, due to the low government investment in research on the African continent, universities have had to rely on other sources of funding, which usually come with strings attached. Our study investigates the case of Ghana, in particular, the University of Ghana, the leading research university in the country. We drew on resource dependence theory, which suggests that, despite external pressures on universities, they can enhance their autonomy through the implementation of strategic measures. Primarily, we analyzed documents such as research reports, journal articles and speeches in the light of Clark’s (1998) model of the “entrepreneurial university,” which, if adapted with care and in a localized form in Ghana, may contribute to the research autonomy of its universities. We found that, although research autonomy in Ghanaian universities is limited due to their over-reliance on external donor funding, it is likely to be strengthened if the government of Ghana follows through on plans to increase research funding and universities continue with measures to diversify their funding sources.
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Rwandan foreign relations.
Details
DOI: 10.1108/OXAN-DB216734
ISSN: 2633-304X
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The purpose of this paper is to engage a contentious World Bank publication beyond its controversy. In particular, it assesses mechanisms that facilitate elite capture of foreign…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to engage a contentious World Bank publication beyond its controversy. In particular, it assesses mechanisms that facilitate elite capture of foreign aid and potential strategies of accountability.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper adopts desk research methodology, relying primarily upon journal papers, books and internet sources related to international development and corruption.
Findings
This paper isolates three factors that contribute to elite capture of foreign aid: the codified secrecy of offshore tax havens, customary clientelism and decentralised aid. Regarding accountability measures, it advocates decreasing livelihood dependence on local elites and encouraging meaningful involvement by civil society.
Originality/value
This paper de-sensationalises the controversial World Bank working paper, providing a contextualised reading that at the time of publication does not yet exist.
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The paper seeks to respond to calls by Jones for more studies exploring the possibility of operationalising accounting for biodiversity.
Abstract
Purpose
The paper seeks to respond to calls by Jones for more studies exploring the possibility of operationalising accounting for biodiversity.
Design/methodology/approach
Archival data are used to produce a natural inventory report for the Sundarbans, the world's largest mangrove forest declared as a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 2007.
Findings
The study extends prior research on biodiversity accounting by exploring the applicability of Jones' natural inventory model in the context of Bangladesh. The results indicate that application of Jones' natural inventory model is feasible in the context of developing countries such as Bangladesh. It is also recognised that the socio‐economic and political environment prevailing in developing economies may lead to the emergence of important stakeholder groups including local civil society bodies, international donor agencies and foreign governments. Biodiversity accounting may provide a legitimate basis for the government in allaying concerns regarding environmental stewardship and assist in negotiations with powerful stakeholder groups on important issues such as financial assistance after natural disasters and claims to the global climate change fund.
Originality/value
This is one of the early attempts to operationalise biodiversity accounting in the context of a developing economy.
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Isaac Sakyi Damoah and Desmond Kwadjo Kumi
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors that cause government construction projects failure in a developing economy.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors that cause government construction projects failure in a developing economy.
Design/methodology/approach
The study used the sequential data collection approach through an in-depth semi-structured interview (16 participants) and questionnaire survey (230 participants) to solicit their perceptions from project management practitioners (PMP), contractors and client (government officials) about the factors that lead to Ghanaian Government construction projects. The relative importance index was used to determine the relative importance of the factors identified. This was followed by Spearman rank correlation coefficient and Kendall’s coefficient of concordance to measure the degree of agreement among the participants on their perceptions.
Findings
In total, 34 factors were identified as the main factors that lead into Ghanaian Government construction projects failure. The top ten most important factors that cause Ghanaian Government construction projects failure are: political interferences, delays in payment, partisan politics, bureaucracy, corruption, poor supervision, lack of commitment by project leaders, poor planning, starting more projects than the government can fund and change in government. The failure factors were grouped into four main themes and found that the most important failure factors are leadership. This is followed by management and administrative practices, resources and external forces, respectively.
Research limitations/implications
This study is limited to only the public sector, and therefore the findings may not be applicable in the private sector.
Practical implications
Policy makers and construction PMP would be able to use the findings as a guide during the implementation of government projects in order to reduce and/or avoid government construction projects failure.
Originality/value
Construction projects failure in developing countries is high. Accordingly, the extant literature has been devoted to identifying the factors that lead to failure; however, they have mainly been discussed from a generic point of view or individual case studies. Researches that focus exclusively on government construction projects in developing countries are rare despite the dynamics in which these projects are implemented. This research extends the construction project management literature by focussing on government construction projects in a developing economy, where there are weak public institutional systems coupled with partisanship politics and bad cultural orientation towards government sector work inherited from a colonial rule.
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