Should they be committed? Motivating volunteers in Phnom Penh,Cambodia

Expatriate volunteers in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, work in a country where many of their fellow expatriates are paid considerably more than they are. Such volunteers often find that the financial disparities affect the perceptions that people have of them. This paper explores the self-perceptions of volunteers working with Voluntary Service Overseas in Phnom Penh, and sets these perceptions within current theories of motivation and commitment. Two issues are then raised: whether these volunteers are willing and able to deliver quality assistance; and how perceptions of their status can affect their ability to deliver such assistance.     

Participatory appraisal in the UK urban health sector

Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA) and Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) emerged in the context of working with rural communities in developing countries. But the principles of participation and of action-oriented research are equally valid for development work in the urban sector, and in industrialised countries. This article describes the use of participatory appraisal techniques in disadvantaged communities in the UK, in the fields of health and social welfare. Drawing on a case-study of her work, the author looks at the practical, organisational, and political difficulties inherent in bringing together multi-agency professionals and public-sector workers, and members of local communities, and in developing a functional consensus between them.     

Combining worker and user interests in the health sector: trade unions and NGOs

This paper examines the relationship between workers in the health sector and users of health services as seen through two case studies of trade unions and NGOs working together, one in Malaysia and the other in South Africa. Despite a history of tensions between these two types of organisation, when they work together effectively the results can be influential. The Malaysia Citizens' Health Initiative has set up a separate organisation and now has the power to mediate differences between trade unions, NGOs, and the government. The partnership between the Treatment Action Campaign and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) in South Africa is providing a unified voice demanding government action on HIV/AIDS.     

Increasing access to rural maternal health services in Zambia through demand-side interventions

This paper examines a demand-side intervention that significantly increased access to maternal health services in rural Zambia in a context where skilled birth attendance rates had been stagnant for over two decades. Aspects of the intervention design that were crucial to the programme's success were the participatory and adult learning-centred approach used to mobilise intervention communities, the use of a community volunteer model, and the design's sensitivity and responsiveness to underlying social factors and problems. The demand-side intervention is already being scaled up in six districts, and is highly suitable for national level scale-up.     

Assessing the fit of RapidSMS for maternal and new-born health: perspectives of community health workers in rural Rwanda

This article examines field results that show the potential for mobile health (mHealth) technologies to support community health workers (CHWs) in delivering basic maternal and new-born services in Rwanda. The fit of RapidSMS, a UNICEF/Ministry of Health (MOH) mHealth technology is examined through focus groups with CHWs. The results highlight the need for more training in the use of RapidSMS, continued upgrading of mobile phones, devising innovative ways of charging mobile phones, and ensuring the availability of ambulances. We suggest that CHW supervision be a two-way process built into RapidSMS utilising real-time communication to enhance effectiveness.     

Coupling a ladder to the safety net: reinventing MGNREGA for asset creation

India’s rural employment act (MGNREGA), the world’s largest public works programme, is designed to guarantee wage employment as a statutory right. It is viewed by many as a drain on the public exchequer, as wages are paid but durable assets are not created. Can this safety net be restructured to double up as a ladder of opportunity for the poor without altering its entitlement-based framework? This article shows that implementing four sets of interventions – policy for household livelihood assets, convergence approaches, pro-poor participatory planning, and strengthening accountability, can accelerate the creation of livelihood assets in the lands of the poor.     

Peer education in sexual and reproductive health programming: a Cambodian case study

This article analyses in detail the impact and effectiveness of peer-education projects implemented in Cambodia under the Reproductive Health Initiative for Asia (RHI), in an attempt to provide important lessons for the design and implementation of such interventions and to contribute to the development of best practice. Under RHI, which was the first programme in Cambodia designed specifically to address the sexual and reproductive health needs of young people, peer education was implemented as if it were a directly transferable method, rather than a process to be rooted in specific social and political contexts. Consequently, peer-education concepts of empowerment and participation conflicted with hierarchical traditions and local power relations concerning gender and poverty; peer educators were trained to deliver messages developed by adults; and interventions were not designed to reflect the social dynamics of youth peer groups.     

柬埔寨——2009年回顾与2010年展望

2009年是由洪森首相领导的新一届政府主导执政的第一年,年内必须面对来自国内外多个方面的挑战。在国内,柬埔寨人民党以建立一个更强有力的法制国家为目标,强化人民民主,维持国内稳定的政治局面;经济受到全球金融危机的影响,但仍有所增长;外交上,最为显眼的是柬泰关系因边境争议和他信事件而恶化。展望2010年,总体看将与2009年大致相似,各个方面不会出现大的起伏。     

2004年：柬埔寨进入后西哈努克时代

2004年是柬埔寨现代历史上最重要的年份之一。在政治方面 ,西哈努克退位 ,新国王登基 ,君主立宪制度有了实质性变化。政治僵局的结束和新一届国会和政府的产生与运作 ,巩固了人民党与奉辛比克的政治联盟。在经济方面 ,长达一年的政治僵局 ,影响了柬埔寨经济的发展 ,加入WTO给柬埔寨带来新的挑战和机遇 ,首相洪森掀起行政改革风暴的震撼初见成效。在外交方面 ,洪森三访中国 ,两国友好关系进入最佳时期。对美关系明显改善。印支三国一体化进程加快 ,并与缅甸结成东盟内第二国家集团。2004年各方面的发展 ,强化了业已形成的柬埔寨国家发展方…     

柬埔寨：2012～2013年回顾与展望

本文对2012年柬埔寨政治、经济及外交形势进行回顾,对2013年柬埔寨经济及政治发展前景进行展望。     

Advancing women's reproductive and sexual health rights: Using the International Human Rights system

Often the primary barriers to improving women's health are rooted in socio-economic, legal, and cultural factors. Women are generally assigned subordinate status in terms of economic power, decision making, and options regarding education, work, and family. National laws often restrict or prohibit equality and choice within society. Thus, the improvement of reproductive health is not only a matter of effective health interventions, but also a matter of social justice and human rights. This article discusses how the International Human Rights (IHR) system can be used more effectively for the protection and promotion of reproductive rights. In particular, it focuses on how IHR treaties can play an important role in fostering state compliance with rights relating to reproductive and sexual health. It ends with a discussion on how NGO advocacy work can better collaborate with the treaty body monitoring process in order to advance women's reproductive rights.     

African rural labour and the World Bank: An alternative perspective

In the context of economic and technological change in the late twentieth century, the World Bank's World Development Report 1995 combines the themes of labour and the global market, celebrating the triumph of the market in efficient labour-allocation worldwide. The World Bank's emphasis on boosting Africa's agricultural export capacity ignores the prevailing hostile conditions which African products encounter on the world market, and the current tendency towards agricultural labour displacement. `Labour flight', particularly of youth, signals African farmers' own disenchantment with farming under present liberalised market conditions. The narrowness of the W orld Bank's policy vision for Africa avoids the social and political implications of rural labour displacement as well as the need for human-capital investment in rural areas. This article argues that the alternative to human-capital investment now may be war and expensive disaster-relief for decades to come.     

From volunteers to voluntours: shifting priorities in post-disaster Japan

This paper analyses the emergence of post-disaster ‘voluntours’ following Japan's 2011 disasters. An overwhelming, yet haphazard volunteer response to previous disasters spurred extensive collaboration between the state, relief organizations, and would-be volunteers in the wake of 3.11. However, when mapped onto to the massive devastation of the 3.11 disasters, this collaboration almost immediately turned many post-disaster volunteers into ‘voluntourists’, a problematic category commonly associated with visitors from the Global North volunteering for social and environmental causes while on holiday in the Global South. Japan's post-disaster voluntours demonstrate how uncoordinated and potentially risky volunteers have been channelled into a carefully-controlled and long-term response that satisfies people's desire to help disaster victims, while ultimately encouraging tourism (sans volunteering) as the most desirable form of disaster recovery assistance. This shift toward voluntourism potentially undermines post-disaster volunteering and threatens to trap parts of Tōhoku, like other disaster sites, in a position of permanently ‘post-disaster’.     

柬埔寨IT业现状

一、柬埔寨互联网业20世纪90年代末以来 ,互联网在柬埔寨蓬勃发展 ,1998年柬埔寨的网民只有2000人 ,2003年8月达到1.8万人 ,并且互联网在这个战后百废待兴的国家里还有很大的发展潜力。在柬埔寨 ,上网、自己建网站都不受任何限制 ,但提供互联网接入服务的企业是要申请牌照的。近年来 ,网吧如雨后春笋般涌现 ,柬埔寨邮电部已制定了条例 ,给网吧发放牌照 ,规范这一新兴市场。柬埔寨政府对互联网上的信息并不控制。地方网站的信息都用英文 ,几个网站的部分内容用高棉语 ,搜索引擎都是国外的。互联网接入服务提供商柬埔寨有7个互联网接入服务提…     

Security sector reform: bringing the private in

As the links between security and development have been increasingly recognized, Security Sector Reform (SSR) has become a central part of development policy. Following a traditional Weberian conception of the state, these programmes are almost exclusively focused on the public security sector, neglecting the extent to which people in developing countries have come to rely on private security providers for their day-to-day security needs. While the reform of public security institutions is undoubtedly important, this article argues that a strict public/private distinction is a poor guide to security sector reform. Focusing on Sierra Leone and Kenya, the article argues that ‘bringing the private in’ is crucial to a comprehensive understanding of the security situation in most countries and that any attempt to ensure better security for all must take account of private actors. Private security companies and their integration into SSR matter not simply in terms of the maintenance of law and order, but also in terms of who has access to security, and ultimately, for the legitimacy of social and political orders.     

古代中国与柬埔寨经贸交流综述

柬埔寨自古以来一直是中国的友好邻邦。从古至今的漫长历史岁月中,中柬两国的经贸交流互利互惠、延绵不绝,对提升中柬两国生产技术,促进中柬文化交流,增进两国人民的友谊起到了重要作用。时至今日仍具有重要的借鉴意义。     

WaSH as a maternal health issue: three perspectives from rural Uganda

Inadequate water, sanitation, and hygiene (WaSH) knowledge and practices affect maternal and newborn morbidity and mortality. This article describes postpartum knowledge, resources, and practices in three rural Ugandan hospitals. A lack of WaSH resources was problematic for both staff and newly-birthed mothers who demonstrated a lack of knowledge about the appropriate use of WaSH resources and the links between WaSH and health protection. These results suggest that in addition to increasing the availability of medical interventions, basic preventative public health practices should be reflected in policy and practice integrated across the spaces inhabited by pregnant women to achieve improved maternal and newborn outcomes.