Accountability mechanisms in community-driven reconstruction in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo

A lack of accountability is often considered a root cause of conflict. Many post-conflict reconstruction efforts therefore aim to enhance accountability between authorities and the population through community-driven reconstruction programmes. This article examines the accountability mechanisms in the Tushiriki community-driven reconstruction programme in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The ethnographic research found little impact of formal programme accountability. Rather, accountability was shaped differently and had its own context-specific meaning. To make accountability more sustainable, stronger embeddedness in local institutions and more appropriate translations of abstract concepts into the local context are needed.     

Social history, (Neo-)revisionism and mapping the 1930s Spanish left*

Revisionist historians and their Neo-Revisionist/conservative fellow travellers identify the Spanish left as the main cause of the civil war (1936–1939) that culminated in the establishment of the Franco dictatorship. Such claims are possible because these historians distort both the history of the left and the nature of social protest and mass mobilisation during these years. In part, the reliance of Neo-Revisionist/conservative historians on the methods of traditional political history – combined with their stubborn aversion to social history – makes it impossible for them to understand the left. This article argues that only through social history is it possible to comprehend the complex and shifting nature of protest dynamics in the 1930s. Indeed, many of the conflicts that played out in the political arena during these years were conditioned by structural economic problems and social tensions that resulted in diverse forms of radical contestation among the grassroots of leftist movements. Social, and indeed cultural history, are, therefore, central to any analysis of the myriad forms of these protest energies that flowed from the bottom up to shape the orientation of the leftist organisations.     

Meeting development goals: evidence from the Civil Society Education Fund

In recent years, the Civil Society Education Fund has supported national education civil society coalitions (NECs) in low-income countries so that they put pressure on governments and donors to implement the Education for All agenda and the Millennium Development Goal on education. This article draws on literature on global governance as well as on an extensive evaluation of the CSEF to explore the actual contribution of this initiative to the activity of NECs. The article highlights the achievements and shortcomings of the CSEF and includes a set of practical recommendations on the role of global civil society in international development processes.     

Socio-economic determinants of the family history of pulmonary tuberculosis patients in Pakistan

This article aims to assess the role of important socio-economic factors in the family history of tuberculosis patients in Pakistan. Data were collected from 269 patients, and a logistic regression was used to determine the association between risk factors and the vicious circle of TB. Results of the logistic model show that significant risk factors associated with TB history in patients were education, household size, house structure, rooms in the home, room ventilation, monthly income, income food sufficiency, smoking, diabetes, and heart disease. The current TB control programme needs to formulate strategies to target specific risk factors and poverty reduction simultaneously to break the vicious circle of tuberculosis.     

Remoteness as a gendered construct

This article explores the potential of using children’s perceptions of distance to reflect a gendered understanding of remoteness. Data collected from 1,549 children in Tanzania concerning their perceptions of remoteness in relation to accessibility of school, health care, and water resources were analysed in reference to their impact on school attendance and performance. Gendered variability in perceived distances to services by children may indicate that remoteness is as much of a social issue as it is a geographic phenomenon, in that girls perceive distance and time between home and destination to be further than boys who travel approximately the same distance.     

Reproductive health services: “Business-in-a-Box” as a model social innovation

Access to reproductive health services and products in remote and rural communities is a critical area of concern for developing countries. This article considers a pilot intervention in three districts of Pakistan where “Business-in-a-Box” as a model of place-based social innovation is used to improve the socio-economic conditions of women in remote rural settings through socially responsible micro-franchising. It finds that such programmes help build a sense of community, ownership and grassroots capabilities and skills. The article also discusses the impacts of such actions on the individual and community life, and the need to upscale and sustain these initiatives.     

Facilitating industrial symbiosis programmes in developing countries: reflections from Gauteng,South Africa

This viewpoint reflects on how to improve the process of introducing facilitated industrial symbiosis programmes (FISPs) to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries. Although FISPs are a long-established industrial practice, their formal introduction to SMEs in developing countries has only recently begun, mostly through support from international development agencies. Based partly on anecdotal evidence from Gauteng, South Africa, we identify six key questions which need to be addressed to improve the process of facilitating FISPs.     

公共安全生产事故的产生与防范——政企合谋视角的解析

从政企合谋视角对公共安全生产事故的产生与防范进行解析,建立了一个中央政府一地方政府一企业的三层委托代理模型,考察了公共安全生产事故产生的机理,发现中央政府在对待政企合谋问题时,主要是在公共安全生产事故被披露时所造成的社会成本和对地方政府所付出的激励报酬之间进行权衡:存在一个临界值,当公共安全生产事故被披露时所造成的社会成本较高时,中央政府应对地方政府采取激励契约;当公共安全生产事故被披露所造成的社会成本较低时,则政府对地方政府采取固定报酬契约.进一步对模型相关参数进行比较静态分析,并据此对现实中的现象给予解释:(1)中央政府反合谋力度与社会发展阶段密切相关;(2)地方政府官员绩效考核体系不完善诱发政企合谋;(3)对企业惩罚的不可信加大了中央政府的防合谋成本;(4)公众监督降低了中央政府的防合谋成本.     

西部高校毕业生求职难度影响因素的实证研究——基于社会资本、人力资本与物质资本的比较研究及其交互效应

本研究旨在考察社会资本、人力资本与物质资本及其交互变量对高校毕业生求职难度的影响。实证分析发现:社会资本、人力资本与物质资本对高校毕业生职业获得难度存在显著的影响。在搜寻成本模型中,社会资本同人力资本的交互项对高校毕业生在求职过程中的搜寻成本存在正向影响,即社会资本欠缺者,可以通过提升人力资本以降低搜寻成本;在求职结果模型中,社会资本同人力资本的交互项对高校毕业生的最终求职结果存在负向影响,即社会资本欠缺者,可以通过提升人力资本以提高求职成功的概率,从而降低求职难度。     

社会结构异质性与流动儿童社会网络的建构——以同伴关系为核心

本文以同伴关系为切入点,考察社会结构异质性因素对流动儿童社会网络建构的影响。研究发现,流动儿童在同伴关系建构过程中表现出较高的主动性,交往对象呈现外向发展特征;流动儿童的兄妹数、成绩好坏、自身生活方式以及对城市居民态度的认知对其发展同伴关系的主动性有影响;流动儿童生活体验和生活环境对其发展同伴关系对象选择有影响。本文以实证研究回应了几种相悖的研究结论:布劳的肯定性结论与国内多数学者的否定性结论,系出自不同语境,各有合理性,但某些结论也需要进一步讨论。