Solving Local Problems or Looking Good: An Ethnography of the Field Practices of Foreign Sponsored NGOs in Rural African Communities

Author(s):  
Sampson Addo Yeboah
Keyword(s):  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 585-605
Author(s):  
Terrence Thomas ◽  
◽  
Befikadu Legesse ◽  
Cihat Gunden ◽  
◽  
...  

The failure of top-down categorical approaches for generating solutions to many local problems has led to the adoption of alternate approaches. Many scholars believe that a confluence of local and global forces have generated complex problems, which call for new approaches to problem solving. Previously, the top-down approach relied entirely on the knowledgeable elite. Communities were seen as passive study subjects and information flow was one way only- from knowledgeable elites to the less knowledgeable community agents or community-based organization acting on behalf of communities. The objectives of this study are to provide a review of governance as a means of organizing community action to address community problems in the Black Belt Region (BBR) of the Southeastern United States, and an assessment of community problems in the BBR from the perspectives of community-based organizations (CBOs). Data was collected from CBOs via a telephone survey in eleven Southeastern states and via listening sessions conducted with CBOs in 9 Southeastern states. The study provides valuable insight regarding the challenges faced by these organizations and strategies they employ in adapting to serve their communities.


Technologies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 12
Author(s):  
Federico J. Sabina ◽  
Yoanh Espinosa-Almeyda ◽  
Raúl Guinovart-Díaz ◽  
Reinaldo Rodríguez-Ramos ◽  
Héctor Camacho-Montes

The development of micromechanical models to predict the effective properties of multiphase composites is important for the design and optimization of new materials, as well as to improve our understanding about the structure–properties relationship. In this work, the two-scale asymptotic homogenization method (AHM) is implemented to calculate the out-of-plane effective complex-value properties of periodic three-phase elastic fiber-reinforced composites (FRCs) with parallelogram unit cells. Matrix and inclusions materials have complex-valued properties. Closed analytical expressions for the local problems and the out-of-plane shear effective coefficients are given. The solution of the homogenized local problems is found using potential theory. Numerical results are reported and comparisons with data reported in the literature are shown. Good agreements are obtained. In addition, the effects of fiber volume fractions and spatial fiber distribution on the complex effective elastic properties are analyzed. An analysis of the shear effective properties enhancement is also studied for three-phase FRCs.


2021 ◽  
Vol 133 ◽  
pp. 129-165
Author(s):  
Mihai Gradinaru ◽  
Tristan Haugomat
Keyword(s):  

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Robert Nemes

Abstract Hungary has a long, rich history of wine production. Historians have emphasized wine's importance to the development of both the Hungarian economy and Hungarian nationalism. This article ties together these historiographical threads through a case study of a small village in one of Hungary's most famous wine regions. Tracing the village's history from the 1860s to World War I, the article makes three main claims. First, it demonstrates that from the start, this remote village belonged to wider networks of trade and exchange that stretched across the surrounding region, state, and continent. Second, it shows that even as Magyar elites celebrated the folk culture and peasant smallholders of this region, they also cheered the introduction of what they saw as scientific, rational agriculture. This leads to the last argument: wine achieved its place in the pantheon of Hungarian culture at a moment when the local communities that had grown up around its production and stirred the national imagination were undergoing dramatic and irreversible change.


2011 ◽  
Vol 87 (276) ◽  
pp. 109-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
ROBERT BREUNIG ◽  
ANDREW WEISS ◽  
CHIKAKO YAMAUCHI ◽  
XIAODONG GONG ◽  
JOSEPH MERCANTE

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 577-604 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yana Gorokhovskaia

Conventional wisdom holds that civil society is a sphere of activity separate from the state and the private realm. Due to a combination of historical, developmental and institutional factors, Russian civil society today is dominated by the state. While not all interactions with the state are seen as harmful, scholars acknowledge that most politically oriented or oppositional non-governmental organizations today face difficult conditions in Russia. In response to the restrictions on civil society and the unresponsive nature of Russia’s hybrid authoritarian regime, some civil society actors in Moscow have made the transition into organized politics at the local level. This transition was motivated by their desire to solve local problems and was facilitated by independent electoral initiatives which provided timely training and support for opposition political candidates running in municipal elections. Once elected, these activists turned municipal deputies are able to perform some of the functions traditionally ascribed to civil society, including enforcing greater accountability and transparency from the state and defending the interest of citizens.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 349-359
Author(s):  
Amanda Brait Zerbeto ◽  
Leonardo De Carvalho ◽  
Thaís Amanda Rossa ◽  
Daniel De Paula

O Projeto Rondon tem criado oportunidades, especialmente na saúde, para que universitários interajam com comunidades vulneráveis, socializando saberes e discutindo soluções coletivamente. O Agente Comunitário de Saúde (ACS) é um personagem fundamental na implementação do Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS), fortalecendo a integração entre os serviços de saúde e a comunidade. Mesmo com muitos avanços, a formação dos ACS permanece um desafio. Este estudo relata a experiência de um projeto de extensão na elaboração, desenvolvimento e realização de uma capacitação para ACS no município de Lindoeste, Paraná. As oficinas foram elaboradas multidisciplinarmente por acadêmicos de enfermagem, nutrição, psicologia e engenharia ambiental. Adotou-se o conceito ampliado de saúde, abordando conceitos do SUS, promoção e prevenção, educação ambiental, nutrição, humanização, além de demandas locais. A utilização de metodologias ativas e de temas relacionados à comunidade permitiram a troca de saberes, criando um espaço em que todos puderam expor suas opiniões e assim buscar soluções para os problemas locais. O desconhecimento dos ACS sobre os conceitos do SUS foi um desafio para o aprofundamento da discussão, moldando o debate muitas vezes num modelo pedagógico clássico. Um ponto positivo foi a integração e colaboração entre os ACS a partir do entendimento dos impactos que o processo de trabalho pode trazer ao município. A partir da capacitação dos ACS, ficou evidente a importância de os projetos de extensão estarem em consonância com as necessidades do território que, no presente trabalho, revelou a necessidade de elaboração e realização da educação continuada dos ACS. Palavras-chave: Sistema Único de Saúde; Atenção Primária à Saúde; Educação Continuada; Relações Comunidade-Instituição Training community health workers: integration between university and primary healthcare   Abstract: The Rondon Project has provided opportunities, especially in the health area, for university students to interact with vulnerable communities, share knowledge, and discuss solutions collectively. The Community Health Worker (CHW) plays a key role in implementing the Brazilian Unified Health System (Sistema Único de Saúde - SUS), strengthening the integration between health services and the community. Even with many advances, the education of CHWs remains a challenge. This study reports an extension project's experience in elaborating, developing, and accomplishing training for CHW in Lindoeste, Paraná state, Brazil. The workshops were developed in a multidisciplinary manner by nursing, nutrition, psychology, and environmental engineering students. The expanded health concept was adopted, addressing SUS concepts, health promotion, prevention, environmental education, nutrition, humanization, and local demands. The use of active learning methods and community-related themes allowed for knowledge sharing, creating an environment where everyone could express their opinions and seek solutions to local problems. CHW's lack of knowledge about SUS concepts was a challenge to deepen the discussion, often shaping the debate in a traditional way. A positive point was the integration and collaboration among CHW, which were carried out in understanding the value of the collaborative workflow for their community. This experience highlighted the importance of the extension project being in tune with the demand of the territory, which in the present work revealed the need to elaborate and carry out continuing education of the CHW. Keywords: : Unified Health System; Primary Health Care; Continuing Education; Community Institutional Relations


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