bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The politics of local government reform in rural Bangladesh
Authors: Huque Ahmed S. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractSeveral changes have been introduced in the system of local government in rural Bangladesh following the country's independence. Examination reveals that they were changes only in nomenclature, and did not result in significant improvements. The constant effort by the central government to retain control over local bodies, and the tendency of the ruling elite not to disturb the existing local government system, have worked to the detriment of reforms. The existing local government system failed to satisfy the aspirations of the rural Bangladeshis for increased participation in local affairs. After the first change of government in Bangladesh, the new ruling group felt the need for a support base in the rural areas. The formation of a new political party and the necessity of extending it to the grass roots, increased the desire of the people to participate in local affairs, and the realization of the importance of initiating and completing rural development programmes at the lowest level made the government aware of the need for local government institutions based in the villages. The government was impressed by the success of the Swanirvar Bangladesh Andolon, and introduced Swanirvar Gram Sarkar as a major reform in the local government system.
Cooperative education and training at the grassroots in Nigeria
Authors: Okbreke O. , Mereni J. I. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractFaced with evidence of an appallingly low standard of living which the vast majority of men and women in Nigeria have despite two decades of development and cooperative movements, the Federal and State Governments now attempt to ensure that the real target of development are the human beings who will remain central to all redefinitions and to all revised strategies. This study proposes a theoretical framework for cooperative education and training programmes in the rural areas of Nigeria in order to raise the level of understanding and performance of cooperative members. The approach is primarily an amalgam of the general process model of organization systems and McGrath's problem ‐ based/problem ‐ solving systems. Application of the approach subsequently suggests a method of scientific inquiry which this paper conceives as the Cooperative Education Working Model. To be most effective, Nigerian cooperators must regard cooperative education and training as a vital benefit which their membership provides for them.
Problems of implementation
Authors: Bowden Peter 
Published: July 2007

AbstractThe paper examines a number of empirical studies which investigate the implementation problems that have been experienced in Third World countries. Most of these studies are evaluation studies, specifically undertaken in order to identify the type and frequency with which implementation problems were being experienced. Only one of the studies is country‐specific (Indonesia), drawing its data directly from the problem‐reporting component of the national monitoring system, although encompassing a sufficiently large number of projects for some general conclusions to be drawn. The paper finds that about half of the implementation difficulties experienced in Third World projects or programmes arise through the procedures and operating methods of central ministries other than the implementing ministry. The key ministries are principally planning, finance and personnel. Concentration by Third World governments on strengthening the central procedures under which all projects operate, therefore, is likely to have a disproportionately high impact on the implementation of development programmes. Suggestions for obtaining this improvement conclude the paper.
Planning and conducting federally funded scientific research in Nigeria
Authors: Schweitzer Glenn E. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractDuring the past two decades Nigeria has invested heavily in scientific research, by developing country standards. Yet these investments at best have had only marginal impacts on the activities of the production and service sectors even though there are many priority development activities which could benefit from inputs from Nigerian researchers. At the national level efforts to direct or even co‐ordinate the planning and budgeting of research have been seriously hampered by frequent changes in organizational responsibilities and by repeated budget cuts. Historically, the activities of the federal research institutes have been poorly tuned to the interests and capabilities of the potential users of their research products. Neither these institutes nor the universities with research activities are in a position to develop products or processes which can compete with imported technologies that are saturating the economy. However, the research institutes, and to a lesser extent the universities, should make greater contributions in applying science to improved use of the nation's natural resource endowments, although significant changes in research management at the project level are needed if this objective is to be realized. The Government should provide incentives to the multinational companies operating in Nigeria to develop joint programmes with the research institutes and universities as one mechanism for diffusing the administrative and technical capabilities of the companies. Meanwhile, selected public sector enterprises should be encouraged to expand technological innovation efforts which could be directly applied to their production activities.
Urban community organizations and local government: Exploring relationships and roles
Authors: White Louise G. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractThere is an increasing interest in using local community organizations to assist in the development process. Observers who evaluate the contribution of such groups frequently classify them into two clusters: those which are closely tied to the government and focus on service delivery, and those which guard their autonomy and engage in development rather than service delivery. This dichotomy, however, downplays the developmental role of groups allied with local governments and obscures some important contributions they can offer. Three different models are proposed and two case studies of service‐oriented groups in Cairo are presented. The cases suggest that an important criterion in assessing voluntary groups is the extent to which their service delivery role enables them to develop an organization. From this perspective their role is potentially much broader than expediting government services.
Rural development management in Nepal, Part I: Coordination in the Rasuwa‐Nuwakot Integrated Rural Development Programme
Authors: Dhungel Yadav N. , Tips Walter E. J. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractRural development management in Nepal has been criticized for more than a decade now on the grounds of the country's weak aid‐absorbing capacity, administrative slowness and poor project management. Though several reforms of the rural development planning and management systems have been staged, at present coordination in integrated rural development projects remains weak. The paper reports on the empirical findings of research on mechanisms, procedures, organizational arrangements and problems of coordination. Although the country's environment, and its socioeconomic and cultural constraints, may negatively influence smooth operations in implementing integrated programmes, several policy considerations for improvement may be formulated. Among these, organizational reform with decentralization and reduction of the number of offices involved, strengthening the resource management system, especially budget release and personnel motivation, and a more integrated method of policy, programme and project formulation are the issues considered most important by the government officers themselves. Part II will appear in vol. 7, no. 3 of this journal, and examines the implementation and management of rural development in the Karnali and Bheri districts of the Mid‐Western Development Region of Nepal.
Integrated rural development in Tanzania
Authors: Kleemeier L. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractTanzania did not have the kind of agricultural policies, popular participation, or government bureaucratic capacity necessary for integrated rural development projects to perform well. Nonetheless the World Bank, EEC, and United States each implemented such projects there during the 1970s. The implementation and achievements of the projects varied considerably due to differences in their design as well as decisions made by the implementation teams. However the experiences of all three projects demonstrate two things: no agricultural development project can adapt to producer price disincentives; and both participation and project management require a ‘critical minimum’ level of finance and resources which the Tanzanian bureaucracy does not have. The latter observation raises the question of whether donors should attempt to build management capacity in fourth world bureaucracies or, as Goran Hyden suggests, avoid the government and work through other institutions and local organizations.
The maturing of development administration
Authors: Esman Milton J. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractThis article traces the evolution of the concepts underlying development administration since its origin as a distinct subdiscipline in the early 1960s. It relates the main thrusts in development administration to changing theories and approaches to economic and social development, especially the appropriate functions of the state, the implications of modernization, and the capabilities of people outside the modern core in urban centres. Seven major themes have emerged during the past decade. Their acceptance among academics and practitioners has produced a more sophisticated, realistic and useful appreciation of the relationships of public administration to development. Though this bodes well for the future, an unsolved problem is the continuing intellectual hegemony of Western concepts and practices, despite an impressive number of highly trained Third World scholars and well‐established Third World institutions operating in this field. There is evidence that the ongoing search for effective indigenous management practices will greatly enrich development administration as a field of inquiry and of practice.
Local administration in Botswana
Authors: Tordoff William 
Published: July 2007

AbstractSince Botswana became independent in 1966 a steady process of decentralization has been undertaken by a Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) government confident in its own legitimacy and committed officially to a policy of rural development. In 1978 the President appointed a Local Government Structure Commission to test the suitability of the existing structure and to advise on the relationship between the four main institutions at district level–the District Administration, the District Council, the Land Board and the Tribal Administration. In its 1979 Report the Commission recommended that each institution should retain its separate identity, with its powers balanced by those of the others. This article reviews the working of each institution, and concludes that the Commission's recommendation was justified. It notes, however, that the balance between the four institutions has been tilted to an extent in favour of the District Administration. It shows that the District Councils have displayed an improved capacity for plan implementation, but need more skilled technical personnel and a better quality of elected councillor; that the Land Boards are no longer subordinate to the District Councils in administrative matters, but are hampered by a shortage of transport and finance; and that Tribal Administration staff still work under very poor conditions, though their salaries and pensionable status are much improved.
Segregation versus integration of public service communities in Jerusalem
Authors: Azmon Yael 
Published: July 2007

AbstractThere is a trend in the welfare state which pushes towards unification of public services. The situation described here is the existence of separate public services, alongside each other, not only in the same state but also in the same city. Social divisions and cleavages not only reflect different cultural and social identities, but also rest on such concrete realities as the segregated supply of public services which creates dependency on community institutions. The use of separate public services as a means of nurturing cultural and social separatism is markedly characteristic of two communities in Jerusalem: the Arabs and the Ultra‐orthodox Jews. In addition to a description of some of the public services in these two communities this paper offers an explanation for the perpetuation and the exacerbation of religious and ethnic or national cleavages.
Coordination between government and voluntary organizations (NGOs) in Thailand's rural development
Authors: Tongsawate Maniemai , Tips Walter E. J. 
Published: July 2007

AbstractThis paper investigates the coordination between government organizations and nongovernmental, voluntary organizations in Thailand. The contributions, the nature and the cooperation mechanisms of development NGOs are considered on the basis of field data collected from local government and NGO officers working in rural development. Based on theoretical considerations, an overview of coordination is developed within the framework of development in the country. The problems of coordination boil down to a fundamental mistrust of the NGOs’ style of operation in spite of the personal relationships that are often the only basis for coordination attempts. While decentralization efforts will improve the situation, a more direct policy, as well as plan formulation and implementation management efforts, will be needed to arrive at a mutually reinforced effort in rural development.
Government revenue and expenditure in an agrarian economy: North Arcot District in South India
Authors: Harriss Barbara 
Published: July 2007

AbstractThis paper uses disaggregated data to assess the recent history and geography of revenue mobilization and expenditure allocation in a district where rice production increased by 50 per cent during the decade 1973–83 and where gross urban output (to judge from research in one market town) increased in real terms by a factor of 8. At the district level, land revenue is a small and unstable component of revenue despite the dynamism of the rice economy. Furthermore rice is exempt from commercial taxes, which are eight times more important than land revenue, just under half of which derives from traded agricultural goods. Despite the region's commercial dynamism, real revenue has increased by only 76 per cent over the decade, suggesting substantial evasion. The district appears to be a net donor to the state fisc. Direct expenditure shows urban bias (being 60 per cent more per caput than rural expenditure), though the gap has been narrowing. Despite this trend the rice‐producing sector appears to be a net beneficiary from direct revenue and expenditure. A rural micro‐level case study shows that the village panchayat is a net donor and the urban panchayat union a net recipient of an unstable quantum of revenue. A case study of an urban municipality shows real revenue declining over the decade, forcing an increasing dependence upon discretionary grants from the state government, which cannot prevent a deterioration in urban infrastructure. Indirect revenue and expenditure shows a recent trend towards the rural population. Public sector employment is numerically significant, urban, and has average incomes equal to the top decile of rural cultivators.
Administration in a small capitalist state: The Hong Kong experience
Authors: Scott Ian 
Published: July 2007

AbstractThis article is primarily concerned with the functions of bureaucracy in a minimal state and with how those functions might change in response to economic growth. It is predicated on the assumption that bureaucracy is necessary for economic growth even in those countries which seek to achieve such growth through the relatively free operation of the economy within the rubric of a capitalist state. Hong Kong is a case in point. Although it has often been taken as the epitome of the benefits which can be derived from keeping government out of the economy, the bureaucracy has in fact played a critical role in support of economic development. Aside from the functions which must be performed by any state, such as the maintenance of law and order, the administration of justice, and the provision of public works, three features of Hong Kong bureaucratic practice appear to have been important in the definition of the bureaucracy's tasks in the economic growth process. These are ‘value for money’ and the constant need to justify government expenditure; effective line implementation; and the ability to manage crises. If these constitute minimal essential requirements for such governments, they may provide useful criteria which small or micro‐states, following capital growth models but not yet experiencing rapid economic development, can apply in assessing the capabilities of their own bureaucracies.
Providing rural credit in southern India: A comparison of commercial banks and cooperatives
Authors: Wiggins Steve , Rogaly Ben 
Published: July 2007

AbstractThis paper contrasts the recent experiences of two different institutions in providing credit and savings facilities in the countryside of Tamil Nadu, southern India. Ever since the late‐1960s, there has been a rising demand for credit to finance investment in agriculture. This has been reinforced by Government policy over the last two decades, and especially since 1980, to provide credit both to priority activities, including agriculture, and to disadvantaged rural groups. Part of that policy has been to encourage the commercial banks to offer services in the countryside, alongside the previously well‐developed network of cooperatives offering formal rural credit.The commercial banks have had considerable success in expanding their network of branches, and in increasing bank deposits and loans in rural areas. Operating as corporate bureaucracies, the banks have been able to expand without being crippled in the process. On the other hand, their institutional strength has meant that Government credit policy has been implemented cautiously. The agricultural credit cooperatives, no newcomers to the countryside, have still to fulfil their long‐declared function of providing short‐term credit for crop production to the majority of agricultural households. Loan recovery by the cooperatives has been weak. The cooperatives have suffered partly from the internal contradictions inherent in any cooperative structure imposed upon the peasantry, from major flaws in the organizational structure of Tamil Nadu cooperatives, as well as from the increasing appropiation of the cooperatives for party political ends.The contrasting experiences of the two different institutions in providing rural credit illustrate how policy applied through different institutions can produce quite different outcomes. They also demonstrate how changes in the socio‐political environment, neither immediately obvious nor predictable, can critically affect policy results.
End user computing in Asian countries: Policy lessons for development administration
Authors: Sanwal Mukul 
Published: July 2007

AbstractEnd user computing requires policy initiatives very different from those needed for computerization in order to deal with the specific issues of initiation, development and institutionalization. Microcomputers provide a service and not goods or savings and require an emphasis on the dynamics of the system, where both strategic issues and operational priorities have to be set. The process is organizational, rather than a technological or a planning exercise. It requires governments to guide the change through deliberate decision making. The objective has to be to obtain the support of users at different levels. In this paper Asian experiences are compared with Western experiences to determine a framework for looking at the process. The limited set of strategies for success have also been identified.
Synthesis and properties of an amphiphilic dithiafulvene oligomer
Authors: Inagi Shinsuke , Naka Kensuke , Chujo Yoshiki 
Published: July 2007

AbstractAn amphiphilic dithiafulvene oligomer was synthesized by cycloaddition polymerization of aldothioketene generated from 1,4‐diethynylbenzene and a PEO‐grafted phenylacetylene (feed ratio 5/1). The degree of polymerization was determined as 6 by 1H NMR analysis. The aggregation behavior of the oligomer was studied in the mixed solvent of D2O and DMSO‐d6. Effective charge‐transfer interaction of the oligomer and hydrophilic methyl viologen was observed in an aqueous solution. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 3770–3775, 2007
Conductive ATO‐acrylate nanocomposite hybrid coatings: Experimental results and modeling
Authors: Soloukhin Victor A. , Brokken‐Zijp José C. M. , de With Gijsbertus 
Published: July 2007

AbstractThe electrical volume conductivity σ of antimony‐doped tin oxide (ATO)–acrylate nanocomposite hybrid coatings was investigated. The relation between σ and the volume filler fraction p was analyzed for the ATO‐acrylate coatings containing ATO nanoparticles grafted with different amounts of 3‐methacryloxy‐propyl‐trimethoxy‐silane coupling agent. Percolation thresholds were observed at very low filler fractions (1–2 vol %) for the coatings containing ATO nanoparticles with a low amount of surface grafting. A modified effective medium approximation (EMA) model was introduced. This model takes into consideration different distances between adjacent semiconductive particles in the particle network. The model elucidates how self‐arrangement of the particles influences the location of the percolation threshold in the log σ − p plot. The modified EMA model can successfully explain the multiple transition behavior and the variable percolation thresholds found for the ATO‐acrylate nanocomposite hybrid coatings. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 45: 2147–2160, 2007
An enormously active and selective azapeptide inhibitor of cathepsin B
Authors: Wieczerzak Ewa , Rodziewicz‐Motowidło Sylwia , Jankowska Elżbieta , Giełdoń Artur , Ciarkowski Jerzy 
Published: July 2007

AbstractThe peptidomimetic Z‐Arg‐Leu‐Arg‐Agly‐Ile‐Val‐OMe (where Agly means α‐aza‐glycyl, ‐NHNHCO‐) is the strongest (Ki = 480 pM) and the most selective inhibitor of cathepsin B to date, being ∼2310 times as active to cathepsin B as to cathepsin K. In this paper we introduce the peptide and seek to rationalize its structure‐activity relationships using molecular dynamics (MD) and NMR. It is shown that the ‐Agly‐moiety restrains the peptide backbone to a bent shape, contrary to its parent peptide (with Gly in position 4), having its backbone extended and flexible. This fold is maintained in the plug covalently bound to the cathepsin B Cys29, in compliance with similar bends already observed in two other azapeptides attached to the active sites of cathepsin B. The MD simulation of the Z‐Arg‐Leu‐Arg‐Agly ∼ cathepsin B complex suggests that, contrary to other potent inhibitors of cathepsin B, the current double Arg1/Arg3 inhibitor, while maintaining the fold is able to form a unique ion cluster involving both Arg residues on the inhibitor part and two acidic Glu171 and Glu245 on the cathepsin B part, thus enhancing the affinity and subsequently the inhibiting power and selectivity of Z‐Arg‐Leu‐Arg‐Agly‐Ile‐Val‐OMe to the observed extreme extent. Copyright © 2007 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.