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Abstract Exploiting administrative records of the Spanish Public Employment Services for the period 2010–2012, we analyse the influence of participation in training and job search assistance programmes on the employment probability of the long-term unemployed. Using the coarsened exact matching method, we find that participation in both programmes exerts a positive influence on the employability of jobseekers, but participation in training seems to be more effective, especially as regards the likelihood of getting jobs of a certain quality. The treatment effect is higher for the long-term unemployed, thus suggesting the convenience of their participation in these active measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low-income people of color in urban communities have been found to suffer from high levels of political inequality and poor political representation. To make policy more responsive and accountable, neighborhood organizations are often solicited to serve as informal community representatives in local decision-making processes. Given this reliance on nonelected representatives, we ask, Do community residents believe neighborhood organizations are legitimate representatives of their interests? Using survey data from residents of the South Side of Chicago, this article demonstrates that residents’ trust in organizations as representatives varies significantly by organizational type. Specifically, community organizations, religious congregations, and schools are rated as more trustworthy to speak on behalf of the community than local elected officials. These findings hold relatively constant across a variety of individual- and community-level differences, implying that this preference is widespread and may extend to other vulnerable urban communities in the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista de Antropología Social is the property of Universidad Complutense de Madrid and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article reconstructs the pilot implementation of the Livelihoods for Vulnerable Urban Communities (LVUC), a community-driven development project in the Philippines, as a living laboratory and an implicit real-life experiment. Real-life experiments aim at identifying surprising interactions between the experimental system and its context, while a living laboratory not only emphasizes experimentation but also co-creation. Our goal in analysing data from a sixteen-month process-oriented assessment of the LVUC project is to explain why a development project's ability to handle surprise, or the unexpected, during implementation promotes community participation. Surprises arise because development projects inevitably involve knowledge mobilization. As a real-life experiment and a living laboratory, the LVUC project mobilized knowledge in two ways: first, by drawing on tested and accepted knowledge on how to induce community participation, and second by identifying events that occur unexpectedly and run counter to accepted knowledge about community-driven development. While often manifesting themselves as implementation difficulties, surprises can generate new knowledge and opportunities for innovation and co-creation. Many social science and development practitioners are wary of the notion of''experiment', associating it with the social costs of experimenting with people. Lessons from the LVUC project, however, show that development projects must recognize the mobilization of knowledge as a component of implementation. The adoption of experimental habits and the problem-solving mode is the corollary of this recognition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a convergent parallel mixed methods design, this study considered the early literacy and language environments actualized by childcare providers and parents of young children (ages 3-5) living in one large urban community in the United States of America. Both childcare providers and parents responded to questionnaires and participated in focus groups held at various community sites within the neighborhood. Using snowball sampling, 77 childcare providers and 149 parents responded to surveys that asked about their individual roles in children's emergent literacy development. Subsequently, several focus groups were held, ensuring childcare provider and parent representation from both center and home-based early childcare sites. Study questions considered the consistencies and inconsistencies in beliefs and actions by members of both community groups regarding early literacy development. Consistencies and inconsistencies were identified through a descriptive comparative analysis within and across survey and focus group data to guide the implementation of practical, ecological, research-based community learning that can be used as a model for other communities seeking to create similar communities of practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines prosocial investment and supervision of youth as separate indicators of informal social control. Data from 599 survey respondents in 90 Indianapolis, IN, block groups indicate that, at the neighborhood level, the relationship between these two variables and delinquency during early and middle adolescence varies by severity of offense. Specifically, negative binomial models reveal an inverse relationship between supervision and both status offenses and misdemeanors, but the relationship with misdemeanors is stronger in areas with higher levels of prosocial investment. In contrast, prosocial investment has an inverse association with felony charges. Overall, these results call for future quantitative scholarship that contextualizes neighborhood-level supervision and that is attentive to neighborhood support and empowerment assets in models of urban adolescent delinquency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Donors face distinct challenges in operating in fragile states and supporting the building of state capacity. This article explores one type of assistance – the ‘embedding' of highly skilled staff members within local government agencies – through a unique case study of Finn Church Aid's experience with secondment in Somalia. Building upon FCA's previous work in Somalia, its staff member worked as part of the Transitional Federal Government's Ministry of Constitutional Affairs and Reconciliation to assist in the implementation of the roadmap designed to end transitional governance in the country. Although a number of such initiatives exist, few studies have explored how, why and whether they work. Drawing on unique access to FCA staff and documents, as well as interviews with Somali stakeholders, donor representatives and others, the article explores FCA's experience and impact through this initiative, one way in which a non-state actor has provided tangible, relatively low-cost support to a fragile state. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

African American consumers with disabilities appear to underutilize client assistance programs (CAPs) compared to Caucasian, and other racial/ethnic populations. Such discrepancies in usage may be indicative of a larger, more systemic problem, such as culturally insensitive service delivery logic models. The purpose of this article is to outline deficiencies in the CAP service delivery system by highlighting how the assumptions and helping frameworks inherent in the logic/service delivery model are not culturally appropriate for African American consumers with disabilities. We then propose a culturally sensitive logic/service delivery model in order to improve the use of CAP services among African American consumers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kızılay is a neighbourhood at which historically different urban experiences and spatial attachments have been concentrated. This differentiation has been shaped on the base of political struggles about the historical meaning, spatial form and function of the place through a sociospatial process of production. Kızılay is not only a spatially central district, but also it is a place where political struggles have been concentrated at. The collective perception and experiences have been transformed, however, it is obvious that Kızılay will be on the focus of spatial-political debates today and tomorrow, although its symbolic meaning is attempted to be erased several times. In this study, Kızılay is examined as a neighbourhood through tracing the political struggles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] We present a novel IMC-PID controller design method for non-square system based on the concept of equivalent open-loop transfer function (EOTF). [•] The new NPSO algorithm and the incremental PID with first-order lag filter structure are combined to determine the desired controller parameters. [•] This controller can offer superior dynamic performance and robustness in the control of non-square system with multiple time delays. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article studies the problems and causes of the low coverage of socially vulnerable layers of the population with social benefits, unfair distribution of state social transfers. In order to optimize the planning of social protection of the population it is proposed to use the principle of targeted social assistance. The paper analyzes the advantages of such targeting, its effectiveness and costs. It is determined that the widespread introduction of targeted social assistance will contribute to the optimization and effectiveness of social expenditures. It highlights the advantages of implementing the targeting of social benefits and offers ways to reform the social security system based on the principle of targeting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents abstracts on medical topics which include prevalence of haemophilia B (HB), assistance programmes for people with haemophilia and psychosocial factors of haemophilia.

. Although individuals with haemophilia have benefited from advances and the availability of safe, effective factor replacement products, high treatment costs and insurance coverage limits remains a significant concern among persons with this disease. Many uninsured haemophiliacs turn to emergency rooms for treatment and/or patient assistance programmes for treatment of a bleed or injury. However, neither of these options is a sustainable solution for managing the care of patients with this costly disease. This study was conducted to examine the use of factor assistance programmes and estimate annual amounts of factor dispensed by each programme along with their associated costs. Retrospective review of pharmacy and medical record of all patients who attended the Gulf States Hemophilia and Thrombophilia Center, and who were enrolled in any factor assistance programme(s) between January 2007 and December 2010 was performed. During the 4-year observation period, approximately 19% of the centre's haemophilia patient population was enrolled and received free factor products from at least one patient assistance programme. In addition, approximately 9.1 million dollars (US) worth of factor replacement therapy was donated to our patients during the study time. Although assistance programmes have helped many uninsured individuals with haemophilia to receive free factor products, they are not an enduring answer to the insurance problems many of our patients face. More effort needs to be focused on how to effectively manage uninsured persons with haemophilia to ensure that their health care and treatment needs are adequately met. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tax increment financing (TIF) has become a mainstay of local economic development efforts. A significant body of research has investigated the effectiveness of TIF efforts as economic development tools. Such research has concentrated on measuring economic impact of TIF projects, with widely varied results. There has been little examination of the internal differences in TIF project planning and management that affect TIF district performance. This qualitative study builds a theory of TIF performance by examining differences in management practices across TIF districts in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. Archival analysis is used to determine what efforts cities take to assess risk (preimplementation) and to measure ongoing TIF project performance (postimplementation). Cities are then classified, and descriptive analysis documents the observed differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers how changes in urban governance in Delhi over the last two decades have influenced the provision of health care services. It begins by describing the introduction of, or return to, elected governments for the National Capital Territory of Delhi and for the Municipal Corporation of Delhi. It then discusses public health care, which in effect serves low-income groups as most higher-income groups now use private services, and how this has changed, drawing on interviews and direct observations of elected representatives and officials at state and municipal levels, political cadres, NGOs, members of residential welfare associations and public health care users. The research focused on four municipal wards that included a middle-class area, a mixed-income area, a ward where many slum communities had been relocated and an “urban village”. The research also included an analysis of the priority given to health care issues (and what those issues are) in the Legislative Assembly and in the Municipal Health Department and Municipal Health Committee. The paper suggests that the opening by state government of new invited spaces for resident welfare associations meant that the elected members of the Legislative Assembly and of the municipal government were by-passed. It increased the influence of resident welfare associations, but these are a feature of middle-class areas whose inhabitants use private health care. It avoided contestation, as the state could decide who was invited. The role of NGOs as advocates for the urban poor also diminished, as many were drawn into becoming implementers of government programmes. In effect, this increase in participation can be seen as a new form of centralization, strengthening the position of senior bureaucrats and by-passing the elected politicians. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article focuses on the promotion of U.S. democracy in Egypt. It says that the funding of the U.S. for the establishment of democracy in Egypt has started when the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) began the integration of democracy aid in its traditional development assistance program. It adds that there will be no reason for education not to be conceptualized in USAID's governance and democracy strategy fro Egypt due to the existence of its education program in the country.

Instead of claiming responsibility in caring for its citizens from cradle to grave, China now emphasizes ‘small government and big society’ in its allocation of social services. In one southwest province of China, as a result of the urban Community Residents Committee (CRC) Organization Acts of 1989, the CRC has become the core of social services in this region and is on the front line of social service delivery. This paper reports the results of a field study on the CRC at a number of pilot demonstration sites in this province. Focus group discussions were conducted in order to identify characteristics and patterns of committee members’ experiences. Thematic patterns undergirding the future development of urban community-based social services in China are identified and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

An essential component for achieving independence in a community setting for people with disabilities is the ability to perform personal care activities with or without assistance. This paper aims to evaluate the level of satisfaction of people who used personal assistance services (PAS) during 2007 in Korea. People's satisfaction was high when they were able to use all of the assigned hours and when they had been assigned enough hours to meet their needs. Therefore, policymakers must try to increase service hours for people with disabilities so that they have enough help from attendants. The more the opinions of people with disabilities were considered in shaping the plan of care, the higher the satisfaction score. To increase the satisfaction, service users' involvement with the program has to be incorporated into the program as much as possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Utilization-Focused Evaluation begins with the premise that evaluations should be judged by their utility and actual use; therefore, evaluators should facilitate the evaluation process and design any evaluation with careful consideration of how everything that is done, from beginning to end, will affect use. This article examines the implications of this premise for evaluation of social services and social work. Utilization-focused evaluation is concerned with how real people in the real world apply evaluation findings and experience the evaluation process. Therefore, the focus in utilization-focused evaluation is on intended use by intended users. The evaluator facilitates judgment and decision-making by intended users rather than acting solely as a distant, independent judge. In essence, utilization-focused evaluation is premised on the understanding that evaluation use is too important to be merely hoped for or assumed. Use must be planned for and facilitated, just as any good social work intervention must be planned and carefully implemented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Saúde e Sociedade is the property of Universidade de Sao Paulo, Faculdade de Saude Publica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Saúde e Sociedade is the property of Universidade de Sao Paulo, Faculdade de Saude Publica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Saúde e Sociedade is the property of Universidade de Sao Paulo, Faculdade de Saude Publica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Neue Soziale Bewegungen is the property of De Gruyter and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Down payment or closing cost assistance is an effective program in addressing the wealth constraints of low‐and moderate‐income homebuyers. However, the spillover effect of such programs on the neighborhood is unknown. This paper estimates the impact of the City of Dallas Mortgage Assistance Program (MAP) on nearby home values using a hedonic model of home sales from 1990 to 2006. We define neighborhoods of 1,000 feet around each sale and estimate the average differences in sales prices between neighborhoods with various numbers of MAP properties before and after their appearance. We find that MAP properties tend to locate in neighborhoods with lower property values; however, unless a concentration of MAP properties forms, the infusion of MAP properties has little detrimental impact on neighboring property values. Moreover, low concentration of MAP properties has a modest positive impact on surrounding property values. © 2010 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Empirical evidence has found that public employment services (PES) and small business assistance (SBA) programmes are successful at getting the unemployed back to work. Policywise it is important to know which of these two programmes is more effective, for whom, and when. Using unusually rich survey data and matching methods, this study evaluates the relative effectiveness of PES and SBA for different subgroups in Romania in the late 1990s, where the outcome variables involve earnings, employment and unemployment in 2000–1 and early 2002. It finds that heterogeneity matters and that these programmes need to be tailored to the problem at hand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the significant aspects of the international development management (DM). It offers an overview on the concepts of DM. It defines DM as the management of processes and building the capacity which are necessary to achieve improvements in communities' well-being and people's lives. It presents a complementary perspective from Lebanon concerning terms, values and institutional agendas and the role of government for DM. It concludes some implications of the policy and practice imposed towards DM.

Copyright of Revista Investigación, Biodiversidad y Desarrollo is the property of Universidad Tecnologica del Choco and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

There is growing political concern that poor neighbourhoods often receive inadequate public services, although little research to date which explores how and why this may be the case. Earlier research on environmental services has suggested that poor neighbourhoods do not tend to get levels of this service which are proportionate to their needs. This paper extends an earlier analysis to explore the processes by which this underprovision occurs. It is argued that three 'rationing' processes are central to explanations: institutional rationing which describes a systemic bias against fully meeting the needs of poor neighbourhoods; reactive rationing in which service practices and standards are varied between neighbourhoods; and political rationing where service levels and standards are sensitive to variations in the political resources of neighbourhoods. The analysis reveals how these rationing processes produce levels of environmental maintenance in poor neighbourhoods which are insufficient to address needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the local food movement of FoodRoutes Network (FRN) in the U.S. As stated, FRN is a nonprofit organization that introduces Americans to their food such as the seeds it grows and the farmers who produce it. It offers communication tools, technical support, networking and information resources to organizations nationwide, communicate with the public about the multiple benefits beyond food production and conserve the nation's food heritage while working to re-build the eroding loss of farms, food processors and food producers. In addition, it also offers support to more than 70 Buy Fresh Buy Local (BFBL) chapters throughout the U.S. in the form of communication tools, organizing assistance and marketing resources.

A first glance at almost any policy document generated by a bilateral or multilateral donor agency reveals a familiar rhetoric of participation, partnership, community, good governance, growth and strong democracy as key ingredients for a successful development program. While some critics of this rhetoric argue that this is merely a recasting of old aid agendas, others confirm that recent rethinking of aid policies and agendas are sincere efforts to address poverty reduction and ensure aid effectiveness. Education has been proposed as an indispensable element to achieving the aforementioned goals of development policy rhetoric, not least in the Eight UN Millennium Development Goals. This paper examines the role of the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) in the current global development environment, with particular focus on education policy in the Asia Pacific region. How does AusAID's education policy align with international goals for poverty reduction and sustainable development? How does AusAID coordinate its education policy priorities with other development agencies and recipient governments? To enable an exploration of these questions, this paper provides a comparative analysis of AusAID's approach to its educational development programs in Papua New Guinea and Cambodia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on a report "Moving to Work and Neighborhood Opportunity" from Urban Institute. Topics discussed include Moving to Work agencies use of status to promote resident mobility to "opportunity-rich" neighborhoods, effectiveness of mobility programs, and an increase in the affordable housing supply in opportunity neighborhoods through the project-based voucher (PBV) program.

The article offers information on the HOPE International Development Agency and its simple mission to facilitate long-term access to basic necessities for life such as clean water. Topics include the case of the village of Pigbalowan in Mindanao, Philippines, the razor thin difference between respectful assistance to being patronizing and imperialistic, and HOPE's conviction on the importance of basic needs full cooperation in order to foster self-reliance and sustainability for communities.