International Cooperation in Social Work: Some Reflections on a Swiss-Russian Cooperation Project

This chapter provides an intellectual history of learning in development, and positions theories distinguishing different types of knowledge as especially valuable to evaluating knowledge production key to discretionary decision-making within international cooperation projects. It then considers evidence of these multiple dimensions of knowledge—from factual and conceptual to procedural and reflective knowledge—in water-and-sanitation-related international development cooperation projects studied in Maputo. Secondly, the analysis explores what kinds of proximities supported practitioners’ learning on the ground. Despite the anticipated added value of South–South Cooperation (SSC) as a special medium for advancing grounded high-level learning, the analysis shows that partners representing higher-income countries too could advance high-level know-how critical to discretionary decision-making. Further, beyond the geopolitical and technical ones favored by SSC discourses, heterarchical relationships among staff, local embeddedness in shared spaces, and practitioners’ professional theories of practice provided nuanced influences on the quality of learning within projects.

Background: In international cooperation projects that are carried out in less developed and developing countries, a large number of children with disabilities present cerebral palsy (CP). Orthopaedic disorders are frequent complications associated with this disorder. Their prevention and early intervention are essential to achieve an appropriate therapeutic approach for children with PC and to improve their quality of life. Objective: To describe the treatment approach that is currently used in international cooperation projects for the rehabilitation management of the orthopaedic disorders in children with cerebral palsy. Methods: This is an observational, descriptive, cross-sectional study, carried out by means of an online questionnaire to professionals in the field of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation working in international cooperation projects. The inclusion criteria were professionals working in the rehabilitation field in development aid, humanitarian action or emergency projects that provided rehabilitation services, working with children with cerebral palsy from 0 to 18 years old. Results: Ninety-eight questionnaires were analysed. The average age of the participants was 33.2 years, they were mainly working in development cooperation projects (83.33%) that were implemented in rehabilitation centres and through community-based rehabilitation services (60%). The projects were located in countries all over the world but mainly on the Asian continent (71.4%). Physiotherapists and orthopaedic technicians (72.22%) were the main professionals working in these projects, followed by occupational therapists and social workers (55.56%). The results indicated that the orthopaedic disorders were very frequent in the sample (66.67%), with hip subluxation (50%), scoliosis (77.78%), kyphosis (61.1%), clubfoot (88.7%) and varus foot (61.11%) standing out. The most commonly used treatment approaches were positioning (88.89%) and the Bobath concept (83.33%). The technical aids that were used by the professionals were ankle foot orthosis (AFO) (94.44%), bracing (66.67%), standing frames (83.33%), moulded seats (100%), corner seats (93.75%) and adapted seats (92.85%). Conclusions: In international cooperation projects, the rehabilitation treatment of children with cerebral palsy is based on a holistic approach. This is reflected in the interventions that are carried out to treat their orthopaedic disorders and in locally produced devices, awareness raising and community education. However, the professionals surveyed considered that the aids or orthoses used are insufficient in the treatment and prevention of orthopaedic disorders in cerebral palsy.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to construct index system of international cooperation project selection, propose a grey cluster model for project selection and apply propose model for Jiangsu international cooperation key-technology projects selection. Design/methodology/approach – Considering supply of international cooperation project is different with its demand, and regional key cooperation technologies should consider urgency and possibility of project cooperation, the author separately construct index groups for supply and demand. To aggregate assessment information of each cooperation project, whitenization function for each index is constructed and then cluster coefficient of index group could be aggregated by using each index and its weight information. Fixed weight grey cluster model is redefined and applied for selecting international cooperation project. And steps of calculation of model are given out. Real application of Jiangsu international cooperation projects’ selection is used for demonstrating process of the proposed model. Findings – Results show that constructed indexes of international cooperation project selection can be used for selecting regional cooperation projects well. And proposed fixed weight grey cluster model can aggregate all indexes information well. Therefore, proposed indexes and model in this manuscript is effective and also it can be used for solving similar problems. Practical implications – Jiangsu province is a developed region of China, and its international cooperation is more active than other regions accordingly. Constructed indexes of international cooperation project selection and fixed weight grey cluster model can help government to select needed projects easily. Originality/value – This manuscript first define a demand as urgency and supply as possibility, and a new index system of international cooperation project selection is constructed with several urgency indexes and several possibility indexes. And a new assessment model, named as fixed weight grey cluster model, is proposed to aggregate indexes’ information.

To investigate the survival and development conditions of community-based organizations (CBOs) for HIV/AIDS prevention and control among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Chinese cities including Shanghai, Hangzhou, Chongqing. This study employed both qualitative (focus groups) and quantitative (questionnaire survey) methods to obtain information from 15 MSM CBOs in three Chinese cities. The mean work time of the 15 CBOs for HIV/AIDS prevention and control among MSM was 6.7 years (2.1-11.3 years), and the majority of their funds was from international cooperation projects (80 447 000 RMB, 73.0%) from 2006 to 2013. The survival cost of MSM CBOs apart from expenditure of activities was 2 240-435 360 RMB per year. As it was shown in the graph, the survival and development of MSM CBOs was closely related to the development of international cooperation projects. There was a few small size MSM CBOs taking part in the prevention and control of HIV/AIDS and their work content was limited before 2006. From 2006 to 2008, some international cooperation projects were launched in China, such as the China Global Fund AIDS project and the China-Gates Foundation HIV Prevention Cooperation program. As a result, the number of MSM CBOs was increased sharply, and both the scale and 2012, the performance of these programs further promote the establishment of new MSM CBOs and the development of all MSM CBOs with regard to the work places, full-time staffs, work contents, work patterns and the specific targeted population. After 2012, most international cooperation programs were completed and the local department of disease prevention and control continued to cooperate with MSM CBOs. However, the degree of support funds from the local department was different among different regions. Where the funds were below the half of program funds, the development of MSM CBOs ceased and work slowed down. Besides, there were still some constraints for the survival and development of MSM CBOs, such as insufficient funds, no legitimate identity, the outflow of talents and the unsustainable development. The survival and development of MSM CBOs was closely related to the development of international cooperation projects in China. Some departments of disease prevention and control took over the cooperation with MSM CBOs when the international cooperation projects were completed. Given the survival cost of MSM CBOs and the constraints of MSM CBOs development, it needs further investigation on how to ensure the local departments of disease prevention and control to take over the cooperation with MSM CBOs and how to cooperate with MSM CBOs.

Becoming a more successful society, depends on strengthening organizations. For this reason, the intent of international development cooperation projects properly includes strengthening partner-organizations. To strengthen a partner-organization, the development agency needs to participate in its management process. On the other hand, such participation would foreseeably lead to managerial dependency. It is thus rational for a development agency to intervene, and it is rational not to intervene. This design-focused case study of Japanese support for the Egypt-Japan University of Science and Technology, focusing on the realization stage of an international cooperation project, shows how this decision-dilemma can be eased through by the use of a well-designed mechanism for participating in the management-process of partner-organizations during project operation. The fundamental idea is for this case study to be used as a design-precedent for international cooperation projects, where intent includes both enabling public value creation by partner organizations and strengthening them.

Background For 20 years, China has participated in 267 international cooperation projects against the HIV/AIDS epidemic and received ∼526 million USD from over 40 international organizations. These projects have played an important role by complementing national efforts in the fight against HIV/AIDS in China.Methods The diverse characteristics of these projects followed three phases over 20 years. Initially, stand-alone projects provided technical support in surveillance, training or advocacy for public awareness. As the epidemic spread across China, projects became a part of the comprehensive and integrated national response. Currently, international best practices encourage the inclusion of civil society and non-governmental organizations in an expanded response to the epidemic.Results Funding from international projects has accounted for one-third of the resources provided for the HIV/AIDS response in China. Beyond this strong financial support, these programmes have introduced best practices, accelerated the introduction of AIDS policies, strengthened capacity, improved the development of grassroots social organizations and established a platform for communication and experience sharing with the international community. However, there are still challenges ahead, including integrating existing resources and exploring new programme models. The National Centre for AIDS/STD Control and Prevention (NCAIDS) in China is consolidating all international projects into national HIV prevention, treatment and care activities.Conclusion International cooperation projects have been an invaluable component of China’s response to HIV/AIDS, and China has now been able to take this information and share its experiences with other countries with the help of these same international programmes.

To assure high quality education in developing countries, curriculum development endeavours are often initiated as part of international cooperation projects. Since culture affects the educational context of the countries involved and the way in which curriculum developers from different countries are used to work and behave, influences of culture on curriculum development can not be neglected. Responding to the need to make curriculum development processes and outcomes more likely to be effective and sustainable, this study aims to clarify the influence of culture on curriculum development processes taking place in the context of international cooperation. A framework for culturally sensitive curriculum development is developed and cultural influences are identified on curriculum development activities, conditions, and outcomes as part of an extensive international cooperation project between Ghana and The Netherlands. In addition, four other international cooperation projects between Ghana and The Netherlands including curriculum development processes are analysed on influences of culture. The study outcomes show the usefulness of the developed framework and the extensive roles of the cultural dimensions High-Low Power Distance, Collectivism-Individualism, High-Low Context, and Polytime-Monotime in curriculum development processes. Based on the study outcomes, various guidelines are presented to ensure sensitivity and responsiveness to culture in curriculum development processes in international cooperation. International project teams are encouraged to conduct extensive context analyses and reflection activities to become acquainted with and adaptive to culturally shaped educational contexts. Strong involvement of local stakeholders (i.e. school managers, teachers, and students) is also recommended. By applying the conceptual framework for culturally sensitive curriculum development, curriculum developers are facilitated to create more cultural understanding and to discuss cultural misunderstandings among the project partners.

近些年，高校的国际交流合作项目种类和参与人数都越来越多。在项目开展过程中，存在着这样那样的问题。本文以本校计算机学院开展的国际合作项目为立足点，对国际合作项目中普遍存在的问题进行了探索和分析，以期为各高校国际交流合作项目的顺利开展和推进提供参考。 In recent years, there are more and more kinds of international exchanges and cooperation projects in Colleges and Universities. In the implementation of these projects, there are many kinds of problems. In this paper, based on international exchanges and cooperation projects in Computer School, problems in this kind of project were explored and analyzed. It provides reference for the smooth development and promotion of international cooperation projects in Colleges and Universities.

استهدف البحث تحديد القدرات الإبداعية للإخصائيين الاجتماعيين بمدارس المتفوقن في العلوم والتکنولوجيا STEM من خلال التعرف على مجموعة من الأهداف الفرعية وهى: التعرف على واقع القدرات الإبداعية للإخصائيين الاجتماعيين بتلک المدارس ويمکن تحديد الواقع من خلال الابعاد الاتية: (الأصالة الفکرية – الطلاقة الفکرية – المرونة التلقائية – الحساسية للمشکلات), وکذلک التعرف علي أهم معوقات تنمية القدرات الإبداعية للإخصائئين الاجتماعيين بمدارس STEM . ثم التوصل إلي مجموعة من المقترحات اللازمة لتنمية تلک القدرات لتحديد المتطلبات، لذا اعتمد البحث الميداني على منهج دراسة الحالة بأسلوب المسح الاجتماعى الشامل لجميع الإخصائيين الاجتماعين العاملين بمدارس STEM، وطبق البحث على عينة قوامها (341) مفردة من طلاب تلک المدارس, وتوصل البحث إلى مجموعة من النتائج من أهمها: أن مستوى القدرات الإبداعية مرتفعا لدي الإخصائيين الاجتماعيين العاملين بمدارس المتفوقين للعلوم والتکنولوجيا في کل من المتغيرات التالية وهى:(الأصالة الفکرية.الطلاقة الفکرية.المرونة التلقائية.الحساسية للمشکلات). The present research aimed to identify the creative abilities of social workers in STEM schools by identifying a set of sub-objectives, namely identifying the status-quo of the creative abilities of social workers in these schools. Such status-quo can be determined through many dimensions (intellectual originality - intellectual fluency - automatic flexibility - sensitivity to problems). Furthermore, the study to identify the most important obstacles of developing the creative abilities of social workers in STEM schools. The study also developed a set of proposals necessary to develop such abilities to determine the requirements. The field research made use of the case study approach via a comprehensive social survey of all social workers working at STEM schools, and the research was administered to a sample consisting of (341) students in those schools. The results of the research revealed that the social workers have higher levels of creative abilities at such schools in terms of (intellectual originality, intellectual fluency, automatic flexibility, sensitivity to problems).

Journal Article Empirical Clinical Practice from a Feminist Perspective: A Reply to Davis Get access André Ivanoff, André Ivanoff André Ivanoff PhD, ACSW, is Assistant Professor, School of Social Work, Columbia University, 622 West 113th Street, New York, NY 10025. Elizabeth A. R. Robinson, MPH, MSW, is doctoral candidate, School of Social Work, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Betty J. Blythe, PhD, ACSW, is Associate Professor, School of Social Work, University of Pittsburgh. Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic PubMed Google Scholar Elizabeth A. R. Robinson, Elizabeth A. R. Robinson André Ivanoff PhD, ACSW, is Assistant Professor, School of Social Work, Columbia University, 622 West 113th Street, New York, NY 10025. Elizabeth A. R. Robinson, MPH, MSW, is doctoral candidate, School of Social Work, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Betty J. Blythe, PhD, ACSW, is Associate Professor, School of Social Work, University of Pittsburgh. Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic PubMed Google Scholar Betty J. Blythe Betty J. Blythe André Ivanoff PhD, ACSW, is Assistant Professor, School of Social Work, Columbia University, 622 West 113th Street, New York, NY 10025. Elizabeth A. R. Robinson, MPH, MSW, is doctoral candidate, School of Social Work, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Betty J. Blythe, PhD, ACSW, is Associate Professor, School of Social Work, University of Pittsburgh. Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic PubMed Google Scholar Social Work, Volume 34, Issue 6, November 1989, Pages 558–559, https://doi.org/10.1093/sw/34.6.558 Published: 01 November 1989

Diana Di Nitto, PhD, is an associate professor in the School of Social Work at the University of Texas at Austin. Patricia Yancey Martin, PhD, is a professor at the School of Social Work, Florida State University in Tallahassee. Diane Blum Norton, PhD, is an adjunct professor at the School of Allied Health and Social Work, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC. M. Sharon Maxwell, MSW, is an assistant professor in social welfare at Florida A & M University in Tallahassee. This article is based on research funded by the Florida Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services, contract LC118, “Needs Analysis for Rape Victim Services.”

Editorial: Advancing Our Commitment to Antiracist Scholarship

Child and family social workers in the UK work closely with other agencies including schools and the police, and typically they are based in local authority offices. This study will evaluate the effectiveness of placing social workers in schools (SWIS) on the need for social care interventions. SWIS was piloted in three local authorities in 2018-2020, and findings from a feasibility study of the pilots suggests SWIS may operate through three key pathways: (1) by enhancing schools' response to safeguarding issues, (2) through increased collaboration between social workers, school staff, and parents, and (3) by improving relationships between social workers and young people. The study is a two-arm pragmatic cluster randomised controlled trial building on three feasibility studies which found SWIS to be promising. Social workers will work within secondary schools across local authorities in England. 280 mainstream secondary schools will be randomly allocated with a 1:1 ratio to SWIS or a comparison arm, which will be schools that continue as normal, without a social worker. The primary outcome will be the rate of Child Protection (Section 47) enquiries. Secondary outcomes will comprise rate of referrals to children's social care, rate of Child in Need (Section 17) assessments, days spent in care, and educational attendance and attainment. The study also includes an economic evaluation, and an implementation and process evaluation. Social care outcomes will be measured in July 2022, and educational outcomes will be measured in July 2023. Days in care will be measured at both time points. Findings will explore the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of SWIS on the need for social care interventions. A final report will be published in January 2024. The study was registered retrospectively with the International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial Number registry on 13.11.2020 (ISRCTN90922032).

In Tunisia, international cooperation projects in support of entrepreneurship boomed after the 2011 revolution. This paper analyses to what extent such projects have built the capacities of those involved in local entrepreneurial “ecosystems”. It analyses the main international cooperation projects supporting entrepreneurship in the Kebili and Medenine governorates (southern Tunisia) between 2011 and 2020. The activities of these projects were mapped and two workshops were conducted with actors of the local entrepreneurial ecosystems to discuss their implementation. Fourteen international cooperation projects were identified. These projects mostly focused on increasing the number of enterprises created, e.g., by supporting training, networking and sometimes funding. However, only one project provided support after creation of businesses, and few promoted a culture of entrepreneurship. Overall, these projects generally based their actions on the existing ecosystem of public actors in charge of supporting entrepreneurship. They made limited attempts to build the capacities of those actors, evaluate the functioning of local entrepreneurial ecosystems and coordinate among themselves.

The focus of this study is to examine efficient ways of promoting the project and implications in international development cooperation project with analysis of participants’ organizations and roles. This study would like to share the lessons and experiences from main issues of each phases of international development cooperation project through Feasibility Study for Philippines Multi-industry Cluster Project. The specific goals of this study are as follow. The first, consideration on the roles of Korea and Philippine government in the process of international development cooperation project based on demands and needs of recipient country. The second, examining the strategic countermeasures for main issues in the process of cooperation between agencies; recipient country, Department of Agriculture and planning team of donor country, F/S Team. The third, reviewing the model and the project structure in order to secure the realizability of the project in planning level of implementation strategy and examining the political tasks and strategic proposals in order to attract private investments. The implication of this study shows the model of win-win strategy for both recipient country and donor country in international development cooperation with presentation of packaged strategic approach from the establishment of regional plan to the establishment of specific plan for project area. It could be benchmarked as a successful case in international development cooperation, presenting the project model which private investment cooperation could be made in international development cooperation through the establishment of specific implementation strategy after master plan.