Aid Package Research Articles

Still Staging Democracy

Abstract: Georgia's August War with Russia prompted a new wave of political mobilization against the government of President Mikheil Saakashvili after a previous effort faltered in 2007-2008. Despite its renewed vigor, the postwar opposition failed for at least three reasons: 1) increased levels of political discontent did not translate to broad public support for the president's resignation; 2) the opposition remained divided with regard to its methods and aims; and 3) the government successfully represented itself as an alternative engine of democratization. Georgian politics ought to now be replaced by the implementation of desirable constitutional, electoral, and media reform. Keywords: August War, Georgia, Rose Revolution, state-led reform, street protest ********** Waging war, especially a disastrous one, can have dire consequences for ailing regimes. Georgia's August 2008 war with Russia came after a year of political discontent, especially in the capital city of Tbilisi; a slowing economy; and a rising disenchantment with the government of President Mikheil Saakashvili, whose ascent to power following the 2003 Rose Revolution was a hopeful sign of democratic breakthrough in the troubled Black Sea-Caspian region. Although the political opposition to Saakashvili failed to oust the government before the war, it regrouped afterwards, pursuing the president's resignation--a step it insisted was necessary for Georgia's further democratization and security. The defection of some previously high-level officials in Saakashvili's government, coupled with growing criticism of Saakashvili in the Western capitals most supportive of Georgia, encouraged the opposition to believe that its goal was both justifiable and obtainable. However, the Georgian government was not as vulnerable as many in the opposition believed. A post-Rose Revolution record of successful spending on social programs and infrastructure, the population's postwar solidarity in the face of the Russian threat, and foreign aid packages that included substantial budgetary support all provided the Saakashvili administration with a considerable cushion. More generally, the opposition simply underestimated the difficulty of translating social discontent into regime change. A disillusioned (or at least disconcerted) public still failed to view the war as the kind of unforgivable transgression the opposition made it out to be, so there was no sustained collective protest. The opposition's internal divisions also made it more difficult to compete with the state for support. Although the defections from the government may have been significant, there were only a few. By comparison, the opposition remained openly divided, with its leaders joining forces tactically but with no real consensus regarding the ends and means of protest, and often charting a course of action based on personal animosities toward Saakashvili or their personal political fortunes, rather than working to achieve political reforms. At the same time, the government dampened a new bout of revolutionary fervor by successfully establishing itself as part of the solution to the problems that the opposition diagnosed, rather than (as is usually the case in such circumstances) reinforcing the opposition's message through obstinacy and brute force. Government officials, from the president down, consistently acknowledged the system's democratic deficiencies and expressed a willingness to engage in a common effort to remedy them. Rather than retreat into authoritarianism, as might have been expected after a traumatic war, the government hewed to a process of political engagement that maintained its credentials as a democratizing, if not fully democratic, regime. That said, the government also demonstrated a facility for more customary methods of state control. Although the government initiated reform of Georgia's constitutional separation of powers, electoral code, and official and private local broadcast media, the government failed to move as quickly to reform the judiciary and the Interior Ministry--the key foundations of state power--or the ostensibly private nationwide broadcast television stations, which have the power to influence social attitudes particularly outside Tbilisi. …

Exploring the Effects of Student Expectations about Financial Aid on Postsecondary Choice: A Focus on Income and Racial/Ethnic Differences

This study investigates how the expectations of different types of financial aid affect the student college choice process from application through enrollment. We find that students from different race and income groups respond differentially to aid packages in their application and enrollment decisions depending on their levels of aid expectations. In application behavior, Asians at all income levels increase their likelihood of application at a greater rate in response to an increase in their aid expectations than other racial groups. Simulations indicate that enrollment probabilities decline more for African American and Hispanic students than whites and Asians when they expect to receive financial aid but do not. The findings suggest the particular importance of financial aid packages in the college choice process for underrepresented minority students.

Foreign Aid as Counterterrorism Policy

This paper presents a model where foreign aid bolsters a developing country’s proactive counterterrorism efforts against a resident transnational terrorist group. In stage 1 of the game, the donor country allocates resources to terrorism-fighting tied aid, general assistance, and defensive actions at home. The recipient country then decides its proactive campaign against the common terrorist threat in stage 2, while the terrorists direct their attacks against the donor and recipient countries in stage 3. Terrorists’ choices in the final stage provide a solid microfoundation for the terrorists’ likelihood of success function. In stage 2, greater tied aid raises the recipient country’s proactive measures and regime instability, while increased general aid reduces these proactive efforts and regime instability. In stage 1, a donor’s homeland security decisions are interdependent with its aid package to a recipient country, hosting resident transnational terrorists. This interdependency has gone unrecognized to date.

Student Athlete Retention and Financial Aid

This study assesses the effectiveness of financial aid combinations of the Oklahoma Higher Education Learning Access Program (OHLAP) and the two most popular federal financial aid programs, Pell grants and Stafford loans, in predicting persistence among intercollegiate athletes at postsecondary institutions in Oklahoma, with special attention to minority groups. The evidence in this study suggests that various financial aid packages impact student athlete retention differently by class level, income, and race/ethnicity. Whereas White student athletes benefit the most from financial aid packages, the likelihood of increased retention for low-income minority student athletes increases with financial aid in the form of grants. In addition, the OHLAP program is very effective in promoting retention among student athletes in Oklahoma when combined with Pell grants or Stafford loans. In sum, based on the results studying student athletes in Oklahoma, it is clear that athlete student persistence is significantly influenced by financial aid on top of athletic scholarships.

A Strong Diplomat in a Weak Polity: T. V. Soong and wartime US–China relations, 1940–1943

Renowned as one of China's most eloquent and persuasive spokesmen in the United States during WWII, T. V. Soong, who served as Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek's personal representative in Washington, had obtained vital US aid for China when it appeared that Chinese military will was about to collapse. He had negotiated strategic loans with the US and produced critical economic and military aid packages, thus projecting a strong national image of China to the Western Allies. But historians, until now, have known almost nothing about Soong's wartime, diplomatic endeavors, especially his managing of Sino–American relations. Archival materials at the Hoover Institution have only been recently opened, allowing this author to describe some unique episodes in US–China relations during the years 1940 to 1943.

Table of Contents

Abstract Cover Story Align aid with recruitment goals to increase access and enrollment Focus on aid, enrollment to boost access for students Shift in merit awards helps IU boost aid to Indiana residents New scholarships office helps IU meet its recruitment, enrollment goals Cover Story: Leaders & Innovators MARGUERITE J. DENNIS, VICE PRESIDENT, ENROLLMENT & INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS, SUFFOLK UNIVERSITY Turn interview over to your position candidates to determine if they're right for the job Follow these 4 tips to ensure that you are organized. Higher Education Act ED plans meetings to develop Higher Education Act rules Technology Generate reports quickly, easily with Executive Peer Tool Compliance Hire good people, monitor textbook purchases to avert sanctions Many problems cause probation Texas State reduces financial aid, fires coach, in response to violations Clearinghouse Bill loaded with student aid appears headed for passage Study finds incentive scholarships boost enrollment and retention Financial aid package essential to college enrollment decision Access Follow VA tips to be ready to help veterans New grant could help you enhance services provided to veterans Lawsuits & Rulings TUITION Late application for transition program prevents reimbursement for tuition FRAUD Man can't recover on expired action for college's loan collections error LOAN DISCHARGE Shopping cart manager with low IQ has large loan debt cancelled Managing Your Office Boost staff retention by encouraging diversity Demographic changes mean your workforce must be diverse

Ekspansja gospodarcza Chin w Afryce

In the recent years China has intensified its economic cooperation with the African countries in order to secure the new resource market. The trade between China and Africa has been expanding very quickly in the last few years and in September 2008, China’s customs authorities released an estimate of the value of bilateral trade at more than 100 billion dollars. For comparison the value of bilateral trade between China and Africa was in 2001 only 10,8 billion dollars. There also has been an enormous inflow of the Chinese direct investment into Africa. The most spectacular case of such investment was the take-over in October 2007 by the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, one of the “Big-Four” state owned banks, a 20% stake in South Africa’s Standard Bank for 5,46 billion dollars. Earlier, in January 2006, state-controlled oil company China National Offshore Oil Corporation paid 2,3 billion dollars for a 45% stake in a Nigerian oil field. China’s economic expansion in Africa in viewed as the desire of that country to increase its presence on the black continent. Chinese authorities use the “noninterference” approach and are willing to form close partnerships with governments in Africa, which are considered unsavoury in the West, such as those of Sudan and Zimbabwe. Additionally, China’s aid and trade packages are not tied to any requirements for reform or government transparency and therefore undermine – mostly Western – efforts to encourage good governence. There are, however some fears that China will be a neocolonialist and simply use Africa as a resource market, taking away raw materials and selling fishined goods back to Africa, leaving Africans with depleted resources and no industry. There also are concerns that Chinese factories and mines in Africa will either use large numbers of Chinese workers instead of locals, or underpay and exploit local workers. The leaders of African states are learning from economic cooperation with China how to manage the relationship with China and adapt some elements of the Chinese economic model, different from the Western model, which in Africa has not yielded much fruit. However the African states should shape the common policy vis-a-vis cooperation with China in order to secure the best possible advantages from that cooperation.

U.S. Human Rights Activism and Plan Colombia

Non-governmental organizations claim to play a central role in defining U.S. foreign policy, particularly in the field of human rights. Here, I will examine the role of human rights and humanitarian groups in the debates over U.S. foreign policy towards Colombia, focusing on the design and subsequent additional appropriations for Plan Colombia, a multi-billion dollar aid package beginning in 2000. I argue that NGOs were able to build on the legacy of prior human rights activism focusing on Latin America, but failed to achieve significant grassroots mobilization around this issue. I examine the structural issues limiting such mobilization, as well as exploring how NGOs did leverage legislative conditions placed on the assistance package to keep human rights concerns part of the debates over U.S. policy. This case study will contribute to the historical record of how policy is made and developed, adding to the growing literature exploring how human rights claims translate into specific governmental policies.

US Intervention in Colombia: The Role of Transnational Relations

In July 2000, US President, Bill Clinton, signed into law the aid package popularly known as ‘Plan Colombia’. Foreign policy analysts examining the ‘US drug war’ have generally focused upon the perceived national security interests of the US state and/or the intermestic nature of domestic politics, or the economic interests of an imperial US state in explaining US drug policy. I posit that the development, initiation and implementation of Plan Colombia cannot solely be understood through these various nation‐state paradigms, as this process was aided by, and facilitated through, an incipient transnational state. The emergence and consolidation into power of a neoliberal state within Colombia, the role of transnational lobbying by US and Colombian policy‐makers, as well as the influence of transnational corporations all played instrumental roles in the initiation, development and implementation of Plan Colombia.

Accuracy of packaging of dose administration aids in regional aged care facilities in the Hunter area of New South Wales

To audit the accuracy of dose administration aid (DAA) packaging in regional aged care facilities (RACFs) within the boundaries of the Hunter Urban Division of General Practice. Each participating RACF audited one DAA for each resident receiving medication between May and August 2006. Registered nurses compared the contents with the medication chart prepared by the general practitioner and recorded any discrepancies as incidents. Number of medication incidents in the provision of DAAs. 297 incidents were detected from 6972 packs for 2480 residents (incident rate of 4.3% of packs and 12% of residents) from 42 participating RACFs. Reasons for incidents included medications missing from a pack (99 occasions), wrong medication dispensed (12), supply of the wrong strength (32), incorrect labelling (7), pharmacies supplying medication that had been ceased by the GP (37), incorrect dosage instructions (32), medications not delivered to the RACF (13). The rate of incidents in DAA packaging in RACFs was high. The error types included incorrect packaging, correct packaging but the DAA was no longer required, and operational problems. Recommendations for improvement include: continuing audit and analysis by RACFs; streamlining of communications among GPs, pharmacists and RACF staff; using electronic methods to chart, order and dispense medications; use of generic names as much as possible; development of guidelines for the supply of medication in DAAs.

China & India as Africa's New Donors: The Impact of Aid on Development

Using a two-analytical framework and drawing on a wide range of secondary data, this article attempts to assess the likely impact of aid from China and India on the development of Africa. The framework treats aid as one of four main channels through which China and India influence the shape and performance of particular sectors and, through them, development outcomes. The first stage of analysis examines the varying patterns of Chinese and Indian aid and the multiple impacts such aid has on one key sector: manufacturing. The main findings from this level of analysis have to do with the differing patterns of Indian and Chinese aid, differences between Chinese and Indian aid, and aid from western countries, and the interconnections between the impact channels. India and China have different patterns of aid. India concentrates on non-monetary aid mainly in the form of technical assistance and scholarships, while China offers a wider range of monetary and non-monetary aid packages, which include grants and loans for infrastructure, plant and equipment, as well as scholarships, training opportunities, and technical assistance. Chinese monetary aid is tied to the use of Chinese goods and services, and requires adherence to the 'One China' policy, but does not carry the 'good governance' conditionalities that currently characterise western donors. The impact channels of trade, FDI, aid, and migration overlap to some degree, especially in the case of China. The line between FDI and aid is often blurred, as is the line between aid and trade. The second stage of the analysis looks at the implications of Chinese and Indian aid to manufacturing for development outcomes such as growth, distribution, governance, and environment. The analysis shows clearly that the potential impact of Chinese and Indian aid on Africa is significant, but that the actual effects of these emerging donors on particular countries depends to a large extent on the institutional and structural conditions of the recipients.

The Impact of Financial Aid on Postsecondary Persistence: A Review of the Literature

This article identifies the conundrum that exists between removing financial access barriers to college and the student recipients’ inability to sustain reenrollment. After reviewing the findings of 7 research studies related to the impact of financial aid on persistence, the article concludes with a discussion of possible intervention strategies to employ in conjunction with fi nancial aid packages.

Incorporation of National Universities in Taiwan: Challenges for the Government and the Academics

The Council of Education Reform of the Executive Yuan in Taiwan raised the issue of incorporating national universities in 1996. After that initial effort, the Ministry of Education in 2000 revealed its proposal to incorporate national universities in a White Paper on higher education policy. In 2003–2006 the government has tried at least twice to sell the policy to legislators in Taiwan's parliament (the Legislative Yuan). The first attempt was made in 2003 when the government submitted its bill to revise the University Act. In the bill, a whole chapter was devoted to regulations concerned with the incorporation of universities. The proposal promised university corporations autonomy, and, in particular, more flexible personnel and accounting systems. The bill, however, failed to pass the Committee of Education and Culture in the Legislative Yuan. In October 2005, the Ministry of Education tried again by including only one article related to the incorporation of universities in the bill. That article was to provide universities with a legal foundation for incorporation, but the Legislative Yuan passed the bill without including that particular article. It thus failed again. The Ministry of Education has not, however, given up on its policy of incorporating universities. In a special NT$50 billion dollar aid package to universities, the government required that all recipients include a plan for incorporation. In order to receive the special assistance, most universities have chosen not to resist. The incorporation of national universities in Taiwan is an issue that needs to be closely watched in the future.

Welfare Women Go Elite: The Ada Comstock Scholars Program

This article traces the development of Smith College’s program for returning women from 1968 through 1985. Guided by Smith’s feminist president, Jill Conway, the elite women’s college offered full financial aid packages to support women welfare recipients and their dependent children through a complete undergraduate education. The program garnered national attention as a model for expanding college access to one of the nation’s least-well served populations. Three key aspects of the program’s development are considered: Conway’s top-down support of continuing education, which was crucial to the program’s success; the mechanisms by which the College was able to circumvent restrictive welfare policies and implement a novel approach to educating the poor; and the broader aims of the Ada Comstock Scholars Program as a national model for both informing public policy and expanding college access. The work draws on archival sources, an interview with Conway, and secondary literature.

Our Island Friends: Do We Still Care? The Compacts of Free Association with the Marshall Islands and Micronesia

Our Island Friends: Do We Still Care? The Compacts of Free Association with the Marshall Islands and Micronesia

Quid Pro Quo? China's Investment-for-Resource Swaps in Africa

China has been criticized for using ‘no strings attached’ investment and aid packages to secure access to natural resources in Africa. Are these concerns legitimate or simply defensive reactions as China's rising influence in Africa challenges western hegemony? Examples of investment-for-resources swaps in four countries are examined, and the authors find that nature and relative development benefits of such deals cannot be generalized.

Fueling Injustice: Globalization, Ecologically Unequal Exchange and Climate Change

The globalization of economic production fundamentally reshapes how a ‘fair’ solution to the climate change problem must be forged. Emissions are increasing sharply in developing countries as wealthy nations ‘offshore’ the energy- and natural resource-intensive stages of production. We review a new and relatively under-utilized theory of ‘ecologically unequal exchange’ and apply it to the case of climate change. We describe four distinct principles that have been proposed to assign responsibility for carbon emissions, discuss their inadequacies, and briefly lay out some ‘hybrid’ proposals currently under consideration. We suggest combining hybrid proposals with environmental aid packages that help poorer nations transition from carbon-intensive pathways of development to more climate-friendly development trajectories, using remuneration from the so-called ‘ecological debt’. In the context of deadlock over a completely inadequate Kyoto Protocol, we argue that fairness principles, climate science, and an understanding of globalization and development must be integrated. La globalización de la producción económica cambia completamente la forma de cómo una “simple”solución al problema del cambio climatológico debe de ser alterado. Las emisiones han aumentado bruscamente en los países en desarrollo mientras que los países ricos operan en el extranjero las fases intensas de producción de energía y utilización de recursos naturales. Hemos revisado una teoría nueva y relativamente poco utilizada de ‘intercambio ecológico desigual’ y la hemos aplicado al caso del cambio del clima. Describimos cuatro principios distintos que se propusieron para asignar la responsabilidad a las emisiones de carbón, discutimos sus faltas de adecuación y planeamos brevemente unas propuestas ‘híbridas'que se encuentran actualmente bajo consideración. Sugerimos combinar las propuestas híbridas con los paquetes de ayuda para el medio ambiente que ayuden a las naciones más pobres a hacer la transición de las vías intensivas de desarrollo de carbón a trayectorias de desarrollo más adaptable al clima, usando renumeración de la llamada ‘deuda ecológica’. En el contexto sobre un Protocolo de Kyoto estancado y completamente inadecuado, discutimos que la justicia, ciencia climatológica y el entendimiento de globalización y desarrollo deben integrarse.

The Financial Value of a Higher Education

Five years have passed since the U.S. Census Bureau published synthetic estimates of work-life earnings by educational attainment. This paper updates those figures with the most recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau's annual Current Population Surveys, and adds net present value analysis of the financial benefit of a college degree to the individual and to the federal government. The added value of a bachelor's degree over a high school diploma or GED has increased to $1.2 million in 2005 from $910,000 in 1997-1999. Compared with the average out-of-pocket costs of a college education, this represents a return on investment in excess of 27%. The added value also corresponds to an additional $133,000 in cumulative federal income tax revenue. Accordingly, it would be financially worthwhile for the federal government to replace loans with grants in the financial aid packages of low income students if this yielded at least a 32% increase in the number of low income students graduating with bachelor's degrees.

The Economic Effects of the Asian Tsunami on the ‘Tear Drop in the Indian Ocean’

Sri Lanka is the second worst affected country by the Indian Ocean tsunami (IOT) in absolute terms after Indonesia and the most affected country in relative terms of per capita deaths, missing and displaced people. In addition to the damages to public infrastructure and owner-occupied houses, some sectors of the economy such as fishing and tourism have been severely affected. This article demonstrates how a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model can provide some information on the effects of the IOT and on the likely effects of a reconstruction aid package on tsunami affected economies such as Sri Lanka, India and Indonesia. The article indicates that it is important to consider the combined effects of the IOT and the reconstruction package. While the IOT has produced negative economic effects on the economy, the reconstruction package would stimulate the economy.

The Incoherence of US Counternarcotics Policy in Colombia: Exploring the Breaches in the Policy Cycle

This article analyses US counternarcotics policy in Colombia, focusing on the policy cycle of the US aid package to Plan Colombia (from August 1998 to July 2000). Based on the postulate that US foreign policy, in particular counternarcotics policy (both international and domestic), suffers from a lack of policy coherence and ineffectiveness, this article explores a range of explanatory factors, grounded primarily in breaches in the policy cycle. It is argued that these breaches result primarily from domestic politics, namely with regard to pressures emanating from Presidential and Congressional elections, from the omnipresent fear of being accused of being ‘soft on drugs’ and public opinion as well as lobbying groups with interests in Colombia. Cet article analyse la politique antidrogue des Etats Unis en Colombie, en se concentrant sur le processus de prise de decision relatif a leur contribution au Plan Colombie (d'aoUt 1998 a juillet 2000). Sur la base du postulat que la politique etrangere americaine,...