Agenda For Social Development Research Articles

The Global Agenda for Social Work and Social Development: A Conflicted Global Concept?

This paper reflects on the impact of The Global Agenda (GA) process and focuses on its relevance for social work practitioners and educators in the United Kingdom (UK). It asks, is there a global social work profession? The paper explores three key elements. Firstly, to what extent is it possible to view the diversity of social work under the differing national frameworks, as a coherent, single professional identity? Secondly, to what extent are national concepts of social work related to global instruments such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Thirdly, are there universal theoretical models? Having explored these questions, The GA process unequivocally adopted the position that there is a global social work profession, that its members and practitioners do share core values, principles and practice models, that these models require constant review and revision, and that one purpose of the process was/is to stimulate those discussions and explore those narratives, as is evident in the four GA reports. This makes The GA process as relevant for practice and policy in the UK, as it is for other countries.

Assessment of Trends in Higher Education Needs in Kenya

The need for quality and relevant tertiary education is much more urgent now than ever. This is occasioned by the advancement of society’s agenda for social, economic, technological, and moral development. The study was designed to assess the tertiary education needs of the youth in Kenya, analyse the state of students’ college education financing in tertiary institutions, establish the status of the quality of facilities in tertiary level educational institutions, establish the ability of college education to address skills required for youth employability, collate the views of participants on the incorporation of value based education in tertiary institutions, and establish the responsiveness of college education to challenges related to global megatrends. The mixed-method approach was adopted to guide the study to cater to its qualitative and quantitative aspects. The participants of the study included college students (350), graduates (125), and educators (49). Students were sampled using systematic random sampling while college educators and graduates were sampled using snowball sampling. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics while thematic analysis was used for qualitative data. The findings revealed growing trends in the shift in career choices for more practical and solution-based courses for the contemporary generation of young people. Financing education remains a major challenge for many college students. Education offered in many tertiary colleges inadequately addresses the challenges caused by global megatrends and the integration of value-based education in their curricular offerings. The overall quality of the institutions in the region was found not to be competitive by the global practice.

An Analysis of the Validity of the Chinese A-share Market During the 14th Five-year Plan Period

The Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH), initially formulated and subsequently refined by the renowned American economist Eugene Fama in 1970, classifies markets into three tiers of efficiency: weak, semi-strong, and strong. As the world's second-largest economy, China has assumed an increasingly prominent role on the global stage due to its distinctive socialist framework and the ongoing development and enhancement of its capital market. The 14th Five-Year Plan, a pivotal component of China's social development agenda for 2021-2025, holds immense significance in propelling China's economic progress. In this study, utilizing a time series model, we conduct a comprehensive examination of China's A-share market throughout the current century, scrutinize the overarching context of the 14th Five-Year Plan, assess the efficacy of China's capital market, and propose potential remedies and future outlooks in alignment with the pertinent policies outlined by the Chinese government and the factors contributing to the inefficiencies observed within China's A-share market.

A socially inclusive economic transition for Mexico: Identifying the opportunities and benefits of enhanced climate action

Climate change is one of the greatest risks to development. It is crucial and urgent for Mexico to integrate climate and environmental objectives into its social development agenda. Policy priorities and investments need to recognize climate change as a key factor that may worsen social inequalities and affect the country’s ability to grow in the future.

A socially inclusive economic transition for Mexico: Identifying the opportunities and benefits of enhanced climate action

Climate change is one of the greatest risks to development. It is crucial and urgent for Mexico to integrate climate and environmental objectives into its social development agenda. Policy priorities and investments need to recognize climate change as a key factor that may worsen social inequalities and affect the country’s ability to grow in the future.

The low odds of poor women with small business loans emerging from poverty: Critical social policy implications for Pakistan

AbstractThe government of Pakistan has been relying on the microfinance industry to reduce poverty among poor women in Pakistan. Using a theoretical framework that argues for limiting the abilities and capacity of existing microfinance services, we empirically investigate the odds of poor women remaining in poverty despite microfinance loan provision. We collected data from four provinces in Pakistan and analyzed it using multivariate logistic regression. Three‐fourths of the 442 women respondents live below poverty lines and are unable to emerge from poverty due to factors such as: housing instability, food insecurity, lack of savings, insufficient loan size and high installment rates, lack of gender solidarity through group borrowing, and threats of domestic violence. Lack of health insurance and critical health problems such as infectious diseases, having suffered an injury, chronic ailments, and mental health challenges are also preventing poverty emergence. We conclude by recommending key social policy development agendas that need to be introduced by the state, in partnership with the microfinance sector, to support women borrowers and help them emerge from poverty.

Contemporary Challenges Facing Social Work in Turkey: Would Global Agenda Be Relevant?

The Global Agenda for Social Work and Social Development (GA) aims at strengthening the social work profession by building linkages between global challenges and local responses. Against the neoliberal conservative policy transformation in the last two decades, this article focuses on the effects of neoliberal policies on social work education and practice in Turkey and discusses the relevance and operationalisation of the Global Agenda in Turkish context. The thematic analysis of the qualitative data from focus group interviews held with social work academics and representatives of Turkish Association of Social Workers (TASW) reveal that the role of the profession has significantly been narrowed down; together with the degrading in the quality of social work education, professional values have considerably eroded and thus resulted in further deepening of the identity crisis of the social work profession in Turkey. The research findings also indicate relatively limited knowledge and recognition of the GA in Turkey so far. However, the GA was identified as potentially useful in dealing with local professional challenges. In this regard, the effective operationalisation of the GA in Turkey would be possible with the commitments of both social work educators through the curriculum and engagement of the professionals.

Preserving indigenous minority languages through community radio in development programmes in Malawi

This study explores the extent to which two community radio stations have transcended the social development agenda and contributed to facilitating retention of indigenous cultures in the locality where they operate. In Malawi, community radio stations established and funded by international development aid agencies have become a powerful and effective tool for empowering marginalised societies in rural areas. Radio in this context acts as a medium for social mobilisation, facilitating the interface between communities and duty bearers on community social development issues. Specifically, local indigenous languages are used to ease communication challenges and increase effective public participation in local programmes that are often aired on community radio stations. Using ethnolinguistic vitality and development media as frameworks, the study analysed data on the use of broadcasting as a tool for community empowerment, education, information sharing and awareness. The findings establish that apart from amplifying indigenous voices on issues that matter to their communities, the community radio stations through social development programmes have also influenced the preservation of different cultural attributes, including languages. Thus, the article concludes that the programmes in local languages have improved the people's capacity to claim their rights and has enabled access to essential information for widespread understanding and cultural continuity.

Reconsidering social work education in Namibia: past, present, and future

ABSTRACT This article considers the past, present, and future of social work education in Namibia in three parts. The first provides the historical context of colonization, liberation struggle, and post-independence social welfare. The second discusses social work education pre- and post-independence, focusing on the University of Namibia’s (UNAM) programme and the challenges of developing an indigenized curriculum. The third on curriculum review focuses on an indigenized curriculum that fits a developmental social work approach and indigenous helping processes in local contexts. The authors propose a conceptual framework for curriculum review that draws on the Global Agenda for Social Work and Social Development and Namibia’s fifth National Development Plan (NDP5), which are compatible with the integration of indigenous and Western social work approaches and developmental welfare goals, respectively.

Practitioner Perspectives on Child Feeding in Uganda: Community Engagement through the Global Agenda

This collaborative research study arose in response to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2 and 3, which have amongst their targets an aim to eradicate preventable deaths in children under five years old. The research is founded on the aims of the Global Agenda for Social Work and Social Development which aims at strengthening the social work profession through linkages between global challenges and local responses. To address these issues through nutritious child feeding, it was essential to understand the views and experiences of SW and social development practitioners involved with child feeding practices. Through an online qualitative survey and reflexive thematic analysis, we explored the views and experiences of practitioners working with the Uganda Red Cross Society. Three themes were developed from analysis of the data: Lifestyle Choices & Restrictions; Limited Resources & Facilities; and Knowledge & Education. A reflection on the challenges encountered and advancing international social work through engagement with the Global Agenda are also presented.

Social inclusive development agenda for municipal institutional collaboration

This research seeks to propose a comprehensive social development program that strengthens the agency-agency collaboration of the county of Miracosta in Peru, by 2020. The work is quantitative, non-experimental, descriptive, active, and transparent in scope. The information was collected through a questionnaire with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.939, applied to a sample of 345 residents of Miracosta and 20 officials from the Health, Educational, and Social Sectors. The resultsobtained showed that in the municipality of Miracosta there is a very low level of inter-institutional cooperation, concluding that the proposed social development program with inclusion is an essential an instrument that will contribute to the improvement of cooperation between institutions, based on a framework both theoretical and, as methodological with coherence and consistency. Proposing axes of intervention that contribute to the welfare of the inhabitants of the province of Miracosta, possibly at the service of other provinces with many characteristics of the country's poor pockets.
 Keywords: Municipal management, development, social, inclusive, agenda.

Limiting factors of open innovation organizations: A case of social product development and research agenda

While open innovation organizations have grown in popularity, they hold a high failure rate. This paper identifies limiting factors that contribute to this high failure rate at three levels: strategy, process, and community. After validating and expanding these limits through a case study, the paper offers a framework identifying success factors for open innovation and their hierarchical relationships. We classified these success factors into six groups, design, implementation, technology, operation, community readiness, and community development, and their relationships into four groups, deployment, engagement, evaluation, and governance. This framework and the accompanying propositions offer a better theoretical understanding of open innovation models and provide practical recommendations toward their viability, survivability, scalability, and profitability. Lastly, the paper discusses possible research avenues for the further development of open innovation organizations.

The environment has rights: Eco-spiritual social work through ubuntu philosophy and Pachamama: A commentary

Ubuntu has launched the Global Agenda for Social Work and Social Development, 2020–2030. This commentary stipulates how ubuntu can reinforce the Pachamama rights and its significance to social work practice. The African philosophy of ubuntu has potential to enhance the framework of understanding environmental rights from an eco-spiritual social work perspective and integrating the concepts of Pachamama rights. Clearly showing the link between Pachamama and ubuntu, this paper reminds social workers to advance the Rights of Nature.

Strategic thinking and planning behind the development of a sporting event portfolio: the case of Shanghai

ABSTRACT Recent developments regarding event portfolios have renewed research interest in the management and leveraging of sporting events. This study contributes to the topic by examining the purpose of sporting event portfolios and the process of their strategic planning in an Asian context – Shanghai. Guided by strategic planning theories, this paper explores how Shanghai’s sporting event portfolio was developed and why. Empirically, the study draws on extensive data, specifically, policy and strategy documents and interviews with key sport policymakers and sport experts in Shanghai. The results suggest that Shanghai’s event portfolio benefited from more than 20 years of planning and development. Twelve commercial sporting events were carefully handpicked and cultivated to promote destination branding, to advance Shanghai’s reputation as a global city, and to serve other social and economic development agenda. This study offers some important insights for the planning of event portfolios to enhance city image and stimulate regional development.

A framework to assess food security in regional strategic environmental assessment

Today, food security is central to global social policy and sustainable development agendas; yet food security considerations have not yet widely penetrated environmental impact assessment (IA) practice. This paper investigates criteria and approaches to food security assessment that align with Regional Strategic Environment Assessment (RSEA); a form of IA commonly used to influence natural resource development programmes. The research is based on interviews with seven international food security experts about how food security assessment can be performed at a regional scale, responsive to the impacts of natural resource developments. Analysis of data reveals essential components, key considerations, and procedural requirements for food security assessment within RSEA processes. Based on the evidence, we conclude that food security assessment in RSEA cannot be approached in a piecemeal fashion. To be successful: it must include holistic and comprehensive consideration of all four food security dimensions; communities should be profiled in early stages of the assessment to characterize the regional food system and define its importance to food security; vulnerable populations should be prioritized in the assessment; and it is critical to incorporate meaningful and influential opportunities for public participation. Finally, the recommended approach to analyze food security in RSEA is ‘system analysis’ which includes examination of food system pathways. A conceptual and methodological framework to assess food security in RSEA is presented, intended as a guide for practitioners wishing to incorporate food security into RSEA and RSEA-like initiatives.

Striving to strengthen the ecosocial framework in social work in Finland

AbstractThere is no economic or social sustainability without ecological sustainability, yet the latter can hardly be achieved without the other forms of sustainability. While contemporary consumer societies are still today fundamentally unsustainable, advancing the overall sustainability transition as well as mitigating and preventing the ecological crisis should be high on the social work and community development agendas. On one hand, this is because the ecological crisis both causes and increases social inequality and vulnerability. On the other hand, aspiring sustainability requires profound social and cultural changes, bringing about which belongs to social work and community work’s areas of expertise.Asking how to respond to the socio-environmental crisis and its ramifications in social work education, this article focuses on the currently evolving ecosocial framework in Finnish social work education and practice, paying special attention to the opportunities and hindrances in its realization. The inquiry is based on thematic analysis of advanced level social work students’ views on these issues, as presented on a 5 ECTS (credits as per the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System) course Social Work in Ecosocial Transition, part of the University of Jyväskylä’s social work master’s degree curriculum. In countries like Finland, where community development has a marginal role, adoption of the ecosocial framework would inherently strengthen the community based and political orientation in social work.

Ubuntu and its potential impact on the international social work profession

Ubuntu is the current theme for the Global Agenda for Social Work and Social Development and represents the highest level of global messaging within the social work profession for the years 2020–2030. This article presents an in-depth description of Ubuntu as a philosophy of social development that can strengthen social work theory and practice in its global aims of supporting community systems of social protection and social justice. The article concludes with advancing proposals on how the learnings from Ubuntu can strengthen international social work ethics, principles and practice.

Is the Indian corporate social responsibility law working for the public sector?

ABSTRACT This study adapts the New Governance Framework to investigate the perspectives of the regulators of India’s state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and the perspectives of the regulated SOEs towards the country’s recent corporate social responsibility (CSR) law. This law mandates that companies spend a fixed amount of their profit on specified CSR activities. The findings indicate that SOEs welcome the regulation, but face implementation issues and political pressures. These issues are forcing SOEs to invest in less impactful CSR activities, which was previously not the case. Regulators believe that companies are making excuses, such as limited resources for implementation, no co-operation with the civil sector and lack of direct contact with communities. The authors argue that a more effective dialogue is required to ensure effective implementation of the new CSR regulation to deliver India’s social development agenda.

Imperialismo na América Latina e no Caribe: que impacto os investimentos chineses podem trazer com as lições de Hong Kong

Este artigo adota uma estrutura marxista para explicar como a exploração imperialista na América Latina e no Caribe evolui enquanto o mecanismo de troca desigual permanece. Os investimentos chineses na região aumentaram exponencialmente na última década, o que levanta questões sobre qual impacto eles podem trazer. Este artigo usa o caso de Hong Kong para argumentar que, sem uma força popular organizada com uma agenda progressista que pode negociar e canalizar os investimentos chineses para projetos socialmente úteis, eles podem até exacerbar as contradições existentes e levar à agitação por seu aparente desafio ao capital ocidental. As forças populares progressistas na região da América Latina e do Caribe devem tentar uma avaliação abrangente dos efeitos dos investimentos chineses e formar agendas de desenvolvimento social e soberanas fortes que possam otimizar sua utilização e fortalecer as forças contra o neoliberalismo e o imperialismo.

Social and Emergency Assistance Ex-Ante and During COVID-19 in the SADC Region

Social assistance is on the social development agenda of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) member states. It is not only reflected in the Code of Social Security of SADC (2007) , but is also anchored in the national legal frameworks and social protection policies of the member states. The implementation realities of social assistance in the region, however, differs. Non-state social assistance makes up for the deficits of state-run social assistance in countries with weak institutions. Countries that have institutionalised social assistance were swift to provide emergency assistance to mitigate the effects caused by the COVID-19 lockdown measures. However, the provided relief has been elusive to many migrants in the region. The implication of this is that without a clear consideration of emergency assistance as needs-based, and separate from social assistance, the region stands a little chance to assist migrants when faced with a disaster such as COVID-19.