Literature review on the dynamics of social movements in fragile and conflict-affected states

This literature review assesses the available academic and policy-oriented literature on social movements in fragile and conflict-affected contexts. It examines who becomes involved in collective action and why, the barriers to mobilisation and, where social movements do emerge, how these are able to sustain mobilisation and broaden their membership base to reflect the interests of the wider community. Evidence from this review suggests the importance of considering the interplay of movement activity and state stability, and of taking into account existing state-society relationships. Donors could focus on creating a supportive environment for social movements

Making Fathers Count: Assessing the Progress of Responsible Fatherhood Efforts

This report provides a history of the issue of fatherhood in policy debates and philanthropic action from the late 1960's through the present day. It then outlines research findings in seven core areas of fatherhood and discusses accomplishments and challenges for policymakers

The political economy of education systems in conflict-affected contexts

This report is a rigorous literature review on the political economy of education systems in conflict-affected contexts and is aimed at education advisers and agencies, development practitioners and Ministry of Education policy makers working in conflict-affected contexts. The report seeks to provide theoretically informed and policy relevant insights on the global, national and local governance of education systems in conflict-affected contexts garnered from a rigorous review of the academic and policy literature on the political economy of education in conflict-affected contexts. The review was driven by three main questions: (1) What are the underpinning assumptions of the main bodies of political economy research in education and conflict? (2) What can the political economy of education literature since 1990 inform us about educational change and reform in conflict-affected contexts? (3) What are the strengths, weaknesses, blind spots and research gaps in the political economy of education literature exploring the governance of educational change and reform in conflict-affected contexts? Chapter 1 outlines the rationale and aims of the review. Chapter 2, describes the theoretical and conceptual framework and presents the framing of the key issues under review, and Chapter 3 outlines the review methodology. Chapter 4 presents the main characteristics and an assessment of the quality of the studies selected for the in-depth review, and Chapter 5, discusses the review’s main findings. Chapter 6 presents the conclusions of the study, outlines a theory of change that emerges from the findings and draws out the policy insights and research gaps for future study

The Political Economy of Education Systems in Conflict-Affected Contexts: A Rigorous Literature Review

This report is a rigorous literature review on the political economy of education systems in conflict-affected contexts and is aimed at education advisers and agencies, development practitioners and Ministry of Education policy makers working in conflict-affected contexts. The report seeks to provide theoretically informed and policy relevant insights on the global, national and local governance of education systems in conflict-affected contexts garnered from a rigorous review of the academic and policy literature on the political economy of education in conflict-affected contexts.<p></p> The review was driven by three main questions: (1) What are the underpinning assumptions of the main bodies of political economy research in education and conflict? (2) What can the political economy of education literature since 1990 inform us about educational change and reform in conflict-affected contexts? (3) What are the strengths, weaknesses, blind spots and research gaps in the political economy of education literature exploring the governance of educational change and reform in conflict-affected contexts?<p></p> Chapter 1 outlines the rationale and aims of the review. Chapter 2, describes the theoretical and conceptual framework and presents the framing of the key issues under review, and Chapter 3 outlines the review methodology. Chapter 4 presents the main characteristics and an assessment of the quality of the studies selected for the in-depth review, and Chapter 5, discusses the review’s main findings. Chapter 6 presents the conclusions of the study, outlines a theory of change that emerges from the findings and draws out the policy insights and research gaps for future study

Desertification indicators for the European Mediterranean region: state of the art and possible methodological approaches [= Indicatori di desertificazione per il Mediterraneo europeo: stato dell'arte e proposte di metodo]

The Italian Environment Protection Agency (ANPA), and the Desertification Research Centre at the University of Sassary have worked jointly to provide decision-makers with an in-depth analysis of the state of the art and methodologies applicable to the evaluation of the desertification phenomenon. ANPA has promoted this important research activity, within the wider and more dynamic framework of actions it conducts in the Italian National Committee, providing its support to the definition and start up of the National Plan to Combat Desertification and Drought. The complexity of the phenomena and their causes leads to the individuation of a plurality of “actors” who might take the responsibility to carry out actions aimed at combating Desertification and Drought. Indicators represent a crucial link in the chain that, from knowledge, leads to taking decisions and promoting responsible behaviours: starting from an evaluation of the various, physical, biologic, socio-economic processes that contribute to land degradation and desertification, the goal is to individuate indicators that might prove useful in territorial planning and public information activities, and that might be a suitable answer to the request for direct knowledge of the status and evolution of the phenomenon, as well as the opportunity to take actions aimed at mitigating and, above all, preventing the occurrence of the phenomenon

Assessment of a high-resolution central scheme for the solution of the relativistic hydrodynamics equations

We assess the suitability of a recent high-resolution central scheme developed by Kurganov & Tadmor (2000) for the solution of the relativistic hydrodynamics equations. The novelty of this approach relies on the absence of Riemann solvers in the solution procedure. The computations we present are performed in one and two spatial dimensions in Minkowski spacetime. Standard numerical experiments such as shock tubes and the relativistic flat-faced step test are performed. As an astrophysical application the article includes two-dimensional simulations of the propagation of relativistic jets using both Cartesian and cylindrical coordinates. The simulations reported clearly show the capabilities of the numerical scheme to yield satisfactory results, with an accuracy comparable to that obtained by the so-called high-resolution shock-capturing schemes based upon Riemann solvers (Godunov-type schemes), even well inside the ultrarelativistic regime. Such central scheme can be straightforwardly applied to hyperbolic systems of conservation laws for which the characteristic structure is not explicitly known, or in cases where the exact solution of the Riemann problem is prohibitively expensive to compute numerically. Finally, we present comparisons with results obtained using various Godunov-type schemes as well as with those obtained using other high-resolution central schemes which have recently been reported in the literature.Comment: 14 pages, 12 figures, to appear in A&

Robustness - a challenge also for the 21st century: A review of robustness phenomena in technical, biological and social systems as well as robust approaches in engineering, computer science, operations research and decision aiding

Notions on robustness exist in many facets. They come from different disciplines and reflect different worldviews. Consequently, they contradict each other very often, which makes the term less applicable in a general context. Robustness approaches are often limited to specific problems for which they have been developed. This means, notions and definitions might reveal to be wrong if put into another domain of validity, i.e. context. A definition might be correct in a specific context but need not hold in another. Therefore, in order to be able to speak of robustness we need to specify the domain of validity, i.e. system, property and uncertainty of interest. As proofed by Ho et al. in an optimization context with finite and discrete domains, without prior knowledge about the problem there exists no solution what so ever which is more robust than any other. Similar to the results of the No Free Lunch Theorems of Optimization (NLFTs) we have to exploit the problem structure in order to make a solution more robust. This optimization problem is directly linked to a robustness/fragility tradeoff which has been observed in many contexts, e.g. 'robust, yet fragile' property of HOT (Highly Optimized Tolerance) systems. Another issue is that robustness is tightly bounded to other phenomena like complexity for which themselves exist no clear definition or theoretical framework. Consequently, this review rather tries to find common aspects within many different approaches and phenomena than to build a general theorem for robustness, which anyhow might not exist because complex phenomena often need to be described from a pluralistic view to address as many aspects of a phenomenon as possible. First, many different robustness problems have been reviewed from many different disciplines. Second, different common aspects will be discussed, in particular the relationship of functional and structural properties. This paper argues that robustness phenomena are also a challenge for the 21st century. It is a useful quality of a model or system in terms of the 'maintenance of some desired system characteristics despite fluctuations in the behaviour of its component parts or its environment' (s. [Carlson and Doyle, 2002], p. 2). We define robustness phenomena as solution with balanced tradeoffs and robust design principles and robustness measures as means to balance tradeoffs. --

Financing the Post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals: A Rough Roadmap

We regroup the main types of global development finance into three clusters: concessional public finance (including domestic taxes), public borrowing on market-related terms, and private finance. We look at the main purposes they can be used for, and their interdependence. We consider the global outlook for capital markets, the determinants of country creditworthiness and why grant aid should be prioritised for less creditworthy countries. We suggest that financing plans for most of the new Sustainable Development Goals should be developed at the country level rather than globally, so that key trade-offs can be fully explored. We look at specific policies to unlock access to private sector participation in five key areas -- including social services. We introduce a Market Aid Index to help track donor engagement with the private sector. We investigate how a country's mix of development finance changes as it grows -- the so-called 'missing middle' dilemma. We find that public resources overall fall continuously until a country is well into middle income status, as international assistance falls faster than tax revenues rise. Static per capita income thresholds are becoming increasingly unreliable guides to resource allocation. We look at alternative groupings, especially taking into account fiscal capacity, creditworthiness and vulnerability. We assess the recent literature on trade-offs between rapid growth and climate change mitigation imperatives. We examine the geography of public climate finance, which is intrinsically different from that of development aid, and the lack of a credible 'additionality' test for funding the former over and above the latter. We therefore consider how the limited public grant element so far available should best be rationed, to limit the scope for distortions. We revisit the role of the multilateral development banks' market-related windows, in view of the missing middle problem. We consider what factors underpin their secular stagnation, and how to overcome them. We summarise other specific international reform options in response to our analysis, on private sector contributions, market-related lending and climate finance. We conclude by contrasting two alternative world views: (1) making international public finance a complement to private finance everywhere, and (2) deliberately focusing public stakes where the private sector is not present. We suggest a way forward

INTEGRATING SUSTAINABILITY INTO AGROFORESTRY PROJECTS: A WORKSHOP FRAMEWORK FOR NGO PROGRAM MANAGERS

Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,