In 1946, the United Nations inaugurated the Technical Assistance Programme, a new and international application of "mutual aid" and "self-help" principles. There are many aspects to these programmes, which focus particularly on raising standards of living through increased productivity in the "under-developed" countries. The present study singles out the social welfare activities only, starting in the Advisory Social Welfare Services (1946), and the Expanded Programme of Technical Assistance which followed. The method adopted is twofold: (1) An examination of the major principles of Technical Assistance, (a) as enunciated in official statements of policy, and (b) as indicated in operational practice. The significance of the use of experts, U.N. fellowships, seminars, and demonstration projects is explored in this light. (2) The principles of Technical Assistance are compared, in broad terms, with the basic principles of social work. One of the important by-products of Technical Assistance Administration, an international survey of professional social work, and a definitive statement of the nature of social work skills, is referred to in this connection. As a means of highlighting the principles and methods of the advisory social welfare services, two countries are referred to as examples of a receiving country (Guatemala) and a contributing country (Canada). They serve in conclusion to illustrate the interrelatedness of welfare programmes with local needs, with education for social work, and with overall national policies. A major part of the material used for this study is derived from United Nations documents, available from library sources. It is supplemented by essential data from the United Nations Headquarters and from Canadian Government agencies concerned with participation in these programmes. Interviews with Canadian social welfare personnel who have participated in several of the programmes helped considerably to compensate for the need of first-hand material in the role of advisers, and the problems and procedures of fellowship and scholarship programmes. A number of points were also clarified by correspondence. The study reveals positive achievements in practical methods of promoting peace, which deserve greater publicity. Much more remains to be done; of most relevance for social work, however, is perhaps the need for increased professional writing on the field experience of social worker participants, and further research directed to analysis of methods, process, and results. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

Thesis (Ph.D) -- Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, 1987. / Typescript. Vita. Bibliography: leaves 471-492. Access restricted to members of the Tufts University community. Also available via the World Wide Web;

This dissertation focuses on the roles played by the United Nations experts Charles Abrams and G. Holmes Perkins in the foundation of METU Faculty of Architecture. It aims to highlight the ideas and ideals that informed Abrams&rsquo / s and Perkins&rsquo / s METU projects, and to delineate an integrative and multifaceted picture of their political and educational contexts. This picture may serve as a basis for future researches on the institutional and educational histories of METU Faculty of Architecture. It may also help to better understand the contributions of other administrators and instructors -- including First Acting Dean Thomas B. A. Godfrey and Dean Abdullah Kuran -- who played important parts in the formation of the educational direction of the Faculty. Abrams, as a United Nations consultant, paved the way for the foundation of METU Faculty of Architecture by recommending a school of architecture and community planning in Ankara, for the education of professionals competent in responding to the problems caused by rapid industrial expansion and urbanization. Perkins contributed to the foundation process of METU Faculty of Architecture. As the head of the team of experts from the University of Pennsylvania School of Fine Arts, who were sent by the United Nations to Ankara in 1955, he advised the Government of Turkey on &ldquo / the creation of a Faculty of Architecture, a Faculty of City and Regional Planning&rdquo / and two research institutes, as a first step towards an institution of university rank, and with a view to promoting &ldquo / a newer, more practical and modern approach to architecture and urban planning&rdquo / in Turkey. In this dissertation, Abrams&rsquo / s and Perkins&rsquo / s METU projects constitute a starting point for exploring significant themes in the changing political and educational trajectories in America in the mid-twentieth century. The influence of different interpretations of the notions of democracy, individuality and society on technical assistance, urban development policies and architectural education is also investigated. Abrams&rsquo / s professional and academic position as a &ldquo / reflective practitioner&rdquo / is appraised in the light of John Dewey&rsquo / s concepts of democracy, democratic education and &ldquo / reflective thinking.&rdquo / The changing professional and societal roles of the architect and the changing demands upon architectural education in the 1950s framed the background of Perkins&rsquo / s educational approach. The reappraisal of liberal education as part of professional education of the architect, the rising significance of an interdisciplinary pedagogical approach, and the development of &ldquo / organized research&rdquo / in architecture were among the major themes shaping new orientations in the field of architectural education in America in those years. In the dissertation, the lasting validity of these themes for today is highlighted.