scholarly journals Against the Tide: Transnational Solidarity in Brexit Britain

Author(s):  
Simone Baglioni ◽  
Olga Biosca ◽  
Tom Montgomery

Abstract This chapter discusses UK-based civil society organisations supporting vulnerable groups (migrants, refugees and asylum seekers; disabled people; and the unemployed) which have been on the front line of a decade of austerity and funding cuts. It does so by exploring the relationship between these organisations and policymakers; the impact of austerity on the organisations themselves; the mission and activities of these organisations and the cooperation between organisations at different scales (transnational, national and local). Our findings reveal a tale of ‘two Britains’: one of top-down policies and discourses which are anti-solidarity and re-activate decades-old discourses of dependency and deservingness; and another Britain of grassroots solidarity, (self-)organised from the bottom up, often in partnership with austerity-hit local government.

Author(s):  
Nicola Maggini ◽  
Veronica Federico

Abstract Over the last years, Italian civil society organisations have been working on a daily basis to mitigate the impact of both the global economic crisis and the refugee crisis, which have increased social vulnerabilities. Relying on the data gathered through 30 in-depth interviews with transnational solidarity organisations’ representatives, this chapter analyses solidarity practices in three fields of activity: disability, unemployment and migration. Results show that solidarity attitudes, practices and discourses are strongly influenced by the policy domain in which the organisations are active. Furthermore, the crisis led organisations to search for new strategies and approaches, even though it has been an ineffective vector of transnationalisation due to lack of resources, and the necessity to cope with pressing needs at national and local level/s.


Author(s):  
Simone Baglioni ◽  
Stephen Sinclair

This chapter considers the response of social innovations to the growing concern with food poverty. Food provision has not traditionally been a core public welfare function in the most developed welfare regimes, and social innovations often provide more developed and effective responses than government in this area. Voluntary and civil society organisations have pioneered a variety of innovations to feed vulnerable groups while also reducing surplus food waste. These initiatives involve partnerships with private sector food companies which donate surplus supplies which social innovations distribute. The chapter provides examples of how inventive social innovations have had to be to meet the considerable logistical challenges they face in acquiring, storing and distributing surplus food. The chapter concludes by highlighting examples of the impact which social have had in helping to shape public policy innovations in the area of food poverty.


2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ann Waters-Bayer ◽  
Patti Kristjanson ◽  
Chesha Wettasinha ◽  
Laurens van Veldhuizen ◽  
Gabriela Quiroga ◽  
...  

2014 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kiru Pillay ◽  
Manoj S. Maharaj

Background: The impact and consequences of social media adoption on society are only just being realised and studied in detail; consequently, there is no universal agreement as to the reasons for the adoption of these services. Even understanding why some social media services are popular remains to some extent elusive. The practical use of Web 2.0 does not provide any answers either with, for example, a noticeable difference in the way social media was strategically used by Barack Obama and Mitch Romney in the lead-up to the 2009 American elections. However, recent studies that have focused on social media adoption within specific sectors have begun to shed some light on these emerging adoption patterns; two studies in particular are illustrative: a 2012 study on the newspaper sector and a study on social media adoption and e-government.Objectives: This study investigates why South African civil society organisations (CSOs) adopt Web 2.0 services and the perceived and actual benefits of such adoption.Method: A survey questionnaire was sent to 1712 South African CSOs listed in the Prodder database to explore why certain social media services were adopted and the perceived benefits thereof.Results: Internal reasons for the adoption of social media services by South African CSOs coalesce around organisational visibility and access to information. External reasons focus on organisations needing to become more relevant and more connected to like-minded organisations and initiatives.Conclusion: The pervasiveness of Web 2.0 technologies makes it inevitable that CSOs will have to restructure themselves to remain relevant.


Author(s):  
Jakob Svensson ◽  
Caroline Wamala Larsson

There is no doubt that the proliferation of mobile phones in developing regions has opened up a range of possibilities and new avenues for individuals, governments, development agencies and civil society organisations. But we also know that development is a disputed concept and conveys a range of different connotations. Therefore in this chapter we examine the areas, where mobile phones are discussed as vehicles for development (i.e. M4D), and how mobile communication is related to the idea(s) of development today. To examine this, we have reviewed M4D articles in three major conference series and open source journals during 2008-2012. Three dominant areas of M4D emerge out of our sample: livelihood, health and civic participation. We find that M4D is largely based on an economic understanding of development and biased towards techno-determinism. We conclude this chapter by suggesting a future path for studying the impact of mobile communication in developing regions, something what we label as a dialectical approach.


Author(s):  
Esther Muddiman ◽  
Sally Power ◽  
Chris Taylor

The relationship between the family and civil society has always been complex, with the family often regarded as separate from, or even oppositional to, civil society. Taking a fresh empirical approach, this book reveals how such separation underestimates the important role the family plays in civil society. Considering the impact of family events, dinner table debates, intergenerational transmission of virtues and the role of the mother, this enlightening book draws on survey data from 1000 young people, a sample of their parents and grandparents, and extended family interviews, to uncover how civil engagement, activism and political participation are inherited and fostered within the home.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Yue Gui ◽  
Zhenxing Zhao ◽  
Xiaqiang Qin ◽  
Jianfei Wang

Based on a long-term comprehensive instrumentation program, the performance of an excavation pit constructed by the top-down method in downtown Kunming was extensively examined. The measured excavation responses included the deflections of diaphragm wall, vertical column movement, slab axial force, building settlement caused by ground deformation, and the influence of pit excavation on the adjacent subway tunnel. This paper analyses the monitoring data of the existing construction stage. Based on the analyses on the data of field and numerical simulation, the following major findings were obtained: (1) the relationship between the measured maximum wall deflection, δ h m , and excavation depth, H , in this study is δ h m = 0.06 % H ∼ 0.27 % H , which is quite different compared with the relationship of soft-soil pit δ h m = 0.02 % H ∼ 1.2 % H , but closer to the normalized curve of rock-socketed pile δ h m = 0.01 % H ∼ 0.45 % H and rock-socketed diaphragm wall δ h m = 0.031 % H ∼ 0.129 % H . (2) The relationship between the maximum settlement of column ( δ p ) and excavation depth ( H ) is δ p = − 0.09 % ∼ 0.04 % H . The maximum distortion between the diaphragm wall and the column is less than 1/500 of the limit range proposed by Bjerrum. (3) The impact range caused by excavation is about 3.8 times the maximum excavation depth. The ground settlement around the foundation pit is groove type, and the maximum settlement point is located at 2.7 times the maximum excavation depth. (4) The excavation of the foundation pit leads to the maximum vertical settlement of 2 mm and maximum horizontal displacement of 5.2 mm in the subway tunnel; the maximum change of axial force and bending moment are 8.8 kN (the vertical direction) and 6.4 kN·m/m (the horizontal direction), respectively.


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