Observing Civic Engagement: Using Systematic Social Observation to Study Civil Society Organization Convenings

The cause(s) of reduced use of force and complaints following police body-worn camera (BWC) deployment remain unclear, though some argue that BWCs generate a civilizing effect on citizen behavior. This potential effect rests on four pre-conditions: (1) BWC presence and citizen awareness; (2) BWC activation; (3) Escalated citizen behavior or the potential for escalation; (4) Citizen mental capacity for BWC awareness. Prior research has not established the civilizing effect’s existence, or how often these pre-conditions are met; this study aims to fill that gap. Data was collected during systematic social observation (SSO) of 166 encounters between citizens and officers in the Tempe, Arizona Police Department. The results tell a simple story. Two pre-conditions (activation, citizen mental capacity) are consistently met; awareness and escalated behavior are not. Overall, 1.2% of encounters saw all pre-conditions met. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications for research on BWCs.

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The Construction of Peace in the Chiapas Highlands: Indigenous Resistance to Structural Violence

Latin American Perspectives ◽

10.1177/0094582x20975013 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 0094582X2097501

Author(s):

Efrén Orozco López ◽

Leonardo Nicolás González Torres

Keyword(s):

Civil Society ◽

Food Production ◽

Structural Violence ◽

Volunteer Work ◽

Civil Society Organization ◽

Solidarity Economy ◽

Social Fabric ◽

Indigenous Resistance ◽

The Social ◽

Sociedad Civil

The indigenous community of Acteal in the highlands of Chiapas, Mexico, has been subject to both direct and structural violence in the form of the massacre that took place there in 1997 and the impunity that has persisted ever since. In response to the violence, the community has constructed political, social, and cultural alternatives through the movement known as the Las Abejas of Acteal Civil Society Organization. Its reconstruction of the social fabric has included participation in assembies, volunteer work for the collective, exchange of experiences, food production for subsistence, a solidarity economy, and the systematization and sharing of experiences. La comunidad indígena de Acteal en las tierras altas de Chiapas, México, ha sido objeto de violencia tanto directa y estructural a partir de la masacre que tuvo lugar allí en 1997, así como la impunidad que ha persistido desde entonces. En respuesta a la violencia, la comunidad ha construido alternativas políticas, sociales y culturales a través del movimiento conocido como Organización Sociedad Civil Las Abejas de Acteal. Su reconstrucción del tejido social ha incluido la participación en asambleas, el voluntariado para el colectivo, el intercambio de experiencias, la producción de alimentos para subsistencia, una economía solidaria, y la sistematización e intercambio de experiencias.

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A Nation of Organizers: The Institutional Origins of Civic Voluntarism in the United States

American Political Science Review ◽

10.2307/2585829 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 94 (3) ◽

pp. 527-546 ◽

Cited By ~ 180

Author(s):

Theda Skocpol ◽

Marshall Ganz ◽

Ziad Munson

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Civil Society ◽

Civic Engagement ◽

The United States ◽

Institutional Form ◽

Current Discussion ◽

Institutional Origins ◽

Membership Associations

We challenge the widely held view that classic American voluntary groups were tiny, local, and disconnected from government. Using newly collected data to develop a theoretically framed account, we show that membership associations emerged early in U.S. history and converged toward the institutional form of the representatively governed federation. This form enabled leaders and members to spread interconnected groups across an expanding nation. At the height of local proliferation, most voluntary groups were part of regional or national federations that mirrored the structure of U.S. government. Institutionalist theories suggest reasons for this parallelism, which belies the rigid dichotomy between state and civil society that informs much current discussion of civic engagement in the United States and elsewhere.

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Ethnic Conflict and Civil Society: India and Beyond

World Politics ◽

10.1353/wp.2001.0012 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 53 (3) ◽

pp. 362-398 ◽

Cited By ~ 187

Author(s):

Ashutosh Varshney

Keyword(s):

Social Capital ◽

Civil Society ◽

Civic Engagement ◽

Ethnic Conflict ◽

Ethnic Violence ◽

The People

Scholars have worked either on civil society or on ethnic conflict, but no systematic attempt has yet been made to connect the two. In an attempt to explore the possible links, this article makes two interconnected arguments. First, interethnic and intraethnic networks of civic engagement play very different roles in ethnic conflict. Because they build bridges and manage tensions, interethnic networks are agents of peace. But if communities are organized only along intraethnic lines and the interconnections with other communities are very weak (or do not exist), ethnic violence is then quite likely. Second, civic networks, both intra- and interethnic, can also be broken down into two other types: associational forms of engagement and everyday forms of engagement. This distinction is based on whether civic interaction is formal or not. Both forms of engagement, if robust, promote peace: contrariwise, their absence or weakness opens up space for ethnic violence. Of the two, however, the associational forms turn out to be sturdier than everyday engagement, especially when confronted with attempts by politicians to polarize the people along ethnic lines. Both arguments have significance for theories of ethnic conflict and social capital.

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Systematic Social Observation

Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice ◽

10.1007/978-1-4614-5690-2_677 ◽

2014 ◽

pp. 5124-5133

Author(s):

John D. McCluskey ◽

Roger B. Parks ◽

Stephen D. Mastrofski

Keyword(s):

Systematic Social Observation ◽

Social Observation

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Involvement of Civil Society Organization in Facilitating the Implementation of Ten Steps for Successful Breastfeeding: Analysis of Health Care Workers’ Perspectives?

Journal of Nutritional Science and Vitaminology ◽

10.3177/jnsv.66.s436 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 66 (Supplement) ◽

pp. S436-S442

Author(s):

Pande Putu JANURAGA ◽

Edwina FRISDIANTINY ◽

Yessi CROSITA ◽

Wahdini HAKIM ◽

Doddy IZWARDY ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Civil Society ◽

Health Care Workers ◽

Civil Society Organization ◽

Care Workers

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PERAN CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATION (CSO) DALAM PERUMUSAN KEBIJAKAN PUBLIK (KAJIAN DI KABUPATEN PONOROGO)

JPSI (Journal of Public Sector Innovations) ◽

10.26740/jpsi.v4n2.p59-62 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (2) ◽

pp. 59

Author(s):

Ardhana Januar Mahardhani ◽

Sulton Sulton ◽

Sunarto Sunarto

Keyword(s):

Civil Society ◽

Good Governance ◽

Civil Society Organization

Setelah memasuki era reformasi, pergerakan Civil Society Organization (CSO) di Indonesia lebih berperan sebagai penyeimbang negara, peran itupun juga berlaku pada CSO yang ada di daerah, keberadaan CSO tersebut menjadi sangat penting karena menjadi alternatif penyeimbang antara kepala daerah dan DPRD, oleh karena itu keberadaan CSO dapat menjadi bagian terpenting dalam proses perumusan kebijakan agar lebih sehat, bersifat terbuka dan partisipatif. Kabupaten Ponorogo merupakan salah satu kabupaten yang sangat dinamis dalam hal keberadaan CSO yang ada ataupun kegiatan pemerintah dalam keluarnya kebijakan. Dalam proses politik yang timbul dalam penentuan kebijakan juga melibatkan peran CSO dalam rangka untuk memperkecil polemik yang ada di masyarakat Penelitian ini menggunakan desain kualitatif diskriptif karena akan menafsirkan fenomena yang terjadi di Kabupaten Ponorogo. Dari hasil penelitian, didapatkan kesimpulan yaitu Kabupaten Ponorogo akan melibatkan CSO dalam rangka menjaga prinsip keterbukaan dalam good governance, adapun peran CSO tersebut adalah: 1) Menjadi penghubung antara masyarakat dan pemerintah, 2) Mengakomodasi kepentingan masyarakat, 3) Mendorong adanya jaringan antar kelompok masyarakat, dan 4) Membangun kolaborasi antara pemerintah, masyarakat, serta pihak ketiga.

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