The Role of Information Communications Technology in Retrieving Local Community

2007 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 211-229 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hazel Ashton ◽  
David C. Thorns

The article explores the decline in social connectivity and the questions of whether and how local populations can use information–communications technologies (ICTs) to help reconnect. At the center of this debate are problems in conceptualizing community in today's globalizing network society. As well as challenges to older ideas about community, these problems include the impacts of numerous contemporary societal and global pressures on communities themselves. The first step of community renewal is what Scott Lash (1994) refers to as the “retrieval” of community, which is to be a genuinely participatory process, rather than presuming community already exists or engineering a consensus about what it is or what it wants. Some governments are now suggesting that a way to reconnect local populations in order to recover lost sociability and rebuild social infrastructure is through using ICTs as a major tool. Using the New Zealand Government policy contained in the Connecting Communities programme (2002) and the Digital Strategy (2004), the article explores and provides a critique of the strategies being advocated, particularly with respect to the use of the concepts of community and connectivity. A case study of the development and use of ICT tools for community retrieval within a particular local area is used to identify some pitfalls and argue for approaches to connectivity that effectively utilize ICTs as community networking tools.

2014 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 86-97
Author(s):  
Ada Wolny ◽  
Alina Źróbek-Rózańska ◽  
Ryszard Źróbek ◽  
Marek Piotrowski ◽  
Jens Frey

Abstract Suburban areas are subjected to particularly strong investment pressure, thus facing the challenge arising from the need to impose new spatial order. Satisfying the residents’ expectations by implementing necessary technical and social infrastructure becomes a priority. Therefore, public investments play an important role in suburban areas. The article discusses the role of public purpose goals and their achievement using a case study which encompassed the outskirts of Olsztyn and consisted of detailed analyses of two gminas (communes) adjacent to the city. The research covered the time period from 2006 to 2010. The relationship between the development of housing functions in a suburban area and the location of public purpose investments such as technical and social infrastructure has been documented. The execution of public purpose projects is a follow-up of the development strategies prepared for the gminas where public investments are shown as a stimulant of suburban development. It has been demonstrated that decisions permitting such investments to be carried out are issued in response to the needs of the local community and investors moving to suburban territories.


2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Vivienne Dunstan

McIntyre, in his seminal work on Scottish franchise courts, argues that these courts were in decline in this period, and of little relevance to their local population. 1 But was that really the case? This paper explores that question, using a particularly rich set of local court records. By analysing the functions and significance of one particular court it assesses the role of this one court within its local area, and considers whether it really was in decline at this time, or if it continued to perform a vital role in its local community. The period studied is the mid to late seventeenth century, a period of considerable upheaval in Scottish life, that has attracted considerable attention from scholars, though often less on the experiences of local communities and people.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lwando Mdleleni

Purpose This paper aims to explore the role of university in promoting, generating and sustaining social innovation (SI). It aimed to understand how higher education institutions have extended their contribution beyond the traditional function of teaching and research to perform in socio-economic problem-solving. It looks at the kinds of contributions which universities potentially make to SI processes, and the effects that this has on the direction and magnitude of SI, and by implication social development. This was done by drawing lessons from a SI project that the University of the Western Cape has been involved in, i.e. Zenzeleni Networks Project. Design/methodology/approach To address the research question with this framework, the author adopted an exploratory research design using a case study. This research is qualitative, exploratory and descriptive, based on a case study built with secondary data. Findings This paper submits that universities can potentially function as key role players in promoting SI initiatives and fostering social transformations. Universities contribute with different kinds of resources and inputs to foster new SI ideas. Originality/value The paper suggests that socially innovative university projects may contribute to community social sustainability maintaining social cohesion by increasing social capital and providing resources for the empowerment of the marginalised communities. In so doing, they contribute to overcome social exclusion and promote more sustainable forms of development at community level. More research is needed on how universities can build community networks with local community partners, who can use the insights of academic research to replicate interventions and move to scale.


Geografie ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 120 (2) ◽  
pp. 210-225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maja Grabkowska

Urban regeneration has become a key issue in the development of contemporary cities. The paper discusses bottom-up regeneration practices performed by inhabitants of a decaying inner-city neighbourhood under post-socialist conditions, which differ notably from the widely researched Western European context. Results of a qualitative study in Wrzeszcz Dolny, Gdańsk, have indicated the leading role of newcomers to the area in animating bottom-up regeneration efforts, which in turn translate into an activation and integration of the local community. Thus, it is argued that an in-migration into the inner city, usually interpreted as gentrification, does not necessarily generate losses for the indigenous inhabitants but can also bring a desired social change and significantly contribute to the building of inclusive civil society. The presented case study therefore signals the need for a careful investigation and precise labelling of the post-socialist inner-city transformation processes, as well as demonstrates how increasing participation might be employed as the potential antidote to ills associated with gentrification.


Author(s):  
N. Qwynne Lackey ◽  
Kelly Bricker

Concessioners play an important role in park and protected area management by providing visitor services. Historically, concessioners were criticized for their negative impacts on environmental sustainability. However, due to policy changes, technological advances, and shifting market demands, there is a need to reevaluate the role of concessioners in sustainable destination management in and around parks and protected areas. The purpose of this qualitative case study situated in Grand Teton National Park (GTNP), which was guided by social exchange theory, was to explore U.S. national park concessioners’ influence on sustainable development at the destination level from the perspective of National Park Service (NPS) staff, concessioners, and local community members. Sustainability was examined holistically as a multifaceted construct with integrated socioeconomic, cultural, and environmental dimensions. Twenty-three participants completed semistructured interviews. Researchers identified four thematic categories describing concessioners’ influence on sustainability; motivations and barriers to pursuing sustainability initiatives; and situational factors that facilitated concessioners’ sustainability actions. While participants commented on the negative environmental impacts of concessioners and their operations, these data suggest that concessioners were working individually and collaboratively to promote environmental, socioeconomic, and cultural sustainability in and around GTNP. Some concessioners were even described as leaders, testing and driving the development of innovative sustainability policies and practices. These actions were motivated, in part, by contractual obligations and profit generation. However, concessioners also had strong intangible motivators, such as intrinsic values and a strong sense of community, that drove their positive contributions to sustainability. Based on these data, we recommend that those involved in future theoretical and practical work with concessioners acknowledge the importance of both tangible and intangible motivators when attempting to promote higher levels of sustainability achievement and collaboration. This will become increasingly important as land management agencies continue to embrace strategies beyond the traditional “parks as islands” approach to management. Additionally, future work should explore more specifically the role of policy, conceptualizations of sustainability, and private industry sponsorship in promoting concessioners’ contributions to sustainability, especially in collaborative settings. This work is needed to understand if and how these observations generalize to other contexts.


2011 ◽  
pp. 759-772
Author(s):  
Lucas Walsh

This article examines some of the challenges faced by local government during the development and implementation of a relatively new area of e-democratic innovation in Australia: e-consultation. E-consultation is seen as a valuable way through which a two-way relationship can be developed and enhanced between citizens and elected representatives. It involves the use of information and communications technologies (ICTs), such as the Internet, to extend and/or enhance political democracy through access to information, and to facilitate participation in democratic communities, processes, and institutions. Drawing on a case study of the Darebin eForum in Victoria, Australia, this article focuses on the role of public servants as moderators of this local form of e-consultation. The discussion has three parts: online policy consultation is defined within the context of e-democracy; some of the ways that e-consultation challenges the roles of the public service, elected representatives, and citizens are outlined; and the author then argues for an e-consultation strategy that is situated within a continuum of citizen engagement that is ongoing, deliberative, educative, and inclusive.


2019 ◽  
Vol 65 (3) ◽  
pp. 627-645 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Efendi ◽  
Agustiyara ◽  
Husni Amriyanto Putra

Since 1998, Indonesia has experienced a major transformation in the relationship between the rulers and the ruled. State–society relationships were previously subject-object, military-civilian, or superior-inferior. In other words, the state played a central role in all matters, while civil society ‘Muhammadiyah’ was limited to political and social activities. This tended to negatively impact community involvement in prevention and risk-reduction for natural disasters. This paper examines the role of civil society in disaster management in Indonesia. It does so in relation to the particular example of Yogyakarta, a special province where local values traditionally have more inherent authority than government-imposed law. The paper further discusses how there are important lessons for the future to be drawn from a Yogyakarta case study of how the national government has generally failed to build a private–public partnership and state–society relationship to deal with natural disasters based on local community needs.


2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 686-697
Author(s):  
Bill Dixon

Abstract In the early 2000s, many police forces in England and Wales set up independent advisory groups (IAGs) following an inquiry into the flawed investigation of the murder of a black teenager, Stephen Lawrence, by London's Metropolitan Police. Members of IAGs were to act as critical friends of the police providing independent advice on policies, procedures and practices, thus ensuring that no section of their local community was disadvantaged through a lack of understanding, ignorance or mistaken beliefs. Based on a case study of an IAG in an English police force, this article reviews the operation of IAGs following the radical changes made to police governance by the introduction of directly elected police and crime commissioners (PCCs). Its main argument is that more thought needs to be given to the role of IAGs in this new landscape and urgent steps taken to clarify their relationships with police forces and PCCs.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 21
Author(s):  
Ni Wayan Juniari ◽  
Luh Putu Mahyuni

Peningkatan kunjungan wisatawan ke suatu destinasi wisata selain membawa manfaat positif juga meninggalkan dampak negatif. Peran manajer sangat signifikan untuk memastikan operasional perusahaan pengelola destinasi wisata dapat mendukung perekonomian masyarakat lokal dan tidak merusak lingkungan, sehingga terwujud praktik bisnis berkelanjutan. Penelitian ini bertujuan mengeksplorasi bagaimana corporate social responsibility (CSR) dipraktikkan untuk dapat mewujudkan pariwisata berbasis masyarakat berkelanjutan. Untuk mencapai tujuan penelitian, penelitian kualitatif dengan pendekatan studi kasus dilakukan di kawasan wisata Monkey Forest Ubud, Gianyar, Bali. Berlandaskan pada konsep CSR dan pariwisata berbasis masyarakat, data dikumpulkan melalui wawancara kemudian dianalisis secara kualitatif dengan bantuan software NVivo12. Penelitian ini mengindikasikan bahwa Monkey Forest Ubud mengimplementasikan berbagai bentuk CSR yang memungkinkan masyarakat lokal berpartisipasi penuh dalam operasional kawasan wisata dan memperoleh manfaatnya secara langsung. Penelitian ini memberikan inspirasi mengenai bagaimana suatu destinasi/kawasan wisata dapat mengimplementasikan CSR untuk memastikan terwujudnya bisnis berkelanjutan dan pada saat bersamaan berkontribusi bagi pengembangan pariwisata berbasis masyarakat berkelanjutan.   Increasing tourist arrivals in a touristic area, besides bringing positive impacts also leaving negative footprints. The role of managers is significant to ensure that the business operational supports the local community and preserve the environment, so as sustainable business can be attained. This study aims at exploring how corporate social responsibility (CSR) is practiced to develop sustainable community-based tourism. To address the research objective, a qualitative case study was conducted at Ubud Monkey Forest, Gianyar, Bali. Guided by the concept of CSR and community-based tourism, data was collected through interviews and analyzed qualitatively with the help of NVivo12 software. This research indicates that Ubud Monkey Forest implements various CSR activities that allow the local community to participate in the operational of the forest and obtain the benefits from the operational. This research exemplifies how a tourist destination could implement CSR to ensure business sustainability and at the same time contribute to the development of sustainable community-based tourism.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-71
Author(s):  
Fakhry Perdana Koara

Abstract. Sustainable tourism must consider three aspects of sustainability, namely economic, social and environmental aspects. To support sustainable tourism development, the community's role in tourism development or Tourism Based Community (TBC) is one of the critical principles that must be fulfilled because it is the component closest to and tied to regional tourism. This research examines the community's role in Girsang Sipangan Bolon District, Simalungun Regency in the development of sustainable tourism. The study uses quantitative methods by collecting data through distributing questionnaires. The observations show that the participation of local communities related to sustainable tourism in Girsang Sipangan Bolon is classified as good with an overall average score of 3.8 out of 4.5 for several indicators of local community participation in sustainable tourism


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document