scholarly journals International Radio Broadcasting and Post-Conflict State-Building: the Case of Canada’s Rana FM

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
David T Harmes
Keyword(s):  
International Development ◽  
Public Diplomacy ◽  
Strategic Communication ◽  
State Building ◽  
Development Communication ◽  
Communication Tool ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Case Study Methodology ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
Radio Broadcasting

International Radio Broadcasting (IRB) has been used as a mass communication tool of the state since its inception in the early 1920s. Following its historic use in programs of propaganda, public diplomacy, psychological operations, and international development communication, the practice of IRB can also be found in a number of post-conflict statebuilding operations that are not well documented. Through a case study methodology this dissertation examines the nature of, and motivation for, the use of IRB in post-conflict state-building, as experienced by Canada’s Rana FM in contemporary Afghanistan (2006 – 2011). Using primary research from structured interviews with IRB practitioners and personal observation of IRB operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo and Afghanistan, this study draws on information from directing staff, management, producers, on-air presenters, and technical staff; as well as a variety of sources including internal content analyses, opinion polling, and unclassified government documents. Using the strategic communication frameworks of propaganda and development communication, this study found IRBs to function as a form of ‘defensive propaganda’ that aims to reinforce the institutions of the developing state during the process of democratic reconstruction. IRBs in post-conflict state-building can be seen to function in a surrogate capacity that aims to become a creditable source of news and information, in order to maximize audience share and provide a platform for public discussion. This dissertation presents new empirical information on Canada’s IRB in Afghanistan, Rana FM, which operated from January 2007 to July 2011.

scholarly journals International Radio Broadcasting and Post-Conflict State-Building: the Case of Canada’s Rana FM

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
David T Harmes
Keyword(s):  
International Development ◽  
Public Diplomacy ◽  
Strategic Communication ◽  
State Building ◽  
Development Communication ◽  
Communication Tool ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Case Study Methodology ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
Radio Broadcasting

International Radio Broadcasting (IRB) has been used as a mass communication tool of the state since its inception in the early 1920s. Following its historic use in programs of propaganda, public diplomacy, psychological operations, and international development communication, the practice of IRB can also be found in a number of post-conflict statebuilding operations that are not well documented. Through a case study methodology this dissertation examines the nature of, and motivation for, the use of IRB in post-conflict state-building, as experienced by Canada’s Rana FM in contemporary Afghanistan (2006 – 2011). Using primary research from structured interviews with IRB practitioners and personal observation of IRB operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo and Afghanistan, this study draws on information from directing staff, management, producers, on-air presenters, and technical staff; as well as a variety of sources including internal content analyses, opinion polling, and unclassified government documents. Using the strategic communication frameworks of propaganda and development communication, this study found IRBs to function as a form of ‘defensive propaganda’ that aims to reinforce the institutions of the developing state during the process of democratic reconstruction. IRBs in post-conflict state-building can be seen to function in a surrogate capacity that aims to become a creditable source of news and information, in order to maximize audience share and provide a platform for public discussion. This dissertation presents new empirical information on Canada’s IRB in Afghanistan, Rana FM, which operated from January 2007 to July 2011.

Framing Youth within the Politics of Foreign Assistance

2007 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 222-229 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clare A. Ignatowski
Keyword(s):  
International Development ◽  
Youth Development ◽  
Public Diplomacy ◽  
The United States ◽  
Foreign Assistance ◽  
Fragile States ◽  
Security Threat ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
Us Government ◽  
Development Programming

Although in the past the field of youth development has been subsumed within or occluded by other traditional development sectors such as education, a re-emerging emphasis on security in US government foreign assistance has tended to foreground youth as a frame of reference for international development programming and public diplomacy. While youth as security threat is by itself a reductive formulation, there are opportunities to grasp more deeply the power of young cohorts to affect social change in multidimensional ways. This article examines how youth issues have been framed within broader policy and program priorities of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), especially in post-conflict/fragile states, in an effort to illuminate some key dilemmas and knowledge gaps.

scholarly journals Disability, Human Resources and Behavioral Economics: The Labour Inclusion Case of Ilunion Hotels of the Costa del Sol (Spain)

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (15) ◽  
pp. 7932
Author(s):  
Marco Antonio Cruz-Morato ◽  
Carmen Dueñas-Zambrana ◽  
Josefa García-Mestanza
Keyword(s):  
Behavioral Economics ◽  
Stress Responses ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Social Stigma ◽  
People With Disabilities ◽  
Professional Activity ◽  
Specific Situation ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Case Study Methodology ◽  
The Social

The situation of labour inclusion of people with disabilities in Spain is still too negative, in spite of the different efforts carried out by public and private sector. Previous research points to social discrimination as one of the main causes of the situation. Ilunion Hotels is one of the most important hotel companies in Spain focused on labour inclusion of people with disabilities. The objective of this paper is to explore the social inclusion case of Ilunion Hotels of the Costa del Sol, the actions that they have developed to improve the labour integration of this collective, based on a behavioral economics theoretical model (with a high relevance of the influence of social stigma, stress theories and coping to stress responses). We look into the specific situation of two of the three hotels developed as Special Employment Centres (sheltered employment contexts defined by Spanish legislation) and the possible impact of their Support Units for Professional Activity. Case study methodology is considered the most appropriate, according to the research objective, supported by semi-structured interviews with the hotel managers. The results show that, although Special Employment Centres are effective in improving labour integration in the short term and could contribute to change the long-term social perspectives about workers with disabilities, they could be also reinforcing the social stigma existing in the ordinary market.

scholarly journals Mapping Digital Diasporas @ BBC World Service: Users and Uses of the Persian and Arabic Websites

2010 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 256-278 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie Gillespie ◽  
Hugh Mackay ◽  
Matilda Andersson
Keyword(s):  
Communication Networks ◽  
Public Diplomacy ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Transnational Communities ◽  
Geographically Dispersed ◽  
Language Groups ◽  
Service Staff ◽  
The World ◽  
Transnational Communication ◽  
The Uk

AbstractThis article presents research on two key BBC World Service websites, BBC Persian Online and BBC Arabic Online. It draws on in-house BBC data, supplemented by our own semi-structured interviews with online editors and other key World Service staff. It examines where users of the two sites are located, their demographic characteristics and their views on and uses of the sites. The data is analyzed in the context of debates about the politics of diasporic media and communication networks and changing collective identities, the UK government's Foreign and Commonwealth Office's (FCO) strategy of 'digital diplomacy' and the World Service's stated public purpose of fostering a 'global conversation.' Our research has shown how the majority of users of both BBC Arabic and Persian Online services reside outside the geographical areas that the BBC World Service targets and may be defined as diasporic. And these two websites are not exceptional. Diasporic groups make increasing use of the BBC's online foreign language news sites but these transnational communication networks are an unintended consequence of the BBC's activities. We highlight how the internet is changing configurations of audiences and users at the BBC World Service as geographically dispersed language groups can log on to the news services from anywhere in the world. We argue that the BBC World Service can no longer be seen as an international broadcaster pursuing the BBC's motto 'nation shall speak peace unto nation.' Rather, as one of the world's largest news providers, it is implicated in the formation of new kinds of transnational communities and communications which has as yet unforeseen consequences for national identifications and for strategies of public diplomacy.

Big data and artificial intelligence for health system sustainability: The case of Veneto Region

2021 ◽  
pp. 31-52
Author(s):  
Grazia Dicuonzo ◽  
Francesca Donofrio ◽  
Antonio Fusco ◽  
Vittorio Dell’Atti
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Big Data ◽  
Healthcare System ◽  
Care Delivery ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Health Agency ◽  
Time Frame ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Case Study Methodology ◽  
The Impact

This paper investigates the digitalization challenges facing the Italian healthcare system. The aim of the paper is to support healthcare organizations as they take advantage of the potential of big data and artificial intelligence (AI) to promote sustainable healthcare systems. Both the development of innovative processes in the management of health care activities and the introduction of healthcare forecasting systems are valuable resources for clinical and care activities and enable a more efficient use of inputs in essential-level care delivery. By examining an innovative project developed by the Regional Social Health Agency (ARSS) of Veneto, this study analyses the impact of big data and AI on the sustainability of a healthcare system. In order to answer the research question, we used a case study methodology. We conducted semi-structured interviews with key members of the organizational group involved in the case. The results show that the implementation of AI algorithms based on big data in healthcare both improves the interpretation and processing of data, and reduces the time frame necessary for clinical processes, having a positive effect on sustainability.

Academic's perceptions of work-integrated learning in non-vocational disciplines

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabrielle A. Lloyd ◽  
Bonnie Amelia Dean ◽  
Michelle J. Eady ◽  
Conor West ◽  
Venkata Yanamandram ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Professional Learning ◽  
Personal Growth ◽  
Tertiary Education ◽  
Integrated Learning ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Case Study Methodology ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Work Integrated Learning

PurposeWork-integrated learning (WIL) is a strategy that enhances student learning and employability by engaging students in real-world settings, applications and practices. Through WIL, tertiary education institutions forge partnerships with industry to provide students with access to activities that will contribute to their career-readiness and personal growth. The purpose of the paper is to explore academics perceptions of WIL from non-vocational disciplines, where WIL opportunities are less prevalent.Design/methodology/approachThe study employed a qualitative, case-study methodology to unpack academics' reflections on the question “What does WIL mean to you?” Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 33 subject coordinators across a number of non-vocational degrees at one university in Australia. Open coding and thematic analysis was used to explore qualitative data and identify common themes.FindingsData suggest that academics largely have placement-based understandings of WIL that cause tensions for embedding WIL meaningfully in their courses. Tensions surface when WIL is perceived as a pedagogy that contributes to the neoliberal agenda that sits in conflict with theoretical approaches and that restrict notions of career.Originality/valueAlthough WIL is not relevant in all subjects, these understandings are a useful starting point to introduce WIL meaningfully, in various ways and where appropriate, in order to provide students opportunities for learning and employability development. The paper has implications for faculty, professional learning and institutional strategies concerning WIL for all students.

Investigating Corruption in the Afghan Police Force

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danny Singh
Keyword(s):  
Police Officers ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Police Force ◽  
Public Confidence ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Police Corruption ◽  
State Legitimacy ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
Political Economic

This book provides a unique study on the lower ranks of the Afghan police force due to the lack of empirical evidence of what attributes to the causes, practices and consequences of corruption in this institution. The book is divided into a number of sections. It commences with an understanding of how corruption, and narrowly police corruption, impact on the police force, state legitimacy and the strategies in place to mitigate such problems as part of broader security and post-conflict reconstruction initiatives. The theoretical framework comprises political, economic and cultural drivers of police corruption by drawing on semi-structured interviews with elites and a survey and structured interview conducted with street-level police officers. The findings infer that weak oversight and low pay are causes of police corruption which intensify bribery and roadside extortion. The lack of professionalism, partly due to short and unclear training, and patronage are deemed as meanings of police corruption. In terms of motivation, there is no sense of pride in Afghan policing to fulfil a clear mandate. Moreover, non-meritocratic recruitment is prevalent which exacerbates local influences, loyalties and job buying in either high-drug cultivating or urban areas. To curb patronage, police officers are rotated to distant provinces but economic hardship is further increased when catering for large families with fewer breadwinners. The book concludes that the problems with police corruption and failure to combat it results in low public confidence and state illegitimacy which can support violent opposition groups to create further instability in war-torn societies.

scholarly journals The humanitarian protectorate of South Sudan? Understanding insecurity for humanitarians in a political economy of aid

2017 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 349-370
Author(s):  
Bram J. Jansen
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
South Sudan ◽  
Humanitarian Aid ◽  
State Building ◽  
Ethnographic Research ◽  
Security Threats ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
Everyday Practices ◽  
Conflict Situations ◽  
The Everyday

ABSTRACTThis paper aims to contribute to debates about humanitarian governance and insecurity in post-conflict situations. It takes the case of South Sudan to explore the relations between humanitarian agencies, the international community, and local authorities, and the ways international and local forms of power become interrelated and contested, and to what effect. The paper is based on eight months of ethnographic research in various locations in South Sudan between 2011 and 2013, in which experiences with and approaches to insecurity among humanitarian aid actors were studied. The research found that many security threats can be understood in relation to the everyday practices of negotiating and maintaining humanitarian access. Perceiving this insecurity as violation or abuse of a moral and practical humanitarianism neglects how humanitarian aid in practice was embedded in broader state building processes. This paper posits instead that much insecurity for humanitarian actors is a symptom of the blurring of international and local forms of power, and this mediates the development of a humanitarian protectorate.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document