scholarly journals Language in Congress: Domestic Constituent Influence in Foreign Aid Decisions

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Esol Cho
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Aid ◽  
Political Ideology ◽  
Topic Model ◽  
Donor Country ◽  
Extensive Literature ◽  
Text Data ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
Left And Right ◽  
Structural Topic Model

There is an extensive literature on the effect of donor ideology on foreign aid allocations. However, the process through which donor ideology influences aid decisions is understudied. In my framework, legislators' application of political ideology is expanded to foreign aid agendas through interactions with domestic constituencies: development Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and private enterprises. Legislators adopt the constituencies' ideological rationale for aid and reflect the groups' aid preferences by taking on the language of those constituents. To test this argument, I applied the Structural Topic Model (STM) and Wordfish to my self-collected text data on testimonial statements given by representatives of NGOs and of firms and floor speeches of left- and right-leaning legislators relating to foreign aid in Congress. My results suggest that constituent groups have an influence on the ideological aid positions of individual legislators, which, in turn, may translate into the aid decisions of the donor country.

scholarly journals Research Ethics Systems: Lessons from a Comparison between NGO Ethics Guidelines and University Ethics Procedures

2021 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
pp. 299-310
Author(s):  
Mark Peter Capaldi ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Research Ethics ◽  
Sexual Exploitation ◽  
Global Network ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
Child Victims ◽  
Extensive Literature ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
Institutional Contexts ◽  
Ethics Guidelines

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) researching vulnerable groups have tended to receive limited ethics guidance or oversight, while academia is expected to follow stringent and sometimes seemingly restrictive and bureaucratic processes. The research ethics principles of NGOs and academia are quite similar. However, the frameworks and review processes can differ markedly, creating either strengths, weaknesses, or gaps for both sectors. This divergence is an even greater imperative for sensitive subject matters such as research involving child victims of trafficking or sexual exploitation. Building upon an extensive literature review, this paper undertakes a comparative analysis of the guidelines for ethical research developed by ECPAT International, a global network of non-governmental organizations working to combat the trafficking and sexual exploitation of children, and the Institute of Human Rights and Peace Studies, Mahidol University, Thailand. Through interviewing 14 research ethics experts and NGO researchers, the analysis identifies the added benefit of the two quite different ethics frameworks when applying them in the different institutional contexts. The paper concludes by discussing the merits of an overall more comprehensive research ethics system as an alternative, comprehensive research ethics agenda for NGOs.

Non-Governmental Organizations

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Bloodgood
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Interest Groups ◽  
Foreign Aid ◽  
Global Governance ◽  
International Political Economy ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
International Ngos

Research on non-governmental organizations (NGOs, often international NGOs, or INGOs) has advanced over the last several decades from demonstrating that NGOs matter in shaping economic development and foreign aid to examining the potential for NGOs to advocate for new rights, set standards for environmental protections, and establish alternative economic arrangements in international relations. The study of NGOs as organizations has opened their potential as interest groups as well as economic actors in their own rights. Moving forward, new data and new theory is needed to fully develop International Political Economy (IPE) understandings of NGO motives, intentions, strategies, and power in global governance.

The emergence of birdwatching in China: history, demographics, activities, motivations, and environmental concerns of Chinese birdwatchers

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 337-349 ◽  
Author(s):  
BRUNO ANDREAS WALTHER ◽  
ARON WHITE
Keyword(s):  
Leisure Activity ◽  
Environmental Conservation ◽  
Environmental Concerns ◽  
Extensive Literature ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Government ◽  
Mass Participation ◽  
State Of The Environment

SummaryBirdwatching has become a global pastime and a driving force for conservation. Because of China’s economic and environmental importance, the emergence of birdwatching as a mass participation leisure activity in China over the past three decades is of global interest. We documented this emergence by conducting an extensive literature search and two online questionnaires which we used to describe the history, geographic distribution, demographics, activities, motivations, and environmental concerns of Chinese birdwatchers. The emergence happened because of (1) the transfer of ornithological knowledge to birdwatchers, (2) the increasing political tolerance to pursue pastimes, (3) the increasing leisure time, affordability of optical equipment, and urbanisation of China’s society, (4) increased internet use, and (5) interactions of birdwatchers with the media and foreign birdwatchers. Of the 576 respondents to our questionnaires, two-thirds were male, about half were younger than 35 years of age, approximately 90% were university-educated, and many also had an above-average income and originated mostly from the more urbanised coastal or near-coastal provinces. Our respondents were thus part of China’s economic and educational elite who largely birdwatch for enjoyment, but also because of the knowledge gained about the birds’ ecology. Many birdwatchers have become concerned about the deteriorating state of the environment and are frustrated about the lack of government action. Within the political constraints set by the government, many birdwatchers support environmental conservation through various activities, which have yielded some conservation successes. However, birdwatching societies remain constrained by the same legislative and administrative restraints which limit the actions of other environmental non-governmental organizations, thus hindering the effective discourse between China’s government and its emerging but still strictly controlled and regulated civil society.

E-Justice in Administrative Process

2015 ◽  
pp. 1220-1245
Author(s):  
Tatjana Bilevičienė ◽  
Eglė Bilevičiūtė
Keyword(s):  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Success Factors ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Central Place ◽  
Extensive Literature ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
Social Technologies ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
The Right

Social technologies are slowly occupying the central place of available and emerging solution for a variety of socio-economic problems. Although not a panacea, it cannot be overemphasized that social technologies have an influence on the social effects of humans, social groups, hierarchical social structures (such as public administrations, local authorities, non-governmental organizations, etc.), and behaviour. Of late, there has been an escalation in the use of social technologies in the legal fraternity. The Lithuanian government has started putting in place interventions that promote the utilization of social technologies into legal administrative processes. This came after the realization that Lithuanian citizens have the right to full and truthful information about administrative law and administrative processes. Using extensive literature reviews, this chapter probes the key success factors that need to be considered in the successful utilization of social technologies in legal administrative processes. The chapter posits that within the e-Government realm, the opportunities to be amassed from the use of Information and Communication Technologies are immense.

E-Justice in Administrative Process

2014 ◽  
pp. 322-347
Author(s):  
Tatjana Bilevičienė ◽  
Eglė Bilevičiūtė
Keyword(s):  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Success Factors ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Central Place ◽  
Extensive Literature ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
Social Technologies ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
The Right

Social technologies are slowly occupying the central place of available and emerging solution for a variety of socio-economic problems. Although not a panacea, it cannot be overemphasized that social technologies have an influence on the social effects of humans, social groups, hierarchical social structures (such as public administrations, local authorities, non-governmental organizations, etc.), and behaviour. Of late, there has been an escalation in the use of social technologies in the legal fraternity. The Lithuanian government has started putting in place interventions that promote the utilization of social technologies into legal administrative processes. This came after the realization that Lithuanian citizens have the right to full and truthful information about administrative law and administrative processes. Using extensive literature reviews, this chapter probes the key success factors that need to be considered in the successful utilization of social technologies in legal administrative processes. The chapter posits that within the e-Government realm, the opportunities to be amassed from the use of Information and Communication Technologies are immense.

The structural topic model for online review analysis

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eunhye (Olivia) Park ◽  
Bongsug (Kevin) Chae ◽  
Junehee Kwon
Keyword(s):  
Topic Modeling ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Topic Model ◽  
Text Data ◽  
Systematic Analysis ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Related Information ◽  
Review Analysis ◽  
Structural Topic Model

Purpose The purpose of this study was to explore influences of review-related information on topical proportions and the pattern of word appearances in each topic (topical content) using structural topic model (STM). Design/methodology/approach For 173,607 Yelp.com reviews written in 2005-2016, STM-based topic modeling was applied with inclusion of covariates in addition to traditional statistical analyses. Findings Differences in topic prevalence and topical contents were found between certified green and non-certified restaurants. Customers’ recognition in sustainable food topics were changed over time. Research limitations/implications This study demonstrates the application of STM for the systematic analysis of a large amount of text data. Originality/value Limited study in the hospitality literature examined the influence of review-level metadata on topic and term estimation. Through topic modeling, customers’ natural responses toward green practices were identified.

Employees or Beneficiaries?

2000 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 184-188
Author(s):  
Alyce Abdalla
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Aid ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Head Of Government ◽  
Do So

A look at royal non-governmental organizations in a country where the head of government is in fact a royal, where 80 percent of foreign aid finds its way back to foreign donors, and where it is difficult to determine the difference between ‘beneficiaries’ of income-generating NGO projects and employees working in substandard conditions. The dichotomies here are real, though the lines fine.During the seasonal pressures of Christmas last year, an order was placed in Amman for an unusually big Bani Hamida rug. The design was determined in the office in Amman, including colors labeled in English abbreviations. After the request was brought to Gebal Bani Hamida, the orders for the appropriate colored wool were sent to the dyers. The women there realized that they did not have the exact shade of yellow requested, but amongst the over three-hundred other colors they did have, they found an approximate replacement. However, they could not make the decision to dye the wool on their own. Instead, they contacted the office in Amman, where their question was noted. Some time later, the designer was informed, and sent back the answer that only the exact tint of yellow would do. So the dyers waited for the stock to be refilled, over the timeliness of which they had little control. The office in Amman complained of the slowness of the work, pressing the women as to why they were behind in filling the order.

scholarly journals Has sustainability science turned left?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Örjan Bodin
Keyword(s):  
Sustainability Science ◽  
The Political ◽  
Market Mechanisms ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Political Debates ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
Political Left ◽  
Left And Right ◽  
Political Landscapes ◽  
Private Corporations

AbstractAs the urgent need for societies to steer towards sustainability is becoming increasingly apparent, sustainability science as a research community is facing difficult challenges successfully navigating the intensifying and often harsh political debates. An important line of conflict is (still) between the political left and right, although other conflicts are gaining increasing attention. As private corporations are stepping up their conservation agendas and non-governmental organizations are increasingly embracing market mechanisms to achieve healthier ecosystems, the scholarly community of sustainability science appears to be turning more to the political left. To navigate these entangled scientific and political landscapes, accomplishing constructive debates emphasizing the value of nurturing a broad spectra of viewpoints should be given higher priority in all forums where issues of sustainability are discussed.

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