The Restructuring and Re-Orientation of Civil Society in a Web 2.0 World

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-61
Author(s):  
Kiru Pillay ◽  
Manoj Maharaj
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Web 2.0 ◽  
Environmental Issues ◽  
Social Advocacy ◽  
Civil Society Organisations ◽  
Operational Level ◽  
Global Environmental ◽  
Planning Processes ◽  
The Impact

This study focuses on how civil society organisations strategically deploy Web 2.0 technologies for transnational social advocacy and the impact of this technology adoption on civil society organisations' roles, structure, and orientation. The global environmental justice organisation, Greenpeace is used as a case study. Greenpeace advocates for changes in environmental policy and behaviour, has been at the forefront of environmental issues, and has used the mass media as an effective campaigning tool. The key findings that emerged was that social media has become a key ingredient of Greenpeace's campaigning strategy and has been embraced at both a strategic and operational level. The emergence of a collaborative communications paradigm has necessitated a level of organisational introspection evidenced in both changes in the organisation's strategic planning processes and changes to the organisational structure.

scholarly journals What drives Web 2.0 adoption in South African civil society organisations

2014 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kiru Pillay ◽  
Manoj S. Maharaj
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Web 2.0 ◽  
South African ◽  
Civil Society Organisations ◽  
Internal Reasons ◽  
Media Services ◽  
American Elections ◽  
The Impact ◽  
External Reasons

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.

scholarly journals Exploring the impact of farmer-led research supported by civil society organisations

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

Enduring Peace: a Case Study of the Opportunities and the Challenges for Engaging in Myanmar’s Peace Process

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 115-136
Author(s):  
José María Arraiza ◽  
Sara E. Davies
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Peace Process ◽  
Access To Information ◽  
Personal Safety ◽  
International Organisations ◽  
Implementation Gap ◽  
Civil Society Organisations ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Specific Barriers

In 2015, the Myanmar Government, the Myanmar Tatmadaw (military) and eight ethnic armed organisations (eaos) signed the 2015 National Ceasefire Agreement (nca). In 2019, this agreement was signed by three more eaos, and there have been four annual conferences (Union Peace Panglong Conference 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019). The ceasefire arrangements, which are present primarily in Southeast Myanmar, have failed to make significant progress in key areas such as the provision of access to civil documents and land to returning refugees, displaced persons and conflict-affected communities. Violence has escalated in the last two years. It is not an exaggeration to say that Myanmar is at a critical juncture of transition. This article examines how the peace process is being communicated amongst different civil society organisations, international organisations, donor organisations, and government representatives in an area directly affected by the peace process. The article details the experiences of these participants exchanged in workshop in Mon State in July 2018. The exchanges during the workshop reveal a practical obstacles faced by civil society organisations, especially, in their attempt to support returnees. Many reported frustration with the implementation gap between promoting a peace process and providing for local enabling conditions that support peace. Specific barriers faced by civil society organisations, and in turn the communities they are seeking to help were threefold: information and communication barriers concerning the peace process; women’s fear and reluctance to seek services due to personal safety concerns, and the persistence of traditional gender norms which affects access to information.

Unleashing the Hidden Value of a Pipeline Through the Use of Visual Communications

1996 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul B. Connor
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Issues ◽  
Access To Information ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
The People ◽  
Construction Techniques ◽  
History Of ◽  
Aboriginal History ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Insight Into

How does the communication of information affect the pipeline industry? People are becoming more aware of the pipeline industry and how it may affect individuals and landowners in the future. Corporations are producing commuications tools to alleviate the lack of knowledge and the hidden value of energy pipelines. This case study examines two projects: “Passing through Edson” examines a winter pipeline construction job in Edson, Alberta. The story is told by the people on the job. We examine the environmental issues, economic impact, Native employment, and winter construction techniques. The “Boy Chief” video examines the impact of an archaeological dig on the prairies. In this program we have insight into the aboriginal history of the area and how the pipeline company is helping people learn more about the Native way of life. The paper examine how communication tools like these, allow employees access to information when communicating to stakeholders.

Capital punishment and virtual protest: A case study of Singapore

First Monday ◽  
2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasmin Ibrahim
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
Capital Punishment ◽  
Online Community ◽  
Virtual Community ◽  
Authoritarian State ◽  
Civil Society Organisations ◽  
The Government ◽  
Media Discourses

This paper analyses how the online community in Singapore protested against the hanging of a Vietnamese drug trafficker in December 2005. Singapore has upheld capital punishment in the island state despite pressure from local and global civil society organisations and diplomatic channels. This paper traces how the online medium was used by the public to protest against capital punishment in the quasi–authoritarian state. The virtual community protested against the hanging by maintaining a rigorous discursive protest on the Internet. These sustained discourses became enmeshed with those of the offline media in Singapore. This confluence of the online and offline media discourses is important in building a two–tier public sphere in Singapore. The first–tier public sphere is one dominated by the government-controlled media and the ruling party while the second–tier public sphere is a space where civil society organisations and social movements express viewpoints marginalised in the offline society. The confluence of these two tiers has a material significance for the political landscape of Singapore. This paper explores this phenomenon through the case study of online protests against capital punishment in Singapore.

scholarly journals Impact of Environmental Issues on Consumer Senses Leading to Ecofriendly Buying Decisions

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (4S3) ◽  
pp. 93-98
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Change ◽  
Sustainable Consumption ◽  
Global Environmental Change ◽  
Environmental Issues ◽  
Consumer Perception ◽  
Sensory Marketing ◽  
Global Environmental ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Buying Decisions

Inducing Sustainable consumption in individuals is one of the important challenges in the path to Sustainability. Buying decision can be influenced by Consumer Perception. Sensory Marketing practices are effective tools for influencing Consumer Perception. This paper introduces sensory marketing as a new replica in the field of Sustainable Consumption. Senses stimulate cognitive thinking which is the need of the hour for global environmental change. Sensory marketing may be a new tool in the field of solving Environmental issues, as it influence buying decisions of consumer and also encourage consumer to pay more through perception. This study tries to analyse the impact of environmental Issues on consumer senses which influences to Eco friendly buying decisions..

scholarly journals THE IMPACT OF BUSINESS TRANSFORMATION ON THE PROVISION OF PRODUCTS AND SERVICES IN OPERATIONAL-LEVEL RETAIL BUSINESSES: CASE STUDY

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 521-525
Author(s):  
Xolani Protus Simamane ◽  
Robert Walter Dumisani Zondo
Keyword(s):  
Financial Performance ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
Organizational Goals ◽  
Business Transformation ◽  
Operational Level ◽  
Kwazulu Natal ◽  
National Economies ◽  
The Impact

The retail industry is arguably one of the most prosperous sectors in the global economy. It serves as an intermediary between producers and consumers. Given its significance in the everyday lives of people in communities, and its role in national economies, the industry operates under extensive competition driven by growth in Information Technology which has dramatically changed the consumption patterns and buying behavior of consumers today. This study investigates the impact of transformation on the provision of products and services in operational-level retail businesses of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). This is a case study and the South African Post Office (SAPO) in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) participated in the study. Of the 101 branch managers of SAPO, 72 participated in the study, representing a 71 percent response rate. The sample frame was obtained from both the Human Capital and the Infrastructure Management departments of SAPO in KZN. Descriptive statistics and chi-square tests were used to analyze the two objectives. That is, to establish if the change brought about by business transformation activities improves the provision of products and services in retail businesses and thereby improves the financial performance. It also determines if retail businesses undergoing transformation inspire confidence amongst employees, and thereby achieving their financial goals. The findings revealed that business transformation has the ability to improve the provision of products and services of retail businesses. Continuous communication with regards to transformation inspires confidence among employees, thereby leading to productivity improvements and the achievement of the organizational goals. Productive employees contribute positively to the financial performance of the business. The original value of this study is its approach in uncovering strengths and weaknesses of business transformation in the operational-level retail businesses.

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