scholarly journals A study of how local communities responded to changes in local authority youth services between 2010-2015 : A Foucauldian and Baumanian perspective.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Steve Bullock

Following economic crisis in 2008, a new Conservative-Liberal Democrat Coalition Government came into power in 2010 and introduced various measures and policies which prioritised reducing the national debt. Such measures and policies impacted county council funding which in turn meant that the county of Treescape decided to focus its services on the most vulnerable. This resulted in the local authority youth service being disbanded, with all open access youth work, as well as the majority of infrastructure support and associated services stopping and buildings closing. A new targeted youth support service was thus created. If local communities in Treescape county wanted open access youth work, it was their responsibility to provide it. This thesis undertakes a comparative study exploring the response of individuals and local parish/town councils from four communities, who proactively secured forms of youth provision in their area. Through the conceptual lenses provided by Michel Foucault and Zygmunt Bauman, the findings reveal that individuals and local parish/town councils responded to the challenges by exercising forms of neoliberal governmentality and discipline in order to achieve local solutions. In so doing they have created a unique mix of neoliberal and business-based approaches with local values that privilege the importance of relationships. I call this the ‘loconomy’. Given the precariousness and insecurity felt by individuals and youth providers, I discovered the presence of a ‘situational dynamic’ where youth providers needed to consider how much to invest in a local community in order to strengthen their case to be a parish/town councils’ preferred provider, which meant keeping both the young people and funder contented. However, this was not easy as youth work had become financialised, with finance limiting what could be offered at a local level compared with what was previously available via the local authority youth service. This resulted in varied forms of youth work, all of which had experienced shrinkflation.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (23) ◽  
pp. 6839
Author(s):  
Sharada Prasanna Mohanty ◽  
Rajiv Ramaswamy ◽  
Anantha Kumar Duraiappah

In this paper, we propose a novel methodology and design to contribute towards the achievement of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by member states of the United Nations for a better and more sustainable future for all. We particularly focus on achieving SDG 4.7—using education to ensure all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development. We describe the design of a crowdsourced approach to monitor issues at a local level, and then use the insights gained to indicate how learning can be achieved by the entire community. We begin by encouraging local communities to identify issues that they are concerned about, with an assumption that any issue identified will fall within the purview of the 17 SDGs. Each issue is then tagged with a plurality of actions taken to address it. Finally, we tag the positive or negative changes in the issue as perceived by members of the local community. This data is used to broadly indicate quantitative measures of community learning when solving a societal problem, in turn telling us how SDG 4.7 is being achieved. The paper describes the design of a unique, youth-led, technology-based, bottom-up approach, applicable to communities across the globe, which can potentially ensure transgressive learning through participation of and monitoring by the local community leading to sustainable development.



2021 ◽  
Vol 885 (1) ◽  
pp. 012012
Author(s):  
E L Andreyanova

Abstract The transformation of rural economy is most acute at the local level among the native population. The goal of the article is to define possibilities for participation of local community in development of rural tourism. When applying the participatory approach, the following conclusions can be drawn: 1) when local communities are not actively involved in the development of rural areas and tourism within the local borders, it is almost impossible to speak of any promotion; 2) rural tourism is attractive to the local community, but its ability actively participate in its development is limited by objective and subjective reasons; 3) emphasis on the benefits of rural tourism for the consumers and producers can lead to increased employment and profits for the local community. The assessment of the local community’s capacity to develop rural tourism is a crucial point in its promotion. This in turn leads to further research into the experience of integrating rural tourism into local communities. The results of the article may help in the development of concept papers on rural tourism development and may be useful in some tourism projects.



2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marta Klekotko ◽  
Anna Jastrzębiec-Witowska ◽  
Krzysztof Gorlach ◽  
Piotr Nowak

Abstract For well over two decades the phrase “Think Global, Act Local” shaped the rhetoric used by social movements, environmental activists and intellectuals critical of the neoliberal narrative of globalisation. The intention was to obtains ideas and solutions elaborated in various parts of the world implemented in local communities and to give special meaning to progressive proposals of international social movement contesting globalisation. This approach could certainly be beneficial in terms of the diffusion of good environmental practices or spreading civil society ideas in developing countries. However, when global ideas reach local ground, they remain global ideas, and sometimes very foreign ones, which may take over or eclipse local concepts in unintended or less-than-ideal ways. Occasionally, this approach could even lead to overpowering what is local instead of empowering it. Therefore, having the empowerment of local communities in mind, we propose that those who really contest globalisation of the neoliberal narrative should turn the tables and work to “Think Locally, Act Globally.” Thinking locally and acting globally helps to ensure that adequate attention will be paid to local needs and local ideas. Presently, no local community exists outside of the global context and its influences, which affects the writings of contemporary sociologists who tend to emphasise the concept of “place” when analysing local communities. The nature of bonds on the local level changes in the globalised world, as local communities become more goal-oriented, utilising the functional proximity of people and other assets of the community. These new types of communities emerge even in places previously recognised as being shaped by local customs and traditions. These changes can be seen in the rural, semi-rural and small-town communities of Zalipie and Dąbrowa Tarnowska in Małopolska, as well as Radzionków in Silesia and in the nationwide study of rural communities in Poland. Their potential as the communities of the new type can be recognised as matching with neo-endogenous and sustainable development concepts.



1994 ◽  
Vol 70 (6) ◽  
pp. 725-730 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Harvey ◽  
Brian Hillier

Policy-makers and resource managers are attempting to define more-effective mechanisms for involving the local community in forest land management for many years. In the past five years, renewed attention has been given to the opportunity for empowering local communities with decision-making and program delivery responsibilities. The community forestry project in Ontario is one example of policy-makers, resource managers and local communities trying to bridge the gap between community development and resource management. With the assistance of four pilot projects, a research project and public discussion, a community forestry strategy is under development in Ontario. While it may take years to produce indisputable results through trials at the local level, three years of work have already enriched our understanding of the interface between human settlements and natural resources and of alternative means for successful stewardship. Key words: community forestry, community forest, Ontario



2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 90-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Anthony Carr

This article explores the political economy of Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) in Australia, providing new insights into the relationship between government policy and its economic implications. I have rationalised state-sponsored street cameras as a component in the cultivation of consent between the state and local communities; a mechanism for government to facilitate the flow of public funds to business through arrangements that are virtually unchecked and non-evidence based; a mechanism for government to facilitate profitable opportunities in and beyond the security technologies industry; and, a mechanism to normalise hegemonic social and political relations at the level of discourse. This article explores how government has assisted growth in the security industry in Australia. I draw on a case study about Kiama Municipal Council’s decision in 2014 to accept funding from the Abbott Government to install CCTV cameras through the Safer Streets Programme. This is despite historically low crime rates in Kiama and an inability to demonstrate broad support for the programme in the local community. This study reveals how politicians have cultivated support for CCTV at the local level and pressured councils to install these systems despite a lack of evidence they reduce, deter or prevent crime. Examined is how the footage captured on local council CCTV has been distributed and its meanings mediated by political and commercial groups. I argue that the politics of CCTV dissemination in Australia is entwined with the imperatives of electoral success and commercial opportunity—a coalescent relationship evident in the Safer Streets Programme. Furthermore, the efficacy of CCTV as an electoral tool in Australia is explained via the proposition that street cameras perform a central role in the discourses and political economy of the state.



2020 ◽  
pp. 115-123
Author(s):  
Olga Vladimirovna Rogach

The subject of this research is the international practices of utilization of social capital of local communities for the purpose of development of tourism attractiveness of the territories. The object of this research is the social capital of local communities. The author explores such aspects of the topic as the development of tourism on the basis of local community, stimulation of social activism and communication between the locals, their ability to self-organization on the local level within the framework of international projects. Special attention is given to the risks and negative consequences for the local communities caused by tourism. The conclusions is made that the role of the representatives of local communities is considered as one of the key elements within the international practice of tourism development. This relates to the formation of tolerant and friendly tourism space for maintaining a “geographical myth”, which cannot be created without involvement of the local residents. Such process must be manageable for the authorities that ensure protection of local population from the sociocultural threats caused by tourists. International experience can be adapted in the Russian realities to some extent, however this process requires outworking of the corresponding mechanism of three-way interaction of the local government, business and local residents. The scientific novelty lies int the attempts of critical revaluation of the role of social capital of local communities at the time of transformation of tourism industry due to unfavorable epidemic situation.



Scientifica ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olga Laiza Kupika ◽  
Edson Gandiwa ◽  
Godwell Nhamo ◽  
Shakkie Kativu

Understanding local community perceptions on impacts, causes, and responses to climate change is vital for promotion of community resilience towards climate change. This study explored local ecological knowledge (LEK) held by local communities on climate change trends and impacts in the Middle Zambezi Biosphere Reserve (MZBR), Zimbabwe. The objectives of the study were to (i) investigate local community perceptions on trends and causes of climate change, (ii) identify biophysical impacts of climate change at the local level, and (iii) explore the ecosystem-based adaptation strategies towards climate change. The study used a mixed methods approach where a household questionnaire survey (n=320), key informant interviews (n=12), and focus group discussions (n=8) were used to collect data between April 2015 and October 2016. Results from the study show that local communities have observed decreasing rainfall and increasing temperatures as key indicators of climate change. Local communities observed water scarcity, changes in vegetation phenology, livestock and wildlife mortalities, and food shortages due to drought as the major impacts on their livelihoods. LEK can contribute to adaptive management strategies that enhance resilience of socioecological systems (SES) in the face of climate change by providing information on the status and use of biophysical components of the environment and by highlighting potential local adaptation strategies that can sustain key livelihood practices.



Author(s):  
Radojica Saric ◽  
Marijana Jovanovic ◽  
Biljana Grujic

The subject of research in this chapter is analysis of the concept of sustainable agriculture of local communities from the point of view of strategic planning and based on the case study for the model of sustainability of the local community Glogonj. The main goal of the research is to connect the basic aspects of strategic planning with the concept of sustainable development in order to improve the quality of life in local communities. The authors apply the theoretical and practical, and conceptual and methodological frame of research based on the case study, which is oriented on three thematic areas of analysis: (1) sustainable development as a modern concept for improving the quality of life of local communities; (2) basic aspects of strategic planning in function of implementation of the concept of sustainable development on local level; (3) the model of strategic planning of sustainable development of the local community at Glogonj as a case study.



2002 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 123-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire Edwards

Disabled people are noticeably absent from the government's regeneration agenda, despite its current emphasis on empowering and involving local communities in urban renewal. This paper explores some of the barriers to disabled people's involvement in regeneration initiatives at the local level, focusing particularly on the Single Regeneration Budget (SRB). Interviews with regeneration managers, local authority officers, disabled people and disability groups identified a range of barriers. These included a lack of strategic recognition that disabled people were ‘relevant’ to regeneration, difficulties with the SRB's centrally-prescribed outputs and timescales, a lack of accessible information for disabled people, and circumscribed local political networks which served to marginalize certain disability groups from local regeneration processes. The paper concludes by suggesting ways in which some of these barriers might be addessed.



2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 63-67
Author(s):  
ANTON PILSHCHIKOV ◽  

Solving problems at the local level requires the unified activity of both the municipal authorities and representatives of civil society. In this regard, the author attempts to comprehend the concepts of ‘local self-government’ and ‘local community’ in the context of the formation of a cooperative environment in the relationship between them, and also gives his own definition of the term based on existing approaches and views. The essence of this understanding of the local community is to emphasize the uniqueness of the role of local governments and public organizations, as well as individual citizens. The author focuses on the participation of non-profit organizations in this process, which is illustrated by the example of the all-Russian Council of local self-government and projects implemented by this organization, as well as by considering the work of the Association for the promotion of twinning relations of Cologne and Volgograd. The paper concludes that the role of the non-profit sector in the development of local communities needs to be strengthened in Russia. At the same time, it is necessary to change approaches to the definition of the term ‘local community’ in such a way that it reflects the desire to form associations that meet the criteria for involvement in the process of solving local problems that arise for public organizations and local residents (of different focus and different significance for the municipal territory). It is important that local communities have their own opportunities for self-identification against the background of existing associations and have a fruitful influence on the communication process between different communities and allow the exchange of experience in various fields.



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