A tese tem o propósito de analisar a trajetória dos conselhos municipais em Porto Alegre de 1937 a 2008, identificando o modo como os representantes da sociedade civil foram inseridos em tais instâncias e a quem o Estado se dirigia para ocupar a posição de conselheiro. Tem como questões centrais: (1) a análise dos procedimentos de acesso de tais integrantes aos conselhos; (2) quando e como começou o estabelecimento da relação mais estreita entre governo e sociedade em Porto Alegre; (3) quais as categorias representantes da sociedade e como elas foram definidas; (4) qual o tipo de papel ou atribuição que era esperado de tais representações; (5) qual o tipo de procedimento ou mecanismo utilizado nesta inserção da sociedade e a subjacente concepção de política que estava em jogo nestes cenários. São considerados fundamentais neste estudo duas conjunturas de surgimento destas instâncias em nosso país: os anos 30 e o período pósredemocratização. No entanto, para efeito de análise o período de 1937-2008, dividiu-se em fases que foram esboçadas em consonância com as etapas da história política brasileira, a saber: o Estado Novo, a democratização a partir de 1946, o período ditatorial do regime militar, a transição democrática e a redemocratização após a promulgação da Constituição Federal de 1988, e, a primeira gestão após a saída do Partido dos Trabalhadores da prefeitura de Porto Alegre. Levando em conta os diferentes períodos pelos quais passou o município foi possível identificar ao longo dessa trajetória, duas formas que tiveram regularidade de conceber e tratar a presença da sociedade civil junto ao governo: a sociedade dos “ilustres” ou qualificados e a sociedade “participante”, que, por sua vez, conformam modelos distintos de conselho: o tradicional e o democrático que, longe de se suplantarem, acabam sinalizando a existência de um modelo híbrido de conselho. / The thesis aims to analyse the trajectory of municipal councils in Porto Alegre from 1937 to 2008 in order to identify how civil society representatives were included in such instances and who the state was going to hold the position of advisor for. Its main points: (1) an analysis of participants’ access procedures to such councils; (2) when and how a closer relationship between the government and the society was established in Porto Alegre; (3) what categories represent the society and how they have been defined; (4) what role or responsibility was expected from such representatives; (5) what type of procedure or mechanism was used in this insertion of society and the underlying political concept at stake in these scenarios. In our country, two conjunctures originating such instances were regarded as fundamental in this study: the 30s and the postredemocratization period. However, for purposes of analysis of the 1937-2008 period, we established phases which were in line with the stages of the Brazilian political history, namely the New State; the democratization after 1946; the dictatorial period of the military regime; the democratic transition and the redemocratization after the Federal Constitution of 1988; and the first term after the Labour Party left Porto Alegre’s municipality. Regarding the different moments the city has experienced along this path ever since, two ways have been established as constant in conceiving and dealing with the presence of the civil society within the government: a society of the "distinguished" or qualified, and the "participating" society which, in turn, constitute different council models: the traditional and the democratic one. Far from supplanting each other, they seem to signal the existence of a hybrid model of council.

A research report submitted to the faculty of Commerce, Law and Management University of the Witwatersrand in partial fufilment of the requirements for the Degree Masters in Entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation Johannesburg, 2017 / This research report seeks to explore the organised behaviour of faith-based enterprises as a sub-function of social entrepreneurship. By assessing the moral intricacies which form the building blocks of social enterprises, the research report will use literature based on social entrepreneurship to draw parallels between social enterprises and faith-based ventures to suggest that the core of faith-based ventures (FBVs) is to make a social impact not just through disseminating faith, but acting as social agents. Therefore, this research will attempt to explore the extent of faith-based enterprises as a function of social entrepreneurship, identifying the opportunities and capabilities which are seen to be generated by faith, but that have a social impact that goes beyond the faith-based organisation. Using the qualitative research approach, data was collected from six faith-based entrepreneurs in Yeoville, through face-to-face semi-structured interviews, which were conducted over a period of three months to understand the role of the faith-based venture and its social impact. By conducting a qualitative inquiry to facilitate the meaning-making process, face-to-face interviews were conducted to create a naturalistic understanding of the study, particularly assessing their role and their function in society. Biases, feelings and thoughts were recorded in order to understand the participants’ motives, purposes and the causes that underlie these actions. The findings of the study suggest that the role of FBVs acting as social agents are dependent on the reach of their audience, including the extent of their scalability which they have developed which would provide insights into the degree that the faith-based venture can have social impact. This research will conclude having suggested that the “new-age” faith-based ventures have transitioned from only providing the basic faith, to now mimicking a social enterprise, therefore implying that FBVs are another dimension of social entrepreneurship. / MT2017

Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, has been going through a democratization process since 2011, despite different stages of conflict in several regions. In Karen State the main ethnic armed group, has signed the National Ceasefire Agreement in 2015. With the democratization process came a lot of changes for civil society. The role of civil society has been subject of many studies, with most researchers acknowledging that that role is dependent on the environment in which civil society operates. An important actor in this environment is the state. This research aimed to get a better understanding of how the state influences civil society and the work it does. To do this, the case of Karen State in Myanmar was chosen. The research question of this thesis was as follows: How is the state influencing civil society and its functions in peacebuilding in Myanmar, specifically Karen State? To answer the research question, the research was conducted as a field study. An abductive approach was taken with the use of semi-structured interviews for qualitative data. To get comprehensive results, three types of organizations were interviewed: local CSOs, national CSOs and international CSOs. To analyse the results, two frameworks were used: the functions of civil society in peacebuilding according to Paffenholz and Spurk (2006) and the dimensions of the relationship of the state and civil society according to Müller (2006).   The results show that civil society, in their view, is negatively influenced by the state. They are experiencing restrictions in performing some of their activities. The main worry for many of the organizations is the consequences of officially registering the organization. This requires giving up a lot of information to the government and makes them subject to influences from the state. Some other influences were the restriction of some activities, with even people getting arrested for their advocacy work. Collectively civil society is getting weaker, as the civil government is creating a divide in civil society with organizations that support them and organizations that are critical. Future research must go deeper into the influence of different state actors, and how each actor influences civil society in its own way.

The avocado production and trade impose economic, social and environmental challenges for producers, and concerns for consumers. This ‘sustainability challenge’ will be analysed from a social- psychological viewpoint. The case study follows a two-method based approach: a combination of qualitative and quantitative research. Laws and restrictions on the avocado production in Mexico exist, still, avocados are not sustainable. The reasons are unveiled by a closer look into the trade agreements and by interviews with the Mexican civil society. The responsibility for the implementation of controls on sustainable avocados is pushed in a circle from the governments to civil society and back. Ideas on how to change the system are mainly based on EU citizens. Can a greater knowledge and awareness of EU citizens improve the sustainable avocado production in Mexico? The survey reveals that only few participants are fully informed and highly interested in eco-friendly produced avocados. The low percentage can be explained through the high costs for certified avocados, the mistrust in the certification system and the lack of the certified fruit in the supermarkets. However, after some background information the participants stated that they would change their behaviour: buying certified avocados, spending more money and going to special supermarkets. To raise awareness and clarify doubts, civil society in Mexico suggested campaigns in cooperation with civil society in the EU. The idea for the campaign is based on behaviourist theories. A further step is a cooperation between EU citizens with civil societies from Mexico and the EU to pressure the government into a system change to support the offer of cheaper certified sustainable avocados in the EU supermarkets, and thus to raise the standards and controls for the avocado production.

Volunteering in non-profit organizations is characteristic for Nordic countries and Sweden especially. The most common gender division is, that men tend to be active within sports clubs, often in leading positions or as members at the board. For women it is more common to be part of social organizations, taking care of others. With this existing knowledge as a starting point, this study examines what motivates young men in Sweden who takes part in organizations that practice activities typically coded as feminine. The study is qualitative as we want to examine the intentions, and the feelings participants have about their engagement in these organizations. The collected data was analyzed through thematic analysis. For the purpose of this undergraduate dissertation the authors have studied an organization called Vän In Umeå and interviewed five young men involved in the organization as well as had informal conversations with women working in it. The theoretical framework for the study is based upon the concept of social capital, social exchange theory and theory of motivation. The results show that the young men´s social capital is important for how and if the engagement arises and develops. Another finding is that the will to grow as a person and to be a part of something bigger motivates the men in their volunteering, as well as feelings of doing something of value for another person.

The study concerns the inter-relationship between media reform and civil society in Thailand between 1995-2000. It examines case studies of two selected television organisations - the production company Watchdog and the broadcast channel Independent Television (iTV) - and analyses their internal production decision-making processes, their public affairs programs and their urban and rural audiences. Debates about civil society and media reform between 1995-2000 influenced the government's media regulation policies to the extent that more attention was paid to media freedom as intended by Articles 39, 40 and 41 in the 1997 Constitution. Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs) took an important role in monitoring government policies on media reform under the Constitution and issues about media re-regulation and ownership were canvassed, although the drawn out National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) selecting process delayed media reform. The transparency of the selection process of the NBC has been widely debated among NGOs, media scholars and media professionals. Most Thai public affairs programs in the period were shown on iTV, Channel 9 and Channel 11 and were in the minority compared with entertainment. Thai television stations normally screened entertainment programs to make profits, while they usually would not allow producers to air open debates critical of the government. Also, public affairs programs that were screened often were given inappropriate airtimes. Watchdog and iTV treated public affairs programs in different ways. Watchdog, originating from an NCO, the Creative Media Foundation, emphasized public participation in local community-oriented programs - such as Chirmsak Pinthong's Lan Ban Lan Muang - which exemplified civic journalism on television. In contrast, iTV was created in 1996 to meet the promise made in 1992 after Black May that a non-state commercial channel would be introduced. It was organised by journalists from the Nation Multimedia Company and focused on current national news issues which seldom allowed public participation. Both organisations attempted to maintain their professionalism despite political and business pressures. Chirmsak and Watchdog were accused of bias favoring the Democrat Party and often encountered program censorship. ITV staff, especially in the news department led by Suthichai Yoon and Thepchai Yong, unsuccessful fought. Shin Corps 2000-2001 takeover of the station that had been brought on by the financial problems of iTV and the Siam Commercial Bank after the economic crisis of 1997. There were three main concepts of civil society in the period 1997-2000 - Communitarianism, Self-sufficiency and Good Governance. These ideas were advanced by reformers such as Dr. Prawase Wasi and Thirayut Boonme, and were reinforced by His Majesty King Bhumibol's December 1997 Birthday Speech that endorsed the ideal of national self-sufficiency. Thai civil society debates often were involved with rural people, while the 8th National Development Plan and the Chuan government's policy on decentralisation aimed to strengthen the rural sector as an antidote to the 1997 crisis. However, the aims of civil society reformers were at times too idealistic and were viewed with skepticism by some middle class urban critics. The continuing influence of electoral corruption in rural areas also obstructed civil society ideals, while decentralisation and community development still maintained a top-down way of development and depended on government support. These difficulties in implementing pro-civil society reforms in the political process were paralleled by difficulties in developing public interest programs on Thai television. Current affairs and investigative journalism programs, such as iTV Talk, Tod Rahad and Krong Satanakarn, did not often open public discussion on the programs. Rather, the regular format of panel discussions, consisting of elites and some celebrities, tended to focus on national topics rather than local issues. The hosts of many of these public affairs programs depended on their own celebrities status and tended to invite well-known guests, whereas community-oriented programs such as Lan Ban Lan Muang and Tid Ban Tang Muang promoted civic journalism and deliberative democracy more effectively. The latter programs allowed the public to participate in the programs as the main actors and even proposed their own agendas. However, a limited study of three audience focus groups - an expert urban group, a young middle class urban group, and a rural group - found considerable scepticism about the possibility of developing public interest awareness via television programs. The expert and young middle class groups criticised both the hosts and the style of a selection of current affairs programs, which they thought were too serious and also biased. Some also considered that current affairs programs were a platform for the people in power rather than providing a space for the public. Therefore, they rarely watched them. In contrast, the rural group who participated in Lan Ban Lan Muang, believed that the program was useful for development communication. The audience gained information about other communities and used the media as the means to publicise their own community. However, they rarely watched it because the airtime of the program was the same as a popular entertainment program on Channel 3. The researcher used qualitative research methods to collect data, including indepth interviews, focus groups, participant observation, program recording and document analysis. Theoretically, the study has attempted to combine the approaches of western and Thai scholars. The main approach used to explain the relationship between the media and civil society is media and public sphere theory, as introduced by Habermas, and combined with the perspectives on media re-regulation of the Thai scholar Ubonrat Siriyusak. In terms of analysing Watchdog and iTV, the researcher used political economy perspectives to understand decision-making in both organisations. In addition, an organisational culture approach was used to explore conflicts of interest that arose in both organisations due to their different sub-cultures. Civic journalism, framing theory and development communication theory were further employed to examine the television programs and their roles in promoting the public interest and development projects, while the audience groups were considered in the context of participatory communication theory and reception theory.

This thesis examines futōkō (school non-attendance) in Japan from the perspective that futōkō is a social movement. It analyses citizens’ activism in support of futōkō students over the twenty year period from 1984. Drawing upon social movement approaches the thesis examines how futōkō citizens successfully grasped political opportunities, established a network of organizations, launched a new interpretive frame for futōkō, and challenged the dominant representation of futōkō in society –that 'futōkō is an illness’. To explore in detail the ideological aspect of the futōkō movement’s framing, a content analysis of 140 editorials in the movement newspaper – the Futōkō Shimbun (School Non-attendance Newspaper) was conducted. Commencing with a critique of schooling practices that create futōkō, over the survey period Futōkō Shimbun expands its analysis to develop a critical appraisal of Japanese society that has broad implications for many different aspects of the everyday life of its citizens. Adopting the typology of movement outcomes, this thesis assesses the outcomes of futōkō movement framing through two sets of factors: first, changes in government policies and attitudes and second, cultural and ideational changes as experienced by the movement organizations, futōkō activists and children, and as represented in shifts in media representation of futōkō. Government policies in the handling of futōkō students have become more flexible although not always positive, while government interactions with the movement are suggestive of recognition that futōkō citizens are valid spokespersons with a legitimate set of interests in relation to futōkō children. Futōkō movement activists have been successful in framing their movement in terms of: expanding and increasingly sophisticated networks of futōkō movement organizations; the professional development of activists; and a more positive media discourse. The thesis concludes that the futōkō movement has influenced government policies, the media and wider social commentary about the phenomenon of and responses to futōkō. The thesis contends that the social movement perspective enables us to understand the issue of futōkō beyond the educational context, in its wider social, cultural and political contexts. / http://proxy.library.adelaide.edu.au/login?url= http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1330998 / Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Social Sciences, 2008

<p>By their very nature, attempts by civil society organizations to promote democracy abroad involve cooperation and contact across the borders of nation states. The dissemination of the ideas and practices of the promoters is often essential; in the case of Swedish democracy promotion, popular education or folkbildning has been important.</p><p>This thesis investigates the dissemination of ideas and practices by civil society organizations in Sweden and Estonia in the field of popular education. More specifically, a number of projects run by member organizations of the Swedish study association ABF (Workers’ Educational Association) and member organizations of the Estonian AHL (Open Education Association) are studied. These projects are also part of democracy-promoting activities whose funding comes mainly from Swedish donor agencies. The thesis aims to understand not only what has been spread but also how ideas and practices have been translated to fit the Estonian context. The primary theoretical concept used is therefore translation, even though one aim of the thesis is to systematize the field of study concerning processes of dissemination and to enrich the concept of translation with the aid of previous work on diffusion and socialization.</p><p>The main contribution of the thesis consists of the in-depth study of cooperation between Swedish and Estonian popular education organizations. It also contributes to the theoretical development of the concept of translation by identifying different phases in this kind of process and important elements of these phases. Popular education is an important part of Swedish democracy promotion and this study also contributes to this rather undertheorized subject, and also to the discussions of transnational civil society cooperation, by demonstrating an analytical framework that can be of use in future research into these issues.</p>

<p>This paper presents the marketing management of the nonprofit sector as a prerequisite for NGO sustainability. It examines the existing literature on the nonprofit marketing, the current situation of the local NGOs in Kosovo with regards to the application of marketing. The research methodology follows the introduction and presentation of the research objectives. The theoretical background introduces the necessary baseline to analyze empirical findings. The empirical findings and analysis reveal that nonprofit sector in Kosovo does not have a holistic marketing approach. The focus of the research is to emphasize the importance of marketing orientation, segmentation, and planning at nonprofit sector. Moreover, NGOs should create, communicate and deliver values based on customers’ (beneficiaries, volunteers, and donors) needs.</p><p>As a result of this research, a marketing plan guide was prepared.  The guide aims to educate NGOs in Kosovo about the benefits of having a holistic marketing approach and will serve as basis for further marketing planning.</p>

<p>The aim of this paper is to analyse the social movement Planka.nu with reference to the theory of new social movements in order to engage in a discussion about the presence of “old” tradition and “new” trends. As well as empirical, the purpose is also theoretical and methodological: to examine, and extend, the discussion about new and old social movements. A qualitative method is used. The analytical framework is based on a combination of theories of social movements and new social movements. Planka.nu was started in 2003 in Stockholm. The movement uses the Internet to organise free-riding on the public buses and trains with the aim of pressuring regional politicians into fully financing public transportation by progressive taxation. In all aspects discussed, both old and new characteristics were found. Behind a rhetoric that to a large extent resembles that of the traditional Swedish labour movement lies a redefinition of values, ideas and strategies that correspond with the theory of new social movements. By adopting a theoretical outlook on social movements that questions the existence of two divided blocs, a more nuanced discussion of the combination of old and new aspects could be held.</p>