How is the role of non-profit organizations constructed in the Czech online sphere? This diploma thesis tries to answer this question based on a content analysis of articles in the six most-read online newswebsites in the Czech Republic and users' discussions connected to them in 2015-2019. The theoretical basis of the work is the media construction of reality, which the author tries to apply in practice to the topic of the non-profit sector using the method of media framing. Qualitative content analysis in the research succeeded in revealing four main frameworks by which Czech online news views non-profit organizations. The four frameworks also emerged from the analysis of user discussions under the articles. The comparison of these findings provided the author with the opportunity to find out how the discussant brings diversity to the Czech non-profit sector's media representation. The thesis's conclusion is devoted to evaluating the most critical research findings, which the author incorporated into the context of existing academic research of media representation of non-profit organizations in the news. As non-profit organizations' role in society is mostly influenced by the public image, this work provides comprehensive information on the roles that Czech online news and its readers attribute...

The government and civil society have taken steps to combat the segregation in Malmö through integration initiatives. This thesis studies four NGO integration programmes found within Skåne Stadsmission and the Red Cross Malmö. The primary research question is: How do volunteers and employees at NGOs in Malmö work with the integration of migrants? The thesis aims to understand the role staff and volunteers at NGOs play in the integration of migrants, what perspective they have on integration, and what challenges they face. The primary material consists of interviews conducted with six volunteers and employees. The thesis uses Putnam’s Social Capital theory and finds that NGO programmes foster social networks, creating social capital that benefits migrants’ integration. The programmes are found to focus on migrants’ assimilation and conclude that a two-way process of integration is not identified, rather the programmes work by teaching migrants to navigate Swedish bureaucracy and find employment.

The main purpose of this study was to examine managers' capabilities to support the boundaries between work-life and private-life in the non-profit sector. The theoretical framework of the study is centered on work/family border theory where we focused on managers' dual role of border-crosser and border-keeper and explained this using new institutional theory as an analytical lens together with previous research on the special nature of the nonprofits, as well as policies for border control and the balance between autonomy and control. To understand the boundaries between the two domains, four focus groups were interviewed, consisting of three to four individuals. The participants were managers of various organizations within the nonprofit sector. According to boundary theory, employees become central participants when the organization helps them internalize the culture of the domain, develop knowledge in their jobs, when they connect with those who already have central membership, and when they are given responsibilities with which they can personally identify. The central membership is then assumed to provide tools for them to be able to increase the balance between work and private life on their own. The result of the study has shown that there are two factors that the managers believe affect the boundary between work and private life in addition to the actual time, namely performance boundaries and role boundaries. Based on what the focus groups convey, there is a notion of an ideal in the nonprofit sector where the job is to some extent expected to be seen as something more than a job that reinforces the boundless tendencies between working life and private life.

This thesis covers the methods and the goals of organizations located in Costa Rica working for the good of Nicaraguan citizens. Through a thematic analysis of 10 Facebook posts per 8 civil society organizations, four different themes within the posts were found: active action, cooperation, informing, and political speech. These themes as well as different extracts from the posts have together given a picture of the methods and goals of the organizations. Active action, cooperation and informing are used to see the methods of the organizations, while political speech and some cases of informing show the goals of the organizations. Through the extracts there are examples of what they do and why they do it. What has been found is that the organizations are different from each other in some respects. The organizations with a focus on Nicaraguans who are in Costa Rica have a higher count of posts using active action while those focusing on the situation in Nicaragua use more political speech. It has also been found that theories regarding the development of social movements, activism and peaceful disobedience can be used to understand the actions and the goals of the organizations.

気候変動問題が深刻化している状況で、環境NGO・NPOの役割と期待が大きくなっている。日本の環境NGOとして、国際・国・地域のレベルでの活動を継続している「特定非営利活動法人気候ネットワーク」を事例として取り上げ、政策提言を柱とする活動の概要・成果・課題について詳細に検証した。国際的な環境NGOの動向も踏まえて、気候変動問題の解決に向けて、環境NGO・NPOの今後の方向性と活動のあり方について考察した。 / 博士(ソーシャル・イノベーション) / Doctor of Philosophy in Social Innovation / 同志社大学 / Doshisha University

Considering the current skepticism surrounding the impact and efficacy of nonprofit and nongovernmental organizations, some believe that a unique category of innovator known as the social entrepreneur may be society’s best hope for bringing innovative, scalable, and systemic solutions to bear on the world’s most intractable problems. Social entrepreneurs, as defined by Ashoka, have a unique set of characteristics that determine not only how they move within the world of social change-making but also how they communicate their ideas and mission to the public. This exploratory study reviewed how social entrepreneurs currently use documentary film and visual media in their communications strategy and public relations practice, what that tells us about the emerging culture of social entrepreneurs, and whether documentary, as defined by John Grierson, is an appropriate tool for these organizations. The author interviewed three founders, three communications professionals, and three filmmakers associated with social entrepreneurial organizations and observed a course for student filmmakers learning to make documentaries for social entrepreneurs. The findings of this study suggested that social entrepreneurs used documentary film as a communications tool when it aligned with their stated missions and goals but that cost, time, and control were significant barriers to implementation. Additionally, social entrepreneurs in all phases of development exhibited a unique set of cultural characteristics that interacted with the intent, content, and effect of their films in both positive and negative ways. The author also noted three distinct levels of filmmaker involvement with social entrepreneurial organizations that impacted the intent, content, and effect of their respective films. These levels of involvement are described as collaborative, independent, and interdependent. While the author offers some provocative observations about the role of documentary in social entrepreneurial organizations, this study remains exploratory in nature. She suggests several additional avenues of research that may further the scholarly conversation and continue to shed light on documentary film as communication for and by social entrepreneurs.

Intergroup reconciliation involves a holistic change in attitudes and interactions between groups. However, sustainable reconciliation has often times been overlooked from previous research. This paper aims to contribute to the research gap by applying the well-tested contact hypothesis in the context of NGO structure. The positive results in change of reconciliation attitudes suggests thereby that NGOs should not only be evaluated by its external effects but also by its internal effects on its own members. No negative consequences could be found. Combining intergroup contact with youth, providing informal education and combining it with inter-faith projects within a faith-based institution have yielded the best results.

The world is changing and humanitarian organisations need to be equipped to change with it. This case study has examined the internal democracy within the association of Medécins Sans Frontières (MSF), the creation of social capital and how it can be used to create bottom-up medical organisational change though motions. The selection of 6 motions was made to investigate if they have created the change they intended to create. The aim of this study is to test the hypothesis that members have the power to create organisational change and that such changes depend on a high degree of internal membership democracy. Internal democracy is in turn a precondition for the formation of social capital. In total were 12 in depth interviews conducted with members, former and current board members as well as the executive. In addition to this has an analysis of video recoded motion debates and feedback session been analysed along with other relevant internal documentation. The study has found that the association of MSF is founded on democratic principles as a mean to guide and hold the executive responsible and fulfils formal criterion for a democracy. The internal democracy has a series of weaknesses in it, like lack of participation from members and unequal weight of influences of different members and national associations. It is also facing threats of executive manipulation due to weak boards. Despite this the association has created a strong social capital that unfortunately is unevenly distributed among the members and its social capital is at risk of declining. Regarding motions there is a lot of potential in this formal tool of influence, but often it is not the motion itself but what the motion writers and audience do with the information as well as if the executive agrees with the motions that create the intended change. It can be interpreted as if down-top approaches to operational medical organisational change only will be achieved if the “top” agrees to the change. In conclusion, the assumption of this thesis has thus been proven to a certain extent. Members have the power to create organisational change through motions but their ability to do that depends on a high degree of internal democracy but also on informal contacts. Social capital is built in the process in the social networks that each association form individually as well as together with all MSF associations. However it is not necessarily a precondition to organisational change even though it is a product of the existing internal democracy. MSF has the opportunity to strengthen the democratic process and to be better equipped to create organisational change in the future.

The concept of participation seems to reflect in most development programmes that involve people at the grassroots level. In Ghana, the introduction of the decentralization programme in the late 1980s that aimed at promoting effective, comprehensive and rapid development, more especially in the rural areas also adopted participatory approach. The approach led to the introductory of district assembly system which was to enhance the involvement of people at the grassroots in participatory activities. However, since the introduction of the decentralisation system to promote grassroots level participation, the people are still inactive and the level of involvement in development decision-making still remains weak. To clearly understand these problems, the thesis has aimed at answering the following research questions; how are rural people involved in participatory practice in the development activities in their area; what barriers affect and hinder the active participation of rural people and how could these be addressed? Answers to those questions helped to examine the nature of participation at the grassroots level; understand how the district assembly adopt participatory practice and to ascertain the nature of barriers that hinder effective participatory practice. Using a case study approach for the investigation, an interpretivists and constructivists were the philosophical underpinnings of the investigation. The data was gathered through the use of focus group discussions and one-to-one informal interviews. It was observed that, participation continues to reflect in most rural development programmes, but there are key barriers that still continue to hamper the effectiveness of participatory practice. Power relations, threats, intimidations and more especially the use of juju and witchcraft which never featured in most development literature are among the major barriers that continue to weaken local people readiness to actively participate. Most rural people feel threaten to participate for the fear of being bewitched or killed through the use of juju, witchcraft or black magical powers. Without critically and effectively addressing those bottlenecks and barriers, and put community members at the pivot of decision-making, the use of outsiders¿ knowledge and ideas alone to address the problems of participation with the hope of improving the lives of the rural people will not yield any significant result. / Title page missing

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