The principal theory in the field of public relations, grounded in the landmark Excellence Study headed by J.E. Grunig (1992), has moved from viewing activist groups as posing a threat to organizational effectiveness, to recognizing their positive influence on the development of Excellent public relations practices, to incorporating the activist perspective into the main research agenda. The public relations practices of activist groups are similar to those of their target organizations, and research has demonstrated that both parties are more likely to achieve their respective goals if both use symmetrical strategies. Factors that have been found to be critical to the success of activist groups include their ability to maintain the viability and legitimacy of the organization and the issue(s) it pursues, and their ability to build relationships of trust with its members, complementary organizations, legislative bodies, and the press. Since web-based communication has become a principal source of counterbalancing their disadvantage in resources vis-à-vis the targeted institution(s), the ability to take advantage of the potential of online media has also become critical to the success of activist groups. Another important source for counterweighing the “deep pockets” of their corporate or governmental adversaries, and thus a critical factor for success, is the “motivation and fervor” of the members of activist groups. Whereas the public relations behavior of corporations and governments is primarily cued by highly rational and regulated guidelines at the organizational (meso) level, activist public relations behavior is often grounded in highly emotional considerations at the personal (micro) level. This raises the question: how can the public relations practices of an activist group affect its members at the personal level? Bandura’s model of self-directed change (1990) offers a promising framework for addressing this question, as it facilitates the evaluation of an activist group’s public relations campaign in terms of its effectiveness in reinforcing the motivation, social and self-regulatory skills, and self-efficacy of individual members. The model suggests that effective activist public relations practices are not only successful in preserving viability and legitimacy at the meso level, but also enhance empowerment at the micro level. / text

Through the fetal heartbeat House-Bill-481, Georgia (U.S) has taken a Pro-life stance on the constitutionally enshrined women's reproductive self-determination rights versus the proposed fetus's right to life by banning abortion after six weeks of gestation. The purpose of this research was to analyze how rights are debated in the media, argued in the bill, and presented in the litigation against the bill using a thematic analysis approach guided by the concept of rights. The findings showed that Pro-choice sees the bill as an infringement of women's rights while Pro-life see it as recognizing the proposed fetus's right to life and personhood.

No description available.

Thesis: Abortion in the light of case law of European Court of Human Rights This thesis focuses on the legal regulation of abortion in selected European countries in order to find single European standard. It concentrates primarily on issues of assessing violations of particular articles of the Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms by the European Court of Human Rights or former European Commission of Human Rights in relation to specific cases associated with abortion. Abortion means the deliberate termination of pregnancy by means of surgery or administration of drugs to induce abortion. Abortion is a major ethical issue that raises number of discussions and disputes. The complexity of the problem is due to the fact that on the one hand there is the mother's right to freely decide to terminate or continue the pregnancy and on the other hand, there is considerable right of the embryo/foetus to life. The whole text of the thesis is interwoven with finding a balance between these competing interests of women and the unborn child based on my own opinion or the opinion of the international judicial body. It analyzes two main approaches, which are pro-choice approach in favour of women's freedom of choice, and pro- life approach arguing that the foetus has right to life. Both approaches...

The introduction of abortion legalisation in South Africa during 1997 gave rise to the need for pre- and post-abortion counselling. Two dominant counselling groups came to the fore namely pro-choice and pro-life, reflecting the respective stances of society on abortion. In order to answer the following research questions: "What value-challenges do abortion counsellors experience, if any?" and "What ways have they found in negotiating these challenges?" A narrative conversation was used to come to an understanding of these research questions in practice. Research was undertaken with counsellors from both pro-life and pro-choice stances. The influence of capitalism, patriarchy and religion on role players confronted with making decisions on abortion was explored. Pro-choice counsellors negotiated their values in terms of forgiveness based on the unconditional forgiveness they would expect from God and pro-life counsellors in terms of God's forgiveness for the client, accepting her own responsibility for the consequences of the abortion. / Practical Theology / M. Th. (Pastoral Therapy)

This qualitative study explored the information available on abortion, contraception and parenting from websites accessible to internet users in Canada. The research questions focused on a comparison of pro-life and pro-choice websites on the discourse in Canada around reproductive rights. A textual analysis was conducted of five websites, with data analyzed using phenomenological research methodology. Themes emerged highlighting key differences between pro-choice and pro-life websites. Pro-choice websites offer accurate and up-to-date information presented in a static resource format, while pro-life websites offer value-laden and inaccurate information presented in an interactive, user-friendly fashion. The analysis highlights how the internet, as an emerging 21st century information resource, is also a site of production for reproductive rights discourse in Canada. These results have direct implications for social work practice and policy, particularly emphasizing the need for client referrals to accessible and accurate websites, and engagement with reproductive rights advocacy and public health education.

This qualitative study explored the information available on abortion, contraception and parenting from websites accessible to internet users in Canada. The research questions focused on a comparison of pro-life and pro-choice websites on the discourse in Canada around reproductive rights. A textual analysis was conducted of five websites, with data analyzed using phenomenological research methodology. Themes emerged highlighting key differences between pro-choice and pro-life websites. Pro-choice websites offer accurate and up-to-date information presented in a static resource format, while pro-life websites offer value-laden and inaccurate information presented in an interactive, user-friendly fashion. The analysis highlights how the internet, as an emerging 21st century information resource, is also a site of production for reproductive rights discourse in Canada. These results have direct implications for social work practice and policy, particularly emphasizing the need for client referrals to accessible and accurate websites, and engagement with reproductive rights advocacy and public health education.

The objective of the present article is to analyze the process of introducing the regulation of therapeutic abortion into the peruvian governmental agenda, identifying the factors that came together to generate such event, the period of study being between the years 2005 to 2014. The investigation corroborates that said event was possible due to the confluence of certain political and institutional factors on the national stages, the strategy of groups in favor (pro-choice) and against (pro-life) the regulation, and international influence. / El presente artículo tiene como objetivo analizar el proceso de ingreso de la reglamentación del aborto terapéutico en la agenda política gubernamental peruana, así como identificar los factores que confluyeron para generar dicho ingreso, siendo el periodo de estudio entre los años 2005 y 2014. La investigación corrobora que dicho ingreso fue posible gracias a la confluencia de ciertos factores políticos e institucionales del ámbito nacional, de las estrategias de los grupos a favor (pro-elección) y en contra (pro-vida) de la reglamentación, y de la influencia internacional.

(in English): The thesis deals with the problem of induced abortions. It focuses on, and offers an analysis of, common ways in which abortion has recently been defended in the Czech Republic. In an examination of usual lines of defence of abortion, a description of ongoing philosophical debate about morality of abortion is employed. Arguments founded on bodily integrity and drawn from general feministic positions are attacked with the aim to show that all these ways of defending abortion elude the crucial problems such as the moral status of a fetus, father rights, the nature of discourses which underlie women's choices to abort, and the consequences of the common contemporary view of abortions for women's lives. The tension between basic sexual needs and responsibility for a human life that begins is set forth as the pivotal problem. Concerning the theoretical question of the moral status of a fetus, the thesis endorses a skeptical stance. As a consequence, unassailable solution to the question of permissibility of abortions is rejected as an impossible task. Such a negative result invites a question of how, if at all,the contemporary discourse might be substantiated in which abortions are treated quite straightforwardly as permissible acts. The acquaintance with philosophical problems concerning...

The introduction of abortion legalisation in South Africa during 1997 gave rise to the need for pre- and post-abortion counselling. Two dominant counselling groups came to the fore namely pro-choice and pro-life, reflecting the respective stances of society on abortion. In order to answer the following research questions: "What value-challenges do abortion counsellors experience, if any?" and "What ways have they found in negotiating these challenges?" A narrative conversation was used to come to an understanding of these research questions in practice. Research was undertaken with counsellors from both pro-life and pro-choice stances. The influence of capitalism, patriarchy and religion on role players confronted with making decisions on abortion was explored. Pro-choice counsellors negotiated their values in terms of forgiveness based on the unconditional forgiveness they would expect from God and pro-life counsellors in terms of God's forgiveness for the client, accepting her own responsibility for the consequences of the abortion. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / M. Th. (Pastoral Therapy)