Master of Urban and Regional Planning

Thesis (MTech (Information Technology))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2019 / The challenges faced by members of underserved communities in South Africa have frequently been reported in literature. To ameliorate these challenges, different interventions have been introduced both locally and internationally to improve the wellbeing of the members of these communities. One such intervention is the introduction of information and communication technology ICT as a means to close the digital divide and meeting the socio-economic needs of the community. Youth living in these communities are expected to derive more benefit from ICT interventions as they have been reported to be more technology savvy and dependent on technology than the older adults are. However, the failures of ICT interventions deployed by donors have also been reported in literature. Authors have identified several reasons for the failure of ICT interventions, but a lack of consultation with the beneficiaries of this type of intervention is common to many findings. The exclusion of the youth as major beneficiaries of ICT interventions causes a lack of alignment between the interventions deployed for their use and the actual wellbeing needs of the youth in underserved communities. The failure of ICT interventions increases the digital divide and frustrates the good intentions of local and national government as well as international donors to improve the wellbeing of the youth in underserved communities. By using the concept of wellbeing, the study aimed to explore how youth wellbeing indicators can be used to facilitate effective ICT interventions for youth empowerment and development in underserved communities in South Africa. Furthermore, the study aimed todesign an ICT-based artefact to prioritise youth wellbeing indicators in underserved communities in South Africa. The study was implemented through a qualitative research method using a service design strategy that allowed for a participatory research approach and co-design instrument for data collection from the youth living in Grabouw anunderserved community in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. Data was collected from 40 youth aged between 15 and 30 at two workshops. Content analysis technique was used to analyse data. Findings from the research show that given the opportunity, the youth are able to determine their social-economic needs. A comprehensive set of wellbeing indicators was developed. Thirteen wellbeing indicators symbolising the issues in the community were prioritised, which are:unemployment, self-image, reaching full potential, family support,access to water, sanitation and electricity,meaning and purpose of life,being healthy,religious practice,educational level,future expectations,freedom of expression,skills to get a job, and access to skills and training. Overall, nine categories of wellbeing indicators were identified; of these, seven are similar to theGlobal Youth Wellbeing Index(GYWI) categories. Three new categories – aspiration, social support, and infrastructure and services – were realised. The three factors are an indication that the Grabouw youth may have special needs different from the global perspective as specified by the GYWI categories. Moreover, the priorities of the wellbeing indicators when compared to the GYWI rating for South Africa differ significantly, which may indicate that the needs of the youth living in underserved communities may vary largelyfrom other youth in the country. Furthermore, an artefact that can be used to prioritise wellbeing indicators was designed. It is important for stakeholders of ICT interventions to embrace participation of the beneficiaries as a means of aligning interventions to their needs. These stakeholders need to seek ways of developing artefacts that address the needs, not limited to health, so that the youth can take advantage of technology to improve their wellbeing on a continuous basis.

This study explores the relationship between journalists and NGOs in news making from a social exchange theory perspective. Drawing on semi-structured reconstruction interviews with journalists from Swedish media and representatives from the communications departments of Swedish NGOs, it examines motivations, contextual influences, and trust building processes that shape the relationship. The findings from the thematic analysis suggest three main characteristics of the journalist-NGO relationship. Firstly, the actors are motivated to interact due to a mutual dependency despite having separate goals. Secondly, the interactions are marked by an initiative imbalance caused by the contextual norm of a ruling media logic. Thirdly, trustworthiness is established between the actors through successful social exchanges which tend to reoccur and rationalize professional processes, ergolong-term relations lead to trust and efficacy. This thesis further concludes that journalists hold an upper hand in the news making process which NGOs accommodate to be recognized by media. Simultaneously, the NGOs play an important part in supplementing and substituting journalistic shortages which enhances their influence on news content. This leads to a relationship of mutual dependency which is sustained through reciprocal social exchanges that build trust and enable efficiency on both an interpersonal micro level, and an organizational meso level.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / The shrinking space for civil society and the increasing number of unfavorable legislation affecting the work of non-governmental organizations continue to be burning issues for global philanthropy. Using a case study approach, this thesis explores how democracies regulate the operation of foreign-funded non-governmental organizations in Hungary and Israel. This thesis examines what the presumed and real motivations of democratic governments are to adapt such regulations and how the political, economic and socio-cultural environments might influence their enactment. This thesis also compares the Hungarian and Israeli regulations to the 1938 Foreign Agents Registration Act.

The 2010 Haitian earthquake underscored the fact that disaster response is increasingly complex, multi-sectoral and multi-faceted in character. Nonetheless, disaster relief operations both globally and nationally tend to operate within a highly fragmented context in which potentially overwhelming human and infrastructure needs must be served by limited material and financial aid delivered by disparate humanitarian actors specializing in varying functional domains.  Such a chaotic environment demands highly effective communication, collaboration and coordination among a variety of humanitarian actors if relief efforts are to be successful. Even though the coordination mechanisms of multi-organizational actors during disaster response have been studied in a variety of contexts, much less attention has been paid to how international non-governmental (INGOs) and private sector actors may be able to operate collaboratively in disaster settings. This dissertation provides a case analysis of the efforts of one set of cross-sectoral humanitarian actors that worked through a network in response to the 2010 Haitian earthquake. This mixed methods case study incorporates interview, personal observation, and survey data from INGO field staff, headquarters personnel, and corporate donor representatives, all of whom were members of the cross-sectoral Partnership for Quality Medical Donation (PQMD) that responded to the 2010 Haitian earthquake.  The inquiry explores what the coordination-related challenges to disaster response are for network members and then examines whether and in what ways a cross-sector network, PQMD in this instance, can effectively mitigate or overcome those obstacles.  This study contributes to the body of disaster coordination and cross-sector network scholarship in two ways. First, the analysis reviews prevailing trends within the cross-sector network and disaster coordination-related literature concerning the requisites and challenges of coordination in humanitarian relief emergencies.  Second, this study augments existing understanding of the extremely complex processes involved in coordinating INGO-business disaster response as part of efforts to mobilize multi-sectoral humanitarian action. This research suggests that efforts to develop cross-sector networks prior to disaster events can build communication, collaboration and coordination pathways that later enhance coordinated INGO-business disaster response to crises.  It argues that current theoretical horizons in both network and disaster coordination studies need to be broadened. Specifically, this inquiry highlights the importance of incorporating cross-sector networks (i.e., INGO and corporate actors) into all planning efforts aimed at enhancing collaboration and coordination practices in disaster relief. / Ph. D.

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International security, and particularly the threat of terrorist attacks, remains to be one of the most concerning and debated political topics a decade after the September 11th attacks. In particular, the newly elected Obama administration is at a point where they have a chance to reformulate their response to terrorist threats. Traditionally, the US government has resorted to a "hard" style approach of preventive measures and detention of terror suspects. Typically these measures are carried out by the US federal agencies themselves; however the use of civilians in the form of military contractors has become more popular in recent years. On the other hand, Saudi Arabia, an ally of the US has employed a radically different style in dealing with the threat of terrorism in their country. Their rehabilitation programs are part of an entire campaign that chooses a more human-based approach. This research analyzes the effectiveness of the Saudi Arabian program and the US non-governmental approaches to see if there are beneficial methods that can be adopted by the US in their traditional federal methods.

This paper uses the current organizational ecology theory to clearly define organizational population ecology constructs of non-governmental development organizations, and offers specific terminology and understanding of main organizational forms and relational dynamics that define the population ecology of these organizations. The paper examines closely the significance of such interaction and interdependence through transactional relationship of obtaining and distributing of resources and forces of competition. Original organizational theory frameworks are offered for future NGDO organizational research.

The purpose of the study was to explore the definitions, benefits, and challenges of collaborations as used by nongovernmental organizations in their pursuit of public policy advocacy, and more specifically the role of NGOs as advocates in the public policy process. A qualitative design using a case study approach was used to examine the collaborative strategies and techniques used by the 12 statewide education NGO members of the Virginia Education Coalition in pursuit of their advocacy goals in public policy. The direction of this study was guided by the following questions: (1) What is collaboration, and when, how, and why it is used by nongovernment organizations to pursue advocacy goals? (2) What advocacy roles do nongovernment organizations play in public policy? (3) What collaborative strategies are used by nongovernment organizations to pursue advocacy goals? This study incorporates observations, in-depth interviews and a review of written documents. An interview guide consisting of 23 questions with probes and follow-ups was used as the primary data collection instrument. Each NGO was a case study in this multicase design. The study reveals that collaborations seem to exist in large part because of the personal relationships of NGO representatives and that advocacy positions and goals are pursued when commonality or consensus is achieved among collaborators. The subordination of individual interests to the interests of the Coalition is addressed in the study. The study found that NGOs enter into collaborations not only when it is mutually beneficial, but also in support of a greater cause. The need of NGOs in the Coalition to speak with a single voice far outweighs their desire to push their individual policy advocacy goals. This study contributes to the nonprofit sector in the literature and specifically addresses nonprofit collaboration and how collaborative strategies and techniques are used by NGOs to influence public policy. The findings of this study are useful for (1) NGO leaders to understand how to cultivate collaboration among leaders in other organizations, (2) the VEC to better understand their own member organizations, (3) coalitions in general to gain insights into the collaborative process.