Promoting Philanthropy? News Publicity and Voluntary Organizations in Canada

This paper reports exploratory data from a broader study that examines media representations of the voluntary sector in Canada. It specifically identifies the resources and organizational attributes of Canadian voluntary groups that appear to be important for receiving mainstream news coverage. The data identifies four sets of characteristics of more than 500 voluntary organizations: demographic variables, association type, noneconomic resources, and economic expenditures. These characteristics are examined in terms of their relationship to news coverage. The data suggest that area of activity is significantly related to the amount of media attention that organizations receive. However, the amount of media attention that an organization receives is most strongly influenced by its yearly budget. The implications of these findings are discussed in relation to both current debates about advocacy in the voluntary sector and important contextual developments that are transforming the communication environment in which charities and nonprofit organizations in Canada operate. We also draw comparisons to news coverage of the voluntary sector in other liberal democratic countries.     

Family Functioning Patterns as Predictors of Engagement: Which Families Participate in Services and Which Ones Do Not?

The present study examines the relationship between specific areas of family functioning and family engagement in prevention services. A sample of 147 families who initiated youth-centered treatment services from a non-profit agency was selected. Statistical analysis was used to test for relationships between family scores on the Family Assessment Measure (version III, General Scale) and family levels of engagement in services. Results of binary logistic regression analysis indicated that individual and family characteristics are associated with family engagement in services. In addition to demographic variables of age and race, family patterns of denial made a significant individual contribution to the evaluated model. Implications for engaging families in prevention services are discussed and suggestions are made for future research.     

Information and Communication Technologies: Reshaping Voluntary Organizations?

Electronic networking holds the promise of innovation with involuntary organizations as they seek to respond to deep shifts in the social, economic, and political spheres in which they operate. Evidence from our study of U.K. voluntary organizations demonstrates relatively low uptake of the core networking technologies and applications essential to support the reconfiguration of key relationships in and around the organizations. Friends of the Earth and the Samaritans are exceptions to this trend. Case studies of these organizations suggest they are using information and communication technologies to reshape internal relationships and reconfigure relationships externally. The extent to which the organizations are reconfiguring around intelligent campaigning and intelligent client service is tempered by their long‐standing values.     

Does Civic Participation Promote Active Aging in Europe?

VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations - The main objective of this research is to understand how civic participation influences the well-being of older people,...     

Alienation of Civic Engagement in China? Case Studies on Social Governance in Hangzhou

VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations - This article tries to map the state of civic engagement in social governance at local level in China. Using case studies...     

The Effect and Policy Choice of Youth＇s Cyber Political Participation from the Perspective of Democracy

公民政治参与是现代民主的核心要素。青年政治参与是公民政治参与的重要组成部分,关系着中国民主建设状况与政治发展方向。青年政治参与先后出现过计划经济时代的政治动员型参与、市场经济时代的利益趋动型参与、网络时代的自我表达型参与三种类型。青年是网络政治参与的重要主体,由于网络自身的适时性、便捷性、交互性,再加之现实政治参与渠道的狭窄,在网络空间的青年政治参与表现出迥异于物质世界青年政治参与的活跃性。网络政治参与是青年政治参与新的增长点,不过其自身也存在着非理性、失范性、网络民粹主义、网络谣言等负面效应。为此,构建引导青年网络政治参与的政策与制度势在必行。     

Civic Engagement and Civic Literacy Among Social Work Students: Where Do We Stand?

Civic engagement is pivotal to the survival of the social work profession and to our historic role in shaping the social contract. Recent studies report declining rates of civic engagement and civic literacy among Americans. This article, which was presented at the Policy Conference 2.0, examines civic engagement and civic literacy among social work students at a medium-sized program in the western United States. Findings from this study indicate that these students are more likely to be engaged in volunteering and fundraising than in politically oriented activities. Results suggest that understanding of government and democratic processes lead to more civic engagement.     

Groups or Gatherings? Sources of Political Engagement in 19th Century American Cities

There is broad agreement that citizen participation is critical for successful democracy. Recently, scholars have linked such political participation with the notion of social capital—community-level resources, such as trust, norms, and networks, that foster collective action. Much uncertainty remains regarding the sources of social capital, however. Here we examine two different features of community life that are believed to nurture social capital, and political participation in turn: public venues where relative strangers can meet anonymously, socialize, and share information and opinions (i.e., venues for informal interaction); and venues for organized exchange between familiars, such as voluntary organizations and social clubs. Using quantitative data from America's largest cities at the end of the 19th century, we examine the relationship between both supposed sources of social capital and respective rates of voter participation. We find little support for the role of informal interaction in fostering an active and engaged citizenry. We do, however, find evidence that citizen participation was related to some types of associationalism (or organized exchange). In particular, associations that fostered high levels of mutual interdependence among members seemed the most strongly linked to higher levels of political participation.     

Children's Engagement as Urban Researchers and Consultants in Aotearoa/New Zealand: Can it Increase Children's Effective Participation in Urban Planning?

Children conducting research and engaging in ‘adult’ domains such as urban planning challenge perceptions of children as merely ‘adult becomings’ — perceptions which, along with lack of pathways for participation, have largely excluded children from effective participation in the public realm. This paper considers two urban participatory projects in Aotearoa/New Zealand: in the first, children (10–13 years) researched peer perceptions of Auckland city life; in the second, they were consulted by Auckland Council on the redevelopment of a city square. We reflect on processes and outcomes, and the extent to which facilitating such projects may increase children's meaningful participation in urban planning.     

Churches: Lasting Sources of Civic Engagement? Effects of Secularization and Educational Expansion on Non-religious Volunteering in the Netherlands, 1988 and 2006

During the last three decades Dutch church attendance rates dropped considerably, while the relative share of volunteers in non-religious organizations decreased at a slower rate. This is an unexpected development given the positive association between religious involvement and volunteering. In this article, we try to account for this development by addressing the following question: Why has a massive and ongoing decline of church attendance in the Netherlands not resulted in a similar drop in the relative number of volunteers in non-religious voluntary organizations? In view of this question, we wonder if the negative effect of declining church attendance on volunteering is perhaps counterbalanced by a positive effect of educational expansion. Our findings reveal that this is indeed the case, but these counterbalancing effects are only modest.     

Political Participation and Late-Life Learning: A Cross-Cultural Study of Older People’s Participation in Seniors’ Interest Organisations in Australia and Spain

Understanding what older people learn from their civic participation is of critical importance both for individuals and organisations. This link has been neglected in prior research, and the evidence across diverse cultural contexts is particularly limited. However, the political context of older people’s life experiences and participation is important in their participation. The intent of the present study is to explore the learnings experienced by older people through participation in seniors’ interest organisations, across Australia and Spain. Participants included 52 active members of political organisations focused on issues for older people. A questionnaire was used for data collection; participants’ responses to an open-ended question regarding what they have learnt from their participation in seniors’ interest organisations are analysed here. Participants’ answers were subjected to a multi-stage thematic analysis. Findings show three key themes relating to learnings about themselves, such as self-improvement or skills or knowledge; learnings about others, such as cooperation with others and understand that people have different views; and learning about society, such as inequality and the need to fight for injustice. The findings suggest some interesting similarities and differences across contexts, which appears to reflect the different political contexts of the two countries.     

Migrating Gender Inequalities? Immigrant Women's Participation in Political Survey Research

This study examines the participation of immigrant women in political surveys in Canada as a form of political participation. Investigating immigrant women's participation in the various components of the Canadian Election Studies, this study highlights the structuring impact of pre‐migration experiences with gender inequalities from two different perspectives. The larger the gender inequalities in immigrant women's country of origin, the lower their retention rate to the post‐election surveys, and the greater their propensity to provide non‐responses to political survey‐items. This study contributes to a better understanding of immigrant political integration and the related impact of pre‐migration experiences.     

Third Sector in Ukraine: Civic Engagement Before and After the “Euromaidan”

This study explores the determinants of the low level of civic engagement in Ukraine. Applying the methodological framework of analytical sociology, we consider different social mechanisms that explain the weakness of the Ukrainian third sector. First, we discuss how the political system and economic performance of the country have shaped beliefs, values, and motives of people by creating the context for their actions. Second, we focus on different aspects of people’s experiences during the Soviet times to formulate a number of hypotheses concerning unwillingness of citizens to join CSOs. Analyzing the survey data of the years 2010 (beginning of Viktor Yanukovych’s presidency) and 2014 (survey conducted right after the “Euromaidan”), we argue that some specific features of Homo Sovieticus, such as passivity, absence of political identification, and reliance on informal networks negatively affect the propensity of people to participate in CSOs. These effects are complemented by disappointment with the post-Soviet transformation and low subjective social status. Based on the results of analyses, we formulate suggestions concerning possible ways of fostering the development of civil society in Ukraine.     

What is the Bottom Line for Nonprofit Organizations? A History of Measurement in the British Voluntary Sector

Over the last two decades, nonprofit organizations in the United Kingdom (UK) have faced increased pressure to measure their activities in order to demonstrate their competency, to achieve legitimacy, and to obtain funding. This paper draws from recent literature in the sociology of science to examine quantification in the British voluntary sector as a historically situated and socially constructed process. Using archival and secondary documents, I find that quantification is not a new practice for charities in the UK; moreover, while they have employed metrication in the past, what activities nonprofits have measured, and the importance of measurement for their organizational success, has altered over the course of the century.

Analysis of Status and Countermeasure of China Youth Intemet Users＇ Network Political Attention and Participation

网络现已成为公民政治关注和政治参与的重要平台。青年作为网民的主力军和国家的未来,他们在网络中对政治的关注度和参与度一定程度上关系着国家未来的社会政治文明的发展。当今,中国青年网民对网络政治资汛关注度高,信任主流媒介．但他们的政治参与度与政治关注度形成强烈反差,这需要从法规制度的健全、网民政治素养和能力的提升和网络政治参与途径的拓展等方面多管齐下,才能切实解决问题．从而在总体上保障人民当家作主管理国家和社会事务的权利得以实现。     

The Voluntary–Community Sector and Political Development in Northern Ireland,Since 1972

This paper traces the development of the voluntary and community sector in Northern Ireland from the early 1970s onwards. Particular attention is given to the expansion of the voluntary and community sector in the 1970s, community action in conflict with government in the 1980s, and new funding--from the European Union and other international sources--for development work since the mid-1990s. More recent trends discussed include the rapprochement of the voluntary and community sector with government, which has seen a growth in formal partnerships and networking, as well as the impact of the 1998 Belfast Agreement.     

Women’s Voluntary Organizations in Canada: Bridgers,Bonders, or Both?

Using a sample of 645 voluntary organizations in Canada, this study explores the differences between women’s voluntary organizations and gender-neutral organizations in their propensity to form a bridging or a bonding interorganizational relationship. The results suggest that not only do women’s organizations in Canada collaborate more than gender-neutral organizations, but also the tendency to have bridging or bonding relationships is significantly different. The factors predisposing women’s organizations to have collaborators inside or outside their network seems to be affected by how much the environmental changes in Canada impact their survival and whether the nature of the causes they support makes them an attractive partner. For gender-neutral organizations the tendency to bridge or bond seems to relate more to traditional organizational characteristics, such as size and staffing efficiency.     

(Social) Democracy in the Blood? Civic and Ethnic Idioms of Nation and the Consolidation of Swedish Social Democratic Power, 1928–1932

This paper attempts to explain Swedish Social Democrats' consolidation of power between 1928 and 1932 through an examination of idioms of nation. Qualitative analysis of articles and editorials from a Social Democratic and a liberal newspaper is carried out. The analysis focuses on how civic, ethnic and, a mixed civic‐ethnic idiom of nation were deployed in order to expand the Social Democrats' electoral base. The Social Democrats could combine egalitarianism/democracy with ethnic nationalism because ethnic bases for the nation were more inclusive than other, especially class, bases available to them. Two challenges for the literature on nationalism and the welfare state are raised: (1) the civic‐ethnic distinction must be rethought to accommodate the Swedish case, wherein ethnic nationalism was used for “civic” ends; and (2) the focus on the Social Democrats as promoting working class interests may be misplaced given the party's mobilization on the basis of nation.