Same Bed,Different Dreams? The Divergent Pathways of Foundations and Grassroots NGOs in China

The rapid rise of high-wealth individuals and foundations in China should be good news for China’s grassroots NGOs whose continued growth depends critically on their ability to mobilize domestic resources. As a number of Chinese philanthropy practitioners have noted, Chinese foundations and NGOs should be natural allies and strategic partners. Yet the reality is very different as foundations currently provide very little support to NGOs, particularly the more independent, grassroots NGOs that have few ties with the government. This paper examines the disconnect between Chinese foundations and grassroots NGOs, and whether progress is being made in closing the gap between them. It argues that one of the main reasons for the gap has to do with their very different development paths, which have engendered significant structural and cultural differences between the two.     

Is Business Discourse Colonizing Philanthropy? A Critical Discourse Analysis of (PRODUCT) RED

Increasingly, traditional notions of philanthropy are colonized by a market discourse that promotes consumption as an effective way to solve social ills, resulting in what scholars have termed “marketized philanthropy.” This paper examines the implications of marketized philanthropy through a discourse analysis of the (PRODUCT) RED campaign benefiting the Global Fund to fight HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis in Africa through consumption of (RED)-branded products. This paper explores the implications of a business-oriented model of philanthropy for bringing about social change, the repercussions of campaigns like (RED) that explicitly shed the label of philanthropy; and how they impact political engagement.     

Ensuring Safe Motherhood by Using Information and Communication Technology Tools in Behavioral Change Communication

ABSTRACT

Mothers are the primary caregivers, nurturers, and providers of family care and stability. Therefore maternal death isnot only a personal tragedy but isdevastating for the entirefamily and frequently extends to a community. Considering the societal roles that mothers play, it is particularly important that countries undertake all possible measures to reduce maternal death. This article focuses on information and communication technology as an available tool when aiming at the reduction of maternal death. This tool can play a decisive role in behavioral change communication and safe motherhood and raise awareness among people, contribute to training and capacity building, and help in advocacy at the grassroots level.     

A Missing Voice

Abstract

Contemporary gay and lesbian social service literature still heavily focuses on White middle/upper-class issues and uses an isolated and fixed concept of homosexuality. As a result, the discourse has only a limited applicability to people with “dual” or “multiple” identities, accentuating the power of those who control the discourse and the oppression of those with “dual” or “multiple” identities. Using Asians as a case example, I argue that the lack of published articles about Asians in contemporary gay and lesbian social service literature is the result of the different worldviews of Asian and White queers. However, this deficiency is sustained by social structures that are saturated with White middle/upper-class values. Implications of this situation and some directions for social change are discussed.     

The Structural Components of Violence in Black Male-Female Relationships

Abstract

An Afrocentric perspective provides a point of departure for the understanding of black male-female violence. American society is defined by and derived from core or dominant values, which have differentially impacted its diverse populations. The Lens Model presented in this discourse focuses on these values as being counterproductive for black male-female relationships. Capitalism, racism, sexism and the Judeo-Christian ethic comprise the four-prong institutional or structural value components of the Lens Model. This dynamic framework is instructive as it helps social scientists view domestic violence in black adult relationships from a different perspective. The Lens Model has a connection to the “scientific method” which purports detachment, objectivity, and impartiality.     

Meeting Families Where There Are

SUMMARY

This article focuses on families in general, both those we as social workers and other mental health professionals work with and those within which we live. Specifically, the focus is on ways that growth may be facilitated as family members operate according to the principles of acknowledging connectedness, suspending judgment, trusting the universe, creating realities, and walking the path with heart. The ramifications for individuals, families and society of the choice to pursue soul healing, or to undertake consciously a journey toward wholeness, also is discussed.     

At the Mercy of the State: Health Philanthropy in China

Public health and healthcare issues in China have historically attracted individuals and organizations to engage the health sector. The growth of health philanthropy in post-Mao China raises questions regarding the role of the state in the development of China’s health philanthropy. Through a historical overview of health philanthropy in China as well as an examination of the functions and effectiveness of health-related philanthropic actors in the contemporary era, this study has identified the state as a major factor in the development of China’s health philanthropy. Indeed, even though the post-Mao reform dynamics have expanded space for health-related charity organizations, the state continues to have commanding height in health philanthropy in terms of status, funding, services, and influence. The state dominance in turn negatively affects the registration, financing, and capacity building of private foundations and NGOs in this area. Whether the state will dominate health philanthropy in the future to a large extent hinges upon how much extra space it is willing to concede in order to accommodate the dynamics in China’s philanthropic sector.

     

Soup and Supervision: the Metropolitan Watch and Clock Making Trade 1797–18171

Abstract In this paper Foucaultian theory is deployed to elucidate the significance of philanthropy as a channel of power through which artisanal culture was transformed. It is my contention that in the period 1797–1817 the transformative effects of war, government taxation policy and ‘trade adventurers’ upon London's artisanal culture were reinforced by the discourse and practice of philanthropy. In order to illustrate the transformative power effects of philanthropy two significant moments in the historical sociology of metropolitan artisanal culture are examined; the 1797 and 1817 crises in the clock and watch trade.     

Discourse on Shanzhai cultural production in Chinese newspapers: authenticity and legitimacy

Emerging from the early Shanzhaiji, or bandit cell phones, the notion of Shanzhai has developed into a prominent cultural phenomenon in China since 2008. This paper examines the discourse on Shanzhai cultural production in Chinese metropolitan newspapers and those of the Communist Party. The research questions pertain to how a grassroots cultural phenomenon is discursively constructed and how social and media structures manifest themselves in this process of discourse construction. Within the framework of discourse analysis, the dimensions of authenticity and legitimacy cut across all discursive categories regarding Shanzhai cultural production. Depending on the relationships between the two dimensions, a rival discourse and a harmony discourse were found in the archived news reports and editorials. The author argues that authenticity is oriented toward power relationships or content and themes of the cultural productions in the two discourses, respectively. The discourses reflect contesting efforts to construct cultural hegemony in Chinese society.     

Social mobilizations and the question of social justice in contemporary Russia

ABSTRACT

Notwithstanding stereotypes of Russian apathy, long-term field research reveals that there have always been grassroots and labour protests in post-Soviet Russia, even as the shock of ultraliberal reforms led to mass precariousness and social disorientation. However, the social mobilizations that do occur are scattered, weakly publicized and mostly small-scale. This paper conceptualizes them as ‘everyday activism’, that is, an activism embedded in everyday life experience and pragmatic sense. Only recently, and in a paradoxical relation to the populist and patriotic Kremlin discourse, some new trends have emerged towards other popular variants of the new discourse that includes social equality claims and what the paper calls ‘social critical’ populism. However, this populism from below does not automatically lead to mass mobilization, although it provides the necessary background for it.     

Young people's reproductions of the ‘father as provider’ discourse: intersections of race,class, culture and gender within a liberal democracy

ABSTRACT

Despite a plurality of paternal forms available to men, certain enactments of fathering remain immobile. In South Africa the ‘father as provider’ discourse, which establishes the legitimate father as one who provides financially for his family, continues to be regarded as the primary mark of a good father. Using photo-elicitation interviews to interrogate the persistence of this discourse, this paper examines how adolescents from two low-resourced South African communities construct fathering. Using a critical intersectional discursive framework, the analysis focuses on how gender, race, class and culture are implicated in the reproduction of the ‘father as provider’ discourse. Participants’ constructions suggest that the father’s duty to provide is intensified within marginalised contexts. Central to participants’ reproductions of the ‘father as provider’ discourse was a neoliberal conception of ‘freedom of choice’. The paper concludes that South Africa’s post-apartheid reliance on discourses around liberal democracy has cast the low-income father’s ability to fulfil the provider role as a conscious choice. While the father is made responsible for his failure to provide, broader structural oppressions are in turn rendered largely invisible by such discourse.     

‘Joy is resistance’: cross-platform resilience and (re)invention of Black oral culture online

ABSTRACT

Existing research has affirmed that Black people historically mastered oral communication strategies to resist subjugation and oppression by dominant groups, and have emerged as leaders in technological innovation. This article takes seriously Black users’ social media engagement and focuses particularly on Black joy online. We analyze a rich collection of discourse spanning both Twitter and Vine through which Black users utilize the affordances of both platforms to challenge dominant narratives that demean and dehumanize Black people. We argue that Black users seize upon the interplay of the applications to not only express and foster joy, but to extend historic legacies of Black oral culture and further cultivate contemporary strategies that leverage – but also transcend – the affordances of each platform.     

Conceptualizing trust: a holistic Chinese view to bridge divergences and dichotomies

This research study seeks to understand and describe how people in a Chinese society define trust in daily life. Employing a qualitative phenomenological method, data were obtained through in-depth interviews with 14 adult Chinese individuals in northern Taiwan. This research pinpoints prior misconceptions of trust, examines competing approaches to trust that have led to diverse definitions, adopts a holistic Chinese view of trust that bridges prior divergent views, mediates the agency-structure and trust-distrust dichotomies, and focuses on trust strategies applicable to different situations. The findings reveal that trust is a dyadic relationship in which how the trustee demonstrates his or her trustworthiness to gain trust and how the trustor decides to trust are likely to be affected not only by personal choices based on prior knowledge and experiences but also the external social and cultural norms of the society. The findings advance the existing knowledge of trust conceptualization and extend its applicability to broader Chinese societies. They have implications for strategies for relationship and trust-building for Westerners as they engage in global socio-economic discourse with Chinese.     

'I've Seen Changes'

Abstract

This article examines the political efficacy and effectiveness of American Indian and Hispanic women leaders in New Mexico. Using qualitative data from personal interviews with 50 grassroots activists and public officials involved in state, local, and/or tribal politics, I address the following research questions: Do American Indian and Hispanic grassroots activists and public officials perceive themselves as politically efficacious? How do their perceptions of efficacy differ? How effective are these activists and officials at influencing public policy and politics in New Mexico? The findings indicate that there are greater similarities among grassroots activists and public officials, as well as among Native and Hispanic women leaders, than might be expected from readings of classic political science literature. More importantly, while the majority of the leaders feel personally efficacious, there is substantial evidence of their impact both at the organizational level and in the larger political arena of state, local, and tribal politics.     

Institutionalizing Japanese Philanthropy Beyond National and Sectoral Borders: Coevolution of Philanthropy and Corporate Philanthropy from the 1970s to 1990s

Building on an analytical framework of agent-based institutionalization, this qualitative study uses narrative accounts to explore a historical evolution of Japanese philanthropy and corporate philanthropy from the 1970s to 1990s. Using primary data, such as interviews with key actors and archival resources, as well as secondary and publication data, I examine the process of how Japanese philanthropy and corporate philanthropy progressed simultaneously and how the American concept of philanthropy was integrated into different cultural contexts and emerged as the Japanese concept of philanthropy, firansoropii. This study also reveals that the three-decade process of institutionalizing Japanese philanthropy was driven by Japanese institutional actors who bridged the philanthropic, political, and economic boundaries between Japan and the United States.     

The personal is political: a feminist reflection on a journey into participatory arts-based research with sex worker migrants in South Africa

ABSTRACT

This article offers a personal reflection of my journey into participatory arts-based research with sex work migrants in South Africa. It begins by sharing some background information of how my own experience as a migrant woman, and my layered (sometimes conflicted) identities, have continued to shape and influence much of my scholarly work, including my commitment to engaging in research that supports (or at least tries to support) social justice. Through this article, I offer an example of how the ‘personal is political’ is entwined in feminist values of research and engagement. Those who experience the issues under investigation must be considered equal partners in research processes. Collaborative forms of knowledge production can support social justice, particularly if efforts strive to shift the centre from which knowledge is traditionally generated and disseminated.     

Corporate social responsibility communication of Chinese and global corporations in China

This paper explored how leading Chinese and global companies operating in China communicate their corporate social responsibility (CSR) principles and practices to the Chinese stakeholders through a content analysis of these companies’ corporate websites. It was found that companies usually take one of the following three major approaches in their CSR communication: CSR as ad hoc public philanthropy, CSR as strategic philanthropy, and CSR as ethical business practices. Furthermore, this paper examined the effects of country of origin and industry on companies’ CSR communication and found that whether companies are targeting at businesses or consumers has a bigger impact on their CSR communication than whether they are Chinese or global. Finally, despite a tendency towards convergence, Chinese and global companies still present their CSR principles and practices differently because of their different relations with major Chinese and global stakeholders.     

Race,Religiosity, and the Women's Vote

Abstract

Much of our popular political discourse focuses on the Democratic character of the women's vote, but there is, in fact, considerable diversity among female voters. Important sectors of the female electorate have political concerns that are at odds with the Democratic Party, though they hold these preferences less strongly than do men. This article focuses on these differences between women and links them to electoral behavior in the 1996 presidential election. I argue that women, like men, cast their vote with the party that best represents their interests, as they understand them. African American women overwhelmingly supported the Democratic Party in 1996, which is consistent with theories of racial group interests, but white women diverge politically.

The main finding of this research is that religious values play a central role in white women's voting behavior, even after taking into account ideological and partisan predispositions. We see this result, I argue, because religious and secular women correctly identify the Republican Party as the repository of social conservatism and the Democratic Party as embracing social liberalism.     

Grassroots Support Organizations and Transformative Practices

ABSTRACT

This essay theorizes grassroots support organizations (GSOs) as empowerment-oriented development nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and grassroots support as a growing field of community-based practice. It offers a conceptual definition of GSOs; specifies their organizational features, functions, and goals; and differentiates them from other public and private intermediary organizations. It also details the activities carried out by GSOs and suggests how these cohere into a model of grassroots support. The article discusses the challenging issues of financing, accountability, and scale faced by GSOs. Finally, it establishes the relevance of social work to grassroots support and GSOs as fields of study and practice.     

Challenges of Safe Motherhood: Program and Policy Recommendations

ABSTRACT

This article synthesizes the major findings from research and case studies on safe motherhood and focuses on best practices and changes in public policy. Many factors that negatively influence safe motherhood can be ameliorated—and have been in numerous societies through education, access to resources, public–private partnerships, and grassroots efforts. A model identifying the interrelationship of variable is provided. Policy recommendations are discussed.