Work Of Non-governmental Organizations Research Articles

Citizenship Education and Political Literacy in Hungary According to Hungarian Non-Governmental Organizations Focusing On Citizenship Education

Through citizenship education, countries try to provide individuals with the desired knowledge, skills and values. Although curriculums are prepared for this purpose, deficiencies may occur in practice because of various reasons. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) interested in education can also contribute to completing these deficiencies. The European Union also supports the work of NGOs in this direction. It’s understood that citizenship participation in Hungary, a member of the European Union, is less than other member countries. In this context, this research aimes to reveal the views of NGOs -interested in citizenship education in Hungary- regarding citizenship education and political literacy. In this study, an example of a case study from qualitative research designs, the opinions of members of NGOs working on citizenship education were taken within the scope of a purposeful sample. The data were analyzed by content analysis. As a result of the research, it’s seen that members of various NGOs organize educational and awareness-raising activities for students and teachers. According to them, citizenship education isn’t carried out at an adequate level in Hungary. So, it’s thought that political literacy, one of the basic elements of citizenship education, should be included in the program. But, it has also been concluded that political literacy is handled more with the knowledge dimension.
 
 Key Words: Citizenship education, Hungarian non-governmental organizations, political literacy

The heuristic divergence between community reporters and child protection agencies: Negotiating risk amidst shifting sands

BackgroundChildren enter the statutory part of ‘notify-investigate’ child protection systems via the reports of others, combined with acceptance by the statutory agency. This key nexus determines entry or deflection from statutory child protection services. ObjectiveTo examine the decision reasoning and processes of community (non-governmental organisation) workers that underpin reports to statutory services. Participants and settingParticipants are non-governmental organisation (NGO) workers in Aotearoa New Zealand. MethodsThe methods are focus groups, interviews and a ‘think – aloud’ vignette-based protocol, used to elicit reporting decision rationales and experiences. Theoretical concepts of heuristics, institutional co-responsibility, and policy change are used to explore the study findings. ResultsMost cases are reported only after NGO workers ‘build a picture’ in the context of relationships with families and efforts to address risks. Reporting is a last resort option and occurs after ‘tipping point’ changes in the balance of protective and risk factors. Participants note a rising threshold and changes to the criteria for report acceptance by Oranga Tamariki (the statutory agency) in recent years, due to changing policy aims, abuse definitions, an ‘add value’ principle, and workload pressures. This heuristic change results in many reports not accepted or acted on, leading to frustration, anxiety, and ethical ambivalence for NGO workers. ConclusionsThe rising threshold and ‘adding value’ principle while aimed at collective responsibility to family issues, is perceived by NGO workers as a deflection heuristic by Oranga Tamariki. In their view, it is applied too broadly, acts as a blunt tool that does not account for differences in role and power, and is used to deflect risk responsibility. Implications for children and whānau, (extended families) the possibilities for ‘co-responsibility’, ethical reasoning, and the data generated by reports are discussed.

Role of non-governmental organizations in post-relocation support of reservoir migrations in China: a just transition perspective

In recent decades, energy transition has been a major structural change worldwide to replace fossil fuels. Hydropower is a valuable renewable energy source which can mitigate the electricity demand of livelihoods and help to achieve the target of carbon neutrality goals. However, owing to the hydropower construction, involuntary resettles are suffering with land and socio-economic security. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) play a vital role in promoting a just transition for reservoir migrants. The present study examines the work of local NGOs in a reservoir resettlement area in China through semi-structural interviews, and participant observations followed by qualitative analysis. Study explores how the NGOs organize reservoir migrants to participate in post-relocation support (PReS) projects. The study finds that the organized participation of reservoir migrants in PReS is the key process required to achieve a just transition. Moreover, NGOs ensure that all affected reservoir migrants have equal access to development opportunities through the three linked levels of co-construction, co-management, and co-sharing through the elite-driven establishment of benefit linkages and fair benefit distribution, and ultimately achieve a standard of living for migrants. Organized participation improves the equity and sustainability of benefits for reservoir migrants, but organizing reservoir migrants requires firm support from the local, regional and national governments, and the trust of migrants in local NGOs. Findings further stated that the PRes policy still has some blank spot, therefore, it is necessary to frame robust policy frameworks to restore the livelihoods of reservoir migrants.

‘Happy’ activists: Non‐governmental organization staff navigating the social movement/service provider divide in India

AbstractIn the Global South, non‐governmental organizations (NGOs) face criticism; staff employ strategies to mitigate it. What happens when NGO staff express different levels of awareness about such criticism? How are these differences shaped by whether staff identify themselves as ‘community’ members the NGO serves or ‘non‐community’ members whose work serves the community? How do these identities impact NGOs? Through an 18‐month ethnographic study at a large NGO in Bangalore, India, I show that NGO staff members' identification as ‘community’ or ‘non‐community’ members shapes their perceptions of the NGO, their work and the NGO's work. I trace these differing perceptions to mission creep.

Ambiguity and migration governance in the satellite city of Duzce, Türkiye

Türkiye has adopted regulations to manage migration and refugee flows requiring the cooperation of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) since the early 2000s. Even though the basic rights of refugees, such as health and access to educational aid, are defined by regulations, there are barriers that cause discrimination by the authorities of the institutions providing these rights and services, despite the fact that refugees are registered to access these rights. Due to these barriers, which are caused by the lack of standardized procedures, local institutions also tend to put national security first before providing the services refugees need. Based on in-depth interviews with 39 key informants—including refugees, public employees and NGO workers, this paper examines how national migration policy is reflected in local practices, using Duzce city as the example. The paper also shows how refugees develop their own survival strategies through informal mechanisms in response to this situation.

Plastic Surgical Outreach to Low- and Middle-income Countries and Global Health Priorities: An Analysis of 96 Nongovernmental Organizations.

Conditions that are treated by surgery constitute a significant portion of the global burden of disease. In low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), allocation of resources toward the most cost-effective surgical procedures (essential surgery) and care delivery platforms is critical. Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and the plastic surgeons who work with them play a significant role in plastic surgical outreach to LMICs. However, it is unknown whether their work aligns with existing global public health recommendations. A previously established internet-based methodology was used to identify plastic surgical NGOs. Through direct correspondence with NGOs and publicly available data, plastic surgical NGOs were cataloged with respect to the subspecialty areas of plastic surgery performed, care delivery platforms, and geographic sites. These results were then compared with the existing global public health recommendations. A total of 96 NGOs met inclusion criteria. The most common subspecialty area was cleft surgery (80.3%), followed by pediatric plastic surgery (46.9%). No NGOs used a continuous care delivery platform. Instead, all NGOs used an intermittent model through short-term surgical missions, of which 62.8% used a nonrotating care model and returned to the same site(s) annually, whereas 37.2% used a rotating care model. Most NGOs perform cleft surgery, an area considered essential surgery, and thus, collectively, the work of NGOs largely aligns with global public health priorities. However, there is room for improvement for both the types of procedures performed and the care delivery platforms to provide the most cost-effective and sustainable care.

Challenges of Food Distribution Process for Internally Displaced Persons in Non-governmental Organizations: An Ethnographic Study

This ethnographic discourse highlights the problems and challenges of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) at the non-governmental organizations (NGOs), as well as explores the food distribution procedure. At the same time, the study also exposes the intolerance of international and national NGO employees and workers because the rights of IDPs are not protected during the food distribution process. The real effort of the international agencies is to manage and rehabilitate the situation of ceasefire from conflict circumstance to the relief settlement. The study used an ethnographic inquiry method in district Kohat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, depending upon two key consultants and one focus group interview as well as one focus group discussion with a total of twenty (n=20) participants. The interview guide was used for the data collection. The data were analyzed through NVivo 12 Plus software and also manually analyzed with inductive thematic analysis approach with open coding, noting repeated themes, keywords, and critical events interpreted into different categories. The study concludes that the IDPs were not satisfied with the aid/food distribution procedures of NGOs. It was recommended that the government should evaluate the role of NGOs with the help of district social welfare officers and conduct descriptive research regarding the food distribution process.

Constraints in Developing Ecotourism Based on Protected Areas: A Case Study of Jaffna District, Sri Lanka

Ecotourism provides simultaneous benefits for conserving nature, respecting local cultures, and benefitting local communities. Generally, protected areas provide a suitable physical setting for ecotourism development, but they have various limitations in biodiversity conservation as well as the promotion of ecotourism. This study aims to assess the constraints in developing ecotourism in protected areas. Chundikulam, Delft National Park, and Nagar Kovil Nature Reserve were declared as protected areas after the end of the last thirty years of ethnic unrest in Jaffna district, Sri Lanka. The methodology includes qualitative interviews with key stakeholders such as government officers, managers of the private sector, and workers in non-governmental organizations. Twenty respondents were selected, and semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions were employed to collect qualitative data. The collected information was thematically analyzed. The categorized themes include awareness of the protected areas and ecotourism principles, biodiversity conservation, public participation, the livelihood of the local community, utilization of resources, and coordination among stakeholders. The results revealed that the respective government departments failed to gain support from stakeholders during the process of protected area boundary demarcation, as most people were against the initiative. As a result, this has become a barrier to gaining stakeholders' support which stifled ecotourism development. This study suggests that proper engagement and training for stakeholders should be a pre-requisite for protected area management and ecotourism development, implementation of co-management activities, re-demarcation of boundaries of protected areas, and creation of buffer zones within an ecotourism park to develop ecotourism effectively.

Raising awareness and advocating change: The work of Nova Scotia food security NGOs

Although Nova Scotia nongovernmental organiza­tions (NGOs) have been working on local food security for many years, there is limited research that has analyzed their activities and impacts. Employing the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations' (FAO) four dimensions of food security—food availability, food access, food utilization, and food stability—to guide data collec­tion and analysis, we examined the work of nine Nova Scotia NGOs through document analysis, media analysis, and interviews with NGO repre­sentatives. We categorized the findings according to two broad themes of raising community aware­ness and conducting research/policy advocacy, and two more focused themes of partnerships and funding. We then discussed the rich array of food security “orientations” throughout the province, spanning community food security, household food insecurity, food justice, food sovereignty, and policy work. We found that the FAO’s four crite­ria, based as they are on larger scales (e.g., the national level), could not easily capture the myriad commu­nity-level food security work in Nova Sco­tia. We did note, however, that at the subnational level, indicators point to the continued dominance of the agri-food system in the province. We suggest that the relations forged by the food security NGOs with local universities and civic organiza­tions could be reinvigorated in the post-COVID era with longer-term, joined-up sustainable food policy approaches coupled with institutional mapping of key actors.

An Alternative Approach to Teaching about NGOs Globally: A Comparative Country-Based View Seen through a Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention Lens

This paper describes a comparative approach to teaching Introduction to Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs) in a master’s-level professional degree program. The approach addresses the challenge created due to significant differences in the NGO sector from country to country. This comparative approach utilizes a focus on five countries in different regions of the world, and partnerships with a community-based NGO in each country that addresses the prevention of genocide, mass atrocity, and inter-group violence. These partnerships enable students, working in teams, to compare NGO work across countries and apply theory to practice.

Perceptions of and Attitudes toward COVID-19 Vaccination among Urban Slum Dwellers in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Vaccine hesitancy or low uptake was identified as a major threat to global health by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2019. Vaccine hesitancy is context-specific and varies across time, place, and socioeconomic groups. In this study, we aimed to understand the perceptions of and attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccination through time among urban slum dwellers in Dhaka, Bangladesh. In-depth telephone interviews were conducted between October 2020 and January 2021 with 36 adults (25 females and 11 males) living in three urban slums of Dhaka City, Bangladesh. Follow-up interviews were undertaken in April and August 2021 to capture any shift in the participants’ perceptions. Our findings show that for many there was an initial fear and confusion regarding the COVID-19 vaccine among people living in urban informal settlements; this confusion was soon reduced by the awareness efforts of government and non-government organizations. Women and young people were more interested in being vaccinated as they had had more exposure to the awareness sessions conducted by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and on social media. However, people living in the slums still faced systemic barriers, such as complicated online vaccine registration and long queues, which led to low uptake of the vaccine despite their increased willingness to be vaccinated. This study highlights the importance of using sources such as NGO workers and television news to debunk myths, disseminate COVID-19 vaccine information, and support adherence to vaccination among urban slum dwellers. Our study underscores the importance of addressing systemic barriers blocking access and understanding community perceptions in order to develop effective communication strategies for vulnerable groups that will then improve the COVID-19 vaccine uptake.

“SHE CAN GET A VISA”: How Nationality and Class Shape Decision Making at a Kenyan NGO

Prior studies show how race, class, and gender matter for worker identities within organizations, but there is an opportunity to focus on worker nationality and class background within nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). Using evidence from ethnographic fieldwork, in-depth interviews, and organizational documents at a small NGO in Kenya, I show how nationality and class mediate how NGO workers assign and accomplish organizational tasks. My results suggest that a process of elastic transnational stratification determines how nationality and class distribute tasks and decision-making power in relation to the location and organizational domain in which they must act. While both nationality and class are used as proxies for one’s proximity to power and influence, there are instances where less privileged identities are more strategic to deploy. Nationality and class shape access to various development spaces, the amount and type of resources one can attain on behalf of the organization, and legitimacy locally and at the global level.

Converting donation to transaction: how platform capitalism exploits relational labor in non-profit fundraising

Abstract Viewing platforms as a new kind of factory and playground, scholars have investigated how the platform economy transforms work and entertainment. As dominant platforms continue to encroach on new markets and sectors, including the non-profit sector, few have examined the ramifications when they serve as a plaza for civic action. Despite the civic orientation of these platform activities, platforms can reconfigure the charity event and mediate civic interaction through the permissive power they possess to extract surplus value from users’ online interactions invisibly. Drawing from the ethnographic fieldwork of the two non-governmental organizations (NGOs) participating in a crowdfunding event in China, I show how the platform company creates a competition-based civic event to mobilize thousands of NGOs to crowdfund on their social media platform. In particular, the platform induced NGO workers working for those organizations to mobilize their networks for fundraising. Performing relational labor to persuade friends, families and acquaintances to give donations as a job responsibility deviated from the norms of reciprocity, which incurred workers’ emotional, social and even financial costs. Invisibly, the platform extracts social capital from workers’ relational labor.

Factors associated with abuse in the workplace in Bangladesh: An empirical investigation.

Workplace abuse is a much-discussed global phenomenon in the world of work. Bangladesh, being a developing country that relies heavily on its labor resource, should have definite methods to protect the workers' rights and safety. Unfortunately, weak frameworks are in place to prevent it, and the lack of awareness among the workers is helping the problem to establish its roots more firmly. Despite the gravity of workplace abuse and its consequences, comprehensive studies for addressing or understanding the problem at a national level is difficult to find in the context of Bangladesh. Using the latest nationally representative survey namely the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) 2016-17, this study attempts to bridge the existing gaps through an empirical investigation of the factors associated with workplace abuse in Bangladesh. A total of 16,646 participants with males of 75.9% and females of 24.1% are used for the analysis. A probit model analysis has been applied in this paper to explore how the workers' demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, as well as workplace features, may be associated with experiencing abuse in the workplace. The study finds that younger, less educated, females, elementary job-holders, non-governmental organization workers or those who work in the manufacturing, or services sector are more likely to be abused in the workplace. The study also concludes that the number of workers employed, and the hazardous workplace environment may be related to the probability of being abused. Furthermore, this study shows that full-time workers, workers who are employed temporarily or have an oral contract may face abuse in the workplace more.

Creating, archiving and exhibiting disability history: The oral histories of disability activists of the Carleton University Disability Research Group

Building a disability archives that is accessible is an ongoing challenge. At Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, this work began a decade ago with the formation of a modest collection of scholars interested in disability issues. The Carleton University Disability Research Group developed as a collective of scholars, graduate students, and non-governmental organisation workers from the fields of social work, engineering, history, library, and archives, including people with disabilities. Since 2013, it has worked to collect, archive, discuss and display histories of disability in Canada, using various media. This paper documents and analyzes the aspects of this work linked to information studies, from the role of archivists and librarians to the making of archives and exhibits with, for, and about people with disability. It presents innovative decisions, introduces unexpected benefits for all in the light of the project of a critical disability archival method and discusses the potential of universities as a site of practice. It takes its most recent project, the Oral histories of activists in the disability rights movement in Canada (1970–2020) as the main case.

Employee satisfaction at an NGO working in educationalsector in Mumbai

The research paper “Employee satisfaction in an NGO working in the educational sector in Mumbai” aims to throw light on the fact that non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have risen as a lucrative career option, especially for the youths of the nation. NGOs do not only tend to support the government by working for the welfare of the people and especially for the deprived, and along with that, they are transforming into a sector that tackles the problem of unemployment by hiring young and creative minds with a will to do work for social causes. By offering a lucrative salary and a good work environment, NGOs provide a livelihood to people, and hence the employees gain an extraordinary experience of providing quality service at a subsidized or free rate and hence helping people gain equal status.

Employee Satisfaction at an NGO Working in Educational Sector in Mumbai

The research paper “Employee satisfaction in an NGO working in the educational sector in Mumbai” aims to throw light on the fact that non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have risen as a lucrative career option, especially for the youths of the nation. NGOs do not only tend to support the government by working for the welfare of the people and especially for the deprived, and along with that, they are transforming into a sector that tackles the problem of unemployment by hiring young and creative minds with a will to do work for social causes. By offering a lucrative salary and a good work environment, NGOs provide a livelihood to people, and hence the employees gain an extraordinary experience of providing quality service at a subsidized or free rate and hence helping people gain equal status.

Non-Governmental Organizations in Contemporary China: political and legal aspect

The article is devoted to the study of general issues of the non-governmental public organizations in China. The current legislation regulating their legal status is being considered, including law-making acts adopted since the beginning of the "policy of reform and openness". In the Soviet type countries, to which the People's Republic of China belongs, the work of non-governmental organizations cannot conflict with the course of the ruling party. In the PRC, public organizations act as an integral part of a United Front led by the CPC and consisting of various political forces striving for a common goal — the "great revival of the Chinese nation." The activities of opposition public organizations in China are prohibited, and their registration is impossible. The Chinese authorities believe that the interests of the collective are above the interests of the individual, therefore, individuals that do not obey the "mass line" do not have the right to exist. Western experts believe that the absence of oppositional, state-independent public organizations in China does not allow them to be classified as non-governmental. However, Chinese specifics are overlooked, which leads to an incorrect transfer of Western concepts and institutions to Chinese soil and, consequently, allegations of an insufficient degree of democratization of China. The study provides up-to-date statistics on the number of non-governmental public organizations in China in recent years.

The role of non-governmental organizations in Turkish-Armenian relations

The article will examine Turkish-Armenian relationp. In relations between the two countries, the results of the work of non-governmental organizations and NGO initiatives will be evaluated. The position of Turkiye between the two countries and the actions of Armenia in this direction are considered. Relations between Turkiye and Armenia have stalled in the past due to the Karabakh conflict and accusations of the Armenian Genocide. Turkiye continued to pursue a policy mainly supporting Azerbaijan in the Caucasup. The consequences of the negative events of the historical past in relation to Armenia continue to this day. Turkiye condemned Armenia in the Karabakh conflict and demanded that the Karabakh lands be returned to Azerbaijan. The unpleasant events of the past, which caused the cooling of bilateral relations, have not yet found an unambiguous solution. The closure of borders has also isolated relations between the two countriep. It was only through positive economic initiatives by NGOs that improvements were noted. Win-win NGO initiatives support the building of relationships that provide both good neighborliness and profit for both countriep. NGO initiatives, with their ups and downs, have sometimes produced good resultp. In general, the importance of the role of the neighboring country of Armenia in Turkiye’s foreign policy is debatable, but in order to continue the principle of good neighborliness, it would be beneficial to support the Armenian initiatives of NGOp. Thus, this would ensure the return of bilateral relations to normal.

Community perspectives on the implementation of a group psychological intervention for adolescents with depression: A qualitative study in rural Nepal.

Group-based psychological interventions could help to close the treatment gap for depression in low-resource settings, but implementation barriers exist. In Nepal we sought community members' perspectives on how to implement group interpersonal therapy for adolescents. We conducted qualitative interviews with 25 adolescents with depression (aged 13-18) and seven health and non-governmental organization workers, and four focus groups with non-depressed adolescents, four with parents/guardians, and two with teachers (126 participants total). Data were analyzed using the Framework Method. Participants recommended same-sex groups. School was the preferred location because it is accessible for adolescents and acceptable to parents. Adolescents wanted facilitators from their own community with good communication skills. They did not want parents or teachers to participate in groups but emphasized the need to inform parents and obtain their permission. Community members supported group psychological intervention. School-based psychological interventions facilitated by local people could be an acceptable option in rural Nepal.