Raising the funds - spending the funds: a case study of the effectiveness of both roles of NGO's

Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) must be effective in both raising funds and using these funds to implement programs in order to improve the circumstances of the poor. This chapter presents a case study of World Vision Australia's (WVA) fundraising and programming responses to the Asian Tsunami. The initial stages of the fundraising campaign were largely unplanned and reactive. Yet WVA received over $110 million for its tsunami appeal in just a little over three months. This is incomparable with other recent large-scale disaster fundraising campaigns. The experiences of how the initial phases of the response were implemented arc gauged through a qualitative analysis of interviews conducted with twenty-one staff members who completed short-term secondments during the initial tsunami response. These interviews extract a number of reflections of WVA's programming and provide a number of lessons for WVA for future complex humanitarian emergencies. This chapter thus reviews the effectiveness of both roles of NGOs - raising funds and expending these funds to implement programs.

NGO's use of the media to create changes in corporate activities and accountabilities : evidence from a developing country

This paper investigates how social and environmental NGOs use the news media to create changes in the operations and associated accountabilities of multinational companies operating in, or sourcing products from, a developing country. In this research, we explicitly seek the views of senior officers from global and local NGOs operating in Bangladesh, as well as the views of journalists from major global and local news media organisations. Our results show that social and environmental NGOs strategically use the news media to effect change in the operating and disclosure policies pertaining to corporate labour practices. More particularly, both the NGOs and the news media representatives stated that NGOs would be relatively powerless to create change without media coverage. Our results also show that the media agenda has been responsible for creating improvements in working condition within Bangladesh, but further improvements are necessary. This is the first known study to specifically address the joint role of NGOs and the news media in creating changes in the social and environmental operating and disclosure practices of organisations operating in developing countries.

State-NGO relations in Malaysia in the Mahathir years

This thesis states that the containment of NGOs is not simply due to the state's control of the political mechanisms. This study argues that the boundaries for NGOs are determined by the interplay between the state, the ruling elites, the middle class and the business elites.

Context sensitive development : how international NGO's operate in Myanmar

This thesis examined the operation of International Non-Government Organisations (INGOs) in Myanmar, as a case study of development sensitive to difficult socio-political contexts. The thesis extended context-sensitive development theory, explored the Myanmar socio-political context, and explored the ways INGOs contextualise their operations in that country to maximise development effectiveness.

International NGO approaches to rural development in Myanmar

The article analyzes the research data provided by international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) in Myanmar on strategies that maximizes rural community development. It discusses INGO approaches to rural community development and relationship with stakeholders. The study reveals that INGOs right partnership with local officials, equity and local community sustainability are crucial to the success of rural development projects in Myanmar.

The heritage 'NGO': a case study on the role of grass roots heritage societies in Iran and their perception of cultural heritage

This paper examines the activities of a group of heritage enthusiasts in Iran. Grass roots heritage activism is a relatively recent phenomenon that appeared in Iran since the late 1990s. They are increasingly operating collectively as cultural or heritage NGOs. They have diverse socio-economic origins and political views. However, as this paper argues, they share a common ground in their activities; one that maintains an ambivalent and critical relationship with the state and official definitions of heritage and identity. Referring to interview and other data collected during fieldwork in Iran, this paper traces and analyses the contours of that common ground and argues that there is a nascent heritage movement in the country. The impact and contribution of these emerging and self-reflective heritage movements to Iranian identity, which is reflected in their embracing of diversity and the notion of historical continuity, reveal the dynamism and complexity of the cultural and political landscape of contemporary Iranian society. They also reveal the importance of generating further scholarship in the field of Iranian cultural heritage. In conceptualising the characteristics of a nascent heritage movement in Iran, the paper makes a new contribution to the approach of existing scholarship in the broader field of heritage studies.

In good faith: benefits and challenges of a secular NGO working with Melanesian communities of faith

Christian belief across the Pacific region of Melanesia is almost universal. Resulting primarily from missionary activity that in many instances predated colonial interactions, Christian beliefs and institutions are tightly embedded in the political and social domains of these countries (Leach et al. 2013). Melanesian countries, such as the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea, also experience constraints to economic development due to limited comparative advantage, poor terms of trade, small and dispersed populations, and geographical disconnectedness (both internal and external). As such, they are highly dependent upon foreign assistance (Feeny and McDonald 2015).

Preventing tobacco use and harm: what is evidence based policy?

The majority of tobacco users commence in early to mid-adolescence. Tobacco smoking can be characterised as a chronic, relapsing disorder. While risk increases with amount smoked, there is no safe level of use (i.e., all use is risky). Duration of use is the most important predictor of premature death with the majority of excess morbidity and mortality avoidable if people quit before middle age. Investment in initiatives that reduce smoking among pregnant women and those at risk of cardiovascular disease provide quickest returns -in reduced health care episodes and expenditure.  Measures that successfully reduce smoking among parents probably reduce smoking uptake by children, and high levels of smoking among both children and parents appear to be associated with higher levels of illicit drug use.
The evidence base for pharmcotherapies in the treatment of tobacco dependence is very strong. Population-level initiatives such as tax increases, mass media-led campaigns and smoke-free policies are all highly cost-effective in reducing population-smoking levels, including among children and young people.
Australian tobacco control initiatives have been based on "social ecology" conceptualisations of the problem, which acknowledge the pivotal role of the media in shaping social values, and public and political opinion.
Broad social change, as well as more focused prevention and cessation initiatives, has drawn heavily on research findings from the behavioural sciences. Considerable effort (mainly, in Australian, in the NGO sector) has gone into documenting policy inputs and monitoring impact and outcome measures.
This chapter discusses why conceptualising tobacco-related harm from legal, economic and social policy perspectives should also help build support for tobacco control policy among academic and practising economists and lawyers, and in the business, welfare and government sectors.

Use of pineapple juice for elimination of egg stickiness of common carp (Cyprinus carpio L.)

Four treatments including three different concentrations of pineapple solution (I %, 3%, 5%) and the traditional method (salt/urea/tannin solutions) were used to eliminate egg stickiness of common carp. With the traditional method, fertilization and hatching rates were 74.5% ± 1.2 and 70.2% ± 1.1, respectively. The highest fertilization rate (89.3% ± 0.7) and hatching rate (86.6% ± 1.4) were found with treatment of 1% pineapple juice solution and was significantly different from those obtained with other treatments (P<0.05). Using pineapple juice for desticking common carp eggs also reduced the time of egg handling from almost one hour required with the traditional method, to about three minutes, as well as increasing fertilization and hatching rate under hatchery conditions.

Micro-credit programs and land distribution: a note

"Micro-credit" has come to refer to a popular extension strategy---usually in the agricultural sector---whereby a government or NGO extends credit at favorable rates to poorer borrowers, with repayment being supported by some kind of mortgage on the borrower's social capital. In the commonest case, eligibility is determined by the borrower's wealth, as indexed by his/her landholding. This note shows that, with an imperfect land market, the response to such a program will be to fragment landholdings which are smaller than a certain threshold, while larger holdings remain unaffected. Thus the pattern of landholding will tend to become more polarized.

Non-government organisations and the dialectics of state and civil society

This paper is concerned with envisioning the development of non-government organisations (NGOs) in Australia over the next 200 years. It begins with a discussion of a hypothetical NGO, providing vignettes of its activities in 2104 and 2204, and sketching out contextual factors that might influence NGO development. This discussion is followed by an outline of the methodology upon which the projections indicated in the hypothetical case-study are based. Three methodological approaches are used. The first approach begins from an analysis of current contextual trajectories, and projects the role of NGOs within these trajectories. The second approach postulates that the changes that will occur will be affected by the reflexive nature of social change, involving continual reflection and action. The third methodological approach draws on this notion of reflexivity, but emphasises that social change is not only a reflexive process, it is also a dialectical one. The dialectical approach rests on the premise that change occurs through a process of the accumulation of contradictions, challenge and resolution. Using these methodological approaches the paper proceeds to identify three factors which will influence the Australian NGO sector in the next 200 years. These factors are the shifting relations between the state and civil society, including the rise of the neo-authoritarian state in the 21st century; the ways in which least advantaged people are dealt with and, finally, the idea of risk society. While it is more difficult to identify the contextual and NGO trajectories into the 22nd and 23rd centuries, the paper postulates a more utopian vision for NGOs in Australia in 200 years time, where the category of people who had been previously marginalised disappears, and the major roles of NGOs are to ensure cultural diversity and develop civil labour.

Achieving behaviour change: three generations of HIV/AIDS programming and jargon in Thailand

NGOs have played an important role worldwide in the fight to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS through achieving behaviour change. NGOs have often been at the forefront of innovative changes, influencing government and international programming activities. This paper identifies and analyses the evolution of the HIV/AIDS programmes of one NGO in Thailand over a period of ten years. Three generations of programming are identified both through distinct approaches to this area of work and through the changing jargon used to describe the people the programmes are aimed at.

The multifaceted and ever-changing directions of information security - Australia get ready!

In recent years, we have witnessed many information security developmental trends. As a consequence, the dimensions of information security - once single disciplinary area - have become multifaceted and convoluted. This paper aims to (1) recapitulate these key developments: (2) argue that the emergence of many complex information security dimensions are the result of 'constant change agents' (CCAs); (3) discuss the implications on Australia's society, i. e. government, companies and individuals; and (4) propose key consideration areas and possible solutions thereof. We hope that the discussion presented here will position Australia to make better aligned information security and strategic plans, such as choosing appropriate investments and adopting effective solutions to strengthen and secure Australia's national information security posture.