Examination of the Use of Online and Offline Networks by Housing Social Movement Organizations

Resource mobilization theory and political opportunity theory are often used to describe separate portions of social movements. This dissertation proposes a combined model of these two theoretical perspectives which describes how social movement organizations effectively engage in social marketing both online and offline. The field of social marketing highlights the utility of standard commercial marketing practices to achieve non-commercial goals. I argue that, while commercial marketing practices may benefit social movement organizations and are more cost effective given emerging technology, momentum for gathering resources, will be stifled unless a political opportunity presents itself. Guided by theory about the ways that political opportunities are translated into action by organizations, and momentum acquired through mobilizing resources, cycles of opportunity and resulting resource responses by housing social movement organizations are examined over time to present a case study for this theoretical model. The seemingly endless cycle of resource gathering underscores organizational mobilization of resources as a process rather than an outcome. My model outlines numerous forces that shape an organization’s ability to mobilize in two distinct ways, through resources deployed (online and offline) and resources gathered. Resources will be discussed in three categories: organizational characteristics, network structure/position, and media/Internet presence. The relative importance of these factors and this process are described at length in the review of theoretical literature and will be illustrated in the case study that I provide: the housing social movement. Data for this case study has been collected through hyperlink network analysis, general webometrics, and congressional archives. My research aims to provide suggestions for the strategic socio-technical networking and social marketing of social movement organizations

Heterogeneous Effects of Financial Development on Tax Revenues: Accounting for Institutional Quality in Sub-Saharan Africa

Several studies have shown that financial development improves efforts to increase the tax base and tax revenue through different channels. This paper analyzes the effect of financial development on tax revenue conditional on institutional quality for a panel of developing countries over the period 1990-2019. Using a threshold approach, the results indicate that the influence of financial development on non-cash tax receipts is not monotonic and is sensitive to level of institutions. Financial development improves the tax base and tax revenue when the quality of institutions is better. The results point out as well heterogeneousness across countries and over the years counts. Estimates with financial market index confirm the evidence that countries that benefit most from increased tax revenues are those that improve their institutional quality

Fiscal Performance and External Public Debt Sustainability: A Case Study of Pakistan

The present study analyzes the impact of fiscal performance on external debt sustainability for Pakistan using the time series data for the period 1976 to 2013. The objective of the study is to find out whether fiscal performance, segregated into tax revenue, non-tax revenue and government expenditures, strengthens or weakens the external debt sustainability indicators.  To find the long run relation among the variables, Johansen Co-integration technique is applied. Vector Error Correction Model and parameter stability tests are also applied to examine the short-run relationship. The empirical results from this study show that enhancing the pool of government resource through tax revenue, non-tax revenue, and worker’s remittances reduces the debt burden and contributes towards debt sustainability. On the other hand, increase in the total government expenditures flames the fire of debt burden and weaken the debt sustainability condition. The VECM and CUSUM test shows that parameters remain stable during the period of study. In the view of empirical findings, the study recommends that fiscal consolidation is required for improvement in external debt sustainability. Keywords: external debt sustainability, debt carrying capacity, fiscal performanc

Making Poverty History? How Activists, Philanthropists, and the Public Are Changing Global Development

From August 1 to 3, 2007, fifty preeminent U.S. and international experts from government, business, academia, and the philanthropic and nonprofit sectors came together at the Aspen Institute to explore the changing contours of the global development community. By examining the common challenges development actors face -- promoting accountability, using resources effectively, and achieving scale and sustainability -- participants aimed to spur successful practices and establish foundations for collaboration among the expanding field of players determined to lift the lives of the world's poorest people

What Does Universal Access Mean?

Universal access (UA) to the Internet and the associated information infrastructure has become an important economic and societal goal. Yet, a comprehensive and systematicunderstanding of the UA concept is still lacking. In this paper, we apply naturalistic techniques of inquiry to analyze the Philadelphia Wireless initiative, and develop a series of propositions that constitute a proposed new model of UA. The analysis reveals that UA is a multi-dimensional construct that is influenced by different stakeholders with varied and conflicting interests. UA, in the modern era, represents a human-technology alliance that exhibits great diversity across individuals, technologies, and associated social contexts. This departs from the traditional top-down notion of universal access that focused mainly on physical connectivity. The human and technological elements aredeeply embedded within institutional dependencies that are essential, yet also alternatively enable or constrain meaningful underlying use of the information infrastructure. The implications of this complexity for achieving universal access and policy making are discussed

BECOMING A GLOBALLY COMPETITIVE PLAYER: THE CASE OF THE MUSIC INDUSTRY IN JAMAICA

This paper uses the NSI approach to examine the prospects for industrial development in Jamaica, a small middle-income developing country. It argues that the present state of the Jamaican NSI is not adequately developed to provide the necessary support to ensure that one of its key emerging industries – the music sector – becomes competitive on global markets. It suggests various policy options aimed at industrial upgrading and better integration with those markets. The type of applied research presented here is highly original and speaks to a wider audience, as it represents a novel attempt to operationalize the concept of NSI in a developing country context, with particular reference to the music and entertainment sector, which is not traditionally treated in the NSI context. This sector, however, has been selected as one of the leading emerging sectors for the Jamaican economy identified in its national industrial policy.

Research Mediation in Education: A Typology of Research Brokering Organizations That Exist Across Canada

This paper explores the increasingly prominent role of research brokering organizations (RBOs) in strengthening connections between education research, policy and practice across Canada. This paper is organized in three sections. First, it provides a literature review of research mediation– exploring terminology, models and empirical work (albeit sparse) across health, business, education sectors. The second section provides three conceptual contributions to the field: RBOs’ roles in knowledge mobilization occurring in the white space of broader public service systems, a typology of Canadian RBOs that exist in education using four broad categories: governmental, not-for-profit, for-profit and membership RBOs, and a knowledge brokering framework along seven dimensions: mission, resources, staff roles, political affiliation, autonomy, message and linkages. The third section provides empirical data about the frequency and types of RBOs that exist across Canada.   Cet article explore le rôle de plus en plus important que jouent les organismes de médiation de la recherche dans la consolidation des liens entre les politiques et la pratique en matière de recherche en éducation partout au Canada. L’article se divise en trois sections. D’abord, on y présente une revue de la littérature portant sur la médiation de la recherche et évoquant la terminologie, les modèles et le travail empirique (quoique limités) qui touchent les secteurs de la santé, des affaires et de l’éducation. La deuxième section contribue trois concepts au domaine : les rôles que jouent les organismes de médiation de la recherche dans la mobilisation des connaissances dans les « espaces vides » de la fonction publique en général; une typologie des organismes canadiens de médiation de la recherche en éducation selon quatre grandes catégories (gouvernemental, sans but lucratif, à but lucratif et composé de membres) et un cadre portant sur la médiation de la recherche et axé sur sept dimensions (mission, ressources, rôles du personnel, affiliation politique, autonomie, messages et liens). La troisième section offre des données empiriques sur la fréquence et les types d’organismes de médiation de la recherche qui existent au Canada

COVID-19 ECONOMIC STORM IN SRI LANKA'S REAL SECTOR: A SYNOPTIC ANALYSIS FOCUSING ON POTENTIAL POLICY REFORMS

This study examines Sri Lanka economic situation to recognize the potential policy reforms to revive country real sector in Post COVID-19 era. This study collected primary data through qualitative data collection approach named semi-structured interviews. Total sample size considered for interviews was 12.  In addition to that, the information presented and reviewed in this study was taken from several updated secondary sources. Qualitative data was analyzed through reflexive thematic analysis approach which was introduced by Virginia Braun and Victoria Clarke. Thematic analysis of this qualitative study found several major themes as the policy reforms to rebuild agricultural sector, industrial sector and service sector in the post-COVID era. Centralized Backward & Forward Information Linkage System, Creation of Local Cultivation Trends and Import Substitution, Agro Innovations in Post COVID-19 Period, Cost Minimization Techniques, Expanding Systematic Warehouse Facilities as a Solution for Over-Production, Re-Lifting the Construction Sector after COVID-19 Disruption, Making Case for Cities as the Major Hubs of Economic Growth, Attracting Foreign Direct Investments, Developing a Technical Strategy for Sri Lankan Rail Transportation, Expansion of Digital Retail Activities, Bridging the Digital Divide, Cultivating Innovative Educational Culture in Higher Education Sector, Extra Focus on Mental Health, Community Nursing Service System can be cited as those policy reforms.   Keywords: Post-COVID Era, Real Sector, Thematic Analysis, Sri Lank