Leadership of Humanitarian Organizations Working in Less Developed Countries: A Best Practices Analysis

Many people from the developed world, who intend to help the poor in less developed countries, actually end up doing harm by creating more dependence, demonstrating ignorance of the local culture, not understanding the importance of long-term relationships, and offering solutions to problems without ever getting input and buy-in from those they intend to help. There is very little published research in scholarly journals regarding how those from the developed world can best approach humanitarian relief and development work in the developing world. In this qualitative analysis using a collective case study design, humanitarian relief and development organizational leaders share best-practices that focus on the following recommendations: 1) Empower and develop the indigenous people, 2) Focus on long-term relationships and partnerships with the indigenous people, and 3) Work on understanding the local culture

Uplift mobilisation resistance of subsea pipelines in loose sand

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Social justice research in library and information sciences: a case for discourse analysis

Scholars have employed a variety of research methodologies and methods to explore, probe, and uncover ways in which social justice is enacted, embodied, supported, or not supported by researchers, educators, and practitioners in library and information science and services (LIS). Discursive psychology as developed by social psychologist Jonathan Potter and critical discourse analysis as developed by Norman Fairclough are introduced as fruitful approaches to investigate the critical intersections of LIS and social justice. The theoretical development of social justice in LIS is discussed. Next, critical discourse analysis and discursive psychology are examined and then analyzed for goodness of fit with Kevin Rioux’s (2010) five underlying assumptions of social justice metatheory: (1) All human beings have an inherent worth and deserve information services that help address those needs; (2) People perceive reality and information in different ways, often within cultural or life role contexts; (3) There are many different types of information and knowledge, and these are societal resources; (4) Theory and research are pursued with the ultimate goal of bringing positive change to service constituencies; (5) The provision of information services is an inherently powerful activity. Drawing on the findings of the goodness of fit of Rioux’s metatheory and examples of discourse analytic studies in LIS, this article offers practical strategies for social justice researchers wanting to use critical discourse analysis or discursive psychology.published or submitted for publicationpublished or submitted for publicatio

Applying Kouzes & Posner\u27s Leadership Concepts to Poverty Alleviation Work in the Developing World

Many people in the developing world struggle with significant poverty. People who feel trapped in a cycle of poverty often describe feeling inferior and powerless. Those who are relatively wealthy and in leadership roles may suffer from a different pathology that some have described as a “god- complex” in which a sense of superiority may develop, leading to the belief that they have been chosen to decide what is best for the poor. As the leaders of organizations that do poverty alleviation work in the developing world contemplate what approach to take when formulating their leadership style, they would do well to base their decisions on the writings of Kouzes and Posner in their seminal book titled, “The Leadership Challenge.” While this book was not written specifically for leaders working in the realm of poverty alleviation in the developing world, its leadership concepts are particularly well-suited for use in that context