It's what we do : notions of effectiveness in local environmental groups

• Main Author: Hendry, Steven
• Published: University of Kent 2013
• Subjects: 363.7
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.633664

This thesis describes the work of three local environmental protest groups, Rivertown Rising Tide, Greenpeace Rivertown and Friends of the Earth Rivertown. The research explores the ways in which participants of the three groups make sense of the groups' effectiveness through the prism of Carter's (2001) typology of impact. The investigation uncovers a diversity of views across the participants of the three groups on the relative importance of the different impact types to their group's effectiveness. The thesis provides a body of empirical evidence, derived through participant observation, on the relatively understudied area of local protest groups whilst contributing towards a potential refinement of Carter's typology by the identification of the influence of target proximity on participants' views.