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As a cross-cutting issue encompassing all of society, the evolution of digital technologies is particularly challenging to traditional labour actors that are accustomed to physical work and face-to-face contact. This article discusses the distinctive possibilities of social media use as a forward-thinking global strategy for organised labour. After an initial clarification of useful concepts to consider in the digital age, we focus on the social media presence of trade unions, identifying the pros and cons associated with platform-based communication. Finally, the article debates the implications of social media platforms as tools to strengthen networks with nonunion actors and contribute to the amplification of the labour agenda. Through a comparative analysis of four trade union confederations, two from Brazil and two from Portugal, we argue that, despite the possibilities for outreach and interaction enabled by the new communication and information technologies, trade union confederations maintain constricted networks and an outdated top-down communications model. Resumo Enquanto questão transversal a toda a sociedade, a evolução das tecnologias digitais é particularmente desafiadora para os atores tradicionais do mundo do trabalho que, por sinal, estão acostumados ao trabalho em formato presencial próprios dos contatos face a face. Este artigo discute as possibilidades distintas do uso das redes sociais como uma estratégia global de vanguarda para o trabalho organizado. Após um esclarecimento inicial de conceitos úteis a ter em conta na era digital, nós nos concentramos na presença dos sindicatos nas redes sociais, identificando os prós e os contras associados à comunicação baseada na utilização de plataformas digitais. Por fim, o artigo debate as implicações das plataformas sociais enquanto ferramentas para fortalecer redes com atores não sindicais e contribuir para a ampliação da agenda trabalhista. Por meio de uma análise comparativa de quatro confederações sindicais, duas do Brasil e duas de Portugal, argumentamos que, apesar das possibilidades de alcance e interação facultadas pelas novas tecnologias de comunicação e informação, as confederações sindicais mantêm redes restritas e um desatualizado modelo de comunicação de “cima para baixo”.

Article first published online: December 23, 2020 Traditional actors such as trade unions are inevitably challenged by digital technologies, not only from the perspective of labor relations, but also in relation to outreach and communications strategies. In fact, as online and offline realities become increasingly intertwined, the presence of organized labor institutions within the Internet’s current networked environment is unavoidable. This article debates digital trade unionism as a strategy for trade union renewal, particularly the implications of using social media platforms to connect and interact with a broader audience beyond the labor movement. Through a comprehensive comparative analysis of the Facebook pages of six trade union confederations from Brazil, Canada, Portugal, and the UK, we find that despite the possibilities for horizontal dialogue enabled by the new digital communication and information technologies, trade union confederations maintain an outdated ‘one-way’ model of communication, hindering opportunities to reach and engage with both union and non-union actors.

Supplemental material, sj-pdf-1-jir-10.1177_0022185620979337 for Digital unionism as a renewal strategy? Social media use by trade union confederations by Bia Carneiro and Hermes Augusto Costa in Journal of Industrial Relations

Advances in machine learning and Big Data research offer great potential for international development agencies to leverage the vast information generated from accountability mechanisms to gain new insights, providing analytics that can improve decision-making. From a knowledge management perspective, project operational reports are crucial historical records as they tell the story of a project, compile data generated throughout the project cycle, discuss achievements of intended development objectives, and provide learning that can inform future operations. Taking the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) as a case study, this paper explores how machine learning can harness existing project data to uncover latent information about food systems dynamics, which is already present in documentation but has not yet been investigated. Specifically, we aim to provide evidence on the evolution of food system dimensions within IFAD-funded projects through the application of supervised text mining, network analysis and LASSO regression to project documents collected from hundreds of projects spanning the whole of IFAD's investment portfolio in the 1981-2019 interval. Findings show an increase in reporting against food system dimensions and consolidate the applicability of machine learning analytics to uncover historical trends about international agencies’ activities and accelerate knowledge generation around strategic themes.

This policy brief assesses the presence and the relationships brokered by trade union confederations through their online channels, in order to, first, find out who they are engaging with and, second, to consider whether these virtual connections have any implications for the wider discussion about union revitalisation. Based on an analysis of the Facebook pages of five confederations from Portugal, the United Kingdom (UK) and Brazil, this policy brief confirms that unions are maintaining a ‘one-way’ model of online communication and keeping their networks restricted to organisations within the labour movement, which in turn hinders their ability to engage meaningfully and to develop alliances with other people and organisations.

O aumento exponencial ao acesso à informação propiciado pelas Tecnologias de Informação e Comunicação (TICs) coloca o papel dos meios de comunicação numa encruzilhada que combina, por um lado, ingredientes democráticos e emancipatórios e, por outro, potencia o desequilíbrio ao invisibilizar formas de domínio hegemónico. Talvez como indicação da natureza cíclica da modernização da comunicação, no começo do século XX teorizava-se sobre o poder democratizador do rádio e das suas novas possibilidades de participação cívica ( Vatikiotis,2005). As tecnologias evoluíram e a Internet hoje foi colocada neste mesmo patamar: porém, resta a questão se o seu potencial democratizador efetivamente se concretizou. Por um lado, a Web trouxe uma pluralização dos média ao permitir maior alcance por conta da desterritorialização, maior facilidade de distribuição por meio de ferramentas eletrónicas, a oportunidade de atualizações constantes e em tempo real, e a criação de redes híbridas que transitam naturalmente entre mundo virtual e o real (Castells, 2013). Por outro, a tão almejada democratização da comunicação de massas materializou-se apenas parcialmente, já que alguns dos grandes influenciadores do mundo virtual continuam a ser meios de comunicação tradicionalmente capitalistas e hegemónicos – principalmente quando consideramos que os principais veículos para disseminação de informação digital como o Google, o Facebook ou o Twitter são empresas privadas, que visam lucro por meio da venda de espaço publicitário nas suas plataformas, bem como dos dados que fornecemos enquanto utilizadores– enquanto os meios alternativos lutam para conseguir um espaço para si e para as suas agendas contra-hegemónicas entre as inúmeras e dominantes fontes (hegemónicas) de informação disponíveis na Web.

Project Completion Reports (PCRs) are used by development institutions to tell a project’s story – achievements, failures, and learning. As such, they should provide evidence of effectiveness in bringing about development. But is this the case? Descriptive content analysis was applied to assess the extent of evidentiary support presented in the International Fund for Agricultural Development's end of project documentation, employing a custom conceptual framework to classify claims about project results found in PCRs based on results level, tone, evidence sources, and themes. Findings show the majority of claims relate to output or outcome level results and are positive, though not explicitly supported by evidence. The lack of evidence-based reporting carries implications to the objective measurement of development effectiveness.