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65-1002: The Intelligent Design and Evolution Awareness Center (IDEA Center) is a nonprofit advocacy organization that promotes scientific principle of intelligent design . The center was formed in 2001; it grew out of a Christian student club that was formed at University of California, San Diego in May 1999 by Steve Renner, Eddie Colanter, and Casey Luskin after the "father" of the intelligent design movement Phillip E. Johnson lectured at UCSD. By 2008 it appeared to be moribund. Advocacy organization Motives for action may be based on political , economic , religious , moral , commercial or common good -based positions. Groups use varied methods to try to achieve their aims, including lobbying , media campaigns, awareness raising publicity stunts , polls , research , and policy briefings. Some groups are supported or backed by powerful business or political interests and exert considerable influence on

130-487: A Boston merchant resisted a search with a seemingly exact knowledge of the law; John Hancock , a prominent merchant and well-known smuggler, would act in a similar manner when customs officials attempted to search his ship Lydia in 1768. Uncertainty about the legality of writs of assistance issued by colonial superior courts prompted Parliament to affirm that such writs were legal in the 1767 Townshend Acts . However, most colonial courts refused to issue general writs, and

195-400: A certain way in the legislature. Access to this channel is generally restricted to groups with insider status such as large corporations and trade unions – groups with outsider status are unlikely to be able to meet with ministers or other members of the bureaucracy to discuss policy. What must be understood about groups exerting influence in the bureaucracy is; "the crucial relationship here [in

260-412: A community receives largely depends on the kind of narrative an advocacy group curates for them on social media. General warrant A writ of assistance is a written order (a writ ) issued by a court instructing a law enforcement official, such as a sheriff or a tax collector, to perform a certain task. Historically, several types of writs have been called "writs of assistance". Most often,

325-543: A deputy sheriff, searched merchant Daniel Malcom's home, which was also his place of business. They claimed the authority to do so by a writ of assistance issued to customs official Benjamin Hallowell, and the information of a confidential informant. Malcom allowed them to search, but denied them access to a locked cellar, arguing that they did not have the legal authority to break it open. According to customs officials, Malcom threatened to use force to prevent them from opening

390-445: A feeling of satisfaction from expressing a political value. Also, it would not matter if the interest group achieved their goal; these members would merely be able to say they helped out in the process of trying to obtain their goals, which is the expressive incentive that they got in the first place. The types of interest groups that rely on expressive benefits or incentives are environmental groups and groups who claim to be lobbying for

455-563: A fundamental difference between the colonists' view of their rights and the official British view of imperial law. "The Malcom affair was a minor matter, a comedy of blundering revenue officers and barricaded colonials," wrote legal historian John Phillip Reid, "but were we to dismiss it in haste we might run the risk of dismissing much of the story of the American Revolution." On 24 September 1766, customs officials in Boston, with

520-625: A global structure such as Greenpeace were better able to adapt to globalisation. Greenpeace, for example, has offices in over 30 countries and has an income of $ 50 million annually. Groups such as these have secured the nature of their influence by gaining status as nongovernmental organisations (NGOs), many of which oversee the work of the UN and the EU from their permanent offices in America and Europe. Group pressure by supranational industries can be exerted in

585-608: A mandatory basis, for enforcement purposes. The notion of a writ of assistance in Canadian statute dates back at least to 1847, when a statute of the Province of Canada was passed providing for writs of assistance in customs enforcement; a statute of Nova Scotia referred to such a writ in 1834, while a New Brunswick statute dated to 1846. Statutory writs of assistance were described by the Exchequer Court of Canada (now

650-479: A number of ways: "through direct lobbying by large corporations, national trade bodies and 'peak' associations such as the European Round Table of Industrialists ". There have been many significant advocacy groups throughout history, some of which could operated with dynamics that could better categorize them as social movements . Here are some notable advocacy groups operating in different parts of

715-437: A patriotic organization. Advocacy groups exist in a wide variety of genres based upon their most pronounced activities. In most liberal democracies , advocacy groups tend to use the bureaucracy as the main channel of influence – because, in liberal democracies, this is where the decision-making power lies. The aim of advocacy groups here is to attempt to influence a member of the legislature to support their cause by voting

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780-749: A result of group pressure, for example, the Labour Party in the UK was formed out of the new trade union movement which lobbied for the rights of workers. Advocacy groups also exert influence through channels that are separate from the government or the political structure such as the mass media and through public opinion campaigning. Advocacy groups will use methods such as protesting , petitioning and civil disobedience to attempt to exert influence in Liberal Democracies. Groups will generally use two distinct styles when attempting to manipulate

845-561: A writ of assistance is "used to enforce an order for the possession of lands". When used to evict someone from real property , such a writ is also called a writ of restitution or a writ of possession . In the area of customs, writs of assistance date from Colonial times. They were issued by the Court of Exchequer to help customs officials search for smuggled goods. These writs were called "writs of assistance" because they called upon sheriffs, other officials, and loyal subjects to "assist"

910-640: Is a reward for participation that is socially derived and created out of the act of association. Examples include "socializing congeniality, the sense of group membership and identification, the status resulting from membership, fun, conviviality , the maintenance of social distinctions , and so on. People who join an interest group because of expressive benefits likely joined to express an ideological or moral value that they believe in, such as free speech , civil rights , economic justice , or political equality . To obtain these types of benefits, members would simply pay dues, and donate their time or money to get

975-627: The Federal Court ) as "in effect, search warrants unrelated to any particular suspected offence and of continuing operation, which are issued to members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and other officers in the service of the Government of Canada to have effect as long as the holder continues to hold the position by virtue of which the writ was issued to him." Perhaps more concisely, one commentator described

1040-474: The Law Reform Commission of Canada in a 1983 report, "[i]n essence, they are documents that identify their holders as members of a specific class of peace officers with special powers of warrantless search and seizure." Moreover, although search warrants are subject to various common law requirements of particularity, the same was not evidently true for statutory writs of assistance. In 1984,

1105-504: The banning of the slave trade in 1807. In the opinion of Eugene Black (1963), "...association made possible the extension of the politically effective public. Modern extra parliamentary political organization is a product of the late eighteenth century [and] the history of the age of reform cannot be written without it. From 1815, Britain after victory in the Napoleonic Wars entered a period of social upheaval characterised by

1170-433: The political process , while others have few or no such resources. Some have developed into important social, and political institutions or social movements . Some powerful advocacy groups have been accused of manipulating the democratic system for narrow commercial gain, and in some instances have been found guilty of corruption , fraud , bribery , influence peddling and other serious crimes . Some groups, generally

1235-475: The Malcom case was apparently the last time a writ of assistance was issued in Boston. In response to the much-hated general writs, several of the colonies included a particularity requirement for search warrants in their constitutions when they established independent governments in 1776; the phrase "particularity requirement" is the legal term of art used in period cases to refer to an express requirement that

1300-455: The Republic , the largest of all Union Army veterans' organizations, was the most powerful single-issue political lobby of the late nineteenth century, securing massive pensions for veterans and helping to elect five postwar presidents from its own membership. To its members, it was also a secret fraternal order, a source of local charity, a provider of entertainment in small municipalities, and

1365-674: The US, however, advocacy group influence is much more significant. For example, in 1954 the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) lobbied against the Topeka Board of education, arguing that segregation of education based on race was unconstitutional. As a result of group pressure from the NAACP, the supreme court unanimously ruled that racial segregation in education

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1430-463: The United Kingdom and may be used by customs officers to enter any building by force and search and seize anything liable to forfeiture. The officer must have reasonable grounds to suspect that goods liable for forfeiture are kept on the premises and that the goods are likely to be removed, destroyed or lost before a search warrant can be obtained and executed. Writs of assistance are valid from

1495-673: The United States are using social media to interact with citizens every day. The study surveyed 53 groups, that were found to be using a variety of social media technologies to achieve organizational and political goals: As noted in the study, "while some groups raised doubts about social media's ability to overcome the limitations of weak ties and generational gaps , an overwhelming majority of groups see social media as essential to contemporary advocacy work and laud its democratizing function." Another 2012 study argued that advocacy groups use social media to reach audiences unrelated to

1560-600: The United States, the Civil Rights Movement gained much of its publicity through civil disobedience; African Americans would simply disobey the racist segregation laws to get the violent, racist reaction from the police and white Americans. This violence and racism was then broadcast all over the world, showing the world just how one sided the race 'war' in America actually was. Advocacy group influence has also manifested itself in supranational bodies that have arisen through globalisation . Groups that already had

1625-443: The acceptance of social media use by advocacy groups, populations not affiliated with media advocacy often question the benevolence of social media. Rather than exclusively fostering an atmosphere of camaraderie and universal understanding, social media can perpetuate power hierarchies . More specifically, social media can provide "a means of reproducing power and fulfilling group interest for those possessing excessive power... [having

1690-410: The aim of having their issues translated into policy such as the government encouraging alternative energy and recycling . The judicial branch of government can also be used by advocacy groups to exert influence. In states where legislation cannot be challenged by the courts, like the UK, advocacy groups are limited in the amount of influence they have. In states that have codified constitutions, like

1755-399: The assembly by lobbying. Groups with greater economic resources at their disposal can employ professional lobbyists to try and exert influence in the assembly. An example of such a group is the environmentalist group Greenpeace ; Greenpeace (an organisation with income upward of $ 50,000,000) use lobbying to gain political support for their campaigns. They raise issues about the environment with

1820-459: The bureaucracy] is usually that between the senior bureaucrats and leading business or industrial interests". This supports the view that groups with greater financial resources at their disposal will generally be better able to influence the decision-making process of government. The advantages that large businesses have is mainly due to the fact that they are key producers within their countries economy and, therefore, their interests are important to

1885-623: The child Independence was born". In a pamphlet published in 1765, Otis expanded his argument that the general writs violated the British unwritten constitution hearkening back to the Magna Carta . Any law in violation of the constitution or " natural law " which underlay it, he said, was void. A writ of assistance was used in an incident known as the "Malcom Affair", which was described by legal scholar William Cuddihy as "the most famous search in colonial America." The episode demonstrated

1950-557: The colonists opposed the writs were that they were permanent and even transferable; the holder of a writ could assign it to another; any place could be searched at the whim of the holder; and searchers were not responsible for any damage they caused. All writs of assistance expired six months after the death of the king, at which time new writs had to be obtained. With the death of King George II on 25 October 1760, all writs would expire on 25 April 1761. The crisis began on 27 December 1760 when news of King George II's death reached Boston and

2015-526: The communities they help and to mobilize diverse groups of people. Mobilization is achieved in four ways: "1). Social media help connect individuals to advocacy groups and thus can strengthen outreach efforts. 2). Social media help promote engagement as they enable engaging feedback loops. 3). Social media strengthen collective action efforts through an increased speed of communication. 4). Social media are cost-effective tools that enable advocacy organizations to do more for less." While these studies show

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2080-476: The creation of the United States of America. In 1760, Great Britain began to enforce some of the provisions of the Navigation Acts by granting customs officers these writs. In New England , smuggling had become common. However, officers could not search a person's property without giving a reason. Colonists protested that the writs violated their rights as British subjects . Among the grounds for which

2145-511: The customs official in carrying out his duties. In general, customs writs of assistance served as general search warrants that did not expire, allowing customs officials to search anywhere for smuggled goods without having to obtain a specific warrant. These writs became controversial when they were issued by courts in British America between 1755 and 1760 (then mirroring like writs having previously been issued, and being enforced, in

2210-547: The date of issue and cease to be valid six months after the end of the reign of the monarch under which the order was issued. Until 1985, four federal statutes in Canada—the Customs Act , Excise Tax Act , Food and Drugs Act , and Narcotic Control Act —provided that writs of assistance were to be granted to officers of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and other federal officers, on

2275-417: The door; according to Malcom and his supporters, his threat specified resisting any unlawful forced entry. The officials left and returned with a specific search warrant, only to find that Malcom had locked his house. A crowd supportive of Malcom had gathered around the house; Tories claimed that this "mob" numbered 300 or more people and was hostile to the customs officers, while Whigs insisted that this

2340-587: The end of the Seven Years' War . Charged with seditious libel , Wilkes was arrested after the issue of a general warrant , a move that Wilkes denounced as unlawful – the Lord Chief Justice eventually ruled in Wilkes favour. As a result of this episode, Wilkes became a figurehead to the growing movement for popular sovereignty among the middle classes – people began chanting, "Wilkes and Liberty" in

2405-429: The end of the 1990s the emergence of a new global social movement, the anti-globalization movement . Some social movement scholars posit that with the rapid pace of globalization, the potential for the emergence of new type of social movement is latent—they make the analogy to national movements of the past to describe what has been termed a global citizens movement . According to Stuart McConnell: The Grand Army of

2470-438: The general goal of improving farming for every farmer, even those who are not members of that particular interest group. Thus, there is no real incentive to join an interest group and pay dues if the farmer will receive that benefit anyway. For another example, every individual in the world would benefit from a cleaner environment, but environmental protection interest groups do not receive monetary help from every individual in

2535-487: The government as their contributions are important to the economy. According to George Monbiot , the influence of big business has been strengthened by "the greater ease with which corporations can relocate production and investment in a global economy ". This suggests that in the ever modernising world, big business has an increasing role in influencing the bureaucracy and in turn, the decision-making process of government. Advocacy groups can also exert influence through

2600-467: The growing maturity of the use of social movements and special-interest associations. Chartism was the first mass movement of the growing working-class in the world. It campaigned for political reform between 1838 and 1848 with the People's Charter of 1838 as its manifesto – this called for universal suffrage and the implementation of the secret ballot , amongst other things. The term "social movements"

2665-638: The interests of businesses. For example, George W. Bush 's re-election campaign in 2004 was the most expensive in American history and was financed mainly by large corporations and industrial interests that the Bush administration represented in government. Conversely, left-wing parties are often funded by organised labour – when the British Labour Party was formed, it was largely funded by trade unions. Often, political parties are actually formed as

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2730-649: The late 19th century are seen as the prototypical social movements, leading to the formation of communist and social democratic parties and organisations. These tendencies were seen in poorer countries as pressure for reform continued, for example in Russia with the Russian Revolution of 1905 and of 1917 , resulting in the collapse of the Czarist regime around the end of the First World War . In

2795-432: The law, the constitutional historian John Phillip Reid argued that Malcom's actions were lawful—so precisely lawful, in fact, that Reid speculated that Malcom may have been acting under the advice of his lawyer, James Otis. According to Reid, Malcom and Otis may have been attempting to provoke a lawsuit so that they could once again "challenge the validity of writs of assistance" in court. This was one of several incidents when

2860-413: The legal effect of a writ of assistance as, "to all intents and purposes, a blanket warrant" which "authorizes the holder to search for particular things (e.g., controlled drugs or smuggled goods) anywhere and at any time." However, since judicial authorization was not required for any given search conducted pursuant to a writ of assistance, this characterization is somewhat misleading. Rather, as noted by

2925-468: The media – they will either put across their outsider status and use their inability to access the other channels of influence to gain sympathy or they may put across a more ideological agenda. Traditionally, a prime example of such a group were the trade-unions who were the so-called "industrial" muscle. Trade-unions would campaign in the forms of industrial action and marches for workers rights, these gained much media attention and sympathy for their cause. In

2990-406: The mid-18th century, including political representation , market capitalization , and proletarianization . The first mass social movement catalyzed around the controversial political figure, John Wilkes . As editor of the paper The North Briton , Wilkes vigorously attacked the new administration of Lord Bute and the peace terms that the new government accepted at the 1763 Treaty of Paris at

3055-631: The motherland by Britain's Exchequer Court), especially the Province of Massachusetts Bay . Controversy over these general writs of assistance inspired the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution , which forbids general search warrants in the United States of America. Though generally these colonial writs were no more onerous than the ones enforced in Britain, a fallacious 1760 London Magazine article asserted

3120-405: The movement was careful not to cross the line into open rebellion – it tried to rectify the faults in governance through appeals to existing legal precedents and was conceived of as an extra-Parliamentary form of agitation to arrive at a consensual and constitutional arrangement. The force and influence of this social advocacy movement on the streets of London compelled the authorities to concede to

3185-436: The movement's demands. Wilkes was returned to Parliament, general warrants were declared as unconstitutional and press freedom was extended to the coverage of Parliamentary debates . Another important advocacy group that emerged in the late 18th century was the British abolitionist movement against slavery . Starting with an organised sugar boycott in 1791, it led the second great petition drive of 1806, which brought about

3250-476: The ones with less financial resources, may use direct action and civil disobedience , and in some cases are accused of being a threat to the social order or ' domestic extremists '. Research is beginning to explore how advocacy groups use social media to facilitate civic engagement, and collective action. The early growth of pressure groups was connected to broad economic and political changes in England in

3315-577: The people of Massachusetts learned that all writs faced termination. Within three weeks, the writs were challenged by a group of 63 Boston merchants represented by fiery Boston attorney James Otis Jr. A countersuit was filed by a British customs agent Paxton, and together these are known as "Paxton's case". Otis argued the famous writs of assistance case at the Old State House in Boston in February 1761 and again on 16 November 1761. Otis gave

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3380-470: The post-war period, women's rights , gay rights , peace , civil rights , anti-nuclear and environmental movements emerged, often dubbed the New Social Movements , some of which may be considered " general interest groups" as opposed to special interest groups. They led, among other things, to the formation of green parties and organisations influenced by the new left . Some find in

3445-428: The potential to] indirectly reinforce elitist domination." By excluding those without access to the internet, social media inherently misrepresents populations- particularly the populations in low-income countries . Since media advocacy groups use social media as a way to boost the narratives of these populations, the effect of social media use can be counteractive to well-intentioned goals. Instead of directly amplifying

3510-834: The public interest. Some public policy interests are not recognized or addressed by a group at all. These interests are labeled latent interests. Much work has been undertaken by academics attempting to categorize how advocacy groups operate, particularly in relation to governmental policy creation. The field is dominated by numerous and diverse schools of thought: There are three broad perspectives on how special interest groups achieve influence: through quid pro quo exchange, information transmission, and subsidizing policymaking. Apart from lobbying and other methods of asserting political presence, advocacy groups use social media to attract attention towards their particular cause. A study published in early 2012 suggests that advocacy groups of varying political and ideological orientations operating in

3575-628: The right to sit in Parliament, Wilkes became an Alderman of London in 1769, and an activist group called the Society for the Supporters of the Bill of Rights began aggressively promoting his policies. This was the first ever sustained social advocacy group – it involved public meetings, demonstrations, the distribution of pamphlets on an unprecedented scale and the mass petition march. However,

3640-470: The speech of his life, making references to liberty, English common law, "a man's house is his castle," and the colonists's " rights as Englishmen ." The court ruled against the merchants. However, Otis's arguments were published in the colonies, and stirred widespread support for colonial rights. As a young lawyer John Adams observed the case in the packed courtroom. Moved by Otis's performance and legal arguments, he later declared that "Then and there

3705-515: The streets. After a later period of exile, brought about by further charges of libel and obscenity , Wilkes stood for the Parliamentary seat at Middlesex , where most of his support was located. When Wilkes was imprisoned in the King's Bench Prison on 10 May 1768, a mass movement of support emerged, with large demonstrations in the streets under the slogan "No liberty, no King." Stripped of

3770-629: The target of a search warrant must be "particularly" described in detail. Several years later, the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution also contained a particularity requirement that outlawed the use of writs of assistance (and all general search warrants) by the federal government. Later, the Fourth Amendment was incorporated against the states via the Fourteenth Amendment , and writs of assistance were proscribed. Writs of assistance continue to have force in

3835-399: The voices and narratives of historically marginalized populations , social media magnifies their concerns through the perspective of individuals with access to the internet. Since advocacy groups have the agency to control a community's narrative through a social media post, they have the agency to control the deservedness of a community as well. That is, the amount of resources or attention

3900-489: The world. This poses a problem for interest groups, which require dues from their members and contributions in order to accomplish the groups' agendas. Selective benefits are material, rather than monetary benefits conferred on group members. For instance, an interest group could give members free or discounted travel, meals, or periodical subscriptions. Many trade and professional interest groups tend to give these types of benefits to their members. A solidarity incentive

3965-516: The world: On some controversial issues there are a number of competing advocacy groups, sometimes with very different resources available to them: A general theory is that individuals must be enticed with some type of benefit to join an interest group. However, the free rider problem addresses the difficulty of obtaining members of a particular interest group when the benefits are already reaped without membership. For instance, an interest group dedicated to improving farming standards will fight for

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4030-469: The writs issued in the motherland "...were specific , not general" thereby generating the perception in the colonies that the colonists were being treated unfairly. John Adams was to later assert that the ensuing court battle was the "seeds of the American Revolution." General writs of assistance played an important role in the increasing tensions that led to the American Revolution and

4095-504: Was a peaceful gathering of about 50 curious onlookers, mostly boys. No violence occurred, but reports written by Governor Francis Bernard and the customs officials created the impression in Britain that a riot had taken place. The incident furthered Boston's reputation in Britain as a lawless town controlled by "mobs", a reputation that would contribute to the government's decision to send troops in 1768. Although British officials, and some historians, described Malcom as acting in defiance of

4160-440: Was indeed unconstitutional and such practices were banned. This is a novel example of how advocacy groups can exert influence in the judicial branch of government. Advocacy groups can also exert influence on political parties. The main way groups do this is through campaign finance. For instance; in the UK, the conservative parties campaigns are often funded by large corporations, as many of the conservative parties campaigns reflect

4225-558: Was introduced in 1848 by the German Sociologist Lorenz von Stein in his book Socialist and Communist Movements since the Third French Revolution (1848) in which he introduced the term "social movement" into scholarly discussions – actually depicting in this way political movements fighting for the social rights understood as welfare rights . The labor movement and socialist movement of

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