Time Banking as an Alternative Social Movement: A
Case Study of Time Banks in the United Kingdom
Garda Maharsi1*, Ahmad Ibrahim Badry2, Puguh Sadadi3
1*,2,3University of
Indonesia, Indonesia
Email: 1*[email protected], 2[email protected], 3[email protected]
Keywords |
|
ABSTRACT |
||
Time Bank, Social Dynamics, Multitude, Alternative Social Movement,
United Kingdom |
|
This
research investigates dynamics of time banking as an alternative social
movement against current conventional economic system. This research examines
internal elements (motives, consolidation processes, and resource
mobilizations) as well as external elements (campaign processes, social
dynamics, and impacts) of Time Bank across United Kingdom. This research
seeks to explain the dynamics of Time Bank as a multitude to become
alternative for current conventional economy. This study uses case study
approach, especially in United Kingdom. The method used in this study is
qualitative method. Resource data obtained through interviews and literature
studies. The research's purpose is: abstracting the dynamics of Time Bank
across United Kingdom as a multitude, and then elucidates Time Bank's
opportunities &; challenges for their future developments. |
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|||
INTRODUCTION
Definition of Time Bank (Time
Bank) can be interpreted as a social movement in which the services
exchanged are time (Kakar 2020). Other
definitions are also put forward by Referring Schor, Fitzmaurice, Carfagna, Attwood-Charles, &
Poteat (2016) that the time
bank is a multilateral barter-based service economy as an alternative to
conventional markets. The history of time banks begins with a movement
initiated by American socio-political activist Edgar Cahn as an attempt to
socially critique economic disparities between regions and the fading of social
culture due to the spread of individualism that results in high social
exclusion in the United States (Cahn, 2000; Wilson, 2015). This movement
then became massive and transformed globally with various adjustments in
various countries.
In Great Britain, precisely in
1997. Time Banks in the United Kingdom come in a variety of business models (Whitham and Clarke 2016). The Time Bank
in the United Kingdom is becoming a thriving social movement (European
Commission, 2014). As of 2022, there are 3,713 affiliated institutions as Time
Banks across the UK, with 18,179 members and over 6 million hours credits
exchanged (Timebanking UK 2022). The way time
banks work is quite different from other commercial banks, namely by exchanging
time between members and not money (Cahn and Gray 2004). The exchange
rate used is time. A A, for example, helped clean the garden behind B's house
for 3 hours. A will get 3 interchangeable hour credits. One day later if A is
sick and there is no one to take care of it at home, A can ask the help of Time
Bank to send C to take care of it for 3 hours.
This time-based exchange system is
what distinguishes Time Bank from conventional trading systems. As a result of
this time-based exchange system, a common consciousness arises that is in line
with the collective activities carried out by its members. From the ongoing
activities, the Time Bank was finally able to transform into a social movement.
According to Tarrow (1998), a social
movement is a collective challenge that seeks to be answered by collective
action based on common goals, a sense of social solidarity, and continuous
social interaction between social actors, be they elites, opponents, or
authorities in the social hierarchy. Social movements in general aim to respond
to social changes that occur due to a policy that is not in accordance with the
wishes of these social actors (Locher 2002). Discontent
that occurs on a large scale at the same time, and is unable to be captured by
existing social institutions, forms the initial process of a social movement
that grows in a particular purpose.
In the study of political
sociology, Macionists provide a separation of social movement categories based
on the scope of change and the extent of change that occurs. According to Macionis (1999) Social
movements can be categorized into: 1) reformative social movements, 2)
revolutionary social movements, 3) liberation social movements, and 4)
alternative social movements (Macionis 1999). Reformative
social movements occur in the wider scope of society but their dimensions are
limited. Revolutionary social movements occur on a broad scope with a radical
dimension. Social liberation movements, occur in a limited scope but have a
radical dimension. While alternative social movements occur in a limited scope and
their dimensions are also limited.
Alternative social movements
advocate for social change within a limited scope. The limitations of change
resulting from alternative social movements are because only a small percentage
of the population is moved to change the status quo (Macionis 1999). The
destructive power of alternative social movements to the status quo conditions
is also considered weak because the changes in values injected into society are
not radical (Locher 2002). Despite its
limitations, alternative social movements are still able to produce social
change through the seedling of new value offerings that are disseminated (Locher, 2002; Sztompka, 2005). Like most
social movements, alternative social movements will seek to achieve broader
social structure change (Djafarova 2018). The main
characteristics of alternative social movements are to encourage the struggle
for public rights and justice, to seek to attract public participation through
awareness campaigns, and to adopt avenues of non-physical violence (Khan, 2015; Fayyaz, 2019; Sardar
&; Sardar, 2017).
As a bearer of value change, this movement is certainly value-bound. The values
championed by alternative social movements in general are universal values such
as humanity and equality, although it is also often found that this movement
carries the value of struggle based on the representation of the interests of
minorities and oppressed groups among society (Fayyaz 2019).
Social movements are not always
synonymous with mass mobilization in a large wave concentrated at one
particular point. Alternative social movements can develop with a wide network
even if the number of actors involved is limited (Macionis 1999). This vast
network can be formed because of the common issues taken and managed by each
actor, so that it can be a tool to shape the campaign model as well as the
identity of the movement (Oliver and Myers 2003). Through this
extensive network, their support and influence will be even greater. The
interconnected network of social movements across regions formed what Michel
Hardt and Antonio Negri called Multitude (plural network). According to Hardt & Negri (2004) A plural
network is a social network that operates within one common ideal value,
although its components are compound.�
The diversity of internal components of this plural network makes each
individual given a sovereign space and free from the risk of occupying
oppressive interests from the hegemonic system that Hardt and Negri refer to as
Empire (Hardt and Negri 2004).
Plural networks are described as
autonomous movements that spread across regions, but remain connected in
struggle value and technically through technological devices.
Plural networks are formed by one
common enemy, the global capitalist system (Hardt and Negri 2004).
This common awareness of
resistance to the practice of global capitalism encourages interconnectedness
between social movements in different regions. Various individuals from various
racial, religious, economic, and practical political affiliations, are able to
move in a common goal to resist the domination of the global capitalist system
and offer alternatives. One of them is the Time Bank which seeks to provide an
offer for the conventional economic system through the credit-time system� (Whitham and Clarke 2016). In practice
on the ground, social movements must develop attractive communication and
marketing strategies to build awareness and mobilize the public (Gregory 2012). Time Banks in
the United Kingdom are also experiencing this challenge. Time Banks in the
United Kingdom must deal with complex issues in order to grow their
organizations and extend their influence to the public. As a network, Time
Banks in the United Kingdom also experience challenges to be able to move
together.
This research will discuss the
Time Bank in the United Kingdom as an alternative social movement and plural
network. The research examines the internal elements
(motives, consolidation process, and resource mobilization) as well as external
elements (campaign process, social dynamics and impacts) of the Time Bank. The
analysis will focus on identifying the problems facing Time Banks in the UK,
and how they can deal with problems to be able to develop themselves going
forward. This
research has two main objectives. First, it seeks to provide a descriptive
analysis of the Time Bank in Great Britain as an alternative social movement.
The analysis was conducted by looking at the internal aspects (motives,
consolidation process, and resource mobilization) as well as external elements
(campaign process, social dynamics and impact) of the Time Bank in the United
Kingdom. Second, it seeks to provide further analysis of the opportunities and
challenges faced by Time Bank in order to continue to exist in the midst of
social changes that occur in the United Kingdom.
Alternative social
movement theory is one part of social movement theory (Archer 2005). This theory is one of the studies in sociology and political science
that seeks to explain the dynamics of social change through dialectical
processes in society. According to Macionis (1999) Alternative social movements are
characterized by their character that wants to change values to a limited
extent and the scope of change is not broad. This limited change is a response
to a dominating system that is perceived as incompatible with group identity
and goals that are not in line with the majority in society (Snow, 2004).
According to Porta &; Diani
(2020) Alternative social movements as a movement in society seek to propose
structural changes in society by offering alternatives that are different from
the dominant economic, political, and social systems in society. The
alternative offers consolidated by these movements usually contain specific
issues from specific groups of people who are dissatisfied with the dominant
agenda at work (Snow and Soule 2010). In some cases, alternative offers are made in a limited scope,
involving a small number of community members or groups, but championed
sustainably within a well-organized agenda.
Alternative social
movements also try to be open to the current dynamics of society. This was done
as an effort to attract more community members to be involved in the movement.
Openness is carried out by accommodating the needs and desires of certain
groups of society, making adjustments to the ongoing movement activities, in
order to embrace a wider range of components (Lashko 2012). In this study, alternative social movement theory will be used as a
theory to analyze the character of Time Bank, internal and external elements in
the development of Time Bank, and how Time Bank can face existing social
challenges to survive and defend itself.
Meanwhile, the theory of
plural networks is a theory first proposed by the social philosopher-thinker
duo, Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri. This theory was one of the most important
revisions to Political Marxism. If classical political Marxism seeks to see
social ontology as a dualism between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie, both
represented by workers and owners of capital, Hardt-Negri seeks to break away
from the frame of that social structure (Lotringer, Marazzi,
and Power 2008). Hardt-Negri in his book "Multitude" (2004) seeks to
build a new theory that social and political classes cannot rely on dualism
like classical Political Marxism, but rather interconnection between social
pluralities to communicate and move together in one collective action without
losing the spirit of struggle against the world system that exploits them.
The condition of global
capitalism that makes major changes in the living order of the world community,
makes every social movement must transform in realizing a more just form of
world order. The strengthening of the Multi-National Corporation In
global supply chains, followed by lifestyle injections produce a form of
biopolitics, namely the determination of contemporary capitalism that enters
every form of people's lives (Lazzaratto, 1996;. Foucault, 2003). Biopolitics itself is a manifestation of the nature of
liberalism that produces systemic repression of society, with the fact of
domination by a certain "class" (Foucault 1976). Hardt and Negri see this domination as the fruit of global capitalism,
with its hegemonic representation Empire (Lemke 2018). The plural network is a bid of resistance from the Empire. According to
Hardt-Negri, biopolitical conditions are changing landscape The social
world can no longer be countered by a single class identity as the approach of
classical political Marxism. It is an undeniable fact today that reality base
Plural, cross-identity, and interconnected spatial spaces make social movements
must move in an inclusive, open form, and provide democratic space for every
component within (Hardt and Negri 2004). In this sense, plural networks are representations
of the collective identity of each network of individuals who come together
voluntarily because they are guided by similar values of resistance; i.e.
resistance to the biopolitical system itself (Lemke, 2018; Hardt & Negri, 2004). In this study, plural network theory will be used as
a theory to analyze the dynamics of Time Banks in Great Britain.
Researchers are looking for
previous references about time banks, including: 1) Sefyang researcher. Seyfang sought to find a common thread
between the concepts of the sharing economy (Sharing Economy) Time Bank
with social impact occurring. Seyfang found that the Time Bank could be a means
for a more inclusive pattern of economic relations in British society (Seyfang 2003). Time Banks became an alternative form of money economy practice (Seyfang 2003). In line with Time Bank activities, the members and communities involved
become more open to diversity and become motivated to cultivate a sustainable
economy with a strong and deep-rooted small community base (Seyfang, 2016); 2)
Glynos & Speed research titled "Varieties of co-production in
public services: time banks in a UK health policy context" is one of the collaborative studies in critical
public policy studies. The results of their exploration show that the Time Bank
produces a distinctive form of co-production that makes it tied to society.
Through a qualitative approach, Glynos & Speed found that Time Banks in
Great Britain produce different, typical, and demanding forms of co-production
of different shades; 3) Wilson's research entitled "Time Eases All
Things: A Critical Study of How Time Banks Attempt to use Time-Based Currency
to Alleviate Social Exclusion" was his dissertation research while
Wilson was completing his doctoral education at the University of Salford.
Wilson's research in 2015 used critical ethnographic methods. Wilson tried to
find a relationship between the practice of applying the time exchange rate
used by the Time Bank and the systematic efforts of the Time Bank to reduce the
number of social exclusion that occurred in Great Britain. Wilson dissects the
application of time exchange rates by abstracting them through the social
capital theories of Putnam and Bourdieu; 4) Teppo Eskelinen research entitled
"Social Space for Self-Organising: An Exploratory Study of Timebanks in
Finland and in the UK." Eskelinen analyzes the resilience system of
social space when the Time Bank is active. A comparative study was conducted by
Eskelinen by comparing the dynamics of Time Banks in traditional welfare states
(Traditional Welfare State) in Finland and the country Big Society
like Great Britain. The country's financial system can be regulated by banks (Mylonakis 2020).
The two different
systems generate different social pressures for Time Banks, pushing on their
social ontology categories to be strengthened in activities towards their
respective goals. Through a qualitative approach, Eskelinen collected data by
interviewing 30 participants both Time Bank members, coordinators, and
Government representatives; 5) Rodrigo Perez-Vega &; Cristina Miguel's
research titled "Time Banks in United Kingdom: An Examination in
Evolution" is one part in a collection of research on the sharing
economy in Europe published by Pallgrave McMillan in 2022. The Time Bank in the
United Kingdom is able to show that participants involved can exchange skills
& services in a neat system. In their historical study, Perez-Vega &
Miguel also saw a change from the Time Bank which was purely initiated by
social groups and the Time Bank which was born later after Government
intervention. Differences in tidier organizational governance and different
activity orientations are one of the impacts of the growing Time Bank in the
United Kingdom.
METHODS
This study used
qualitative research methods. Refer to Cresswell (2012) Qualitative research is a process of exploration and systematic
interpretation of certain understandings, both individuals and groups. This
qualitative research used case studies in the United Kingdom. Case studies help
the author to explore a phenomenon in a limited scope, with various data
sources and lenses to uncover the conditions of the phenomenon (Baxter and Jack
2008). This case study research will use semi-structured interview techniques
and literature studies.
Data in this study was
obtained from primary and secondary sources. The author sorts primary and
secondary data as a methodological step to provide limits to the scope of
research, so that research can lead to the desired results. In this study, the
authors executed data collection through official documents from the United
Kingdom Government institutions and the European Union which contained: names,
numbers, characters, and other things related to the Time Bank. Secondary data
from official institutions of the UK Government and the European Union will be
the initial data of the study. The data analysis process is carried out by
dissecting data from various sources obtained with theoretical tools that have
been selected to reach in-depth research conclusions. Data analysis involves
critical analysis and a process of generalization.
RESULT AND DISCUSSION
The mushrooming banking practices of the time in
various countries are a form of unconventional economy that is considered to
have begun to have a place in the hearts of the public (V�lek
and Bure� 2018). Modern society sees that the
collaborative digital economy model or Peer-to-Peer Production System is
growing rapidly (Benkler
and Nissenbaum 2006). The neat organization of
economic power in supply chains that are increasingly globalized, makes
unconventional economic practices such as Time Banks an attractive option for
the public. Refer Arcidiacono &; Podda (2017), These unconventional economic
activities are on the rise because they are formed from a kind of hybridization
between production and consumption, as well as between professionalism and
hobbies.
The
peculiarity of unconventional economies lies in their ability to reproduce
power through the dissemination of their primary values through a wide variety
of mediums. The form of socially reciprocal economy, which is the main value of
the non-conventional economy, for example, has proven successful in spreading
widely through the medium of the internet (Arcidiacono and Podda 2017). Provision of information, thought
formulation, to service-based applications end-users is an attempt by
non-conventional economic actors to utilize the internet as a way for them to
find market share. The use of the internet as a medium for social campaigns is
a form of social innovation, which is used to revive social networks and trust
for social development in the local sphere (Fukuyama, 1996). On the other hand,
social networks that are built are also very important assets for the expansion
of their market (Hamalainen et al, 2007).
Time
banking as a living social network, contains several elements that Macionis
(1999) can be categorized as a social
movement. According to Macionis
(1999)Social movements are concrete
forms of collective behaviors. Collective behavior is the accumulation of
collective actions. Own collective action, according to Van
Zomeren & Iyer (2009) defined as actions taken to
increase the status, power, or influence of a set of people or groups. The
spirit of collective action is the common interest or common interest carried
as a common agenda by the group (Oliver
1993).
Time
banking has a similar character. Each Time Bank has a neat organizing process.
Each Time Bank chooses its organizational form, is headed by a chosen
influential figure, and in the process of its business has a central figure
that regulates the technical organization of the exchange of services called
time brokers (Simon
2004). Time Bank as an organization
also regularly holds meetings and activities, formulating their strategic and
tactical steps to increase the number of members. Every detail of campaign
steps and service exchange activities is neatly arranged through organizational
mechanisms (Lasker
et al. 2011). In an interview with Eric
Sutton, the author also managed to confirm that Time Banks in the United
Kingdom also have strong resilience because they are able to carry out
activities to date with regular member regeneration (Sutton, 2022).� Improvements to the bank's regulatory system
should be aligned with appropriate guidelines to prevent universal banks from
advancing loans to customers with high credit risk (Korankye
2022).
�Time Banks in the United Kingdom have various
forms of organization (Perez-Vega
et al. 2021). In general, the organization of
the Time Bank consists of leaders, administrative staff, and members (Simon
2004). Leaders function dually, in addition
to being the main driver of routine activities within the Time Bank, they are
also responsible for building networks to external parties, be it other Time
Banks, donor agencies, to the government. Administrative staff serve as
intermediaries between members and leaders, managing all administrative
processes and preparing reports. The administrative staff in charge of
specifically organizing the exchange of services between members are time
brokers, and they are usually the central figures in the governance of the Time
Bank. Members are tasked with turning the wheels of the organization actively
in every activity of the Time Bank, inseparable from their right to actively
propose campaign activities and techniques to external parties of the
organization so that the Time Bank is increasingly popular.
The
main basis for Time Banks to network is their common goal to present
alternative forms of economic practice that further strengthen social cohesion (Seyfang
2004). Refer V�lek
&; Bure� (2018), in general, Time Bank has 5 main
values, namely: everyone is a valuable asset, redefinition of work,
reciprocity, social capital, and respect. The five main values are the ideology
of the Time Bank (Bird
and Boyle 2014).
It
is these common views and ideologies that encourage Time Banks throughout the
United Kingdom to continue to be active and networked. According to the results
of the author's interview with Eric Sutton, all Time Banks in the United
Kingdom see that the form of exchange of services at the time exchange rate is
a better alternative concept for people's social life (Sutton, 2022). The main
objective of the Time Bank campaign movement is to provide new options for the
conventional economic system that has been running. As a social network, Time
Bank in the United Kingdom is oriented to effect real social change with time
banking activities.
According
to Shepard & Greene (2002), the main characteristics of social movements,
among others: 1) Consisting of many people; 2) Have a common goal to encourage
or hinder social change; 3) Have a widely agreed organizational system; 4) Have
widely recognized leadership; 5) Carry out joint activities carried out for a
long time; 6) Always try to add members to make the movement bigger, and 7)
Have a certain identity to identify with others
From
the characteristics of social movements according to Shepard & Greene, it
can be seen that social movements are social activities that are neatly
organized continuously in the long term. In the case of time banking in the
United Kingdom, it appears that their activities meet the criteria of Shepard
& Greene's view. The Time Bank in the United Kingdom was formed as a
standard membership organization. In the Time Bank organizational system, there
is a leader who occupies the organizational hierarchy officially. The
organizational form chosen by each Time Bank may be different. Although the
organizational form is not uniform, Time Banks in the United Kingdom still have
a standard mechanism for selecting leaders in their organizations. Organizing
activities to realize a particular idea is one of the characteristics of social
movements.
Social movements will seek to instill values, recruit new members, and
disseminate ideas through media that allow them to connect with a broad mass
(Castells, 2012). Time banking in Great Britain, as an alternative social
movement, also undertook all consolidation efforts to strengthen their
movement. Time Bank holds various activities to get public attention, find new
members, find funding sources, and also conduct capacity building for its
members.
From the author's interview with Anne Oxwall, one of the administrators of
the Time Bank in London, the author found that the majority of active Time
Banks in the United Kingdom regularly hold activities as a process of
consolidation of power. According to Oxwall (2023), Time Banks work together to
create activities that lead to cohesiveness between members, while showing the
public that their movements are valuable. Time Bank is also consolidated
nationally through TBUK, where they will regularly gather and determine what
movements will be carried out in response to the latest social conditions.
As an alternative social movement, time banking activities certainly do
not run smoothly. Referencing an opinion Locher (2002), Any social movement will aspire to change in
society, and since not everyone wants change to the movement's liking,
resistance will always arise. Resistance to a social movement is part of the
social dynamics that are common in a society. Locher himself said that there
are at least 4 forms of resistance from a social movement that develops in
society. The forms can be ridicule, co-optation, formal social control, and
violence (Locher 2002).
Through interviews with
Pascal-Lewis, the authors confirm that forms of resistance to time banking
activities do occur. According to Pascal-Lewis (2023), some people still view
Time Bank activities as ridiculous. Some people do ridicule the activities
carried out by the Time Bank as parental activities, absurd activities, and
some other designations that have negative connotations. In the interview,
Pascal-Lewis also mentioned that she had encountered co-optation efforts, in
the form of health volunteer events whose titles were made similar to events
made by Daventry Timebank. The goal is to create distractions for people who
want to take part in the event, so that the event made by Daventry Timebank
becomes empty of enthusiasts. In the dynamics of social movements, often the
expected process of social change experiences obstacles due to the actions of
other social actors and existing social institutions. The obstacles that arose
in the course of Time Bank in Great Britain were part of the social response to
the working system of Time Bank as a living social movement.
Based on the results of
an interview with Oxwall, the author found that there were problems in the
management of service exchanges in the Time Bank business process. According to
Oxwall (2023), interactions between members are often not in accordance with
ideal conditions because of the distance between service demand and service
availability. When a member submits a request for a specific service such as
computer repair, Time Bank tends to have difficulty fulfilling the request
because other members are not willing. The internal problems of the Time
Bank are not only about disagreements about the meaning of the redefinition of
work and the exchange rate of time. The next internal problem is the relatively
uniform composition of Time Bank membership.
In addition to internal problems in Time Bank,
there are social problems that occur outside Time Bank. These external problems
occur in a wider scope, between the Time Bank as an alternative social movement
entity, with other components of society such as government institutions and
other community groups.
According to the
results of an interview with Oxwall (2023), the internal barriers experienced
by Time Bank as an alternative social movement are members' disagreements over
the redefinition of work & exchange rates, pragmatic use of applications,
and relatively uniform membership composition. On the other hand, external
barriers experienced are funding, access to public space, government policies
that have a social impact, and changing services to digital.
Social strategy itself
is an important method so that a social movement can be integrated with the
broad social environment (Smithey 2009). The
implementation of the right strategy will be able to direct social movements to
further expand their reach. The potential for expansion takes advantage of
public attention and sympathy, so that they are moved to make social changes
desired by ongoing social movements (Tarrow, 2011).
According to Oxwall (2023), the first problem is
member disagreement over the redefinition of work & exchange rates based on
conditions where there is a gap between members who are ideologically
established and members who are relatively new and not yet ideologically
established. Oxwall emphasizes the strategy of handling cases as mentioned
above in various ways. First, prepare a ready organization, with all
administrators including time brokers and administrative staff, to be involved
in handling service supply vacancies. The main goal is to ensure business
processes run smoothly. Second, regularly and gradually build the strengthening
of the main value of Time Bank to members through a series of seminars to
non-formal events to build cohesion. Third, the board invites senior members to
be actively involved in making personal approaches to new members outside of
official activities.
The second problem is
the pragmatic use of the app. This issue was circumvented by the management of
the Time Bank by actively inviting members to actively organize activities to
strengthen members' ties to ideology and social cohesiveness. On the other
hand, Time Bank also understands that improving services through applications
also results in a new problem, namely limited personal intentions. According to
Oxwall, the Time Bank gets around the weak bonds between members and cases of
pragmatism of these members in several ways. First, make sure all service
requests can get a quote. Second, build solidity between members with a variety
of activities that are not even related to banking activities at the time, in
order to create strong ties to the organization. Third, creating an online
service system that is competitive with competitors. Through this effort,
Oxwall said that cases of deviant member pragmatism could be suppressed.
The third obstacle is
the relatively uniform composition of the membership. According to Oxwall, Time
Bank administrators sometimes experience obstacles in determining the direction
of the movement because they have to prioritize the interests of members who
are mostly elderly and women, while on the other hand they also have to
accommodate popular activity proposals to target the younger generation in
order to expand. As a strategy, the institutional cooperation process is the
strategic choice of Time Bank to add members from new social segments, to
enrich the composition of existing membership.
The fourth obstacle is
funding. The ideal idea of establishing the Time Bank as an alternative
movement to suppress social exclusion by encouraging the exchange of services
based on the time exchange rate, seeks to be realized with free services. But
behind that, Time Bank also has the financial burden to manage the
administration of the organization, hold activities, and campaigns. According to Oxwall, from the results of
coordination between Time Banks in TBUK, they implemented 3 strategies to
overcome funding problems. First, follow the needs of donor agencies by
prioritizing their activities according to specific issues raised by donor
agencies. The majority of donor agencies provide financial assistance for
activities with health, environment, social services, and minority rights
advocacy. Second, utilize a network of umbrella institutions such as TBUK, NEF,
or local organizations to move to find irregular funding through fundraising
activities. Third, work with local councils and other government
agencies, to get access to grants or other grant channels managed by the
government.
The fifth barrier is access to public space. In the dynamics of time
banking, consolidation activities of movements and campaigns always require
public space. According to Oxwall, the administrators of Time Bank felt that
their bargaining power to the government was high enough, but it was not
converted into commercial bargaining power when in the media room. In
anticipation of this, the management of Bank Time agreed to aggressively invite
public figures who have a large following on social media and political figures
to become their media ambassadors to the public. Some Time Banks invite local
figures to be their campaigners on social media, and are encouraged to amplify
the idea of this social movement more massively. Banks should leverage social
media as a two-way communication medium to listen to audiences and gain
insights, with the aim of providing customers with targeted and differentiating
solutions that solve their financial needs (Zelenović 2018). In addition, traditional versus digital banking
customer preferences need to be studied to provide a better banking experience
for customers (Kingdom 2020).
The sixth obstacle is socially impactful government policies such as: lockdown.
At a time when the government of Great Britain enacted policy lockdown,
banking activities in general come to a complete halt. However, thanks to
TBUK's efforts to lobby the Government, Time Bank's business activities can run
again. The policies of banks such as national banks are centered on government
policies (Sluis 2022).
The last
obstacle is the change of services to digital. As social changes after the
lockdown policy in the United Kingdom, Time Bank's business processes are also
increasingly shifting to digital. If previously the Time Bank service was
community-based with a territorial approach, after the Covid19 pandemic there
has been a change towards a more complex digital one. According to Oxwall,
digitalization requires Time Bank administrators to not only be able to manage
application services, but also must balance with efforts to build the solidity
of their movement with a new approach. Oxwall explained that the Time Bank
began to change the pattern of activities from ceremonial events to non-formal
activities. The main goal is to accommodate differences in old members, the
majority of whom come from the same area, the same community, and are
relatively the same age, with new members who are non-members of the community
and are younger. The next strategy chosen by Time Bank is to build
interpersonal relationships between members using social media.
CONCLUSION
The author finds out the facts of
some of the social challenges and barriers faced by Time Bank. The social
challenge that Time Bank experienced was the ridicule and co-optation of the
movement. Internal barriers experienced by Time Bank as an alternative social
movement are members' disagreements over the redefinition of work &
exchange rates, pragmatic use of applications, and relatively uniform
membership composition. On the other hand, external barriers experienced are
funding, access to public space, government policies that have a social impact,
and changing services to digital.
From these existing obstacles, the
Time Bank tries to find the formulation of an organizational social strategy to
counteract it. The problem of members' disagreement over the redefinition of
work & exchange rates is addressed by the implementation of responsive
organizations, increased ideological understanding through a series of
activities, including non-formal activities. The factual barriers to pragmatic
use of applications are overcome by creating services that ensure all service
requests will get offers from other members, building movement solidity both
formally and informally, and creating online services through applications that
are competitive with other service platforms. Meanwhile, the problem of a
relatively uniform membership composition is circumvented by the division of
activity segmentation, followed by institutional cooperation with other parties
to facilitate expansion.
The next obstacle in the form of
funding is circumvented by adjusting issues & priorities of activities in
accordance with donor agencies, optimizing the role of umbrella institutions
for fundraising activities, and collaborating with government agencies. The
next obstacle is access to public space which is circumvented by penetration of
the government by cooperating with public figures and political figures.
Government policy obstacles, such as lockdowns, are circumvented by merging
business activities with government programs. Finally, obstacles to changing
services to online are circumvented with an emphasis on building member
solidity through online services, followed by the addition of management staff
as consolidators of the movement.
REFERENCES
Archer, Margaret. 2005. Realist Social Theory: A
Morphogenetic Approach. Warwick: Routledge.
Arcidiacono, Davide, and Antonello Podda. 2017.
"Sharing Time: New Forms of Reciprocity in the Digital Economy." Work
Organisation, Labour and Globalisation 11(2):39�58.
Baxter, Pamela, and Susan Jack. 2008.
"Qualitative Case Study Methodology: Study Design and Implementation for
Novice Researchers." The Qualitative Report 13(4):544�59. DOI:
doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2008.1573.
Benkler, Yochai, and Helen Nissenbaum. 2006.
"Commons-Based Peer Production and Virtue." Journal of Political
Philosophy, 14(4).
Bird, Sarah, and David Boyle. 2014. Give and Take:
How Timebanking Is Transforming Healthcare. Timebanking UK.
Cahn, E., and C. Gray. 2004. Reciprocal
Co-Production. Bloomington, IN: The working colloquium serie.
Cresswell, John W. 2012. Research Design
qualitative, quantitative, and mixed approaches. Yogyakarta: Student Library.
Djafarova, E. 2018. Alternative Social Movements:
The Case of Azerbaijan. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Fayyaz, S. 2019. "The Role of Alternative
Social Movements in the Context of the Global South." Third World
Quarterly 40(1):103�19.
Foucault, Michel. 1976. The History of Sexuality.
New York: Vintage.
Gregory, Lee. 2012. "Time and Punishment: A
Comparison of UK and US Time Bank Use in Criminal Justice Systems."
Journal of Comparative Social Welfare 28(3):195�208.
Hardt, M., and A. Negri. 2004. Multitude: War and
Democracy in The Age of Empir. New York: The Penguin Press.
Kakar, Adarsh Kumar. 2020. "Investigating
Factors That Promote Time Banking for Sustainable Community Based
Socio-Economic Growth and Development." Computers in Human Behavior
107:105623. DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2018.07.034.
Khan, M. M. 2015. "Alternative Social
Movements in Pakistan: A Study of a Peaceful, Non-Violent and Democratic
Movement." International Journal of Social Science and Humanity
5(3):293�99.
Kingdom, United. 2020. "The International
Journal of Business &; Management Evaluation of Service
Dimensions of Traditional Banking and Digital Banking : The Case Study of
Lloyds Bank ,." 8(2014):63�69.
Korankye, Matthew. 2022. "Effect of
Non-Performing Loans on the Profitability of Universal Banks : A Time Series
Analysis of the Ghanaian Banking Industry." 13(2):33�46. doi:
10.7176/RJFA/13-2-03.
Lashko, Gary. 2012. "Time Banking�New Social
Currency or Waste of Time?" Housing, Care and Support 15(4):161�68.
Lasker, Judith, Ed Collom, Tara Bealer, Erin
Niclaus, Jessica Young Keefe, Zane Kratzer, Lauren Baldasari, Ethan Kramer,
Rachel Mandeville, and Julia Schulman. 2011. "Time Banking and Health: The
Role of a Community Currency Organization in Enhancing Well-Being." Health
Promotion Practice 12(1):102�15.
Lazzaratto, Maurizio. 1996. Immaterial Labour and
Radical Thought in Italy. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Lemke, Thomas. 2018. Biopolitics: An Advanced
Introduction. Boston: NYU Press.
Locher, David A. 2002. Collective Behaviour. New
Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Lotringer, Sylv�re, Christian Marazzi, and Nina
Power. 2008. "Autonomia: Post-Political Politics." Radical Philosophy
151.
Macionis, John J. 1999. Sociology. New Jersey:
Prentice Hall.
Mylonakis, John. 2020. "Cooperative Banks in
Greece and Small &; Medium Enterprises Views at a Time of Credit
Constraints." 7(2):55�61. DOI: 10.5296/IFB.V7I2.17943.
Oliver, Pamela, and Daniel Myers. 2003. "The
Coevolution of Social Movements." Mobilization: An International Quarterly
8(1):1�24.
Oliver, Richard L. 1993. "Cognitive,
Affective, and Attribute Bases of the Satisfaction Response." Journal of
Consumer Research 20(3):418�30.
Perez-Vega, Rodrigo, Brian Jones, Penny Travlou,
and Cristina Miguel. 2021. United Kingdom: An Examination of the Configuration
of the Sharing Economy, Pressing Issues, and Research Directions. In The
Collaborative Economy in Action: European Perspec.
Porta, Donatella della, and Mario Diani. 2020.
Social Movements: An Introduction. 3rd ed. New Jersey: Wiley-Blackwell.
Sardar, Z., and M. Sardar. 2017. Alternative
Future: India Unshackled. Penguin UK.
Schor, Juliet B., Connor Fitzmaurice, Lindsey B.
Carfagna, Will Attwood-Charles, and Emilie Dubois Poteat. 2016. "Paradoxes
of Openness and Distinction in the Sharing Economy." Poetics 54:66�81.
Seyfang, Gill. 2003. "Growing Cohesive
Communities One Favour at a Time: Social Exclusion, Active Citizenship and Time
Banks." International Journal of Urban and Regional Research
27(3):699�706.
Seyfang, Gill. 2004. "Time Banks: Rewarding
Community Self-Help in the Inner City?" Community Development Journal
39(1):62�71.
Simon, Martin. 2004. On Becoming a Time Broker.
Gloucester: Fairshares.
Sluis, Marijn Van Der. 2022. "National
Central Banks in EMU : Time for Revision?" Journal of Banking Regulation
23(1):19�30. DOI: 10.1057/S41261-021-00175-Z.
Smithey, Lee A. 2009. "Social Movement
Strategy, Tactics, and Collective Identity 1." Sociology Compass
3(4):658�71.
Snow, D. A., and S. A. Soule. 2010. A Primer on
Social Movements. New York: W.W Norton.
Snow, David A. 2004. Social Movements as
Challenges to Authority: Resistance to an Emerging Conceptual Hegemony. London:
Elsevier.
Sztompka, Pi�tr. 2005. Sociology of Social Change.
Jakarta: Prenada Media.
Tarrow, Sidney. 1998. Power in Movements: Social
Movements and Contentious Politics. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Timebanking UK. 2022. "About
Timebanking."
V�lek, Luk�, and Vladim�r Bure�. 2018. "Time
Bank and Dynamics of Its Metamodel." Postmodern Openings/Deschideri
Postmoderne 9(4).
Whitham, Monica M., and Hannah Clarke. 2016.
"Getting Is Giving: Time Banking as Formalized Generalized Exchange."
Sociology Compass 10(1):87�97.
Wilson, Juliette Victoria. 2015. 'Time Eases All
Things': A Critical Study of How Time Banks Attempt to Use Time-Based Currency
to Alleviate Social Exclusion. University of Salford (United Kingdom).
Zelenović, Vera. 2018. "Banks on Social Networks - Example of The Banking
Sector in Serbia." 12(24):63�72. doi:
10.7251/NOE1824063Z.
Van Zomeren, Martijn, and Aarti Iyer. 2009.
"Introduction to the Social and Psychological Dynamics of Collective
Action." Journal of Social Issues 65(4):645�60.