411,678 research outputs found

    UML Artefacts for a Blockchain-enabled Platform for Fairtrade

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    Fairtrade-certified products have successfully entered the mainstream distribution channels, mostly in developed countries, and these products are now sold in famous supermarket chains. Nonetheless, the packaging and labeling of products as ā€œFairtradeā€ command premium pricing in the marketplace. How much of this, however, is valid and justified? Despite the reputable certification mechanisms for quality assurance, mass media reports suggest that much of the ā€œsurplus valueā€ goes to the accreditation agencies themselves instead of the producers. This article proposes an agenda to set this right with a blockchain platform that provides ā€œtrust-freeā€ assurances of verifiable labeling. Using an Action Design Research methodology, we have specified a research prototype of a Blockchain-enabled Fair-Trade platform Unified Modelling Language artifacts. We believe this will set the direction for social inclusion as part of information systems scholarsā€™ aspiration to promote ā€œtech for good.

    Irish Sea : a socio-ecological system

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    Recent research has highlighted the need to look beyond the coastal zone and adopt an ecosystem-based approach to sustainable use and conservation in marine management. At the same time there has been a growing recognition that ecosystem management involves coupled, complex socio-ecological systems which are inherently unpredictable due to the non-linear nature of their construction. The diverse social activities and natural processes involved in such an approach requires the inclusion of multiple disciplines which presently have very limited dialogues. It is apparent that there is an urgent need for new, interdisciplinary, methods with which to address management holistically and under conditions of uncertainty. This research aimed to examine the data-policy and theory-practice divides which currently hinder effective implementation of marine management. Key to this was to approach the Irish Sea as an interacting human-marine system, and to explore methodologies appropriate to interdisciplinary research in order to analyse why marine conservation is failing to deliver. Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS), a spatial `footprint' map of human activities in the marine area was developed from an initial survey of available marine data. The Drivers-Pressures- State Changes-Impacts-Response framework extended the scope to cover landbased as well as marine activities, and soft systems methodology was used to include data and knowledge from both the natural and social sciences. The results showed a qualitative dichotomy in the types of data involved, demonstrating how both the data-policy divide and the theory practice divide are constructed and maintained. The pre-eminence of scientific data in informing management decisions explained why conservation initiatives may fail, and why advances in theoretical understanding are so difficult to translate into practice. It also demonstrated some of the dangers of our present reliance on the Drivers, Pressures, State-Changes-Impacts Responses (DPSIR) framework for the development of sustainability indicators, particularly when based on scientific data alone. An ontological reframing of the issues was then suggested, and scenario development was used as a means of overcoming the limitations of disciplinary epistemologies when dealing with a complex system. It was concluded that, as well as the best available quantitative data, qualitative factors are equally important in management. Feelings, concerns, aspirations and values of individuals and society play a crucial role in shaping the research agenda and in implementing policy. Sustainability therefore can not be successfully addressed from within the scientific paradigm. Science can provide information, alongside other conflicting information, and subject to an irreducible level of uncertainty, but relying on quantitative, scientific data to solve what is ultimately a social challenge is inadequate. Sustainability needs to be addressed from a much wider paradigmatic basis, employing wisdom as well as knowledge. This implies the need for consciously questioning more deeply what it is we really want from science, for society and for the future. Environmental degradation, of the Irish Sea or any socio-ecological system, is an expression of societal values, which can change, and which we clearly need to change in the light of the present conditions.ESRC/NERC Interdisciplinary studentship award, Plymouth Marine Fun

    T-government for benefit realisation

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    This paper proposes a model for t-Government and highlights the research agenda needed to increase understanding of transformational government and the processes involved in furthering the agenda of the t-Government. In particular, both an operational and a conceptual model for the effective involvement of citizens and businesses in government functioning have been proposed. This will help to define an agenda for t-Government research that emerges from national UK strategy and policy for e-Government. The main threads of t- Government encompass: (1) A citizen-centric delivery of public services or e-inclusion, (2) A shared services culture to maximize value added to clients, (3) The effective delivery and management of resources and skills within government or professionalism. All three threads should be addressed principally from the perspectives of delivery, evaluation and participation in view of benefit realisation as envisioned by Government strategic planning and policy directives (CabinetOffice, 2005). The management of change dimension of these phenomena have been included in the research agenda. In particular, research is needed to reshape the discourse towards emphasising a citizen centric approach that defines, develops, and benefits from public service. Decision makers in Government will need models of Governance that fulfil transformational objectives. They will also need models of benefits realisation within a strategic Governance framework. It has been argued that t-Government research should be addressing these relative voids

    Developing the egovernment research agenda

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    This paper presents an exploratory research project to determine the needs for future eGovernment research. The project aimed particularly at getting relevant stakeholder views as a contrast to the received academic wisdom or political rhetoric. This paper outlines the need for such fieldwork and discusses the methodology adopted to elicit the stakeholdersā€™ views without influencing the debate. The VIEGO workshops have shown that an eGovernment research agenda will require a multi-disciplinary approach involving a combination of social, technological and organisational issues. The primary concerns of stakeholders are not to develop more novel IT but to acquire the means to cope with constant change, coordinate development and extend participation.UKā€™s Engineering Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)-(grant EP/ D043840/1

    Green BPM as a business-oriented discipline : a systematic mapping study and research agenda

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    Green Business Process Management (BPM) focuses on the ecological impact of business processes. This article provides a systematic mapping study of Green BPM literature to evaluate five attributes of the Green BPM research area: (1) scope, (2) disciplines, (3) accountability, (4) researchers and (5) quality control. The results allow developing a research agenda to enhance Green BPM as an approach for environmentally sustainable organizations. We rely on a dichotomy of knowledge production to present research directives relevant for both academics and practitioners in order to help close a rigor-relevance gap. The involvement of both communities is crucial for Green BPM to advance as an applied, business-oriented discipline

    The Political Economy of Education Systems in Conflict-Affected Contexts: A Rigorous Literature Review

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    This report is a rigorous literature review on the political economy of education systems in conflict-affected contexts and is aimed at education advisers and agencies, development practitioners and Ministry of Education policy makers working in conflict-affected contexts. The report seeks to provide theoretically informed and policy relevant insights on the global, national and local governance of education systems in conflict-affected contexts garnered from a rigorous review of the academic and policy literature on the political economy of education in conflict-affected contexts.<p></p> The review was driven by three main questions: (1) What are the underpinning assumptions of the main bodies of political economy research in education and conflict? (2) What can the political economy of education literature since 1990 inform us about educational change and reform in conflict-affected contexts? (3) What are the strengths, weaknesses, blind spots and research gaps in the political economy of education literature exploring the governance of educational change and reform in conflict-affected contexts?<p></p> Chapter 1 outlines the rationale and aims of the review. Chapter 2, describes the theoretical and conceptual framework and presents the framing of the key issues under review, and Chapter 3 outlines the review methodology. Chapter 4 presents the main characteristics and an assessment of the quality of the studies selected for the in-depth review, and Chapter 5, discusses the reviewā€™s main findings. Chapter 6 presents the conclusions of the study, outlines a theory of change that emerges from the findings and draws out the policy insights and research gaps for future study

    The political economy of education systems in conflict-affected contexts

    Get PDF
    This report is a rigorous literature review on the political economy of education systems in conflict-affected contexts and is aimed at education advisers and agencies, development practitioners and Ministry of Education policy makers working in conflict-affected contexts. The report seeks to provide theoretically informed and policy relevant insights on the global, national and local governance of education systems in conflict-affected contexts garnered from a rigorous review of the academic and policy literature on the political economy of education in conflict-affected contexts. The review was driven by three main questions: (1) What are the underpinning assumptions of the main bodies of political economy research in education and conflict? (2) What can the political economy of education literature since 1990 inform us about educational change and reform in conflict-affected contexts? (3) What are the strengths, weaknesses, blind spots and research gaps in the political economy of education literature exploring the governance of educational change and reform in conflict-affected contexts? Chapter 1 outlines the rationale and aims of the review. Chapter 2, describes the theoretical and conceptual framework and presents the framing of the key issues under review, and Chapter 3 outlines the review methodology. Chapter 4 presents the main characteristics and an assessment of the quality of the studies selected for the in-depth review, and Chapter 5, discusses the reviewā€™s main findings. Chapter 6 presents the conclusions of the study, outlines a theory of change that emerges from the findings and draws out the policy insights and research gaps for future study
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