THE IMPACT OF THE POST ARAB SPRING ON THE HUMAN RIGHTS IN SYRIA

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to give an analysis of the humanitarian situation and the case of human rights in Syria after the events of the Arab spring. Methodology: This is analytical-descriptive research that has been done through literature review, content analysis, and documentary and case study research. Result: our results suggest that the Syrian government made false concessions designed to end the revolts. The occurrence led to the formation of a rebel group, the Free Syrian Army whose main objective was to oust the authoritarian regime and stop the killing of civilians. This marked the beginning of the blatant violation of human rights as well as the civil war in Syria. The government not only ignited but also took the war to its own people killing, injuring and imprisoning thousands of people. Worse still, thousands of women and young girls still suffer sexual violence during the nightly raids conducted frequently on either opposing camps. Following the massive violations of human rights, almost all economic sectors of Syria have met rock-bottom. Applications: This research can be used for policymakers and the international community to take a further step to aid the Syrian civilians. Novelty/Originality: In our research, we try to target a very much debated topic in the Middle East. Although several articles written about the humanitarian and human rights situation in Syria studies on human rights after the Arab spring is still lacking

Domestic Isomorphic pressures in the design of FOI oversight institutions in Latin America

Even though many countries in Latin America have adopted FOI Laws, there are significant differences in the institutional design of FOI oversight institutions. Most explanations highlight the role of political competition in motivating political actors to design strong de jure FOI oversight institutions. The design of FOI oversight institutions in Chile, Peru and Uruguay, however, cannot fully be explained by political competition. We show how isomorphic pressures help explain variation in the de jure strength of the FOI oversight institutions. Our findings highlight the importance of considering domestic constraints on the diffusion of one-size-fits-all models. To analyze each case, we conducted a systematic process-tracing analysis. Our in-depth analysis allowed us to assess different theories concerning the specific institutional design of FOI oversight institutions.Agencia Nacional de Investigación e Innovació

Mobile Phones and Gender Inequality: Can We Hear Her Now?

Are mobile phones the best vehicle for reducing gender inequality in the developing world? ICT experts champion the use of mobile phones to improve women’s lives, and various stakeholders have invested millions of dollars to launch mobile phone programs for women. Yet, given high female illiteracy rates, patriarchal societies, and other structural and cultural barriers in developing countries, many scholars contend that limited access to ICTs can perpetuate gender inequality. Rooted in the theory that women’s empowerment and equality are inseparable and necessary components for the realization of sustainable economic and social development, this paper aims to determine if stakeholders are jumping on the mobile phone bandwagon too soon by using a multivariate regression of cross national data to demonstrate whether or not mobile phones fall short of advancing women at the same rate that men develop

Corrupción y transparencia: evidencia en partidos políticos de América Latina

Corruption affects the institutional framework of countries, leading to situations where the transparency of political representatives is called into question. Hence, a study has been conducted that links corruption to the transparency of political parties in Latin America. To do this, an active transparency index was designed and linked to each country’s corruption perception index. The results indicate that active transparency shows low levels and that there is a significant inverse relationship with the level of corruption, demonstrating that the latter limits the disclosure of information practices and creates an environment of opacity in the management of political parties in Latin America.La corrupción afecta la institucionalidad de los países causando situaciones que cuestionan la transparencia de los representantes políticos. De allí que se haya realizado un estudio que relaciona la corrupción con la transparencia de los partidos políticos en América Latina. Para ello se diseñó un índice de transparencia activa y se vinculó con el índice de percepción de la corrup­ción en cada país. Los resultados indican que la transparencia activa muestra niveles bajos y que existe una relación inversa y significativa con el nivel de corrupción, lo que evidencia que esta última limita las prácticas de divulgación de información y genera un escenario de opacidad en la gestión de los partidos políticos

Toward a Model of Intercultural Warrant: A Case of the Korean Decimal Classification\u27s Cross-cultural Adaptation of the Dewey Decimal Classification

I examined the Korean Decimal Classification (KDC)\u27s adaptation of the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) by comparing the two systems. This case manifests the sociocultural influences on KOSs in a cross-cultural context. I focused my analysis on the changes resulting from the meeting of the two cultures, answering the main research question: “How does KDC adapt DDC in terms of underlying sociocultural perspectives in a classificatory form?” I took a comparative approach and address the main research question in two phases. In Phase 1, quantities of class numbers were analyzed by edition and discipline. The main class with the most consistently high number of class numbers in DDC was the social sciences, while the main class with the most consistently high number of class numbers in KDC was technology. The two main classes are expected to differ in semantic contents or specificities. In Phase 2, patterns of adaptations were analyzed by examining the class numbers, captions, and hierarchical relations within the developed adaptation taxonomy. Implementing the taxonomy as a coding scheme brings two comparative features of classifications: 1) semantic contents determined by captions and quantity of subordinate numbers; and 2) structural arrangement determined by ranks, the broader category, presence and the order of subordinate numbers. Surveying proper forms of adaptation resulted in the development of an adaptation taxonomy that will serve as a framework to account for the conflicts between and harmonization of multiple social and cultural influences in knowledge structures. This study has ramifications in theoretical and empirical foundations for the development of “intercultural warrant” in KOSs

Democracy’s Fourth Wave? Digital Media and the Arab Spring

Did digital media really "cause" the Arab Spring, or is it an important factor of the story behind what might become democracy's fourth wave? An unlikely network of citizens used digital media to start a cascade of social protest that ultimately toppled four of the world's most entrenched dictators. Howard and Hussain find that the complex causal recipe includes several economic, political and cultural factors, but that digital media is consistently one of the most important sufficient and necessary conditions for explaining both the fragility of regimes and the success of social movements. This book looks at not only the unexpected evolution of events during the Arab Spring, but the deeper history of creative digital activism throughout the region.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/117564/1/Democracy's Fourth Wave.pdfDescription of Democracy's Fourth Wave.pdf : PD

Acesso à informação pública nos países do Cone Sul : estudo sobre a adesão às diretrizes de acesso à informação

Tese (doutorado)—Universidade de Brasília, Faculdade de Ciência da Informação, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciência da Informação, 2018.Trata do estudo sobre a adesão às diretrizes de acesso à informação pública preconizadas pela literatura das respectivas leis de acesso à informação nos países pertencentes ao grupo chamado Cone Sul. Esse grupo, composto por Argentina, Bolívia, Brasil, Chile, Paraguai e Uruguai, parte de um contexto maior, a América Latina, e representa uma reunião de nações de natureza heterogênea, no que se refere aos aspectos políticos, econômicos e culturais. Portanto, apresenta-se como um terreno fértil para investigação e debate em torno do fenômeno do direito de acesso à informação, que se expandiu, especialmente na metade final do século XX e início do século XXI, por meio da edição de normas jurídicas específicas conhecidas como leis de acesso à informação. Tais itens normativos regulam o acesso à informação pública pela sociedade e a obrigação do Estado de ofertar informações que estão sob sua custódia e de fomentar a cultura da transparência de suas atividades. A presente pesquisa, além da proposição de um modelo baseado em diretrizes preconizadas por Braman (2004, 2006, 2011), Mendel (2009) e pelo Modelo Interamericano de Lei de Acesso à Informação (2012), teve como objetivo descrever as características constituidoras das leis de acesso à informação e seus aspectos quanto a possíveis similaridades e diferenças. A aplicação do modelo, aliada ao diálogo realizado com a literatura, permitiu constatar que há alta correlação entre as diretrizes de acesso à informação e as leis de acesso à informação, e que as leis dos países do Cone Sul possuem entre si mais similaridades do que dessemelhanças tanto em seus aspectos estruturais quando na organização dos preceitos. Por fim, identificou-se que o direito de acesso à informação representado nos textos normativos se concentra em três itens principais: divulgação/promoção, solicitação e restrição de informação.The present study focus on the adherence to the guidelines for access to public information recommended by the literature and manifested in the respective access to information act from the countries belonging to the group called the Southern Cone. This group, composed of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay, of a larger context, Latin America, represent a gathering of nations of heterogeneous nature in the political, economic and cultural aspects, hence presents itself as a fertile ground for the investigation and debate around the phenomenon of the right of access to information that has expanded itself, especially in the late half of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century with the publication of specific legal norms known as information access law. Such normative items regulate the access to public information by the society and the obligation of the State to offer information guarded by it and to foment the culture of the transparency of its activities. The present research, besides the proposal of a model based on theoretical guidelines advocated by Braman (2004, 2006, 2011) Mendel (2009) and the Model Inter-American Law on Access to Information (2012), aimed to describe the constitutive characteristics of the information access laws and its aspects regarding possible similarities and differences. The application of the model allied with the literature dialogue, allowed to verify that there is a high correlation between the theoretical guidelines of information access laws; the laws of the countries of the Southern Cone have among themselves more similarities than dissimilarities both in its structural aspects and in the organization of the precepts. Finally, after all analyses, it is clear that the right of access to the information represented in the normative texts concentrates on three items concepts: divulgation/promotion, solicitation and restriction of information

The effect of institutional perspective on safety climate through a mediating role of governance practice

Bangladesh has encountered several ready-made garments manufacturing (RMG) industry disasters leading to the loss of valuable human lives due to the factory owner’s tendency to cut corners on safety. In 2013, the safety issue came into the limelight when Rana Plaza took less than 90 seconds to crumble with the workers inside, killing more than 1,100 and injuring more than 2,500 people. The sudden breakdown of Rana Plaza fetched home the much-needed attention, persuading different institutions to offer corrective steps which can rectify hazardous situations in thousands of factories. Nonetheless, irrespective of various institutions’ making effort to improve the safety situation, much remains to be done to ensure industrial safety behaviour and compliance. Recently, Accord Bangladesh Quarterly Report (2018: 3) acknowledged that while making an improvement, “major life-threatening safety concerns remain outstanding in too many factories and need to be fixed urgently”. Hence, crucial questions need to be explored: To what extent do institutional perspectives improve organisational safety behaviours? Whether governance mechanism can force organisations to commit and ensure workers safety? While a considerable attention has been paid to the institutional perspectives, existing literature is fragmented and disconnected with safety climate and performance measures. Therefore, this study examines institutional impacts on changing organisational safety climate and its performance, through the mediating role of governance practice. The survey results of 256 RMG workers from128 garments factories in Bangladesh with a usable response rate of 72.31% and satisfactory indices (e.g. Chi-square x2/df=1.620, RMR=.012, SRMR=.051, RMSEA=.049, CFI=.982, IFI=.983) demonstrate each component of safety climate is significantly associated with at least two institutional perspectives. This study suggests that regulations and laws only provide procedural instructions and guidance rather than definitive protocols. While norms and culturally established standards are decisive to the establishment of safety practices. Additionally, making organisations more accountable and/or obedient towards lawful practices can guarantee management’s commitment to safety and create a compulsion to pledge safety practices. Furthermore, accountable and ethical organisational behaviours motivate workers to actively participate in safety activities that ultimately result in fewer accidents and injuries. Interestingly, the study found that culturally established norm of safety is perceived as taken-for-granted by the workers, which refrain them from participating in voluntary safety activities. In general, establishing organisational safety climate can be considered as a socialised activity that is much contingent on the institutional pressures to comply with specific requirements and the organisational intention to uphold their legitimacy. The findings shed light on the way in which different types of institutional influence could be better exercised to facilitate safety improvement; reconditioning and reinforcing government policy can resolve sporadic safety climate level of the industry. While the study has gone some way towards enhancing our understanding, it also arises several questions that need further investigations. Finally, further research is needed to determine the impact of improvement mechanisms on workplace safety performance, such as how workplace design, safety training programmes, and institutional enforcement policies protect the well-being of workers

Gobernanza de Destinos Turísticos Culturales Urbanos. Análisis exploratorio de la e-gobernanza en ciudades europeas

Este trabajo se centra en la gobernanza como un nuevo enfoque de gobierno que dé respuesta a la creciente complejidad de la gestión de destinos turísticos en un contexto de preocupación por su sostenibilidad. Para ello el se ha construido un modelo para el análisis de la gobernanza de los destinos turísticos culturales urbanos, a partir de un exhaustivo análisis teórico. Para testar el modelo se ha adoptado un análisis exploratorio para ir definiendo instrumentos de medida de las distintas dimensiones de la gobernanza. El análisis se ha realizado sobre la e-governance en 5 importantes destinos culturales urbanos importantes, y ha permitido valorar como esos destinos utilizan la web para promover la participación de los agentes menos organizados (residentes, artistas independientes y pequeñas empresas y asociaciones culturales). Este análisis empírico ha sido de utilidad para testar las dimensiones del modelo propuesto, y para definir indicadores pertinentes que midan dichas dimensiones en un ámbito local. Se ha detectado que todas las ciudades analizadas, destinos turísticos culturales maduros en diferentes grados hacen uso de la e-gobernanza para avanzar en la gobernanza e favorecer la participación de los agentes. Se evidencia por lo tanto el carácter progresivo de la gobernanza y el distinto uso que realizan las ciudades