27,982 research outputs found
Standardising through concepts: scientific experts and the international development of the HACCP Food Safety Standard
This paper deals with international standard-setting. Using the HACCP food safety standard as the basis of discussion, this paper considers the influence of scientific experts on the regulatory process. What is usually referred to as the diffusion or dissemination of soft or voluntary standards is here explained in terms of transferability of a regulatory concept. It is the ability of scientific experts to transform practices into a universal concept and, conversely, to develop technologies for users which translate the concept into practice, that explains why this reference has travelled so well across countries, industry sectors and historical periods. Scientific experts played a translating role between standard-setters and groups of practical users. This highlights the counter-intuitive distribution of power in standard-setting: while experts dominate the development of generic rules, official rule-makers (such as governments) assert their authority by developing alternative technologies for the appropriation of the standard by users and, sometimes, allow the latter to deviate from experts' universal concepts where these are shown to be problematic
Promoting sustainable construction: European and British networks at the knowledge-policy interface
The responsibility of builders, developers, planners, architects and policy-makers to promote more sustainable urban environments and buildings is consistently prioritized in nascent European, national and local planning strategies. Yet what counts as âsustainable constructionâ varies by issue, sector and policy mandate. Proponents of sustainable construction might promote technological shifts in terms of materials, energy use and waste reduction, or they might encourage cultural and behavioural adaptations to how society views, uses and plans its built environment. This paper examines this problematic bifurcation of sustainable construction into two exclusive agendas: the construction technology agenda and the urban sustainability planning agenda, each constituted by distinct policy and sector-based networks. It is argued that the orientation to detail in the construction technology agenda operates at odds with the holistic process orientation of the broader urban sustainability agenda, thus complicating the effective translation or co-generation of sustainable construction knowledge between the two networks. The lack of integration between these two sets of networks should be cause for concern, yet appears to be largely overlooked in mainstream policy processes
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Entrepreneurial dynamics and social responsibility: mapping an expanded intellectual territory
Objectives: (1) To provide a constructive critique of the interface between the entrepreneurial growth dynamics research and social responsibility literatures; (2) to explore opportunities for making new connections between these literatures in order to address substantive âgapsâ in research and policy-making ; (3) to map the broader intellectual territory implied by this critique; (4) to outline a tentative research agenda.
Prior work: The paper draws on two main strands of research: entrepreneurial growth dynamics and (corporate) social responsibility. While much has been achieved in the social responsibility literature with regards to established practices, we argue that insufficient attention has been paid to the more âentrepreneurialâ dimensions. At the same time, the current wave of enthusiasm for new models of socially-responsible enterprise has opened up a series of new research questions, including: (i) how are these organisational forms likely to grow and develop over the longer-term, at an intra-organisational level, and in terms of emerging inter-organisational relationships?; (iii) how will other actors respond to these developments?; (ii) what are the implications of the resulting dynamics for social, environmental and economic sustainability?
Approach: The paper is based around a critical review of the relevant literatures, focusing on the role of entrepreneurial opportunity and capabilities in shaping entrepreneurial growth dynamics. The discussion addresses current methodological debates and considers how social responsibility can be integrated into the analysis. In doing so, it builds on a research tradition that has promoted historically-informed multi-level and co-evolutionary analysis and argues that such techniques are required in order to gain a better understanding of these phenomena.
Results: We outline a research agenda, illustrated with a number of questions of particular relevance to researchers, policy-makers and practitioners
Implications: The paper identifies a number of issues for researchers and policy-makers and practitioner audiences. It calls for a broadening of the intellectual territory around socially-responsible enterprise. Process-based and multi-level analysis of growth dynamics extends its temporal and organisational boundaries to encompass longer-term interactions and a wider range of actors.
Value: The paper is designed to facilitate and to encourage more constructive interaction between research communities concerned with: social responsibility, social enterprise and process-based approaches to entrepreneurship. It advances understanding by mapping an intellectual space that is neither fully revealed in, nor adequately addressed by, existing bodies of knowledge
From a/topia to topia: towards a gendered right to the city for migrant volunteers in London
The paper makes use of an un-orthodox Lefebvrian formulation of the âright to the cityâ as it adds the gender dimension which was absent from Lefebvreâs work. The lens of âgendered right to the cityâ (Doderer, 2003; Fenster, 2005; Vacchelli, 2014) is used in order to understand the experiences of volunteers working in the womenâs community and voluntary sector in London. We look specifically at the role of migrant organisations both as places of co-option of migrant labour, as places that enable the integration of migrants and make their participation in the urban fabrics possible, and as places that are appropriated by migrant volunteers in London as a means of enacting active citizenship.
Londonâs governance, policy discourses and practices seek to impose a top-down idea of civic participation. In this vision, the role of migrant groups and organisations can only be valued in the context of an active civil society, able to replace the vacuum left by the progressive erosion of the welfare state, leading to a crisis of social reproduction. Lefebvreâs theoretical framework of âspace appropriationâ serves as a way to explore these questions and we propose a further spatial reading which is specific to a gendered right to the city, i.e. the shift from a/topia (not having a space or being denied access to public spaces broadly conceived) to topia . We speculate on what this newly found space looks like and what is its potential for the subversion of top-down policy discourses on civic participation in the neoliberal city
Governance: public governance to social innovation?
ArticleThis paper reviews governance and public governance related to an emerging area of policy interest â social innovation. The European Commissionâs White Paper on European Governance (2001) focused on openness, participation, accountability, effectiveness and coherence in public policy as characteristics of good governance. The EC has prioritised social innovation to address policy problems. Yet, the extant literature and research on social innovation is sparse. The paper questions whether it is a new mode of governance which contributes to good governance or a continuum of neoliberal reforms of the state which alters the relationship between the state, market and civil society
Appropriation in the development of information systems for voluntary organisations
This paper describes two action research projects in co-located voluntary organizations, where both projects could be characterized as process failures. Our main focus is on the mechanisms of appropriation. The analytic framework as well as the basis for the action research projects, have been informed by activity theory. In particular we describe how ICT-based systems enforce structural discipline, how designers may misconceive the design task when designing for voluntary organisations, how the tension between use value and exchange value influences the use and thus appropriation of ICT in voluntary organisations, and finally what the possible impact of a lacking common conceptual basis may be. It is concluded that voluntary organisations exhibit unique features that should be taken into account in the design of ICT based support
Current policy issues in the governance of the European patent system
The European Parliament has been working towards building a discussion platform and a resource for further policy actions in the field of intellectual property rights. The Science and Technology Options Assessment Panel has set the goal of further enlarging the area of investigation in light of recent policy developments at the European level. In particular, the current study covers current policy issues in the governance of the European patent system, such as the backlog issue, the enhancement of patent awareness within the European Parliament, patent enforcement, the regional dimension of intellectual property in Europe, patents and standardisation, the use of existing patents, and patents and competition. These issues were discussed in the conference with stakeholders from European to national patent offices, from private to public sector actors. As a result of the conference, it was stated the need for an IP strategy for Europ
In-active citizenship and the depoliticisation of community development in Ireland
At a time of rising stress for communities, families and individuals coupled with a growing disillusionment with government, the concept of âactive citizenshipâ has arrived as a salve to many of the social ills of our time. Emphasising citizenâs own responsibilities, and espousing values of solidarity, community and neighbourliness, active citizenship embodies all that is good, rendering it somewhat immune from criticism. While agreeing that community values of solidarity and neighbourliness are indeed critical, this paper takes issue with what it argues is a significant revisioning of the three core concepts embodied within active citizenship - citizenship, social capital and community development - and argues that active citizenship, as it is currently promoted by state and select civil society organisations alike, substitutes self-help for redistribution and self-reliance for state accountability, in the process depoliticising the principles and practice of community development and denying community actors a voice in their own development
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