The Voice of Which People? Transnational Advocacy Networks and Governance Networks at the United Nations

We can expand our understanding of the politics of global networks and how they relate to the United Nations, by closely examining the concept of a network. There is a long-established International Relations literature focusing on the more institutionalised, international non-governmental organisations. Keck and Sikkink have drawn on the Sociology literature covering social movements in global politics to discuss transnational advocacy networks. It is also necessary to distinguish a third major category: governance networks. They operate to enhance the participation rights of NGOs in intergovernmental organisations. Differences in membership and functions of the two types of networks can be clearly specified analytically, but real-world networks may have some features from each ideal-type. However, if the distinction between them is not understood and respected by those participating in a network, there can be major political conflicts that threaten the legitimacy of the network. Three case-studies – on the NGO Steering Committee at the UN Commission on Sustainable Development, on the World Conference Against Racism and on the World Summit on Sustainable Development – are used to demonstrate how crises can arise when the fundamental contradictions between engaging in collective advocacy and adopting a governance role are not recognised

Potentials of social media for tacit knowledge sharing amongst physicians : preliminary findings

Tacit knowledge sharing amongst physicians, such as the sharing of clinical experiences, skills, or know-how, or know-whom, is known to have a significant impact on the quality of medical diagnosis and decisions. This paper posits that social media can provide new opportunities for tacit knowledge sharing amongst physicians, and demonstrates this by presenting findings from a review of relevant literature and a survey conducted with physicians. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten physicians from around the world who were active users of social media. Initial thematic analysis revealed eight themes as potential contributions of social web tools to facilitate tacit knowledge flow amongst physicians. The emergent themes are defined, linked to the literature, and supported by instances of interview transcripts. Findings presented here are preliminary, and final results will be reported after accomplishing all phases of data collection and analysis

Building institutional capacity for industrial symbiosis development : a case study of an industrial symbiosis coordination network in China

Recent research has examined how the concept of institutional capacity relates to the ability of organisations to deliver industrial symbiosis, and in particular how that ability itself can develop over time. One approach to developing industrial symbiosis has been to build a network of local bodies to work together to this end. Terming such a body an industrial symbiosis coordination network, this study innovatively applies institutional capacity building theory in the context of a Chinese eco-industrial park. It examines how the coordination network developed the expertise to encourage local companies to engage in industrial symbiosis. This research consisted of a qualitative study, including participant observation, semi-structured interviews and document analysis to analyse the development of an industrial symbiosis coordination network in Tianjin Binhai New Area. It is found that the network increased institutional capacity for local IS development by promoting relational links across organisational divisions and governance levels, and by increasing various types of knowledge for coordinating IS. The concept of institutional capacity building is shown to have cross-cultural applicability. Reflections on this study indicate that local government can play a vital role in building and maintaining an IS coordination network in the Chinese context, but that other bodies are also needed to mobilise institutional capacity for IS development

Evaluating the strategic plans of public libraries : an inspection-based approach

For public libraries, as with most organisations, effective strategic planning is critical to longevity, facilitating cohesive and coordinated responses to ever present and ever changing political, economic, social, and technological (PEST) forces which shape and influence direction. However, strategic planning is widely recognised as a challenging activity, which can be both time consuming and unproductive, and there exists limited guidance regarding how to evaluate documented and disseminated strategic plans, particularly within the not-for-profit sector. In response, this research proposes and tests an inspection-based approach to the evaluation of strategic plans, based upon a rubric specifying the key attributes of each of the core components of a plan, combined with an appropriate assessment scale. The rubric provides a method to identify and assess completeness of strategic plan, extending to qualitative assessment of communication aspects such as specification and terminology, and synergistic aspects such as cohesion and integration. The method is successfully trialled across the devolved Scottish public library sector with the strategic plans of 28 of the 32 regional networks evaluated. 17 of 28 plans (61%) were found to be incomplete and/or to contain contradictory or uncoordinated components, with it recommended that Scottish public libraries improve not only completeness of plans, but also their precision, specificity, explicitness, coordination, and consistency, and overall mapping to library services. Recommendations are made for further widespread application of the rubric

The usage of computer integrated classroom (cic) technology tools in the study of interactions of knowledge construction among esl pre-service teacher

This paper takes a glimpse at the possible tools for collecting data on interactions of knowledge construction among ESL pre-service teacher. The main tool identified to compile the data collection of the study is a customized of computer integrated classroom (CiC) system. For that purpose, a pilot study on computer support face to face peer response using CiC was trialed with a group of students enrolled in a Microteaching course at the Faculty of Education, University Technology Malaysia. CiC was explored to see whether the system could facilitate both modes of synchronous interactions: text-based reporting and verbal interaction. With the assistance of software and hardware integrated in CIC, many computer supported collaborative learning activities could be carried out by ESL pre-service teachers such as recording, storing, retrieving, and monitoring of user profiles’ activities, learning materials and interactions

European Energy Security. ZEI Discussion Paper C260 2020

In the wake of the European Union’s (EU) enlargements in 2004 and 2007, which saw the accession of 12 new member states, lengthy debates and discussion took place on the burden of onboarding the new member states, the difficulty of ensuring their compliance with EU rules and regulations and the dependence of many of these states on a single supplier for their energy needs. This paper aims to assess the EU’s efforts to form a comprehensive energy security policy in recent decades, paying particular attention to the development of the theory of energy security and the main developments of the EU’s energy security policy in recent years. The Energy Union, a flagship initiative launched by the European Commission in 2015, will be assessed through an examination of its governance structure and achievements in specific policy domains