41 research outputs found

    Social movement against corruption: Evaluating the contribution of Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB)

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    Addressing corruption requires active public participation. Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) strives to mobilize Bangladeshi citizens in an anti-corruption social movement. This research explores TIB’s activities (research, communication and engagement) and investigates their achievements. The study finds that besides building capacity among stakeholders, TIB creates a unique trustworthy brand among people. Potential issues triggered by over-expectation, discontinuity and expanding the scope of work are identified and recommendations are made to facilitate TIB’s resilience and efficiency

    Collective decision-making with goals

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    Des agents devant prendre une décision collective sont souvent motivés par des buts individuels. Dans ces situations, deux aspects clés doivent être abordés : sélectionner une alternative gagnante à partir des voix des agents et s'assurer que les agents ne manipulent pas le résultat. Cette thèse étudie l'agrégation et la dimension stratégique des décisions collectives lorsque les agents utilisent un langage représenté de manière compacte. Nous étudions des langages de type logique : de la logique propositionnelle aux CP-nets généralisés, en passant par la logique temporelle linéaire (LTL). Notre principale contribution est l'introduction d'un cadre de vote sur les buts, dans lequel les agents soumettent des buts individuels exprimés comme des formules de la logique propositionnelle. Les fonctions d'agrégation classiques issues du vote, de l'agrégation de jugements et de la fusion de croyances sont adaptées et étudiées de manière axiomatique et computationnelle. Les propriétés axiomatiques connues dans la littérature sur la théorie du choix social sont généralisées à ce nouveau type d'entrée, ainsi que les problèmes de complexité visant à déterminer le résultat du vote. Une autre contribution importante est l'étude de l'agrégation des CP-nets généralisés, c'est-à-dire des CP-nets où la précondition de l'énoncé de préférence est une formule propositionnelle. Nous utilisons différents agrégateurs pour obtenir un classement collectif des résultats possibles. Grâce à cette thèse, deux axes de recherche sont ainsi reliés : l'agrégation des CP-nets classiques et la généralisation des CP-nets à des préconditions incomplètes. Nous contribuons également à l'étude du comportement stratégique dans des contextes de prise de décision collective et de théorie des jeux. Le cadre du vote basé sur les buts est de nouveau étudié sous l'hypothèse que les agents peuvent décider de mentir sur leur but s'ils obtiennent ainsi un meilleur résultat. L'accent est mis sur trois règles de vote majoritaires qui se révèlent manipulables. Par conséquent, nous étudions des restrictions à la fois sur le langage des buts et sur les stratégies des agents en vue d'obtenir des résultats de votes non manipulables. Nous présentons par ailleurs une extension stratégique d'un modèle récent de diffusion d'opinion sur des réseaux d'influence. Dans les jeux d'influence définis ici, les agents ont comme but des formules en LTL et ils peuvent choisir d'utiliser leur pouvoir d'influence pour s'assurer que leur but est atteint. Des solutions classiques telles que la stratégie gagnante sont étudiées pour les jeux d'influence, en relation avec la structure du réseau et les buts des agents. Enfin, nous introduisons une nouvelle classe de concurrent game structures (CGS) dans laquelle les agents peuvent avoir un contrôle partagé sur un ensemble de variables propositionnelles. De telles structures sont utilisées pour interpréter des formules de logique temporelle en temps alternés (ATL), grâce auxquelles on peut exprimer l'existence d'une stratégie gagnante pour un agent dans un jeu itéré (comme les jeux d'influence mentionnés ci-dessus). Le résultat principal montre qu'un CGS avec contrôle partagé peut être représenté comme un CGS avec contrôle exclusif. En conclusion, cette thèse contribue au domaine de la prise de décision collective en introduisant un nouveau cadre de vote basé sur des buts propositionnels. Elle présente une étude de l'agrégation des CP-nets généralisés et une extension d'un cadre de diffusion d'opinion avec des agents rationnels qui utilisent leur pouvoir d'influence. Une réduction du contrôle partagé à un contrôle exclusif dans les CGS pour l'interprétation des logiques du raisonnement stratégique est également proposée. Par le biais de langages logiques divers, les agents peuvent ainsi exprimer buts et préférences sur la décision à prendre, et les propriétés souhaitées pour le processus de décision peuvent en être garanties.Agents having to take a collective decision are often motivated by individual goals. In such scenarios, two key aspects need to be addressed. The first is defining how to select a winning alternative from the expressions of the agents. The second is making sure that agents will not manipulate the outcome. Agents should also be able to state their goals in a way that is expressive, yet not too burdensome. This dissertation studies the aggregation and the strategic component of multi-agent collective decisions where the agents use a compactly represented language. The languages we study are all related to logic: from propositional logic, to generalized CP-nets and linear temporal logic (LTL). Our main contribution is the introduction of the framework of goal-based voting, where agents submit individual goals expressed as formulas of propositional logic. Classical aggregation functions from voting, judgment aggregation, and belief merging are adapted to this setting and studied axiomatically and computationally. Desirable axiomatic properties known in the literature of social choice theory are generalized to this new type of propositional input, as well as the standard complexity problems aimed at determining the result. Another important contribution is the study of the aggregation of generalized CP-nets coming from multiple agents, i.e., CP-nets where the precondition of the preference statement is a propositional formula. We use different aggregators to obtain a collective ordering of the possible outcomes. Thanks to this thesis, two lines of research are thus bridged: the one on the aggregation of complete CP-nets, and the one on the generalization of CP-nets to incomplete preconditions. We also contribute to the study of strategic behavior in both collective decision-making and game-theoretic settings. The framework of goal-based voting is studied again under the assumption that agents can now decide to submit an untruthful goal if by doing so they can get a better outcome. The focus is on three majoritarian voting rules which are found to be manipulable. Therefore, we study restrictions on both the language of the goals and on the strategies allowed to the agents to discover islands of strategy-proofness. We also present a game-theoretic extension of a recent model of opinion diffusion over networks of influence. In the influence games defined here, agents hold goals expressed as formulas of LTL and they can choose whether to use their influence power to make sure that their goal is satisfied. Classical solution concepts such as weak dominance and winning strategy are studied for influence games, in relation to the structure of the network and the goals of the agents. Finally, we introduce a novel class of concurrent game structures (CGS) in which agents can have shared control over a set of propositional variables. Such structures are used for the interpretation of formulas of alternating-time temporal logic, thanks to which we can express the existence of a winning strategy for an agent in a repeated game (as, for instance, the influence games mentioned above). The main result shows by means of a clever construction that a CGS with shared control can be represented as a CGS with exclusive control. In conclusion, this thesis provides a valuable contribution to the field of collective decision-making by introducing a novel framework of voting based on individual propositional goals, it studies for the first time the aggregation of generalized CP-nets, it extends a framework of opinion diffusion by modelling rational agents who use their influence power as they see fit, and it provides a reduction of shared to exclusive control in CGS for the interpretation of logics of strategic reasoning. By using different logical languages, agents can thus express their goals and preferences over the decision to be taken, and desirable properties of the decision process can be ensured

    Navigating Borders

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    Navigating Borders into the Netherlands provides a unique in-depth look at human smuggling processes. Based on biographical interviews with smuggled migrants in the Netherlands, the study reveals considerable differences that exist in smuggling's underlying causes, how journeys evolve, and outcomes of the process. This research from an insider's perspective clearly demonstrates that smuggled migrants are not passive actors, there is a broad variety in types of smugglers, and interactions between migrants and smugglers largely determine how the smuggling process evolves

    Direct & Indirect Effects of Aid Volatility on Growth: Do Stronger Institutions Play a Role?

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    This paper develops a political economy model to analyze the direct and indirect effects of aid volatility on growth and the outcome of higher institutional quality on the effect of aid volatility on growth. Using time-series cross section data for 77 countries from 1984-2007, the effects of aid volatility on growth are empirically tested. It is concluded that the relationship between growth aid volatility is significantly negative and dependent on the level of institutional quality. The results are robust to additional covariates, alternate sub-samples, non-linearities, different period averages and various computations of aid volatility

    Direct & Indirect Effects of Aid Volatility on Growth: Do Stronger Institutions Play a Role?

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    This paper develops a political economy model to analyze the direct and indirect effects of aid volatility on growth and the outcome of higher institutional quality on the effect of aid volatility on growth. Using time-series cross section data for 77 countries from 1984-2007, the effects of aid volatility on growth are empirically tested. It is concluded that the relationship between growth aid volatility is significantly negative and dependent on the level of institutional quality. The results are robust to additional covariates, alternate sub-samples, non-linearities, different period averages and various computations of aid volatility

    Tom Stoppard's comedy of ideas: An examination of themes and techniques

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    This thesis examines Tom Stoppard's comedy of ideas. A study of the relationship between form and content, comedy and ideas, will demonstrate how the playwright draws attention to the nature of the play as a theatrical event and relies upon the audience's recognition of theatrical conventions and devices. Upon this basis of familiar theatrical conventions Stoppard establishes various layers of dramatic dialogue - between playwright and audience, audience and play, play and argument - employing the comedy on the surface as a means of involving the audience in the underlying dialectic. I will look at the early radio and television plays and at Stoppard's only novel where these contribute to the examination of themes and techniques in Stoppard's comedy of ideas. I will note a change of direction, a change of perspective in Stoppard's comedy of ideas after Travesties and show how the later stage plays and the television play Professional Foul succeed in developing the playwright's comedy of ideas in con-junction with his change of direction. Stoppard's adaptations of Mrozek, Lorca, Sclinitzler and Molnar lie beyond the scope of this study; although Stoppard's voice is clearly discernible in these adaptations, the plays essentially involve the re-working of another dramatist's plots and themes and therefore do not warrant inclusion in a study of Stoppard's comedy of ideas.<p

    A comparative study of how political journalists in four European countries reported on the coronavirus pandemic

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    International comparisons of the culture of political journalism are made more difficult and complex by differences of salience in the chosen countries during the period of measurement. The COVID-19 pandemic offers a rare opportunity to compare national patterns of media coverage and the associated culture of political journalism while controlling for salience, as all countries were experiencing the pandemic in the same way at the same time. This study uses multiple methods. It begins with qualitative content analysis, measuring and analysing a limited sample of the television and press coverage in the UK, France, Germany and Switzerland in November 2020. The study then contextualises the data within scholars’ familiar classifications of the political, economic and media environment, and finally, applying the methods of thematic research, seeks explanations from 22 semi-structured interviews with senior practitioners in political communication and journalism in the respective countries, and within the EU itself. France and Germany are members of the EU, the UK and Switzerland had strong associations with the Union. Germany and Switzerland are federations, with traditions of consensual, multi-party government, which in the Swiss case is reinforced by a layer of direct democracy though regular referenda. The political systems in the UK and France while differing, share a majoritarian and indeed adversarial political culture. All have dominant, regulated public broadcasters. Despite the many differences the evidence of this study suggests that there is a strong correlation between the consensual style of government, civic trust in all its forms and the political culture of the country and that this is expressed through similarities in the media output during this unique period. The UK’s majoritarian parliamentary system and highly competitive media are associated with a significantly different style of political journalism

    Learning from Resilience Strategies in Tanzania

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    Tanzania has been considered a model for development, peace, and stability despite the arrival of refugees from neighboring countries and the potential tensions related to climate change. Although it has accessed the rank of middleincome country, Tanzania still faces several challenges, particularly in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. The book aims at analyzing these challenges as well as the country’s successes through a multi-disciplinary approach considering economic perspectives as well as conflict prevention, dialogue integration, climate change adaptation, forests’ protection, and social perspectives – especially relating to women and girls. The current Covid situation has shaken the whole world and raised many questions on how the different regions and countries could adapt and develop resilience strategies in an uncertain and ever-changing context. Therefore, the book is not only about Tanzania but also about what we can learn from the research on Tanzania in terms of vulnerabilities and resilience strategies. This book is an outlook of International Development Challenges. This book is co-funded by the European Union in the framework of the project Pilot 4 Research and Dialogue
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