Comunicación para el desarrollo y el cambio social: Influencia de las normas sociales para una sociedad inclusiva en Montenegro

UNICEF and the Government of Montenegro implemented a communication strategy “It’s about ability” to challenge the existing, exclusionary practices and promote new, inclusive social norms for children with disability. Drawing on communication for development principles and social norms theory, a 2010-2013 nation-wide campaign mobilized disability rights NGOs, parents associations, media and private sector to stimulate inclusive attitudes and practices towards children with disabilities. As a result, the percentage of citizens who find it acceptable for a child with disability to attend the same class with theirs increased from 35 before the campaign to 80 percent at the end of it. Similarly, the percentage of Montenegrin citizens who find it acceptable for a child with disability to be the best friend of their child increased from 22 before the campaign to 51 percent at the end of it. The campaign was participatory, audience-centred and guided by the key communication planning principles.UNICEF y el Gobierno de Montenegro implementaron la estrategia de comunicación “Se trata de la habilidad” para desafiar las prácticas existentes y excluyentes y promover nuevas normas sociales inclusivas para los niños con discapacidad. Basándose en los principios de la comunicación para el desarrollo y las normas sociales, una campaña nacional del 2010-2013 movilizó a las ONG de derechos de las personas con discapacidad, asociaciones de padres, los medios de comunicación y el sector privado para estimular las actitudes y prácticas inclusivas hacia los niños con discapacidades. Como resultado, el porcentaje de ciudadanos que encuentran aceptable para un niño con discapacidad asistir a la misma clase que los suyos aumentó de un 35%, antes de la campaña, a un 80% al final de la misma. Del mismo modo, el porcentaje de ciudadanos montenegrinos que encuentran aceptable que un niño con discapacidad pueda ser el mejor amigo de sus hijos incrementó de un 22% anterior a la campaña a un 51% al final de la misma. La campaña fue participativa, centrada en el público y guiada por los principios clave de planificación de la comunicación

Qualitative Inquiry in an Age of Educationalese

In this introduction we reflect on two key questions that initiated this special issue on qualitative inquiry: What can qualitative researchers do to regain their post-paradigm-wars cache? How do we avoid distracting “science wars” in the future? We suggest that the strong tendency to narrow the research methods accepted as “scientific” – because they adopt quantitative perspectives and are presumed a priori to be more rigorous – has created an educationalese, a narrative of rigid categories that has not necessarily contributed to more effective or persuasive educational research. The article ends by suggesting that the use of “knowledge mobilization” strategies would help to strengthen qualitative research and educational research in general

Financial information and restructuring of spanish savings banks in a context of crisis. Changes in the regulation; content and evolution of FROB

The worsening of the financial crisis in September 2008, coinciding with the collapse of Lehman Brothers, set off unprecedented action in the European states to support the stability of their markets and financial institutions. Different forums asked for joint and faster implementation. This lead the Spanish authorities to take a series of measures. In the first part of this paper we make a theoretical review of previous studies at international level on early warning systems and about prediction of failure in the banking sector. No doubt it helps to situate and understand better the later Spanish analysis, why it is necessary and its development. We also analyze the evolution of the Spanish financial system between 2008-2011 with the focus on explaining the reform and restructuring of savings banks. Specifically, a study of the accounting and financial standards evolution is made, as well as an examination of the changes in banking regulations that emerged during this period and the role of the Banking Management Restructuring Fund (FROB) and the Institutional Protection Systems (SIP).FROB, SIP, banking regulation changes, early warning systems.

The EU strategy of policy convergence with its neighbours in the area of trade

The objective of this paper is to ascertain whether the EU is seeking policy convergence with its neighbours in the area of trade by means of EU regulations. For each trade- related topic, we carried out a content analysis of the available official documents to identify the model of relations that has been established between the EU and four neighbouring countries (Morocco, Algeria, Ukraine and Georgia). The findings indicate that Europeanization is the EU strategy in most cases. However, adaptation to European regulations is only a long-term aim. When international regulations exist in a specific area, the EU usually demands the internationalization of a countrys regulations as a first step. When there are no international regulations, the convergence process is established on the basis of bilaterally developed norms. EU strategy also varies depending on the country. Its relations with Algeria are the most particular. We conclude that the EU is promoting policy convergence with its neighbours in the area of trade mainly on the basis of international and bilaterally-developed regulations.normative power, eu neighbourhood policy, europeanization, eu trade relations

Social Norms and Behavior in the Local Commons Through the Lens of Field Experiments

Behavior in the local commons is usually embedded in a context of regulations and social norms that the group of users face. Such norms and rules affect how individuals value material and non-material incentives and therefore determine their decision to cooperate or over extract the resources from the common-pool. This paper discusses the importance of social norms in shaping behavior in the commons through the lens of experiments, and in particular experiments conducted in the field with people that usually face these social dilemmas in their daily life. Through a large sample of experimental sessions with around one thousand people between villagers and students, I test some hypothesis about behavior in the commons when regulations and social norms constrain the choices of people. The results suggest that people evaluate several components of the intrinsic and material motivations in their decision to cooperate. While responding in the expected direction to a imperfectly monitored fine on over extraction, the expected cost of the regulation is not a sufficient explanatory factor for the changes in behavior by the participants in the experiments. Even with zero cost of violations, people can respond positively to an external regulator that issues a normative statement about a rule that is aimed at solving the social dilemma.Key words: social norms, regulations, cooperation, collective action, common-pool resources, experiemental economics, field experiments

Obligation Norm Identification in Agent Societies

Most works on norms have investigated how norms are regulated using institutional mechanisms. Very few works have focused on how an agent may infer the norms of a society without the norm being explicitly given to the agent. This paper describes a mechanism for identifying one type of norm, an obligation norm. The Obligation Norm Inference (ONI) algorithm described in this paper makes use of an association rule mining approach to identify obligation norms. Using agent based simulation of a virtual restaurant we demonstrate how an agent can identify the tipping norm. The experiments that we have conducted demonstrate that an agent in the system is able to add, remove and modify norms dynamically. An agent can also flexibly modify the parameters of the system based on whether it is successful in identifying a norm.Norms, Social Norms, Obligations, Norm Identification, Agent-Based Simulation, Simulation of Norms, Artificial Societies, Normative Multi-Agent Systems (NorMAS)

From dangerous citizens to foreign criminals: effects on human rights and state sovereignty of recent international and European responses to the terrorist threat

The so-called “terrorist diaspora” of Foreign Terrorist Fighters (FTFs) to their countries of residence after the defeat of Daesh is a primary concern not only for European countries, but also for the international community as a whole. Some studies have been focused on the causes of this phenomenon and its effects. However, less attention has been paid to the effects of counter-terrorism measures. Since Resolution 1373, the United Nations Security Council has been developing a binding global framework against terrorism, and Resolution 2178 is the icing on this cake. This framework, accepted by many regional organizations such as the European Union and the Council of Europe, forces States to adopt measures against FTFs in areas of criminal, administrative and civil law. Firstly, these measures affect individuals because of the restrictions imposed on certain fundamental rights, such as privacy or freedom of movement. Secondly, a radical interpretation of these measures followed by its unilateral adoption can cause anarchy in the international relations between the States of origin of FTFs and the States of destination. For instance, measures preventing the movement of terrorists can be translated into the expulsion of residents or nationality deprivation, driving them to countries with less capabilities to deal with this risk. A strategy which, at the end, will increase instability in a globalised world. For these reasons, this paper proposes that the global and European frameworks against FTFs should be used as a tool to coordinate efforts, and not as a justification to defend short-term national security interests to the detriment of long-term international security.La denominada «diáspora» de combatientes terroristas extranjeros (CTE) a sus países de residencia tras la derrota del Daesh es una preocupación no sólo para los Estados europeos, sino también para la comunidad internacional en su conjunto. Varios estudios se han centrado en las causas de este fenómeno y sus efectos. Sin embargo, menos atención se ha prestado a los efectos de las medidas antiterroristas adoptadas. Desde la Resolución 1373, el Consejo de Seguridad de Naciones Unidas ha desarrollado un marco global de lucha contra el terrorismo, y la Resolución 2178 es la guinda de este papel. Este marco, aceptado por múltiples organizaciones regionales como la Unión Europea y el Consejo de Europa, obliga a los Estados a adoptar diversas medidas contra los CTE en materia de derecho penal, administrativo y civil. En primer lugar, estas medidas afectan a los individuos ya que imponen restricciones en ciertos derechos fundamentales, tales como el derecho a la libertad o a la libre circulación. En segundo lugar, una interpretación radical de estas medidas seguidas de una adopción unilateral puede causar la anarquía en las relaciones internacionales entre los Estados de origen de los CTE y los Estados de destino. Por ejemplo, las medidas que buscan prevenir la circulación de terroristas pueden traducirse en la expulsión de residentes o en la revocación de su nacionalidad, guiándolos hacia países con menos capacidades para lidiar con este riesgo. Una estrategia que, al final, incrementará la inestabilidad en un mundo globalizado. Por estas razones, este estudio propone que el marco global y europeo contra los CTE debe ser utilizado como una herramienta para coordinar esfuerzos, y no como una justificación para defender intereses de seguridad nacional a corto plazo en detrimento de la seguridad internacional a largo plazo

Bullying and school disruption assessment: studies with Portuguese adolescent students

Problem Statement: The question of bullying and school disruptive behavior has emerged as a powerful issue in Portuguese educational context. The lack of evaluation instruments, with studied psychometric characteristics, has constituted a problem. Purpose of Study: School disruption and bullying assessment, in Portuguese adolescents, was the focus of this research. Research Methods: The psychometric qualities — internal consistency and the external validity — were analyzed in different scales. Findings: The analyses carried out confirm the scales as reliable and valid instruments. Conclusions: These instruments may be a useful avenue for teachers, psychologists and other education professionals