1,019 research outputs found
To make the dominoes fall: A relational-processual approach to societal accountability in the Italian and Spanish anti-corruption arenas
In che modo le organizzazioni della società civile (OSC) contribuiscono alla lotta contro la corruzione? Come possono responsabilizzare i rappresentanti politici? La presente tesi si propone di rispondere a queste a queste domande di ricerca, unendo gli studi sulla lotta alla corruzione a quelli sui movimenti sociali e concentrandosi sul concetto di societal accountability, cioè sui meccanismi di controllo e di sanzione dei rappresentanti pubblici. Negli ultimi anni, gli studiosi della corruzione hanno enfatizzato sempre più il ruolo della società civile come antidoto contro la corruzione, a complemento dei meccanismi di accountability statali ed elettorali. Tuttavia, gli studi empirici sugli effetti anticorruzione degli interventi civici non hanno ancora prodotto risultati coerenti. Questo non dovrebbe sorprendere. Se misurare la corruzione è un compito arduo, valutare se e quanto gli scambi corruttivi vengano impediti grazie alle iniziative della società civile sembra virtualmente impossibile. Per questo motivo, il presente lavoro fa un passo indietro e problematizza lo studio della societal accountability, affrontandola non come un insieme predefinito di meccanismi o pratiche messe in atto da attori civici anticorruzione, ma come il risultato di interazioni sostenute e conflittuali tra più attori, civici e non. Per fare ciò, lo studio si ispira alle teorie dei movimenti sociali e concettualizza la societal accountability come un insieme di conseguenze dell’azione collettiva. Pertanto, questo lavoro mira a capire come e in quali condizioni le iniziative anticorruzione dal basso raggiungano risultati di accountability, quali il passaggio di nuove norme, il miglioramento dell’answerability istituzionale e potenziale sanzionatorio. Con questo obiettivo, la tesi si basa sulle evidenze esistenti negli studi sulla corruzione e sull'accountability e contribuisce ai dibattiti in corso sulle conseguenze dell'azione collettiva. Il quadro teorico si concentra sul concetto di influenza, aderendo a un approccio processuale-relazionale. L'influenza è intesa come un'istanza di causalità relazionale, una forma di potere posizionale che consente a più attori di esercitare un controllo sulle conseguenze dell’azione collettiva. Facendo da ponte tra l'approccio strategico-interazionale e i modelli di mediazione, l'analisi chiarisce le strategie seguite dalle OSC nella ricerca di posizioni di influenza, così come i meccanismi attraverso i quali i modelli relazionali producono cambiamento sociale. Il quadro analitico è applicato alle arene anticorruzione in Italia e in Spagna e si restringe a tre specifiche aree di intervento: l'introduzione di leggi sulla trasparenza, l'approvazione di leggi per la protezione dei whistleblower e lo sviluppo di progetti di monitoraggio civico. Il materiale empirico comprende 37 interviste qualitative semi-strutturate, documenti e dati network. Nel complesso, le evidenze raccolte contribuiscono alla letteratura sulla lotta alla corruzione, dimostrando che le OSC contribuiscono, direttamente e indirettamente, alla lotta contro la corruzione ottenendo cambiamenti nelle politiche, aumentando l’answerability del sistema e innescando sanzioni formali e informali quando necessario. Tuttavia, l’analisi comparata dei casi italiano e spagnolo evidenziano differenze rilevanti. In particolare, l'indagine empirica contribuisce agli attuali dibattiti sullo studio della società della social accountability, dimostrando che l'integrazione con le élite politiche può aumentare la probabilità di ottenere di ottenere un cambiamento delle politiche, mentre l'integrazione orizzontale tra gli attori civici può aumentare il loro potenziale sanzionatorio. In definitiva, questo lavoro dimostra come gli approcci processuali-relazionali possano integrare modelli strategici e di mediazione per comprendere meglio il modo in cui gli attori collettivi influenzano il cambiamento politico e sociale. Le osservazioni conclusive sostengono che le interazioni e le relazioni costruite dagli attori nel corso del tempo e in diverse arene fungono da canali di mediazione a livello micro, meso e macro. Complessivamente, ciò dimostra che i singoli attori, i modelli di relazione nelle e tra le arene e le idee sulle relazioni mediano tra le strategie dei attori collettivi, aumentando o limitando così la loro influenza sulla lotta alla corruzione.How do civil society organizations (CSOs) contribute to the struggle against public corruption? How can they hold their political representatives accountable? This thesis aims to answer these wide-ranging research questions, bridging anti-corruption and social movement studies by focusing on societal accountability, i.e., grassroots mechanisms for controlling and sanctioning powerholders. Over the last few years, corruption scholars have increasingly emphasized the role of civil society as an antidote against corruption, complementing state and electoral accountability mechanisms. However, empirical studies on the anti-corruption effects of civic interventions have yet to yield consistent results. This should hardly come as a surprise. If measuring corruption is a challenging task, assessing the extent to which corrupt deals are prevented due to civil society initiatives appears virtually impossible. Hence, this work takes a step back and problematizes the study of societal accountability, approaching it not as a pre-given set of mechanisms or practices deployed by anti-corruption civic actors but as the result of sustained and contentious interactions between multiple players. To do so, the study draws on social movement theories and conceptualizes societal accountability as a set of consequences of collective action efforts. Therefore, this work aims to understand how and under what conditions bottom-up anti-corruption initiatives achieve accountability results such as legal claim attainments, answerability, and sanctioning potential. With this goal in mind, the thesis builds upon existing evidence from corruption and accountability studies and contributes to ongoing debates on the consequences of collective action. The theoretical framework focuses on the concept of influence, subscribing to a processual-relational approach. It understands influence as a relationally emergent instance of causality, a form of positional power that enables multiple players to exert control over the consequences of collective struggles. By bridging the strategic-interaction approach and mediation models; the analysis elucidates the strategies followed by CSOs in seeking positions of influence, as well as the mechanisms through which relational patterns produce social change. The analytical framework is applied to the anti-corruption arenas in Italy and Spain and is narrowed down by focusing on three specific campaigns in each country: introducing transparency laws, passing whistleblowers' protection acts, and developing civic monitoring projects. The empirical material comprises 37 semi-structured qualitative interviews, documents, and network data retrieved through Action Organization Analysis. The corpus of data is analyzed by combining thematic analysis, frame analysis, and a theory-building process tracing through a qualitative network approach. Overall, the evidence collected contributes to the literature on anti-corruption, demonstrating that CSOs, directly and indirectly, contribute to the anti-corruption struggle by achieving policy change, increasing the system's answerability, and triggering formal and informal sanctions when necessary. However, the Italian and Spanish cases' comparative accounts highlight relevant differences. In particular, the empirical investigation contributes to current debates on the study of societal accountability, showing that integration with political elites may increase the likelihood of obtaining policy change, whereas horizontal integration among civic actors may enhance their sanctioning potential. Ultimately, this work shows how processual-relational approaches can help integrate strategic and mediation models to understand better how change-oriented collective actors influence political and social change. The concluding remarks maintain that the interactions and relations built by players over time and across different arenas serve as mediation channels at the micro-, meso-, and macro-levels. Overall, this demonstrates that individual players, patterns of relations in and across arenas, and ideas about relationships mediate between players' strategies, resources, or frames and their contextual conditions, thereby increasing or constraining their influence over the anti-corruption struggl
Relatively Absolute : Relative and Absolute Chronologies in the Neolithic of Southeast Europe
Зборник радова на тему апсолутне и релативне хронологије неолитског периода у југоисточној Европи. Географски покрива области од Грчке до Хрватске, а хронолошки период између 7000 и 4500 године пре нове ере. У зборнику су приказани најновији приступи и резултати радиокарбонских анализа и статистички и типолошки модели који побољшавају прецизност резултата
2017 GREAT Day Program
SUNY Geneseo’s Eleventh Annual GREAT Day.https://knightscholar.geneseo.edu/program-2007/1011/thumbnail.jp
Integrating ecosystem–based management and marine spatial planning for sustainable ocean governance in the Bay of Bengal
In the contemporary world, oceans are increasingly realized as ‘threatened places’ in need of environmental protection, at risk from pollution, habitat loss, and overfishing. On the other hand, nations around the world are turning their attention to oceans as a new source of economic development and growth, seeing them as ‘industrialized spaces’. The concept of integrating Ecosystem-Based Management (EBM) and Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) is a new approach for sustainable Ocean Governance (SOG). As an effective strategic tool for planning and managing conflicting ocean uses and their interactions with marine ecosystems, the EBM-MSP approach creates an opportunity for long-term development in relation to ocean and its resources. This thesis scrutinizes the contemporary concepts, definitions, and approaches pertinent to the establishment of a comprehensive Ecosystem-based Management and Marine Spatial Planning (EBM-MSP) framework for Sustainable Ocean Governance that reflects global and regional standards. The study also analyses various scientific data – especially the pollutants’ concentration at spatial and temporal scales – with special reference to EBM-MSP. The research analyses international laws, declarations, conventions, and agreements that are relevant to the proposition of a new dynamic approach to SOG based on EBM-MSP. This new approach could be useful to support necessary reforms, filling gaps in legal regimes and achieving integrated and effective ocean governance mechanisms to prevent, reduce, and control pollution in the marine environment, as well as promoting sustainable exploration of marine resources. Specifically, the research critically analyses the existing legal frameworks in relation to SOG in the Bay of Bengal (BOB). Based on an analysis of sectoral legislation and institutional arrangements in the BOB, the thesis recommends the modification and adoption of legislation, as well as integration among the relevant departments of Bangladesh Government, to match transboundary SOG, particularly along with EBM-MSP development processes. The study focuses on national policies and strategies along with sectoral legislation and institutional arrangements to contribute towards EBM-MSP at national level for SOG, by considering socioeconomic balance and jurisdictional overlays. Based on experiences in the Baltic Sea, Mediterranean Sea, and Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (GBRMP), the research determines numerous key features to assist with the generation and application of EBM-MSP in the BOB region, specifically in Bangladesh, by integrating EBM-MSP with particular reference to a Comprehensive Ocean Zoning (COZ). The substantial outcome of the study is to suggest a COZ Framework for Bangladesh to protect priority seascapes and sites, species of special concern, and their critical habitats, by designing Marine Protected Area networks throughout the transboundary coast
Modern meat: the next generation of meat from cells
Modern Meat is the first textbook on cultivated meat, with contributions from over 100 experts within the cultivated meat community.
The Sections of Modern Meat comprise 5 broad categories of cultivated meat: Context, Impact, Science, Society, and World.
The 19 chapters of Modern Meat, spread across these 5 sections, provide detailed entries on cultivated meat. They extensively tour a range of topics including the impact of cultivated meat on humans and animals, the bioprocess of cultivated meat production, how cultivated meat may become a food option in Space and on Mars, and how cultivated meat may impact the economy, culture, and tradition of Asia
Data ethics : building trust : how digital technologies can serve humanity
Data is the magic word of the 21st century. As oil in the 20th century and electricity in the 19th century:
For citizens, data means support in daily life in almost all activities, from watch to laptop, from kitchen to car,
from mobile phone to politics. For business and politics, data means power, dominance, winning the race. Data can be used for good and bad,
for services and hacking, for medicine and arms race. How can we build trust in this complex and ambiguous data world?
How can digital technologies serve humanity? The 45 articles in this book represent a broad range of ethical reflections and recommendations
in eight sections: a) Values, Trust and Law, b) AI, Robots and Humans, c) Health and Neuroscience, d) Religions for Digital Justice, e) Farming, Business, Finance, f) Security, War, Peace, g) Data Governance, Geopolitics, h) Media, Education, Communication.
The authors and institutions come from all continents.
The book serves as reading material for teachers, students, policy makers, politicians, business, hospitals, NGOs and religious organisations alike. It is an invitation for dialogue, debate and building trust!
The book is a continuation of the volume “Cyber Ethics 4.0” published in 2018 by the same editors
Economic and Social Consequences of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Energy Sector
The purpose of the Special Issue was to collect the results of research and experience on the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic for the energy sector and the energy market, broadly understood, that were visible after a year. In particular, the impact of COVID-19 on the energy sector in the EU, including Poland, and the US was examined. The topics concerned various issues, e.g., the situation of energy companies, including those listed on the stock exchange, mining companies, and those dealing with renewable energy. The topics related to the development of electromobility, managerial competences, energy expenditure of local government units, sustainable development of energy, and energy poverty during a pandemic were also discussed
Examining the Relationships Between Distance Education Students’ Self-Efficacy and Their Achievement
This study aimed to examine the relationships between students’ self-efficacy (SSE) and students’ achievement (SA) in distance education. The instruments were administered to 100 undergraduate students in a distance university who work as migrant workers in Taiwan to gather data, while their SA scores were obtained from the university. The semi-structured interviews for 8 participants consisted of questions that showed the specific conditions of SSE and SA. The findings of this study were reported as follows: There was a significantly positive correlation between targeted SSE (overall scales and general self-efficacy) and SA. Targeted students' self-efficacy effectively predicted their achievement; besides, general self- efficacy had the most significant influence. In the qualitative findings, four themes were extracted for those students with lower self-efficacy but higher achievement—physical and emotional condition, teaching and learning strategy, positive social interaction, and intrinsic motivation. Moreover, three themes were extracted for those students with moderate or higher self-efficacy but lower achievement—more time for leisure (not hard-working), less social interaction, and external excuses. Providing effective learning environments, social interactions, and teaching and learning strategies are suggested in distance education
2015 GREAT Day Program
SUNY Geneseo’s Ninth Annual GREAT Day.https://knightscholar.geneseo.edu/program-2007/1009/thumbnail.jp
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