Regional development and climate change adaptation: a study of the role of legitimacy

This paper presents results from a study of Czech Local Action Groups (LAGs), focusing on gaining knowledge about their internally perceived legitimacy and their potential role in local adaptation to climate change. Former studies on the role of governance networks in climate change adaptation have suggested that these networks' legitimacy are crucial for their success. In this article we provide an analytical framework that can be used to address different aspects of local governance networks which are important for their legitimacy and the way they are apt as instruments for climate change adaptation actions. We also present a survey among LAG members that provide empirical data that we discuss in the article. The framework and the data are discussed with reference to existing contributions in the intersection of legitimacy, governance networks and climate change adaptation. A specific aim is to provide research based recommendations for further improving LAGs as an adaptation instrument. In addition, knowledge is generated that will be interesting for further studies of similar local governance initiatives in the climate change adaptation context.Web of Science8322620

Organising Ethics: The Case of the Norwegian Army

This article shows how institutionalism, a theory in organisational social science, provides a model for diagnosing organisational challenges that influence the ethical practices and integration in the Norwegian Army. Institutionalism provides tools for analysing the differences between expressed values and actual practices and for understanding the organisational dynamics that unfold at the crossroads of the organisation's formal structure, informal culture and stakeholder relations. In this article we present and discuss such differences and dynamics in the Norwegian Army based on findings from a survey and a number of workshops. We also provide some suggestions for effective implementation of strategies for strengthening ethics in such an organisation. We argue that the perspective taken in this project is also relevant for other highly professionalised complex organisations and that such interdisciplinary research will strengthen practical ethics' potential for real impact

Are assessments responding to a dynamic environment? Evidence from four emerging techno-scientific domains

Assessments of emerging science and technologies can assist actors to anticipate and influence techno-scientific development. Although the importance of contextual factors in techno-scientific development has been stressed, the extent to which economic, societal and political trends are integrated into assessment practices is unknown. Focusing on a number of such trends, this paper shows that there are clear differences in how trends are being addressed in different techno-scientific domains. Maturity, developmental speed and societal awareness of techno-scientific domains, as well as associated impacts thereof, seem to influence the consideration of trends in assessments. Furthermore, both the extent and quality of trend reflection seem to be related to the methodological approaches applied in conducting assessments, including the use of participatory approaches, temporal orientations and the transparency of assessment processes in general

Kvinners deltakelse i samdrift

Landbruket er en mannsdominert næring, og vår undersøkelse viser at samdriftsetableringer har langt på vei forsterket dette mønsteret. Kvinner utgjør i dag ca. 14 prosent av det totale antallet bønder i Norge, fortrinnsvis på gårder under 200 dekar. Samdriftsetableringer har ikke hatt noen positiv effekt på kvinners deltakelse innenfor næringa. Tvert imot. Våre funn tyder på at samdriftsetableringen, og den spesialiseringen dette innebærer, reduserer kvinnenes deltakelse og dermed også innflytelse i landbruket. Formålet med prosjektet har vært å undersøke i hvilken grad kvinner deltar i samdriftsetablering, i drifta og om samdriftsorganisering bidrar til å øke likestillingen i landbruket. Hvordan virker samdriftsorganisering inn på kvinnenes deltakelse og likestillingen i landbruket? Det ble gjennomført en spørreundersøkelse blant et utvalg av samdriftsbønder om deres og deres partneres arbeidsinnsats før og etter samdriftsetablering, om arbeidsmengde, eierskap og andeler, prosessen om samdriftsetableringa og hvilke oppgaver de utfører i drifta. Ved de aller fleste spørsmålene vi har undersøkt er det kjønn som er den sentrale variabelen. Menn, enten de er odelspersoner eller partner til odelsperson, deltar i betydelig større grad i etableringen av og arbeidet med samdriftene enn sine kvinnelige kollegaer. Kvinner, enten de odelspersoner eller partner til odelsperson, deltar systematisk mindre i samdrifta enn sine mannlige kollegaer. Dette er uavhengig om kvinnene er odelspersoner eller partner til odelspersoner. […]publishedVersio

Joint declaration on mainstreaming RRI across Horizon Europe

Leading RRI researchers and practitioners, together with policymakers and stakeholder organisations, discussed the state-of-the-art and future perspectives for RRI at the ‘Pathways to Transformation’ conference in June 2019, an event which was extended beyond Brussels, for instance by ca. 330 original tweets and ca. 840 retweets from ca. 160 unique accounts. In the conference, many participants expressed their concern about an uncertain future for RRI in the EC. As a result, numerous large-scale EU-funded RRI projects signed a Joint Declaration, urging the European Commission to make RRI a key objective of the upcoming framework programme, Horizon Europe – a plea to both mainstream the approach across the programme and provide specific resources for strengthening the RRI knowledge base. As the Horizon Europe programme is being forged, it is timely to present the Declaration for a broader audience

Principles of animal ethics in Scandinavian animal welfare legislation and governance

This report is written at the request of the Athena Institute at the Free University of Amsterdam and describes how principles of animal ethics are expressed in the legislation and in the governance system in Scandinavia. The task had four elements: 1) Is there a set of normative principles that can structure the entire animal welfare discourse? 2) If so, how are these principles positioned in national legislation on animal welfare? 3) What types of governance instruments and structures have been erected to guarantee that these ethical principles are applied and implemented in various animal practices? 4) How do these governance instruments function in practice? What are explanatory reasons of good or bad functioning? Laboratory animal use was not to be discussed in this report