172 research outputs found
The modalities of Iranian soft power: from cultural diplomacy to soft war
Through exploring Iran's public diplomacy at the international level, this article demonstrates how the Islamic Republic's motives should not only be contextualised within the oft-sensationalised, material or âhardâ aspects of its foreign policy, but also within the desire to project its cultural reach through âsofterâ means. Iran's utilisation of culturally defined foreign policy objectives and actions demonstrates its understanding of soft power's potentialities. This article explores the ways in which Iran's public diplomacy is used to promote its soft power and craft its, at times, shifting image on the world stage
Effects of coastal acidification on North Atlantic bivalves: Interpreting laboratory responses in the context of in situ populations
Experimental exposure of early life stage bivalves has documented negative effects of elevated pCO2 on survival and growth, but the population consequences of these effects are unknown. We substituted laboratory responses into baseline population models of northern quahog Mercenaria mercenaria and bay scallop Argopecten irradians. The models were constructed using inverse demography with time series of size-structured field data from New York, USA, whereas the stress-response relationships were developed using data from published laboratory studies. We used stochastic projections and diffusion approximations of extinction probability to estimate cumulative risk of 50% population decline during 5 yr projections at pCO2 levels of 400, 800, and 1200 ÎŒatm. Although the A. irradians field population exhibited higher growth (12% yr-1) than the declining M. mercenaria population (-8% yr-1), cumulative risk was higher due to variance in the stochastic growth rate estimate (log λs = -0.02, Ï2 = 0.24). This 5 yr risk increased from 56% at 400 ÎŒatm to 99 and >99% at 800 and 1200 ÎŒatm, respectively. For M. mercenaria (log λs = -0.09, Ï2 = 0.01), 5 yr risk was 25, 79, and 97% at 400, 800, and 1200 ÎŒatm, respectively. These estimates could be improved with detailed consideration of harvest, disease, restocking, compensatory re sponses, and interactions between these and other effects. However, results clearly indicate that early life stage responses to plausible levels of pCO2 enrichment have the potential to cause significant increases in risk to these marine bivalve populations
Effects of macroscopic polarization in III-V nitride multi-quantum-wells
Huge built-in electric fields have been predicted to exist in wurtzite III-V
nitrides thin films and multilayers. Such fields originate from heterointerface
discontinuities of the macroscopic bulk polarization of the nitrides. Here we
discuss the background theory, the role of spontaneous polarization in this
context, and the practical implications of built-in polarization fields in
nitride nanostructures. To support our arguments, we present detailed
self-consistent tight-binding simulations of typical nitride QW structures in
which polarization effects are dominant.Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures, uses revtex/epsf. submitted to PR
Sports Mega-Events, Soft Power and Soft Disempowerment: international supportersâ perspectives on Qatarâs acquisition of the 2022 FIFA World Cup finals
Through conducting document analysis, field work, and semi-structured interviews at five major tournaments in Asia, North America, Europe and South America, the paper examines the perspectives of international football supporters on the FĂ©dĂ©ration Internationale de Football Associationâs (FIFA) decision to award the 2022 World Cup finals to the State of Qatar. The paper is separated into five sections. First we ground Qatarâs sporting strategy within the concept of âsoft powerâ, as well as pinpoint the negative consequences that have manifest since the stateâs acquisition of the 2022 finals. Second, we disclose and defend our chosen data collection strategy. Third, we uncover and discuss our results with reference to three key themes: the stateâs suitability as a football destination; the dubious awarding of the 2022 World Cup; and, Qatarâs cultural backdrop and domestic policies. Fourth, we align our findings to Qatarâs foreign policy intentions and âsoft disempowermentâ consequences, locating in the process the opportunities and challenges that accompany the stateâs hosting of the 2022 finals. We conclude by reflecting upon the contribution we have made here, as well as acknowledging the importance of Qatar for current and future sports mega-event research
Trust in the public sector: Is there any evidence for a long-term decline?
Concerns with declining public trust in government have become a permanent element of the contemporary political discourse. This concern also extends to levels of citizensâ trust in the public administration and public services. Trust is said to be declining, and this decline is generally seen as detrimental to public service delivery. In this article, we examine the main elements in this discussion, review the existing international survey data and summarise the main findings for OECD countries. Citizensâ trust in the public sector is found to fluctuate, and the data generally do not show consistently declining levels of trust. Furthermore, in some countries there simply is insufficient data to come to any conclusions at all about time trends in citizen trust in the public sector.
Points for practitioners
This article summarises some of the survey material on citizensâ trust in the public administration. It allows practitioners to compare trends in public trust in their country across time and space. The findings lead us to reject the hypothesis of a universal decline of trust in the public sector. The article warns against using opinion poll results without considering context. The long-term and comparative perspective on citizensâ trust in the public sector is all too often absent from the policy discourse that is frequently based on assumptions and ad-hoc approaches
Innovative solutions to novel drug development in mental health
There are many new advances in neuroscience and mental health which should lead to a greater understanding of the neurobiological dysfunction in neuropsychiatric disorders and new developments for early, effective treatments. To do this, a biomarker approach combining genetic, neuroimaging, cognitive and other biological measures is needed. The aim of this article is to highlight novel approaches for pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment development. This article suggests approaches that can be taken in the future including novel mechanisms with preliminary clinical validation to provide a toolbox for mechanistic studies and also examples of translation and back-translation. The review also emphasizes the need for clinician-scientists to be trained in a novel way in order to equip them with the conceptual and experimental techniques required, and emphasizes the need for private-public partnership and pre-competitive knowledge exchange. This should lead the way for important new holistic treatment developments to improve cognition, functional outcome and well-being of people with neuropsychiatric disorders
âThis townâs a different town todayâ:: Policing and regulating the night-time economy
This article considers recent policing and regulatory responses to the night-time economy in England and Wales. Drawing upon the findings of a broader two-year qualitative investigation of local and national developments in alcohol policy, it identifies a dramatic acceleration of statutory activity, with 12 new or revised powers, and several more in prospect, introduced by the Labour Government within its first decade in office. Interview data and documentary sources are used to explore the degree to which the introduction of such powers, often accompanied by forceful rhetoric and high profile police action, has translated into a sustained expansion of control. Many of the new powers are spatially directed, as well as being focused upon the actions of distinct individuals or businesses, yet the willingness and capacity to apply powers to offending individuals in comparison to businesses is often variable and asymmetrical. The practice of negotiating order in the night-time economy is riddled with tensions and ambiguities that reflect the ad hoc nature and rapid escalation of the regulatory architecture. Night-time urban security governance is understood as the outcome of subtle organizational and interpersonal power-plays. Social orders, normative schemas and apportionments of blame thus arise as a byproduct of patterned (structural) relations
Journalism, public imagination and cultural policy
Although the phrase 'cultural policy' would rarely form on journalists' lips, the cultural results of journalism permeate national imaginations in the totality of their impressions, through processes of persuasion set-up within an apparent framework of choice. Problematic cultural effects are produced through the mechanisms of gigantic markets whose very randomness seduces observers into believing that they are protected from conspiracy and manipulation. The paper explores certain mystifications within the ethos of mass market journalism, whose professional techniques beguile both producers and public in the way they suppress criticism or sympathy, and eradicate all but populist positions. The paper contends that many journalists are fuelled by an ethos of puritanical anti-intellectualism. These themes are pursued by deconstructing some of the 'professional' codes in journalism and its didactic literature, in order to expose a mechanism for channelling public mentality that is condoned through the anti-intellectualism of its techniques. The paper analyses media texts and processes of journalistic enculturation, engaging broadly with discourses inspired by the Frankfurt School and ideas of hegemony refined by Gramsci
- âŠ