113 research outputs found

    The Politics of Austerity and Public Policy Reform in the EU

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    Cataloged from PDF version of article.The European Union (EU) is at a critical juncture that will either trigger further integration or reinforce a mode of intergovernmental cooperation. The spread of market pressure to a growing number of states demonstrates that the crisis needs to be dealt with at the European and not just the national level. Up to now the 'politics of extreme austerity' has been the mainstream recipe promoted to and adopted by member states. The measures are tougher in those countries where there has been external financial assistance (i.e. Greece, Portugal and Ireland) but the rest of Europe is following suit (e.g. Italy and the UK). This introduction outlines the key directions of EU reforms to put into context the more specific cases discussed elsewhere in this symposium. The strengths and weaknesses of the theoretical frameworks employed in the articles are discussed to demonstrate the lessons that the crisis offers for our well-established public policy models and to highlight avenues for further research. Two main arguments are advanced: first, the crisis calls for an interdisciplinary approach to comprehend its full extent and deal with it efficiently; and second, the current political trajectory of the EU calls for urgent changes to strengthen its cohesion and long-term viability. © 2014 Political Studies Association

    Analysing Crisis Parliamentary Discourse in Greece: Whom Should We Blame?

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    This article analyses differences in the varieties of political rhetoric on structuring and legitimizing argumentation and strategies during periods of economic and political crisis. Driven by developments in theory about blame‐shifting and the exogenization of the causes of crisis as well as employing advanced techniques of analysis, it focuses on the parliamentary bailout debates in Greece during the crisis period (2009–2015). By means of computer‐assisted content analysis it analyses the content of arguments on blame‐shifting. It shows that blame‐shifting is much more complex that just blaming the external enemy and often takes the form of historical blame‐shifting, turning the blame onto previous governments. It reveals that party leaders often use a much more polemic discourse than members of parliament. Finally, it shows that blame‐shifting diminishes once a party comes to power, following arguments on representative versus responsible government.The Institutions of Politics; Design, Workings, and implications ( do not use, ended 1-1-2020

    Globalisation and/or Europeanisation? The Case of Flexicurity

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    The relationship between globalisation and Europeanisation is conventionally studied by focusing on the domestic level. In this article we explore this relationship at the international level instead. We examine the way in which the two phenomena in the form of the ILO and the EU relate to one another. Adopting a discursive institutionalist approach and focusing on flexicurity, we investigate whether, how and under what conditions the discourse on flexicurity provides a point of convergence or divergence between globalisation and Europeanisation. Our empirical data reveals attempts by the European Commission to use globalisation as a legitimating device for a market-accommodating programme for labour market reform. The ILO remains more sceptical, both about the overall effects of globalisation and the more concrete uses of flexicurity. Meanwhile, the concept of flexicurity is subject to change and rearticulation in line with the evolving policy agenda endorsed by the Commission and/or the member states. The relationship between Europe and globalisation is thus far from neutral. 'Europe' is active in shaping globalisation; translated into the work undertaken here, Europeanisation could be conceived as a facet of globalisation rather than as a bulwark to it, or merely as a process running parallel to it. © 2013 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC

    Road traffic accident hotspot identification using modified Voronoi Process

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    The Information Communication Technology (ICT) tools such as Geographical Information Systems (GIS) technology have a number of applications including road safety analysis. Hence it has provided a powerful tool for developing reliable database which can be used in the analysis of road accident data. This paper presents such a development of road traffic accident hotspots identification technique along a road using a Modified Voronoi Process (MVP) technique developed by the authors. This was facilitated by the development of GISbased road accident database. Three consecutive years’ data on Gadong road were acquired and used in the study. The analysis incorporated the computation of hotspot zone dimension (HZD) that led to the definition of a Road traffic Accident (RTA) hotspot for Brunei. Such ICT applications were nonexistent in Brunei Darussalam and this research has shown the potential of this technique and the consequent tangible benefit that will facilitate the Brunei Road Department in their effort to carry out road maintenance program for the national road network. The application of this technique has already contributed to the work in road safety inspection of the current road network and is being used as a future tool for assessing the road safety level of an individual road with time and between two or more road

    Brazilian Think Tanks and the Rise of Austerity Discourse

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    This article discusses the role of think tanks in the production of ideas guiding recent change in Brazil’s economic policy. It claims that think tanks are significant policy-making agents preparing the society for change – via their communicative discourse – but also attempting to influence the interaction between political elites – via their coordinative discourse. The polarization of think tanks’ communicative discourse in regard to austerity during two critical junctures for Brazil is analysed. Discursive institutionalism is applied in order to interpret data from four Brazilian think tanks: the Institute of Applied Economic Research, the Inter-Union Department of Statistics and Socioeconomic Studies, the Fernand Braudel Institute and the Brazilian Institute of Economy. These think tanks have very different organizational and ideological characteristics but a polarization of the discussion around austerity can be observed in the discourse of all four of them. The scale ranges from an active defence of the Brazilian development model to a full-scale endorsement of austerity

    Ekstrak Kedelai Detam 1, Daun Jati Belanda Serta Kombinasinya Terhadap Berat Badan Dan Histopatologis Hepar Tikus Wistar

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    Latar Belakang Biji kedelai Detam 1 dan daun jati Belanda berefek menghambat kenaikan berat badan, akan tetapi dikhawatirkan mempengaruhi organ hepar. Tujuan penelitian Tujuan penelitian untuk mengetahui efek ekstrak etanol biji kedelai Detam 1 (EEKD), ekstrak etanol daun jati Belanda (EEJB) dan kombinasinya terhadap penghambatan kenaikan berat badan dan gambaran histopatologis hepar pada tikus Wistar yang diberi pakan tinggi lemak (PTL). Metode penelitian Penelitian merupakan eksperimental laboratorium dengan rancangan acak lengkap bersifat komparatif. Sebanyak 40 ekor tikus Wistar jantan dibagi secara acak menjadi 8 kelompok perlakuan, masing masing terdiri dari 5 ekor. Selanjutnya diberi perlakuan selama 28 hari, semua kelompok kecuali kelompok kontrol negatif (KN), tetap diberi PTL. Pada hari ke-29, seluruh tikus dikorbankan dan semua hepar tikus, kecuali kelompok Orlistat (K6), dibuat sediaan histopatologis dengan pewarnaan Haematoxylin Eosin (HE). Hasil Penghambatan kenaikan berat badan terjadi pada semua kelompok perlakuan, kelompok K3 (EEKD 10 mg : EEJB 20 mg) menunjukkan penghambatan kenaikan berat badan yang paling baik dan potensinya setara dengan kontrol positip (KP) atau Orlistat. Pada semua kelompok perlakuan (K1, K2, K3, K4 dan K5) terjadi Perubahan struktur arsitektur dan inflamasi di daerah portal namun tidak menyebabkan bengkak keruh dan degenerasi lemak. Kesimpulan: Pemberian kombinasi EEKD 10 mg : EEJB 20 mg menunjukkan penghambatan kenaikan berat badan yang paling baik. EEJB sediaan tunggal menyebabkan Perubahan gambaran histopatologis hepar paling buruk pada tikus Wistar jantan yang diinduksi pakan tinggi lemak

    Barriers to women entering surgical careers: a global study into medical student perceptions

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    Background Barriers to female surgeons entering the field are well documented in Australia, the USA and the UK, but how generalizable these problems are to other regions remains unknown. Methods A cross-sectional survey was developed by the International Federation of Medical Students' Associations (IFMSA)'s Global Surgery Working Group assessing medical students' desire to pursue a surgical career at different stages of their medical degree. The questionnaire also included questions on students' perceptions of their education, resources and professional life. The survey was distributed via IFMSA mailing lists, conferences and social media. Univariate analysis was performed, and statistically significant exposures were added to a multivariate model. This model was then tested in male and female medical students, before a further subset analysis by country World Bank income strata. Results 639 medical students from 75 countries completed the survey. Mentorship [OR 3.42 (CI 2.29–5.12) p = 0.00], the acute element of the surgical specialties [OR 2.22 (CI 1.49–3.29) p = 0.00], academic competitiveness [OR 1.61 (CI 1.07–2.42) p = 0.02] and being from a high or upper-middle-income country (HIC and UMIC) [OR 1.56 (CI 1.021–2.369) p = 0.04] all increased likelihood to be considering a surgical career, whereas perceived access to postgraduate training [OR 0.63 (CI 0.417–0.943) p = 0.03], increased year of study [OR 0.68 (CI 0.57–0.81) p = 0.00] and perceived heavy workload [OR 0.47 (CI 0.31–0.73) p = 0.00] all decreased likelihood to consider a surgical career. Perceived quality of surgical teaching and quality of surgical services in country overall did not affect students' decision to pursue surgery. On subset analysis, perceived poor access to postgraduate training made women 60% less likely to consider a surgical career [OR 0.381 (CI 0.217–0.671) p = 0.00], whilst not showing an effect in the men [OR 1.13 (CI 0.61–2.12) p = 0.70. Concerns about high cost of training halve the likelihood of students from low and low-middle-income countries (LICs and LMICs) considering a surgical career [OR 0.45 (CI 0.25–0.82) p = 0.00] whilst not demonstrating a significant relationship in HIC or UMIC countries. Women from LICs and LMICs were 40% less likely to consider surgical careers than men, when controlling for other factors [OR 0.59 CI (0.342–1.01 p = 0.053]. Conclusion Perceived poor access to postgraduate training and heavy workload dissuade students worldwide from considering surgical careers. Postgraduate training in particular appears to be most significant for women and cost of training an additional factor in both women and men from LMICs and LICs. Mentorship remains an important and modifiable factor in influencing student's decision to pursue surgery. Quality of surgical education showed no effect on student decision-making

    Recycling bins, garbage cans or think tanks? Three myths regarding policy analysis institutes

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    The phrase 'think tank' has become ubiquitous – overworked and underspecified – in the political lexicon. It is entrenched in scholarly discussions of public policy as well as in the 'policy wonk' of journalists, lobbyists and spin-doctors. This does not mean that there is an agreed definition of think tank or consensual understanding of their roles and functions. Nevertheless, the majority of organizations with this label undertake policy research of some kind. The idea of think tanks as a research communication 'bridge' presupposes that there are discernible boundaries between (social) science and policy. This paper will investigate some of these boundaries. The frontiers are not only organizational and legal; they also exist in how the 'public interest' is conceived by these bodies and their financiers. Moreover, the social interactions and exchanges involved in 'bridging', themselves muddy the conception of 'boundary', allowing for analysis to go beyond the dualism imposed in seeing science on one side of the bridge, and the state on the other, to address the complex relations between experts and public policy

    The impact of negative selection on thymocyte migration in the medulla

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    Developing thymocytes are screened for self-reactivity before they exit the thymus, but how thymocytes scan the medulla for self antigens is unclear. Using two-photon microscopy, we observed that medullary thymocytes migrated rapidly and made frequent, transient contacts with dendritic cells. In the presence of a negative selecting ligand, thymocytes slowed, became confined to areas of approximately 30 mum in diameter and had increased contact with dendritic cells surrounding confinement zones. One third of polyclonal medullary thymocytes also showed confined, slower migration and may correspond to autoreactive thymocytes. Our data suggest that many autoreactive thymocytes do not undergo immediate arrest and death after encountering a negative selecting ligand but instead adopt an altered migration program while remaining in the medullary microenvironment

    Global public policy, transnational policy communities, and their networks

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    Public policy has been a prisoner of the word "state." Yet, the state is reconfigured by globalization. Through "global public–private partnerships" and "transnational executive networks," new forms of authority are emerging through global and regional policy processes that coexist alongside nation-state policy processes. Accordingly, this article asks what is "global public policy"? The first part of the article identifies new public spaces where global policies occur. These spaces are multiple in character and variety and will be collectively referred to as the "global agora." The second section adapts the conventional policy cycle heuristic by conceptually stretching it to the global and regional levels to reveal the higher degree of pluralization of actors and multiple-authority structures than is the case at national levels. The third section asks: who is involved in the delivery of global public policy? The focus is on transnational policy communities. The global agora is a public space of policymaking and administration, although it is one where authority is more diffuse, decision making is dispersed and sovereignty muddled. Trapped by methodological nationalism and an intellectual agoraphobia of globalization, public policy scholars have yet to examine fully global policy processes and new managerial modes of transnational public administration
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