Suchergebnisse

This article provides an introduction to an international study of religion on an 'ordinary day' in the news. Taking as its sample newspapers in the UK, Finland, Australia and Canada on 17 September in 2013, 2014 and 2015, the study aimed to provide a systematic analysis of ordinary or everyday coverage of religion in the news, providing an important contribution to research on religion in media, which tends to focus on specific events and controversies. Using both quantitative and qualitative methods to examine global, national and local stories about conventional, common religion and the secular sacred, the study also provides insights into conducting multi-national and interdisciplinary projects. While the findings demonstrate a fairly standardized representation of religion in mainstream news, with cultural Christianity dominating, the varying national and political contexts throw up some interesting specificities relating to increasing diversity and secularization experienced within wider processes of globalization.

Die Autoren gehen der Frage nach, inwieweit die Fördermaßnahme "Internationalisierung von Spitzenclustern, Zukunftsprojekten und vergleichbaren Netzwerken" (InterSpiN) geeignet ist, die technologische Wettbewerbsfähigkeit Deutschlands auf den Weltmärkten zu erhöhen und wie eine höchstmögliche Effizienz der Maßnahme erreicht werden kann. Sie kommen zu dem Ergebnis, dass InterSpiN vom Grundsatz her geeignet ist, die gesetzten Ziele zu erreichen. Der langfristige Internationalisierungserfolg hängt jedoch stark von den Aktivitäten der Akteure vor Ort ab und dürfte sich daher von Region zu Region stark unterscheiden. ; The authors analyze whether the German initiative "InterSpiN" is an appropriate policy tool to enhance Germany's technological competitiveness by fostering a stronger connection of high-technology regions with international partner regions. At the same time they discuss the long-run success and the sustainability of this type of internationalization strategies. They conclude that InterSpiN is, in principal, suitable to foster the internationalization of German high-tech clusters. However, the long-run success and sustainability of the internationalization strategies critically depends on the local actors and is, thus, likely to vary substantially across regions.

The world has reached a stage where even a rapid stabilisation and significant reduction of global greenhouse gas emissions could no longer prevent significant climate change. While all countries will experience impacts, the developing world is most vulnerable. Significant financial assistance for adaptation is needed (and would be cost-effective), but current proposals are inadequate. At the same time, aviation emissions are increasing rapidly and are likely to continue to do so in the absence of major policy changes. Solutions to the challenges of adaptation finance and aviation emissions are both urgently required. This paper highlights political advantages and moral reasons to link the problems together (and absence of reasons in economic theory not to). Solving both problems by an International Air Travel Adaptation Levy (IATAL) – or an emissions trading scheme with auction revenues hypothecated for adaptation – is ethically, economically and politically attractive.

This paper considers how participatory arts informed by thinking in public health can play a significant part internationally in addressing inequalities in health. It looks beyond national overviews of arts and health to consider what would make for meaningful international practice, citing recent initiatives of national networks in English-speaking countries and examples of influential developments in South America and the European Union. In the context of public health thinking on inequalities and social justice, the paper posits what would make for good practice and appropriate research that impacts on policy. As the arts and health movement gathers momentum, the paper urges the arts to describe their potency in the policy-making arena in the most compelling ways to articulate their social, economic and cultural values. In the process, it identifies the reflexive consideration of participatory practice – involving people routinely marginalised from decision-making processes – as a possible avenue into this work.

Rivers can be both givers of life and takers of life. Investments that provide protection against flooding are often beneficial during normal or low flows. Investments such as storage reservoirs are long lived, separating construction and management operations. With international rivers, the absence of enforcement mechanisms may preclude infrastructure collaboration. Where physical infrastructure is in an upstream nation, downstream impacts may be ignored after the structure has been completed. Using a game theoretic model, it is shown that downstream cooperation may only be rational when flooding is the primary downstream impact. A stylized arid developing region and humid developed region are compared. Potential gains from collaboration are greatest in arid regions, but may be difficult to achieve. There may be little scope for capturing the gains from basin level management if economic integration does not extend beyond water issues.

The central assertion of this book is that states pursue social actions to serve self-identity needs, even when these actions compromise their physical existence. Three forms of social action, sometimes referred to as 'motives' of state behaviour (moral, humanitarian, and honour-driven) are analyzed here through an ontological security approach. Brent J. Steele develops an account of social action which interprets these behaviours as fulfilling a nation-state's drive to secure self-identity through time. The anxiety which consumes all social agents motivates them to secure their sense.

"This book seeks to think differently about what we recognize as "global institutions" and how they could work better for the people who need them most. By so doing, the contributions show that there is a group of institutions that influence enough people's lives in significant enough ways through what they protect, provide or enable that they should be considered, together, as global institutions. The United Nations (UN), the World Bank, Google as well as private military and security companies (PMSCs) leave a heavy footprint on the social, political and economic landscape of the planet. We are all aware in different ways of the existence of these global institutions but their importance in achieving change in the twenty-first century is often underestimated. In this book, authors seek to explain what associations exist between change in global institutions and the reduction of poverty and inequality as well as the achievement of security and justice. The work makes sense of processes of change and identifies the most significant obstacles that exist, offering suggestions for future action and will be of interest to students and scholars of global institutions. "--