Suchergebnisse

Autocracies and their practices have figured prominently in modernity's making and associated sociologies, but in the 21st century the discourse of StrongMen has surged, coming to dominate our "attention economy." We consider its various expressions alongside its articulations referencing multiple spaces and consider it a "floating signifier" that appears to explain but in fact distracts from deeper causalities and possible effects of autocratic governance. In this knowledge cultural sociology, we explore how the concept of StrongMen works within nations, with antipodes, and in networks across global and historical conjunctures. We focus in the end on Erdoğan's 2023 re-election and Putin's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, identifying not only the practices that make them StrongMen, but also how the very concept becomes part of the toolkit implicated in recognizing their autocratic practices.

Enthält Rezension von: Papava, Vladimer: Necroeconomics: the political economy of post-communist capitalism: lessons from Georgia. - New York/N.Y. ... : iUniverse, 2005. - ISBN 0-595-34915-3

In this article, we examine the formation of Russia's energy policies vis-a-vis Europe and the Far East. As energy policy is a very complex field, we propose a new structurationist analytical model to deal with that complexity. Our model highlights the practices by which actors acquire information of their policy environments, which are conceptualised as structures enabling and constraining their actions. These practices involve intentions, interests and schemata. In our case analyses the Nord Stream pipeline project and the Sakhalin Island's energy politics we find that profit interests, as part of a wider business frame, most centrally guide Russian actors. The often-hyped energy superpower frame is found to be ambiguous. It generally does not bring the intentions of Russian actors together well, even if such a frame resonates with some of Russia's European customers. Energy security frames are found to be prevalent among Russia's customers and are highly differentiated. Environmental frames are mostly instrumentally deployed. Russian energy actors are capable of displaying collective intentionality, but are incapable of fully controlling the various dimensions of the complex policy environment. Adapted from the source document.

Little is known about how recreational triathletes prepare for an Olympic distance event. The aim of this study was to identify the training characteristics of recreational-level triathletes within the competition period and assess how their preparation for a triathlon influences their health and their levels of fatigue. During the 6 weeks prior to, and the 2 weeks after, an Olympic distance triathlon, nine recreational athletes (five males, four females) completed a daily training log. Participants answered the Daily Analysis of Life Demands Questionnaire (DALDA), the Training Distress Scale (TDS) and the Alberta Swim Fatigue and Health Questionnaire weekly. The Recovery-Stress Questionnaire (REST-Q) was completed at the beginning of the study, on the day before the competition, and at the end of week 8. Training loads were calculated using session-based rating of perceived exertion (sRPE). The data from every week of training was compared to week 1 to determine how athletes' training and health changed throughout the study. No changes in training loads, duration or training intensity distribution were seen in the weeks leading up to the competition. Training duration was significantly reduced in week 6 (p = 0.041, d = 1.58, 95% CI = 6.9, 421.9), while the number of sessions was reduced in week 6 (Z = 2.32, p = 0.02, ES = 0.88) and week 7 (Z = 2.31, p = 0.02, ES = 0.87). Training was characterized by large weekly variations in training loads and a high training intensity. No significant changes were seen in the DALDA, TDS or REST-Q questionnaire scores throughout the 8 weeks. Despite large spikes in training load and a high overall training intensity, these recreational-level triathletes were able to maintain their health in the 6 weeks of training prior to an Olympic distance triathlon.