Suchergebnisse

The extent to which e-governance develops in a country is a function of the collective national and local capital supplying IT services and of informal social and human capital creating a demand for e-governance. Supply requires public officials and citizens to have access to the Internet and access varies enormously according to a country's modern resources and political openness. But the characterization of these differences as a digital divide is misleadingly static. A diffusion model of Internet access shows that it is more realistic to think of cross-national differences in terms of leading and lagging countries; in this model laggards have the potential to catch up with leaders. Differences in the capacity of countries to supply standard e-government services are a consequence of its degree of modern resources and to supply e-participation facilities reflects its political openness and extent of corruption. In countries with a high degree of modern resources and a majority of adults on line, digital choice creates limits as well as opportunities for e-governance, since most non-users of the Internet are older people who see no need for going on line. Among those on line a majority prefer to contact local and central government by traditional means, such as telephone or writing a letter. In the most modern and open societies the diffusion of the Internet is most likely to promote government efficiency and the virtual linkage of disparate public agencies serving the same client. In developing countries it will be one more pressure to reduce corruption and increase bureaucratization and in relatively closed regimes it can threaten destabilization by strengthening dissident mobilization within and across national borders. Globally, the diffusion process will promote openness in intermestic public policies that involve both national and trans-national politics. It will also reduce the proportion of native English-speakers and increase bilingual and bicultural Internet users.

"Hydraulic Societies explores the linked themes of water, power, state-building, and hydraulic control. Bringing together a range of ecological, geographical, chronological, and methodological perspectives, the essays in this book address how humans have long harnessed water and sought to contain its destructive power for political, economic, and social ends. Water defines every aspect of life and remains at the center of human activity: in irrigation and agriculture; waste and sanitation; drinking and disease; floods and droughts; religious beliefs and practices; fishing and aquaculture; travel and discovery; scientific study; water pollution and conservation; multi-purpose dam building; boundaries and borders; politics and economic life; and wars and diplomacy. From the earliest large irrigation works thousands of years ago, control over water has involved control over people, as the essays in this volume reflect. The intersections of water and political, economic, and social power historically span international as well as domestic politics and operate at scales ranging from the local to the global. The authors consider the role of water in national development schemes, water distribution as a tool of political power, international disputes over waterways and water supplies, and the place of water in armed conflicts. They explore the ways in which political power and social hierarchies have themselves been defined and redefined by water and its control, how state leaders legitimized their rule both culturally and economically through the control of water, and how water management schemes were a means to impose and refine colonial power."

Although we are mostly supportive, we point out the strengths and weaknesses of Klein & Barron's (2016) hypothesis that insects have the most basic form of consciousness. The strengths are in their application of Bjorn Merker's vertebrate-derived ideas to arthropods, using their deep knowledge of insect brains. The weaknesses involve the controversial aspects of some of Merker's ideas. We describe how the latter can be modified to strengthen the authors' case for insect consciousness.

"This book examines how renewed forms of artistic activism were developed in the wake of the neoliberal repression since the 1980s. The volume shows the diverse ways in which artists have sought to confront systemic crises around the globe, searching for new and enduring forms of building communities and reimagining the political horizon. The authors engage in a dialogue with these artistic efforts and their histories - in particular the earlier artistic activism that was developed during the civil rights era in the 1960s and 70s - providing valuable historical insight and new conceptual reflection on the future of aesthetic resilience. This book will be of interest to scholars in contemporary art, history of art, film and literary studies, protest movements, and social movements"--

"Stephen K. Medvic's Campaigns and Elections is a comprehensive yet compact core text that addresses two distinct but related aspects of American electoral democracy: the processes that constitute campaigns and elections, and the players who are involved. In addition to balanced coverage of process and actors, it gives equal billing to both campaigns and elections, and covers contests for legislative and executive positions at the national and state and local levels, including issue-oriented campaigns of note. The book opens by providing students with the conceptual distinctions between what happens in an election and the campaigning that precedes it. Significant attention is devoted to setting up the context for these campaigns and elections by covering the rules of the game in the American electoral system as well as aspects of election administration and the funding of elections. Then the book systematically covers the actors at every level-candidates and their organizations, parties, interest groups, the media, and voters-and the macro level aspects of campaigns such as campaign strategy and determinants of election outcomes. The book concludes with a big picture assessment of campaign ethics and implications of the "permanent campaign." New to the Fourth edition: Fully updated through the 2020 elections, looking ahead to the 2022 midterms. Covers the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the 2020 election as well as the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Adds new sections in Chapter 3 on election integrity and the assessment of election administration. Reviews recent Supreme Court cases on gerrymandering and faithless electors. Expands coverage of social media as a source of news, of the increasingly partisan nature of the media, and of the role of media fact-checking in campaigns and elections. Reorganizes the chapters on the various actors so that the chapter on candidates leads directly to the chapter on campaigns. Fully updates the resources listed at the end of each chapter"--

"Describes all aspects of sustainable conversion adaptation of existing buildings and provides solutions for making urban settlements resilient to climate change This comprehensive book explores the potential to change the character of cities with residential conversion of office space in order to withstand the negative effects of climate change. It investigates the nature and extent of sustainable conversion in a number of global cities, as well as the political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal drivers and barriers to successful conversion. The book also identifies the key lessons learned through international comparisons with cases in the UK, US, Australia, and the Netherlands. Building Urban Resilience Through Change of Use covers the benefits and aspects of sustainable conversion adaptation through the whole lifecycle from inception, planning, and design, to procurement, construction, and management and operational issues. It illustrates and quantifies, through empirical research, the changes that have been achieved or delivered in sustainable conversion adaptation. The book gives an overview of all aspects of performance characteristics and the conversion adaptation of existing buildings. In the end, it enables planners to make more informed decisions about whether conversion adaptation is a good choiceand if so, which types of sustainability measures are best suited for projects. Provides detailed, empirical knowledge based on real-world research undertaken in five countries over three continents on both a citywide scale and on individual buildings Case studies and exemplars demonstrate the application of the knowledge in North and South America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and in Europe Addresses the key themes of technology, finance and procurement, and the regulatory framework The first research-based book to examine how to improve resilience to climate change through sustainable reuse of buildings, Building Urban Resilience Through Change of Use is a welcome book for researchers and academics involved in building surveying, urban development, and sustainability planning"--

Dozens of states have long been capable of acquiring nuclear weapons, yet only a few have actually done so. Jacques E.C. Hymans finds that the key to this surprising historical pattern lies not in externally imposed constraints, but rather in state leaders' conceptions of the national identity. Synthesizing a wide range of scholarship from the humanities and social sciences to experimental psychology and neuroscience, Hymans builds a rigorous model of decisionmaking that links identity to emotions and ultimately to nuclear policy choices. Exhaustively researched case studies of France, India, Argentina, and Australia - two that got the bomb and two that abstained - demonstrate the value of this model while debunking common myths. This book will be invaluable to policymakers and concerned citizens who are frustrated with the frequent misjudgments of states' nuclear ambitions, and to scholars who seek a better understanding of how leaders make big foreign policy decisions.--

Within the framework of this article, the main problems associated with the actualization in domestic social science of scientific research on various aspects of the functioning of political ideologies in modern Russia are considered. The author states that for the last year in the subject field of researchers there have been widely discussed such issues as problems of theoretical and methodological foundations for the analysis of ideologies and their role in shaping the worldview of various age groups, constitutional context of functionality of ideologies in Russian politics, imperial tendencies in the ideological and worldview space of Russia, significance of ideologies in socio-political communications, and a number of other important aspects. The author pays main attention to analysis of the changes that have occurred recently in domestic scientific discourse in the interpretation of state ideology, discussions about the expediency and possibility of its adoption, about its value core, about its applied significance in the process of political socialization, and other aspects. Based on the analysis, it was concluded that the majority of supporters of development and normative consolidation of the state ideology underestimate the fact that in modern Russia there are no legal, political, socioeconomic, and socio-cultural prerequisites for this. Nevertheless, in the context of a hybrid war between the United States and its allies against Russia, the public's awareness of a very real deadly external danger to the country becomes crucial. In author's opinion, there is not only an objective need, but also the possibility of reaching a consensus on this issue of all the leading political forces in Russia, res ponsible for its fate to future generations. Such public consent of the leading Russian political parties does not require a radical revision of the current Constitution of the Russian Federation and can be adopted in the form of a memorandum, declaration, or any other form that does not claim to be a state ideology.

The agriculture sector is a sphere, which importance grows year by year, with grow-ing populations and the need to ensure food security and sustainable rural development in the world and in each country in particular. In addition, environmental conservation and climate change are also the responsibility of agricultural authori-ties. Decisions need to be taken both domestically and globally, for this to happen, each country's government and global Unions and Commissions must function. Also important are the general aspects of the modern world that include globaliza-tion, the introduction of innovations, financing, vector to provide industries with highly qualified personnel, the possibility of dialogue between the state and socie-ty. The aim of the work is to study government in the field of agriculture sector of various countries. This article is based on the analysis of government in the field of agriculture in different countries, the study of the problems and ways of solving emerging issues by these departments. The article focused on aspects of the transi-tion to the digital economy (in particular, digital government) and the problem of retaining personnel in rural areas. The review of many governments has revealed that, despite different power structures, climatic and social conditions, the agricul-tural sector functions and is managed uniformly. Decisions are made at several levels, namely regional, domestic and global. The main governing bodies are the Departments of Agriculture of the countries, which interact with various sectoral organizations and civil society. They all report to the Government, and most coun-tries are members of international Unions and Commissions to discuss global is-sues and perspectives. All available means, including digital innovation and the assistance of skilled personnel, should be used for the success and development of all governments, in fact, precisely these aspects are the most relevant areas of pub-lic administration development.

This contribution offers reflections about Chilean Cybersyn, 50 years ago. In recent years, Cybersyn, has received significant attention. It was the brainchild of Stafford Beer, who conceived it to support the transformation of the Chilean economy from its bureaucratic history to hopefully create a vibrant and modern society, driven by cybernetic tools. These aspects have received much attention in recent times; however, in this contribution, I want to discuss how working in Cybersyn influenced my work after the coup of 1973. Perhaps, for me, its major influence was in the management of complexity, through what I refer here as variety engineering and through the Viable System Model VSM as a paradigm to the management of relationships with implications to enterprises, society and the economy. After the 1973 coup major interest was in technological aspects of Cybersyn such as real-time management and its contribution to decision support and executive information systems. In the late 70s I was personally influenced by information management, but by the early 1980s my work moved towards methodological aspects of how to use the VSM. By 1989 I had created the VIPLAN method (Espejo, 1989). Key questions I attempted to answer were, how to model the complexity of enterprises and their interactions with environmental agents. Later on, in the 1990s and 2000s, the main direction of my work was epistemological, ontological and methodological towards second-order cybernetics and relationships. Only in recent decades the political transformations proposed by Cybersyn have captured the imagination of many commentators. The confluence of social and cultural changes with information technology, data models, artificial intelligence, algorithms and several additional technological developments have challenged the excesses of capitalism, particularly after the banking crisis of 2008–2009. The purpose in this paper is discussing this evolution in the light of those early days in Chile.

The article deals with the formation of students' tolerance and management of this process. The aim of the article is to cover theoretical and empirical aspects of the management of students' tolerance formation. A special focus is made on the role of tolerance in modern society and for the educational system as well as on the contradictions which determine the relevance of tolerance in the university environment. Tolerance is a complex, multifaceted phenomenon which touches all aspects of student life. Entering the university, young people find themselves surrounded by many different personalities who have their own values and beliefs in life. This calls for the necessity to respect and accept a different opinion and a different way of life. Therefore, nowadays the formation of tolerance acquires special importance in educational institutions as it is tolerance which is the basis of effective communication in a politically cultural society like the Russian Federation. So the formation of tolerance is a social order as it is impossible to develop the educational system unless this aspect is included. We scrutinized relevant literature on the issue and came to the conclusion that the formation of tolerance can be only achieved by means of democratic management and students' conscious choice of tolerant attitudes and behavior, which excludes any pressure or foisting. The study involved the choice of methods and an algorithm, which comprised the diagnosis of the mentioned parameters, conducting a formative experiment, repeated check of the parameters and performing a statistic analysis of the results. The study was carried out on the base of the Institute of Foreign languages, RUDN University (Russia). The research results allow drawing a conclusion about high effectiveness of the implemented actions aimed at the formation of students' tolerance.

The article deals with the formation of students' tolerance and management of this process. The aim of the article is to cover theoretical and empirical aspects of the management of students' tolerance formation. A special focus is made on the role of tolerance in modern society and for the educational system as well as on the contradictions which determine the relevance of tolerance in the university environment. Tolerance is a complex, multifaceted phenomenon which touches all aspects of student life. Entering the university, young people find themselves surrounded by many different personalities who have their own values and beliefs in life. This calls for the necessity to respect and accept a different opinion and a different way of life. Therefore, nowadays the formation of tolerance acquires special importance in educational institutions as it is tolerance which is the basis of effective communication in a politically cultural society like the Russian Federation. So the formation of tolerance is a social order as it is impossible to develop the educational system unless this aspect is included. We scrutinized relevant literature on the issue and came to the conclusion that the formation of tolerance can be only achieved by means of democratic management and students' conscious choice of tolerant attitudes and behavior, which excludes any pressure or foisting. The study involved the choice of methods and an algorithm, which comprised the diagnosis of the mentioned parameters, conducting a formative experiment, repeated check of the parameters and performing a statistic analysis of the results. The study was carried out on the base of the Institute of Foreign languages, RUDN University (Russia). The research results allow drawing a conclusion about high effectiveness of the implemented actions aimed at the formation of students' tolerance.

Assisted Reproductive technologies (ARTs) like In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) and surrogacy have made aspirations of parenthood come true for many. With quality medical services, low costs and an indifferent regulatory regime, the surrogacy industry, particularly of the commercial and trans-border variety, has boomed in India so much so that India had once been termed as the 'baby factory' of the world. Through successive administrative measures the government of India has tried to regulate surrogacy with a view to prevent exploitation of women. At least two comprehensive bills to regulate various aspects of surrogacy arrangements have been tabled in the Parliament, viz: The Assisted Reproductive Technologies Bill -2008 and the Surrogacy Regulation (2016) Bill, both of which did not see light of the day. The Government's initiative to table a new bill on this subject is a welcome move. The Surrogacy Regulation (2019) Bill brings clarity on the rights of stakeholders in surrogacy arrangements and seeks to protect the vulnerable. This is an opportune time for a comprehensive discussion on all aspects related to surrogacy arrangements in India so that the legislation becomes an effective tool for social progress. In particular, considerable thought is needed on pressing issues arising out of the provisions of this bill, such as the possibility of a flourishing grey market in cases where commercial surrogacy is completely banned and the possibility of soft coercion of women by relatives, against their own choices, for altruistic surrogacy by matrimonial families. The rights of the child in cases of arrangements in contravention with the proposed law also need deliberation. This paper discusses the lacunae in the bill on the above aspects taking into consideration the Indian experience and that of the world and attempts to propose possible alternatives that may be adopted for a more meaningful and just legislation.

Research on radicalization became relevant to the study of terrorism and violent extremism just two decades ago. The accumulated empirical data on terrorism have led researchers and experts to understand that radicalization is a predictor of violent actions by terrorists, violent extremists, and lone actors. Violent incidents committed by school shooters are not terrorist crimes, but there is good reasons for inclusion as terrorist crimes since they have similar mechanisms. The article aims to create a conceptual model of school-shooter radicalization and determine the distinguishing features of the process. The paper presents a theoretical and methodological base of content analysis concepts, political models, and terrorist radicalization on the different levels of study. Based on the content analysis results, we identify the significant gaps in the research field, consider the radicalization phenomenon in detail, substantiated the qualitative aspects of the school shooters radicalization, and propose a conceptual scheme. Psychological, behavioral, cognitive aspects of the school shooters radicalization reflect a holistic picture of the relationship between the process phases and changes in the parameters of the object's state. The aspects of radicalization and this phenomenon's qualitative properties are interpreted as the determinants of the conceptual model. The model includes five stages, each of which is considered to be one of the components for the formation and acceptance of the idea of a violent way to solve a problem, but certainly do not act individually as the only component that leads to the actual implementation of the incident of a school shooting. An in-depth study of online social connections and warning signs, mobilization factors, behavioral trajectories, and imitation mechanisms can help scientists understand why school shooters are increasingly motivated to use violent means to achieve personal goals. We have outlined the possibilities and prospects of the model's application and directions for future research.

COVID-19 has had a significant impact on all sectors of life, including the health sector, social sector, and the economic sector. To prevent the wider impact of Covid-19, the government has made a policy, namely through the allocation of Village Funds, which are prioritized for the Covid-19 pandemic. Village Fund allocation activities are adjusted to Permendesa Number 6 of 2020, the handling of Covid-19, Direct Village Fund Cash Assistance (BLT-DD), and Village Cash Intensive Work (PKTD). One of the villages that uses the Village Fund for Covid-19 is Sukowidodo Village, Karangrejo District, Tulungagung Regency. This study uses descriptive qualitative research methods with data collection techniques documentation, observation and interviews. The purpose of this study was to determine the implementation of the village fund policy in handling Covid-19 in Sukowidodo Village, Karangrejo District, Tulungagung Regency using the implementation theory of G. Edward III by examining four policy variables, communication, resources, disposition, and bureaucratic structure. The research based on this theory indicate that the implementation of the allocation of village funds for handling Covid-19 has gone as expected. In the aspect of communication, the delivery of information that been carried out is quite good and conveyed to the public. In the aspect of disposition, the village government has a strong commitment and will in carrying out the program. However, there are still obstacles in the aspect of human resources, the lack of program implementation management. In the bureaucratic structure, coordination between implementers, is still not optimal. Keywords: Implementation, Policy, Village Fund, Covid-19 COVID-19 memberikan dampak yang signifikan bagi semua sektor kehidupan diantaranya sektor kesehatan, sektor sosial, dan sektor ekonomi. Untuk mencegah dampak Covid-19 yang semakin luas pemerintah membuat kebijakan yakni melalui pengalokasian Dana Desa yang diprioritaskan untuk pandemi Covid-19. Kegiatan pengalokasian Dana ...