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AbstractMonetary valuation of urban green space using stated‐preference approaches has gained prominence among pragmatic urban researchers, but the resultant reduced potential for value pluralism has gone unnoticed. There is confusion on value concepts. Public‐social values have been treated as private‐economic ones. The potential for reflecting the multiple values and social roles of urban nature is thus reduced. Being method‐driven, the practice fails to relate to the claimed objective of comprehensively portraying it. There is inadequate understanding of the philosophy and psychology of the values associated with urban green space, despite its multi‐faceted role being widely recognized. This results in an unreflective acceptance of economic techniques. More work is needed to clarify issues concerning the manifestation and theoretical foundation of value pluralism. Deliberative approaches may be a potential complementary or alternative valuation method.RésuméL'évaluation monétaire de l'espace vert urbain à l'aide de modèles basés sur les préférences déclarées a pris de l'importance chez les auteurs pragmatiques de la recherche urbaine, mais le fait qu'elle affaiblit le potentiel du pluralisme des valeurs est passé inaperçu. Les concepts de valeur se mélangent. Les valeurs publiques sociales ont été traitées comme des valeurs privées économiques. La capacité de refléter les multiples valeurs et rôles sociaux de la nature urbaine a donc été réduite. La pratique, mue par la méthode, ne rejoint pas l'objectif exprimé de représenter intégralement cet espace. Bien que les différentes facettes de son rôle soient généralement reconnues, il se crée une compréhension inadéquate de la philosophie et de la psychologie des valeurs associées à l'espace vert urbain. C'est ainsi que les techniques économiques sont acceptées sans discernement. Il faut envisager d'autres études pour clarifier les aspects liés à la manifestation et au fondement théorique du pluralisme des valeurs. Des approches délibératives pourraient constituer une méthode d'évaluation complémentaire ou alternative.

Lately, lots of effort has been put into the construction of robots able to live among humans. This fact has favored the development of personal or social robots, which are expected to behave in a natural way. This implies that these robots could meet certain requirements, for example, to be able to decide their own actions (autonomy), to be able to make deliberative plans (reasoning), or to be able to have an emotional behavior in order to facilitate human-robot interaction. In this paper, the authors present a bioinspired control architecture for an autonomous and social robot, which tries to accomplish some of these features. In order to develop this new architecture, authors have used as a base a prior hybrid control architecture (AD) that is also biologically inspired. Nevertheless, in the later, the task to be accomplished at each moment is determined by a fix sequence processed by the Main Sequencer. Therefore, the main sequencer of the architecture coordinates the previously programmed sequence of skills that must be executed. In the new architecture, the main sequencer is substituted by a decision making system based on drives, motivations, emotions, and self-learning, which decides the proper action at every moment according to robot's state. Consequently, the robot improves its autonomy since the added decision making system will determine the goal and consequently the skills to be executed. A basic version of this new architecture has been implemented on a real robotic platform. Some experiments are shown at the end of the paper. ; This work has been supported by the Spanish Government through the project called "Peer to Peer Robot-Human Interaction" (R2H), of MEC (Ministry of Science and Education), the project "A new approach to social robotics" (AROS), of MICINN (Ministry of Science and Innovation), the CAM Project S2009/DPI-1559/ROBOCITY2030 II, developed by the research team RoboticsLab at the University Carlos III of Madrid.

This paper describes case study research undertaken in six Iranian manufacturing companies aimed at advancing the understanding of the manufacturing strategy formation process. As shown in this study, culture, leadership, policy and incrementalism have their own undeniable roles in manufacturing strategy formation. Cultural factors impact on political factors, and political factors impact on individual factors. It could be useful To utilize formal business planning for firms interested in deliberative manufacturing strategy. In this study, we use Barnes's manufacturing strategy formation process as frameworks with some new changes. Also a case study methodology was used to investigate the process of formation of manufacturing strategy in six small manufacturing companies in Iran like Barnes did in the UK. The results of this study are the main features of the process of manufacturing strategy formation and manufacturing strategy formation model in the case companies. In the case study method, external validity is inevitably compromised due to the limited number of companies that can be studied. The demonstrated model in this study offers a comprehensible view in organizational and external contexts that can be used by manufacturing decision makers. Santrauka Straipsnyje aprašomi šešiose Irano gamybos įmonėse atlikti moksliniai tyrimai, įrodantys gamybos strategijos formavimo proceso reikšmę. Tyrimas nustatė, kad kultūra, vadovavimas ir politika turi savo neginčijamą įtaką gamybos strategijos formavimo procese. Kultūriniai veiksniai daro įtaką politiniams veiksniams, o politiniai veiksniai veikia individualius veiksnius. Gali būti naudinga naudoti formalų verslo planavimą formuojant įmonės gamybos strategiją. Šiame tyrime buvo naudojamas modifikuotas Barnes gamybos strategijos formavimo procesas. Barnes pavyzdžiu buvo siekiama ištirti gamybos strategijos formavimo procesą šešiose nedidelėse Irano gamybos įmonėse. Šio tyrimo rezultatai atskleidė tiriamų įmonių gamybos strategijos formavimo proceso ypatumus. Tyrimui neišvengiamo subjektyvumo suteikia ribotas ištirtų įmonių skaičius. Pasiūlytas modelis leidžia visapusiškai ištirti vidinę ir išorinę organizacijos aplinkas bei pasiūlyti sprendimus gamybos planuotojams. First published online18 Jan 2012 Reikšminiai žodžiai:gamybos strategija,strategijos formavimas,apgalvoti sprendimai,staigūs sprendimai,Iranas

This paper describes case study research undertaken in six Iranian manufacturing companies aimed at advancing the understanding of the manufacturing strategy formation process. As shown in this study, culture, leadership, policy and incrementalism have their own undeniable roles in manufacturing strategy formation. Cultural factors impact on political factors, and political factors impact on individual factors. It could be useful To utilize formal business planning for firms interested in deliberative manufacturing strategy. In this study, we use Barnes's manufacturing strategy formation process as frameworks with some new changes. Also a case study methodology was used to investigate the process of formation of manufacturing strategy in six small manufacturing companies in Iran like Barnes did in the UK. The results of this study are the main features of the process of manufacturing strategy formation and manufacturing strategy formation model in the case companies. In the case study method, external validity is inevitably compromised due to the limited number of companies that can be studied. The demonstrated model in this study offers a comprehensible view in organizational and external contexts that can be used by manufacturing decision makers. Article in English. Gamybos strategijos formavimo procesas Irano gamybos įmonėse Santrauka.Straipsnyje aprašomi šešiose Irano gamybos įmonėse atlikti moksliniai tyrimai, įrodantys gamybos strategijos formavimo proceso reikšmę. Tyrimas nustatė, kad kultūra, vadovavimas ir politika turi savo neginčijamą įtaką gamybos strategijos formavimo procese. Kultūriniai veiksniai daro įtaką politiniams veiksniams, o politiniai veiksniai veikia individualius veiksnius. Gali būti naudinga naudoti formalų verslo planavimą formuojant įmonės gamybos strategiją. Šiame tyrime buvo naudojamas modifikuotas Barnes gamybos strategijos formavimo procesas. Barnes pavyzdžiu buvo siekiama ištirti gamybos strategijos formavimo procesą šešiose nedidelėse Irano gamybos įmonėse. Šio tyrimo rezultatai atskleidė tiriamų įmonių gamybos strategijos formavimo proceso ypatumus. Tyrimui neišvengiamo subjektyvumo suteikia ribotas ištirtų įmonių skaičius. Pasiūlytas modelis leidžia visapusiškai ištirti vidinę ir išorinę organizacijos aplinkas bei pasiūlyti sprendimus gamybos planuotojams. Reikšminiai žodžiai: gamybos strategija,strategijos formavimas,apgalvoti sprendimai,staigūs sprendimai,Iranas. First published online18 Jan 2012

El interés de este artículo es evaluar el tema de la construcción de "una opinión pública" ilustrada como camino de consolidación de la democracia moderna en Colombia. Este aspecto constituye un elemento fundante, pues integra la complejidad de la democracia a través del diálogo entre sistema y mundo de la vida. Igualmente, desde la opinión pública y sus posibilidades, puede evaluarse la consolidación democrática como prueba de funcionamiento del conjunto de las instituciones sociales, en su búsqueda de libertades en ámbitos de eficiencia, justicia y armonía social; en el sentido de una democracia deliberativa-radical, y siguiendo a Amartya Sen, por un desarrollo como libertad. En el caso colombiano, con las debilidades de su estructura estatal, fenómenos como el narcotráfico y la lucha guerrillera, el precario desarrollo de una ilustración entre la población, y en particular la inequidad económica y social, se erigen como impedimentos en el proceso de construcción de una opinión pública madura, beligerante y decisoria. ; This article aims at evaluating the topic of "public opinion" construction illustrated as a road toward modern democracy consolidation in Colombia. This aspect constitutes a basis element, because integrates democracy complexity through a dialog between life system and life world. Furthermore, from the public opinion and its potentialities, the democratic consolidation can be evaluated as evidencing that social institutions work as a group on seeking freedom in the realms of efficiency, justice, and social harmony; within the meaning of a radical-deliberative democracy and following Amartya Sen in the pursuance of development as freedom. As for Colombia with the government structures' weaknesses, phenomena such as narcotrafic and guerrilla group fight, poor development of population literacy and particularly, the social and financial inequity arise as impairments to the process of building a mature and belligerent public opinion with decisionmaking power.

There are many reasons that highlight the need to foster "participative dimension of democracy". Some of them are the lack of enough involvement of citizens, the weakening of the traditional ways of representation, the increasingly technocratic character of the decision making process and the predominance of the elitist and delegative conception of democracy in Latin America (O'Donnell, 1993; Avritzer, 2002; PNUD, 2004). In Chile there has raised an enthusiastic debate but with lack of outcomes, despite the variety of legal initiatives and public policies to deal with this issue. But the democratic governance design that has been hegemonic since late eighties has restricted institutional participation to powerless mechanisms, with a mainly consultative character and not linked to the creation of a deliberative public space. The possibility of broadening of such participation needs to align the different efforts. Until now they have been isolated and lacking of a clear political will, just as of standards that could assure their sustainability and institutionalization. ; La escasa involucración de los ciudadanos, el debilitamiento de los mecanismos de representación, la tecnificación del proceso de toma de decisiones, y el predominio de las concepciones elitistas y solo delegativas en América Latina, son factores que han llevado a plantear la necesidad de fortalecer la "dimensión participativa de la democracia" (O'Donnell, 1993; Avritzer, 2002; PNUD, 2004). En Chile el tema ha suscitado relativo entusiasmo pero ha tenido escasos frutos, generándose diversas iniciativas legales y de política pública para abordarlo. Sin embargo, el diseño de la gobernabilidad democrática hegemónico desde fines de los ochenta ha restringido la participación institucional a instancias de escaso poder, de carácter principalmente consultivas y no vinculadas a la creación de espacio público deliberativo. La posibilidad de ampliación de dicha participación supone hacer coherentes los esfuerzos hasta ahora aislados y carentes tanto de una ...

In front of the multiplication of the participative bends in the management of public policies, it is crucial to wonder about the capacity of participative democracy to constitute an element of the mutation of local politics. This reflection collided for a long time with critical positions interpreting its developement as an imposture intended to throw a democratic veil on procedures still so opaque and calcified as well as in normative postures trying to promote a shape of civic commitment pure and authentic. Our study proposes to enrich a pragmatic approach to determine the real conditions of its implementation and its concrete effects. This work is led, to report better the heterogeneousness of the participative logics and practices, on a comparative analysis of several devices, on the scale of the city of Nancy and the departement of Meurthe-et-Moselle. In this framework, we were able to observe a phenomenon of institutionalization of the citizen participation within local authorities. The conditions of the emergence of a participation standard guiding public action however appear to indicate a certain restraint, characterized by the limitation of the field of application of the participative procedures or of the kind of citizens knowledges mobilized. The effects provoked by the application of the participative standard on the local public space also raise numerous ambiguities. The studied devices seem very remote from deliberative and participative theoretical frames. Also, the lake of inclusion as well as the obstinacy of logics of politicization appropriate for the representative system questions about the capacity of the participative democracy to meet the challenges which she suggests nevertheless surmounting. ; Face à la multiplication des détours participatifs dans la conduite des politiques publiques, il est important de s'interroger sur la capacité de la démocratie participative à constituer un facteur de la mutation de l'action publique locale. Cette réflexion s'est longtemps incarnée dans des ...

In a climate changing world, two of the greatest challenges of environmental and social governance are those of transforming our energy systems and creating more adaptive and democratic institutions. The shortcomings of current energy governance policies and practices are particularly evident in the continued support for the centralised burning of fossil fuels, with significant implications for emissions and environmental degradation. To date, research into energy governance has primarily focused on deliberative decision- and policy –making [1;2]. Participation-in-action and self- governance as an alternative governance strategy has been largely ignored. The result is that citizens are left feeling like "amateurs" who can play no other role than client in the civic process dominated by experts and the state [3]. In positioning participation-in-action as a more democratic form of governance and an emerging socially sustainable energy praxes, this paper reports on current research investigating a series of community energy projects in the UK. Informed by earlier work on barriers and incentives for community energy projects [4] and research into social enterprises, green citizenship and democracy [5;6], the key contribution of this paper is exploration of a new conceptual and methodological approach to community based energy governance centred on the notion of a systemic inquiry, which facilitates the development of governance activity models [7]. Understood in terms of associative democracy [8], governance activity models can be used to explore the key activities of community energy governance. This enables participant reflection on how and why community energy governance processes differ from command and control hierarchical governance structures typically found in corporations and government agencies. The paper concludes with an analysis of the role of community energy actors in governance processes, the key opportunities and limitations for the suggested approach and the changes to government policies and ...

The constraints experienced by water utilities in developing countries, with regard to the universal provision of access to water and improved water services, have been defined by international policymakers as "a crisis of governance". This study departs from the theoretical perspectives on governance and aspires to accumulate knowledge and advance understanding on how the performance of water utilities can be enhanced. The thesis comprises five papers and the cover essay. Four of the papers address case studies and one is a theoretically based paper, while all five papers are supported by reviews from the literature relevant to the topic of each paper. The thesis uses insights from literature reviews mapping relevant scientific theories and concepts in the areas of mainly governance, deliberative policymaking and communicative planning, social capital, civil society and institutional theoretical perspectives. The study integrates different research methods and explores theoretical perspectives on governance to examine the governance aspects of water utilities in the transition phase from public to private management and operation. The study investigates whether the governance structure that involves the private sector in the form of Public Private Partnership (PPP) of water utility has produced "good governance" and enhanced water governance in two cases, the Lema Water Company in Amman, Jordan and the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) in Accra, Ghana. The analysis highlights evidence of governance deficiency. Accordingly, the thesis argues against the policy design that assumes that simply transferring the management and operation of water utility to private operators would resolve the problems of water utilities and enhance water governance. The analyses and the conclusions reached in the papers, together with a review of the literature on New Institutional Economics theory that knits together all the theories that are utilised in the papers, offer insights in the understanding of aspects of water ...

This paper investigates determinants of online deliberation by way of a comparative study of 28 online forums initiated by the EU-commission as a part on the 2009 European Citizens Consultations. The cases analyzed in this paper share the same design (technological, as well as process), have the same connection to the policy process, were moderated in the same way, and implemented simultaneously. Still, great divergences are apparent in the level of deliberation occurring on the forums. Some of the forum discussions between participants were scarce and voting was the dominating form of participation, while on other forums discussionwas much more intense. The empirical analysis is conducted through a hypothetic deductive approach investigating four hypotheses about determinants of online deliberation grounded in prior studies and deliberative democratic theory. The analysis investigates the effects on the level of deliberation of: the number of participants, the diversity of opinion, the occurrence of a aggregative dynamic as well as the level of engagement among participants. The results of the analysis indicate that diversity of opinion on the forum and a high level of engagement among participants seem to have reinforcing effects on online deliberation while the number of participants and the aggregative dynamic on the forums seem unrelated to the level of deliberation. These results paint a picture of online deliberation as a more robust form of political participation than earlier studies have claimed. As a recommendation for practitioners of online deliberation, the results can be interpreted as saying: do not fear mass participation, controversial topics, or combining voting and deliberation. Instead, focus your attention on finding forms and issues that promote a high level of engagement and interest from participants. ; Conference programme: http://www.od2010.dico.unimi.it/index.php?pgid=3

In front of the multiplication of the participative bends in the management of public policies, it is crucial to wonder about the capacity of participative democracy to constitute an element of the mutation of local politics. This reflection collided for a long time with critical positions interpreting its developement as an imposture intended to throw a democratic veil on procedures still so opaque and calcified as well as in normative postures trying to promote a shape of civic commitment pure and authentic. Our study proposes to enrich a pragmatic approach to determine the real conditions of its implementation and its concrete effects. This work is led, to report better the heterogeneousness of the participative logics and practices, on a comparative analysis of several devices, on the scale of the city of Nancy and the departement of Meurthe-et-Moselle. In this framework, we were able to observe a phenomenon of institutionalization of the citizen participation within local authorities. The conditions of the emergence of a participation standard guiding public action however appear to indicate a certain restraint, characterized by the limitation of the field of application of the participative procedures or of the kind of citizens knowledges mobilized. The effects provoked by the application of the participative standard on the local public space also raise numerous ambiguities. The studied devices seem very remote from deliberative and participative theoretical frames. Also, the lake of inclusion as well as the obstinacy of logics of politicization appropriate for the representative system questions about the capacity of the participative democracy to meet the challenges which she suggests nevertheless surmounting. ; Face à la multiplication des détours participatifs dans la conduite des politiques publiques, il est important de s'interroger sur la capacité de la démocratie participative à constituer un facteur de la mutation de l'action publique locale. Cette réflexion s'est longtemps incarnée dans des ...

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published in Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy on 25-03-2010, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/13698230903326281. ; In this article, we evaluate the capacity of liberal egalitarianism to rebut what we call the libertarian challenge of charity. This challenge states that coercive redistributive taxation is neither needed nor justified, since those who endorse redistribution can give charitably, and those who do not endorse redistribution cannot justifiably be coerced. We argue that contemporary developments in liberal political thought render liberalism more vulnerable to this libertarian challenge. Many liberals have, in recent years, sought to recast liberalism such that it is more hospitable to cultural, religious, and ethnic diversity. This move has resulted in increased support for the claim that liberalism should be understood as a political rather than comprehensive doctrine, and that liberal institutions should draw their legitimacy from agreements made among members of an appropriately conceived deliberative community, rather than from controversial liberal principles like individual autonomy. We argue that, while this move may indeed make liberalism more compatible with cultural diversity, it also makes it more vulnerable to the libertarian challenge of charity. Not all versions of liberalism are troubled by the challenge, but those that are troubled by it are increasingly dominant. We also discuss G. A. Cohen's claim that liberal equality requires an 'egalitarian ethos' and argue that, if Cohen is right, it is difficult to see how there can be an adequate response to the libertarian challenge of charity. In general, our argument can be summarised as follows: the more that liberalism is concerned accurately to model the actual democratic wishes and motivations of the people it governs, the less it is able to justify coercively imposing redistributive principles of justice.

"The boom of biofuel is placing enormous demands on existing cropping systems, with most
crucial consequences in the agro-food sector. For instance, spurred by the increasing use of
corn for ethanol, tortilla prices in Mexico suddenly tripled in early 2007. While the United
Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food Jean Ziegler is demanding an international
five-year ban on producing biofuels to combat soaring food prices, the biofuel industry is
responding with first initiatives of private governance and certification. The Roundtable on
Sustainable Palm Oil and the Cramer Commission among others have formulated criteria on
'sustainable' biofuel production and processing. The German Environmental Minister plans
to impose compulsory blending of only certified biofuel with petrol available at German
stations in the near future. This paper explores the legitimacy of private governance and certification by biofuel industry, highlighting opportunities and challenges. There are three dominant lines of argumentation when it comes to legitimacy of private governance. (1) Most authors argue highly (or only) output-oriented ('de facto' legitimacy). In case of biofuel, this is problematic as long as no consensus has been established on what sustainable biofuel production is. (2) Deliberative democratic theories tell us that deficits of input-legitimacy can be balanced by the participation and inclusion of stakeholders (legitimacy through stakeholder inclusion). When analysing the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil and the Cramer Commission, we find that both initiatives, in particular, fail to adequately include actors from the countries of production. (3) Finally, it is argued we need modalities for control and accountability in order to guarantee that the political output serves the common welfare (legitimacy through control and accountability). We will see that, again, the dominance of actors from the North is problematic because they cannot be held accountable by people in the South. Growing disaffection and lack of accountability are indicated by current hunger protests in the developing world." (author's abstract)

This article reflects on the importance of training readers for the construction of citizenship; it poses questions such as: what do we mean by reading and formation of readers? what type of literacy impact the individual and society to fully exercised citizenship in a participatory and deliberative democracy? These questions are intended to show that the complex reality of the written language cannot be reduced to a simplistic, unilateral and elitist concept of reading instruction. Being literate involves the development of reading comprehension, to go deep into other possible worlds, to dig into reality to better understand it and to take a critical stand to what is said and meant in a text. (Lerner: 1996). Literacy includes reading and writing processes. Reflections on the links between literacy and civic education are presented with examples from the Dominican Republic. ; En este artículo se reflexiona sobre la importancia que tiene la formación de lectores para la construcción de ciudadanía a partir de interrogantes: ¿qué entendemos por lectura y por formación de lectores?, ¿qué tipo de comprensión lectora impacta al individuo y a la sociedad para que se ejerza una ciudadanía plena y una democracia participativa y deliberativa? Estos cuestionamientos pretenden mostrar que la compleja realidad de la lengua escrita no puede reducirse a una enseñanza simplista, unilateral y elitista de la lectura. Saber leer implica desarrollar la comprensión lectora, adentrarse en otros mundos posibles, indagar la realidad para comprenderla mejor, distanciarse del texto y asumir una postura crítica frente a lo que se dice y lo que se quiere decir (Lerner: 1996). La alfabetización incluye los procesos de lectura y escritura. Se presentan reflexiones en torno a los vínculos entre lectura y escritura y la formación ciudadana, sus desarrollos y desafíos en la República Dominicana.

This essay shall analyze the idea of the possibility of education to freedom through democratic institutions and the role of the constitution in this process. The question shall not be considered from an empirical perspective, but from a theoretical perspective. In the first part democratic institutions will be defined in such a way, that it is possible to speak of democratic habit as a necessary component of democracy. The second part shall introduce a concept of State constitution that takes seriously the hope that such a constitution could be the major tool for the education to freedom of citizens. Finally, this paper shall try to make sense of the very idea of democratic participation as education to freedom: firstly by identifying the conditions in which the latter is possible, and secondly by offering a certain definition of freedom. In this context, freedom shall be defined as political autonomy and deliberative power, taking distance both from the traditional liberal definition of freedom and from the traditional republican one, while accepting partially what is something referred to as the (radical) democratic definition of freedom. However, the impact of the latter will be limited by referring to what we may call the constitutionalist tradition. ; O presente ensaio tenta analisar a idéia da possibilidade de uma educação à liberdade por meio de instituições democráticas e o papel da constituição neste processo. A questão não será considerada de uma perspectiva empírica, antes de uma teórica. Na primeira parte as instituições democráticas serão definidas de maneira que seja possível falar dum hábito democrático como de um componente necessária da democracia. A segunda parte introduzirá um conceito de constituição estatal que leve a sério a esperança de que ela possa ser um importante instrumento para a educação dos cidadãos à liberdade. Finalmente, o ensaio tentará dar um sentido à idéia de participação democrática como educação à liberdade: primeiramente, ao identificar as condições nas quais esta seria ...