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Crises are an integral part of our modern world; they are breaking points that disturb our sense of normalcy. While some of them are treated as 'normal incidents' that are bound to occur in a vast and complex array of governmental activities, others spark a blaze of media attention, public emotions, and political upheaval. This thesis explores how political office-holders respond to incidents that are perceived as blameworthy and how crisis-induced accountability processes affect their political careers. In an attempt to determine this, a series of case studies containing elements of high-pressure crisis-induced accountability were examined. Strategies employed by top political actors in coping with accountability and blame are identified and discussed. Crises often trigger discussions on accountability and top political actors engage in a framing contest over defining the causes of the crisis and who or what should be held responsible. This is a staged and dynamic process in which key actors employ different strategies in several arenas for managing and ultimately assigning blame for the unwanted event. These processes are shaped in relation to issues regarding causality, agency, and responsibility. In addition to the fact that crises can be managed on different 'levels' and arenas, we can also see that certain contextual and situational factors (such as personal experience and the constitutional framework of the cabinet) can constrain or enable how blame is managed and ultimately what the consequences will be for the careers of top political office-holders.

Mestrado em Economia Monetária e Financeira ; Este trabalho analisa que fatores, entre os determinantes de ratings soberanos encontrados na literatura, são responsáveis pelas diferenças entre os ratings de crédito soberanos de diferentes agências de rating, no período 1980-2015. Para tal, utilizaram-se modelos probit ordenados e simples de efeitos aleatórios com o objetivo de avaliar o poder explicativo de um conjunto de variáveis macroeconómicas e governamentais. Os resultados obtidos com os modelos estimados indicam que o saldo estrutural e a existência de um default nos últimos dez anos são as variáveis menos significativas enquanto o nível de dívida líquida, o saldo orçamental, o PIB per capita e a existência de um default nos últimos cinco anos são as variáveis que mais explicam as diferenças entre ratings de agências distintas. ; In this work we study the factors, among the determinants of sovereign ratings found in the literature, leading to differences in sovereign credit ratings from different agencies, for the period 1980-2015. We employ random effects ordered and simple probit approaches to assess the explanatory power of different macroeconomic and government variables. Our results point to an average performance of the estimated models. Structural balance and the existence of a default in the last ten years were the least significant variables whereas the level of net debt, budget balance, GDP per capita and the existence of a default in the last five years were found to be the most relevant variables explaining the rating differences across agencies.

Seiring dengan kemajuan zaman (era globalisasi), maka permasalahan bidang ketenagakerjaan juga bertambah, terlebih jika hal ini dikaitkan pada dimensi lain semisal dimensi ekonomi, sosial maupun politik. Meski demikian permasalahan mendasar dalam bidang ini tetap tak beranjak dari permasalahan klasik yaitu hubungan "buruh-majikan", lalu mogok kerja dan PHK maupun hak-kewajiban. Baik pekerja maupun majikan dalam kedudukannya masing masing memiliki hak dan kewajiban. Akan tetapi, dalam permasalahan ini adalah para pekerja yang memerlukan adanya perlindungan dan jaminan hukum atas terselenggaranya hak-hak mereka. Dalam bidang ketenagakerjaan jaminan tersebut secara umum meliputi jaminan ekonomis, jaminan sosial dan jaminan teknis yang bertujuan untuk mewujudkan keadaan pekerja beserta keluarganya yang berkehidupan secara layak, sejahtera baik mental maupun spiritual.With the rapid development of era (globalization) then the problem of employment also increase, especially if it is linked to other fields such as economic, social and even political. Nevertheless the fundamental problem in this field still have not changed from the classic problem of the relationship of "labor-employer", then strikes and layoffs as well as the rights-obligations. Both employees and employers are in the same position each has rights and duties. However, in this issue is that the employees require their protection and legal guarantees for the implementation of their rights. In the field of employment guarantee generally include guarantees economical, social security and technical guarantees, aims to create a state of workers and their families who live properly, both mental and spiritual welfare.

Dans le contexte de concurrence internationale entre les territoires, les collectivités cherchent des solutions d'attractivité pour être compétitives, c'est-à-dire attirer les capitaux et les flux humains. Le marketing a envahi la communication territoriale : les territoires deviennent de véritables marques, à l'instar des emblématiques I love New York, I Amsterdam ou Only Lyon. La récente métropole Marseille-Provence est confrontée à des enjeux d'image complexes. La ville de Marseille souffre d'une mauvaise réputation due à un acharnement médiatique. La Provence, elle, jouit d'une image positive. Il s'agit alors de construire une identité métropolitaine harmonieuse alors que ces deux entités principales évoluent dans des registres différents. Les campagnes de marketing territorial de Marseille-Provence que j'ai étudiées - les campagnes nationales de Marseille-Provence 2013 Capitale européenne de la culture et le film « Si vous saviez tout ce qui se passe ici » de la Chambre de Commerce et d'Industrie de Marseille-Provence - les articulent en instrumentalisant les stéréotypes associés ; c'est justement l'objet de mon mémoire. On retrouve ainsi le mythe d'une Marseille cosmopolite, ouverte sur l'extérieur, face aux stéréotypes provençaux, liés eux à la ruralité et à l'authenticité du terroir. Ces campagnes mettent aussi en évidence l'importance des performances locales, notamment les politiques culturelles menées depuis 2013, solides leviers d'attractivité. Les stratégies marketing de Marseille-Provence reprennent, modulent et réutilisent les représentations stéréotypées du territoire afin de les employer à leur avantage, pour se raconter et influer sur les perceptions de la métropole par le grand public et les investisseurs potentiels.

Crises are an integral part of our modern world; they are breaking points that disturb our sense of normalcy. While some of them are treated as 'normal incidents' that are bound to occur in a vast and complex array of governmental activities, others spark a blaze of media attention, public emotions, and political upheaval. This thesis explores how political office-holders respond to incidents that are perceived as blameworthy and how crisis-induced accountability processes affect their political careers. In an attempt to determine this, a series of case studies containing elements of high-pressure crisis-induced accountability were examined. Strategies employed by top political actors in coping with accountability and blame are identified and discussed. Crises often trigger discussions on accountability and top political actors engage in a framing contest over defining the causes of the crisis and who or what should be held responsible. This is a staged and dynamic process in which key actors employ different strategies in several arenas for managing and ultimately assigning blame for the unwanted event. These processes are shaped in relation to issues regarding causality, agency, and responsibility. In addition to the fact that crises can be managed on different 'levels' and arenas, we can also see that certain contextual and situational factors (such as personal experience and the constitutional framework of the cabinet) can constrain or enable how blame is managed and ultimately what the consequences will be for the careers of top political office-holders.

International audience ; When two people engage in a conversation, knowingly or unknowingly, they are playing a game. Players of such games have diverse objectives, or winning conditions: an applicant trying to convince her potential employer of her eligibility over that of a competitor, a prosecutor trying to convict a defendant, a politician trying to convince an electorate in a political debate, and so on. We argue that infinitary games offer a natural model for many structural characteristics of such conversations. We call such games message exchange games, and we compare them to existing game theoretic frameworks used in linguistics—for example, signaling games—and show that message exchange games are needed to handle non-cooperative conversation. In this paper, we concentrate on conversational games where players' interests are opposed. We provide a taxonomy of conversations based on their winning conditions, and we investigate some essential features of winning conditions like consistency and what we call rhetorical cooperativity. We show that these features make our games decomposition sensitive, a property we define formally in the paper. We show that this property has far-reaching implications for the existence of winning strategies and their complexity. There is a class of winning conditions (decomposition invariant winning conditions) for which message exchange games are equivalent to Banach- Mazur games, which have been extensively studied and enjoy nice topological results. But decomposition sensitive goals are much more the norm and much more interesting linguistically and philosophically.

The purpose of this study was to establish the factors that help to reduce corruption in the federal public procurement of Ethiopia. Corruption on public procurement has become a burning issue today especially in the federal government where large and complex procurement takeover. The study used a descriptive survey method. Out of 127 government organizations operating in Addis Ababa; the researcher randomly selected 52 budgetary institutions (Represented by 52 procurement heads/officers, auditors, finance heads/ senior experts and lawyers). Descriptive statistical techniques were used and findings were presented in forms of tables, charts and graphs using code and percentages. The research findings revealed that all the variables (existence of legal framework, effectiveness of transparency and e-procurement) were statistically significant that affect the reduction of corruption in public procurement. Based on the findings the researcher recommends to use competitive tendering and limit the use of exceptions and single-source procurement to reduce corruption; develop ethics training programmes for the procurement workforce to reduce corruption; develop an appropriate strategy for the integration of secondary policy objectives in public procurement systems; employ appropriate impact assessment methodology to measure the effectiveness of procurement legal framework in achieving secondary policy objectives; establish clear lines for oversight of the public procurement cycle; develop a system of effective and enforceable sanctions; handle complaints in a fair, timely and transparent way; conduct procurement auditing regularly and develop cooperation between OFAG, FEACC and PPA and implementation of e-procurement system key word Reduction of corruption, Legal framework, transparency, E-Procurement, Public Procurement, Addis Ababa, ethiopia.

The authors wish to thanks the anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments for the improvement of this manuscript. The authors wish to acknowledge the support and help of Deanship of Scientific Research at Jazan University and the authors also extend their sincere appreciations to Deanship of Scientific Research at King Saud University for its funding this Prolific Research Group (PRG-1436-16). ; Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are vulnerable to Node Replication attacks or Clone attacks. Among all the existing clone detection protocols in WSNs, RAWL shows the most promising results by employing Simple Random Walk (SRW). More recently, RAND outperforms RAWL by incorporating Network Division with SRW. Both RAND and RAWL have used SRW for random selection of witness nodes which is problematic because of frequently revisiting the previously passed nodes that leads to longer delays, high expenditures of energy with lower probability that witness nodes intersect. To circumvent this problem, we propose to employ a new kind of constrained random walk, namely Single Stage Memory Random Walk and present a distributed technique called SSRWND (Single Stage Memory Random Walk with Network Division). In SSRWND, single stage memory random walk is combined with network division aiming to decrease the communication and memory costs while keeping the detection probability higher. Through intensive simulations it is verified that SSRWND guarantees higher witness node security with moderate communication and memory overheads. SSRWND is expedient for security oriented application fields of WSNs like military and medical. ; Yes ; http://www.plosone.org/static/editorial#peer

This is the final version of the article. Available from Palgrave Macmillan via the DOI in this record. ; Given the supremacy of the biomedical model in defining our understanding and treatment of a wide range of physcial and psychological disorders, it is perhaps curious that simultaneously, scientists, clinicians, governments and patients routinely employ the concepts of "lifestyle" and "balance" to try to explain the causes of bodily disease and psychological disorder. Concurrently, the health advantages that are assumed to be inherent in a "balanced life" have been exploited by a rapidly expanding consumer market in "wellbeing"-by companies and individuals promoting food supplements, "wearable fitness", diet trends and the self-help material. Exploring the tension between the biomedical doctrine and the parallel preoccupation with balance and lifestyle has provided the impetus for this special issue. Emerging originally from papers presented at an interdisciplinary conference held at the University of Exeter in June 2015, and augmented by two further comment pieces, the collection of articles aims to explore the ways in which changing notions of "balance" have been used to understand the causes of mental illness; to rationalise new approaches to its treatment; and to validate advice relating to balance in work and family life. ; The author like to thank the Wellcome Trust for funding the conference "On Balance: Lifestyle, Mental Health and Wellbeing", hosted in conjunction with Professor Mark Jackson's Wellcome Trust Senior Investigator award "Lifestyle, Health and Disease: Changing Concepts of Balance in Modern Medicine".

Dans le contexte de concurrence internationale entre les territoires, les collectivités cherchent des solutions d'attractivité pour être compétitives, c'est-à-dire attirer les capitaux et les flux humains. Le marketing a envahi la communication territoriale : les territoires deviennent de véritables marques, à l'instar des emblématiques I love New York, I Amsterdam ou Only Lyon. La récente métropole Marseille-Provence est confrontée à des enjeux d'image complexes. La ville de Marseille souffre d'une mauvaise réputation due à un acharnement médiatique. La Provence, elle, jouit d'une image positive. Il s'agit alors de construire une identité métropolitaine harmonieuse alors que ces deux entités principales évoluent dans des registres différents. Les campagnes de marketing territorial de Marseille-Provence que j'ai étudiées - les campagnes nationales de Marseille-Provence 2013 Capitale européenne de la culture et le film « Si vous saviez tout ce qui se passe ici » de la Chambre de Commerce et d'Industrie de Marseille-Provence - les articulent en instrumentalisant les stéréotypes associés ; c'est justement l'objet de mon mémoire. On retrouve ainsi le mythe d'une Marseille cosmopolite, ouverte sur l'extérieur, face aux stéréotypes provençaux, liés eux à la ruralité et à l'authenticité du terroir. Ces campagnes mettent aussi en évidence l'importance des performances locales, notamment les politiques culturelles menées depuis 2013, solides leviers d'attractivité. Les stratégies marketing de Marseille-Provence reprennent, modulent et réutilisent les représentations stéréotypées du territoire afin de les employer à leur avantage, pour se raconter et influer sur les perceptions de la métropole par le grand public et les investisseurs potentiels.

Bt cotton remains one of the most widely grown biotech crops among smallholder farmers. Numerous studies, including those previously conducted in Pakistan, attest to its yield and cost advantages. However, the effectiveness of Bt toxin, which depends on many technical constraints, is heterogeneous. Furthermore, in Pakistan, the diffusion of Bt cotton varieties occurred despite a weak regulatory system and without seed quality control; evidence demonstrates that varieties sold as Bt may not contain the genes or express them effectively. We use data collected from a sample that is statistically representative of the nation's cotton growers to test the effects of Bt cotton use on productivity in a damage control framework. Unlike previous studies, we employ five measures of Bt identity: name, official approval status, farmer belief, laboratory tests of Bt presence in plant tissue, and biophysical assays measuring Bt effectiveness. Only farmers' belief that a variety is Bt affects cotton productivity. Although all measures reduce damage from pests, the biophysical indicators have the largest effect, and official approval has the weakest. For applied economists, findings highlight the importance of getting the data right concerning Bt. For policy makers, they suggest the need, on ethical if not productivity grounds, to monitor variety integrity closer to point of sale. ; Non-PR ; IFPRI1; CRP2; A Ensuring Sustainable food production; A.3 Science, Technology, and innovation Policy; Capacity Strengthening; DCA; PSSP ; EPTD; PIM ; CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM)

This research is aimed to know the position of Indonesian seaweeds exports' competitiveness in global market, as well as the strategy to improve it. The research uses a quantitative approach, which specifically employs time series type that has been done within 10 years period (2003-2012). The data used are the data of seaweed product by the code product of HS 121220 Seaweeds and other algae (fresh or dried), HS 121221 Seaweeds fit for human consumption, HS 121229 Seaweeds and other algae unfit for human consumption. The data includes the value of Indonesian seaweeds exports commodity, the total of Indonesian exports, the value of seaweeds in global exports, the total of global exports, Indonesian seaweeds imports, Indonesian seaweeds production, and Indonesian seaweeds exports. The data is analyzed using Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA), Import Dependency Ratio (IDR), Specialized Trading Index (ISP), Commodity Concentration Index (CCI), alongside with Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. The result shows that: (1) The RCA of seaweeds commodity though fluctuating but relatively increasing; (2) The Import Dependency Ratio of Indonesian seaweeds though fluctuating but relatively increasing, the fluctuation is due to their inability to produce plus value of ferments; (3) Index of Specialized trading appears to be positive; (4) Commodity Concentration Index of exports and imports though fluctuating but relatively increasing; (5) Indonesia can employ Rapid Growth Strategy. The result recommends Indonesian government to improve the quality of seaweeds products specifically using distribution improvements from farmers to consumer both in industrial scope and domestic consumer.

Increased complexity and density of transnational problems creates unprecedented challenges and opportunities for contemporary international governance. 'Issue linkage' is one institutional arrangement through which states address these chang- ing circumstances. In this paper, we examine the widening scope of the non-trade agenda in Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs). Non-trade issues (NTIs) such as human rights, democracy, environment, corruption and labor standards are increasingly linked to PTAs. This issue linkage has important implications for un- derstanding changing patterns of international trade, including the shift to PTAs and the rise of NTIs. We show that: (1) states' choices to commit to bilateral or plurilateral versions of traditional PTAs and to PTAs with NTIs are highly interdependent; (2) states increasingly incorporate NTIs into PTAs as the associ- ated costs of policy change are lowered through earlier agreements and; (3) network pressures favor the increasing adoption of bilateral and especially plurilateral NTIs over time. Using an original data set on NTIs covering 522 PTAs and spanning the period 1951-2009, we evaluate states' motives behind the widening non-trade agenda of trade agreements using longitudinal network modeling. We employ multiplex co-evolution stochastic actor-oriented network models (SAOMs) in a novel design to account for interdependencies within and across states' decisions. Following a descriptive mapping of major non-trade issue areas, we evaluate our theoretical arguments. Testing against the alternative explanations of power and commitment, we find that endogenous cost considerations are the most significant factor explaining the inclusion of NTIs into PTAs.

Mass media and journalism played an important role in the reproduction of stereotypes and biased interpretation of the migratory phenomenon. The main goal of this contribution is to verify the consistency of the discourse about migration in Italian journalism over different media. Therefore, in this study the authors will focus on documentaries screened by the Italian National Public Television (Rai). The corpus is composed by three movies: two by Valerio Cataldi and one by Amedeo Ricucci. Cataldi's movies were produced and aired by Tg2 under the patronage of UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees). They depict two different aspects of migrants' experience. In La neve la prima volta, the author focuses on the stories of four survivors from the Lampedusa dump occurred on 3 October 2013, which caused 366 deaths. Quando Youssef si mise in cammino narrates the story of Yousef and his three friends in their journey from Afghanistan to Austria in search of asylum. Similarly, La lunga marcia by Amedeo Ricucci follows the journey of Syrian refugees in their attempt to reach Europe during summer of 2015. The three movies cross a wide set of issues regarding migration in Italy and the EU, such as the construction of European external and internal borders; policies and practices of migrant management; human rights; racism and prejudice towards foreigners. The main goal of the contribution is to employ the means of discourse analysis to reflect on multimodal discourse about migration and its role in the social construction of refugees and migrants.Keywords: discourse, migrations, racism, mass media, documentary.

This paper seeks to develop a deeper understanding of the research on climate change mitigation in transport. We suggest that work to date has focused on the effects of improvements in transport technologies, changes in the price of transport, physical infrastructure provision, behavioural change and alternative institutional arrangements for governing transport systems. In terms of research methodologies, positivist and quantitative analysis prevails, although there are signs of experimentation with non-positivist epistemologies and participatory methods. These particular engagements with climate change mitigation reflect mutually reinforcing tendencies within and beyond the academic transport community. We first draw on a revised version of Thomas Kuhn's philosophy of science to explore the path dependencies within transport studies, which are at least partly responsible for the predisposition towards quantitative modelling and technology, pricing and infrastructure oriented interventions in transport systems. We then employ the governmentality perspective to examine how transport academics' engagements with climate change mitigation depend on and align with more general understandings of climate change in UK society and beyond. The analysis makes clear that ecological modernisation and neo-liberal governmentality more generally provide the context for the current focus on and belief in technological, behaviour change, and especially market-based mitigation strategies. While current research trajectories are important and insightful, we believe that a deeper engagement with theoretical insights from the social sciences will produce richer understandings of transport mitigation in transport and briefly outline some of the contributions thinking on socio-technical transitions and practice theories can make.