US Interest Groups Prefer Emission Trading: A New Perspective

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Svendsen, Gert Tinggaard

1999-01-01

If there is to be environmental regulation, what kind of regulation would the main interest groups then prefer? This political distortion must be taken into account when designing future environmental regulation such as CO2 regulation. The three main interest groups in the US (private business......, it is suggested that a grandfathered permit market is a more effective policy than a tax in relation to organized interests such as industry, electric utilities and environmental organizations. In perspective, the grandfathered permit market may be mixed with the use of taxes. In the case of CO2 regulation......, for example, taxes may be applied to badly organized polluters, such as households and the transport sector, because their lobbying power is weak. Udgivelsesdato: OCT...

Politics of Interest, Politics of Care: Representation and “Women’s Singularity”

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luís Felipe Miguel

2001-01-01

Full Text Available This article discusses different strategies for justifying the adoption of sex-based electoral quotas, emphasizing the type that claim a different moral status for women. The latter advocate introduction of a new type of politics, more unselfish and altruistic, which is supposed to reflect women’s social training as those who are responsible for the care of those who are weaker (beginning with children. However, this “politics of care” or “maternal politics” ends up perpetuating the subordinate position of women in the world of politics, to the extent that the very grounds for their admission—their “entrance ticket”, as it were—represents the negation of action in defense of women’s own interests.

Using Twitter to Increase Political Interest in Undergraduate Students

Science.gov (United States)

Caliendo, Stephen M.; Chod, Suzanne; Muck, William

2016-01-01

This study examines the impact of using Twitter in the classroom on student political efficacy, interest, and engagement. Millennials use the virtual world to build social relationships and to obtain information. By envisioning the virtual world as a means to increase civic engagement, political science instructors can use technology to draw upon…

That's what friends are for: how intergroup friendships promote historically disadvantaged groups' substantive political representation.

Science.gov (United States)

Kokkonen, Andrej; Karlsson, David

2017-12-01

The interests of historically disadvantaged groups risk being overlooked if they are not present in the decision-making process. However, a mere presence in politics does not guarantee political success. Often groups need allies to promote their interests successfully. We argue that one way to identify such allies is to judge politicians by whether they have friends in historically disadvantaged groups, as intergroup friendships have been shown to make people understand and feel empathy for outgroups. In other words, intergroup friendships may function as an important complement to descriptive representation. We test our argument with a unique survey that asks all elected political representatives in Sweden's 290 municipalities (response rate 79 per cent) about their friendship ties to, and their representation of, five historically disadvantaged groups: women, immigrants, youths, pensioners and blue-collar workers. We find a strong correlation between representatives' friendship ties to these groups and their commitment to represent them. The correlation is especially strong for youths and blue-collar workers, which likely can be explained by the fact that these groups usually lack crucial political resources (such as experience and education). We conclude that friendship ties function as an important complement to descriptive representation for achieving substantive representation. © London School of Economics and Political Science 2017.

Interest organizations across economic sectors : explaining interest group density in the European Union

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Berkhout, Joost; Carroll, Brendan J.; Braun, Caelesta; Chalmers, Adam W.; Destrooper, Tine; Lowery, David; Otjes, Simon; Rasmussen, Anne

2015-01-01

The number of interest organizations (density) varies across policy domains, political issues and economic sectors. This shapes the nature and outcomes of interest representation. In this contribution, we explain the density of interest organizations per economic sector in the European Union on the

Interest organizations across economic sectors: explaining interest group density in the European Union

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Berkhout, Joost; Carroll, Brendan; Braun, Caelesta; Chalmers, Adam; De Strooper, Tine; Lowery, David; Otjes, Simon; Rasmussen, Anne

2015-01-01

The number of interest organizations (density) varies across policy domains, political issues and economic sectors. This shapes the nature and outcomes of interest representation. In this contribution, we explain the density of interest organizations per economic sector in the European Union on the

Politics: Interest, Participation and Education. Comparing the Republic of Ireland with Germany

Science.gov (United States)

Bruen, Jennifer

2014-01-01

In order to generate higher levels of interest in politics and participation in political processes, political or citizenship, education in schools must be at the heart of the curriculum and be characterised by active, learner-centred approaches. This paper hypothesises that, when compared with Germany, a more limited form of political education…

Stressing the Importance of Public Affairs Knowledge in an Era of Declining Political Interest.

Science.gov (United States)

Fife, Brian L.

Public affairs instructors must routinely contend with the reality that stressing the importance of political knowledge is challenging in an era of declining student interest in politics and political institutions. Yet enhancing students' knowledge about public affairs can stimulate more interest and engagement in public affairs, particularly if…

The balancing act of establishing a policy agenda : Conceptualizing and measuring drivers of issue prioritization within interest groups

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Halpin, D.R.; Fraussen, B.; Nownes, A.J.

2017-01-01

Interest groups are important intermediaries in Western democracies, with the potential to offer political linkage and form a bridge between the concerns of citizens and the agendas of political elites. While we know an increasing amount about the issue-based activity of groups, we only have a

‘In it together’? The political consequences of perceived discommunions of interest in British politics

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Nicholas Allen

2015-05-01

Full Text Available The presence of shared interests between politicians and citizens is central to many accounts of political representation, yet there has been little empirical research into how citizens perceive these interests and whether they think a ‘communion of interests’ exists between them and their elected representatives. Using new survey data, this paper explores the extent to which Britons think their Members of Parliament share the same everyday experiences as they do. It further explores the relationship between these perceptions and indicators of specific and diffuse political support. We show that British citizens generally say that politicians are less affected by social and economic conditions and less reliant on public services than they are. The size of this perceived ‘discommunion’ affects voting behaviour and satisfaction with democracy.

Political Justice, Schooling and Issues of Group Identity

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Keddie, Amanda

2014-01-01

This article explores issues associated with schooling and political justice. Such issues are understood in light of the contention surrounding how Western schooling contexts might best represent marginalised groups--in ways that accord them a political voice. The significance of group identity politics is explored drawing on international debates…

Political Parties and Interest Organizations at the Crossroads : Perspectives on the Transformation of Political Organizations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Fraussen, B.; Halpin, D.R.

2016-01-01

This article reviews the case for considering the study of parties and interest organizations together, under the umbrella of “political organizations.” While both literatures are rather disconnected at the moment, we believe that they share many commonalities. A common narrative involves the

Defining and Classifying Interest Groups

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Baroni, Laura; Carroll, Brendan; Chalmers, Adam

2014-01-01

The interest group concept is defined in many different ways in the existing literature and a range of different classification schemes are employed. This complicates comparisons between different studies and their findings. One of the important tasks faced by interest group scholars engaged...... in large-N studies is therefore to define the concept of an interest group and to determine which classification scheme to use for different group types. After reviewing the existing literature, this article sets out to compare different approaches to defining and classifying interest groups with a sample...... in the organizational attributes of specific interest group types. As expected, our comparison of coding schemes reveals a closer link between group attributes and group type in narrower classification schemes based on group organizational characteristics than those based on a behavioral definition of lobbying....

Lifelong Political Socialization, Consciousness and Political Agency in Israel Today

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Michel, Dirk

2007-01-01

This article deals with the nexus between biographical experiences in political extraordinary times of crisis, disaster and terror and their influence on political orientations. At the centre of interest is the reconstruction of political orientations related to two different historical-political groups of Jewish Germans who had immigrated or…

Corporate social responsibility and conflicts of interest in the alcohol and gambling industries: a post-political discourse?

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Geiger, Ben Baumberg; Cuzzocrea, Valentina

2017-06-01

The corporate pursuit of social goals - known as Corporate Social Responsibility or 'CSR' - has been subject to critique on a number of grounds. However, a hitherto underexplored potential consequence of CSR has been suggested in a recent paper by C. Garsten and K. Jacobsson ('Post-Political Regulation: Soft Power and Post-political Visions in Global Governance' (2013), Critical Sociology 39: 421-37). They suggest that CSR is part of an international trend towards 'post-political' governance discourses, where an emphasis on different actors' common goals obscures conflicts of interest, subverting the open political conflict necessary for a well-functioning democracy. This paper examines whether such post-political discourses - including an outright denial of conflict of interest - can be found within the alcohol and gambling industries, where conflicts of interest are likely to be particularly acute given the addictive nature of the goods/services in question. Based on interviews with CSR professionals in these industries in Italy, the UK, and at EU-level, we do indeed find evidence of a post-political discourse. In these discourses, alcohol/gambling industry staff deny potential conflicts of interest on the basis that any small benefits from sales to a small number of addicts are seen to be outweighed by the reputational damage that addicts cause. Crucially, however, this coexists with another, less post-political discourse, where addictions CSR professionals emphasize 'common ground' as a basis for CSR, while accepting some instances of possible conflict of interest. Here interviewees make considerable efforts to differentiate good (sustainable) from bad (short-term) self-interest in order to stress the genuineness of their own actions. We conclude the paper by considering whether CSR embedded within a 'common ground' discourse still hides conflicts of interests and subverts democratic debate, or overcomes the problems identified by Garsten and Jacobsson. �

The Effects of Majoring in Political Science on Political Efficacy

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Dominguez, Casey B. K.; Smith, Keith W.; Williams, J. Michael

2017-01-01

This study tests, and finds support, for the hypotheses that a student who majors in political science will have stronger feelings of political competence and will be more willing to engage in hypothetical political actions than two peer groups: (a) those who major in other fields and (b) those who show an interest in politics but have not studied…

The political downside of dual identity: group identifications and religious political mobilization of Muslim minorities.

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Martinovic, Borja; Verkuyten, Maykel

2014-12-01

Research on the political mobilization of ethnic minorities has shown that dual ethno-national identification facilitates involvement in political action on behalf of the ethnic group. This study extends this research by proposing that a dual identity can impede political mobilization on behalf of another relevant in-group--the religious community - especially if this in-group is not accepted by the wider society. Using a sample of 641 Muslims of Turkish origin living in Germany and the Netherlands, dual ethno-national identity (Turkish-German/Turkish-Dutch) was examined in relation to religious Muslim identification and religious political mobilization. Dual identity was expected to be indirectly related to lower mobilization via decreased religious group identification. Further, this mediating process was predicted to be stronger for Turkish Muslims who perceived relatively high religious group discrimination. In both countries we found support for the mediating hypothesis, however, the moderating role of discrimination was confirmed only for the Netherlands. Turkish-Dutch identification was associated with lower support for religious political mobilization because of lower Muslim identification only for Turkish-Dutch participants who perceived high levels of discrimination. These findings indicate that a strong dual (ethno-national) identity can undermine minority members' support for political rights and actions on behalf of a third relevant in-group, and therefore qualify the social psychological benefits of the dual identity model. © 2014 The British Psychological Society.

Public interest group involvement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shelley, P.

1986-01-01

Including public interest groups in the siting process for nuclear waste disposal facilities is of great importance. Controversial sitings often result in litigation, but involving public interest groups early in the process will lessen the change of this. They act as surrogates for the general public and should be considered as members of the team. It is important to remember though, that all public interest groups are different. In choosing public panels such as public advisory committees, members should not be chosen on the basis of some quota. Opposition groups should not be excluded. Also, it is important to put the right person in charge of the committee. The goal of public involvement is to identify the conflicts. This must be done during the decision process, because conflicts must be known before they can be eliminated. Regarding litigation, it is important to ease through and around legal battles. If the siting process has integrity and a good faith effort has been shown, the court should uphold the effort. In addition, it is important to be negotiable and to eliminate shortcuts

EU Simulations and Engagement: Motivating Greater Interest in European Union Politics

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Clark, Nicholas; Van Dyke, Gretchen; Loedel, Peter; Scherpereel, John; Sobisch, Andreas

2017-01-01

While the effects of simulation-based courses on the knowledge of participating students may be marginal in relation to standard lecture and discussion-based courses, this article argues that the greatest leverage is gained by increasing participating students' level of interest in the subject of study and in politics more broadly. Participants…

Coming to the party of their own volition: Interest groups, the Lesotho Highlands Water Project Phase 1 and change in the water sector

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Meissner, Richard

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Interest groups are omnipresent phenomena of most political societies. They are present because of their attempts to influence public policy and their representation role. These roles are fundamental agential roles. Through these roles interest...

Special Interest Groups.

Science.gov (United States)

Degi, Bruce J.

1999-01-01

Offers a reflection on the shootings at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, on April 20, 1999. Notes how every special-interest group has used the tragedy to support its own point of view, and concludes that teachers have become bystanders in the education of America's children. (SR)

Relationship of locus of control, psychological distress, and trauma exposure in groups impacted by intense political conflict in Egypt.

Science.gov (United States)

Papanikolaou, Vasiliki; Gadallah, Mohsen; Leon, Gloria R; Massou, Efthalia; Prodromitis, Gerasimos; Skembris, Angelos; Levett, Jeffrey

2013-10-01

Social and political instability have become common situations in many parts of the world. Exposure to different types of traumatic circumstances may differentially affect psychological status. The aim of this study was to compare the relationship between personal perceptions of control over the events happening in one's life and psychological distress in two groups who experienced physical trauma but differed as to whether the trauma was a result of political upheaval and violence. Views on the extent to which the state was interested in the individual were also assessed. The sample consisted of 120 patients who were injured in the Cairo epicenter and 120 matched controls from the greater Cairo area whose injuries were from other causes. The Brown Locus of Control Scale and the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL 90-R) were administered approximately three months after the January 2011 start of the demonstrations and subsequent overthrow of the government. The groups did not differ on locus of control. For both groups, externality was associated with greater distress, suggesting a relationship between perceived helplessness in controlling one's life and distress. The Cairo group scored significantly higher than the control group on the SCL 90-R Global Severity Index (GSI) and Positive Symptom Total (PST). Perceptions of state interest in the population were low; overall, 78% viewed the state as having little or no interest in them. Discussion The relationship between exposure intensity and psychological distress is examined. In addition, differences in findings in populations experiencing political chaos compared with other types of disasters are considered. Beliefs regarding personal control over one's life circumstances are more closely associated with psychological distress than the circumstances in which the trauma occurred.

Political ecology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Strohm, H.

1979-01-01

Using facts and examples, this didactically structures textbook gives an insight into the extent and consequences of the damage to the environment, with the subjects - fundamentals of ecology; - population and food problems; - the energy problem; - economic growth; scarcity of resources, recycling; - ground, water, and air pollution, - city and traffic problems; - work protection and medical care; - political alternatives and 'soft technologies'. The analysis of the political and economic reasons is combined with social and technical alternatives from which demands to be made and measures to be taken can be derived for individuals, citizens' interest groups, political groups and trade unions. Teaching models intend to help teachers to work on specific problems of ecology. (orig.) [de

Some may beg to differ: individual beliefs and group political claims.

Science.gov (United States)

Lipscomb, Martin

2013-10-01

While nurses can and do behave as intentional political agents, claims that nurses collectively do (empiric), should (normative) or must (regulatory) act to advance political objectives lack credibility. This paper challenges the coherence and legitimacy of political demands placed upon nurses. It is not suggested that nurses ought not to contribute to political discourse and activity. That would be foolish. However, the idea that nursing can own or exhibit a general political will is discarded. It is suggested that to protect and advance political discussion, to aid explanatory adequacy and clarity, the form in which nursing associates itself with political claims merits critical appraisal. Thus significant numbers of nurses probably reject or disagree with many of the political claims that attach to them--claims often made on their behalf. More specifically, the individual beliefs and goals of nurses can be in conflict with the political pronouncements of nursing scholars and organizations (group agents). It is proposed that nurses need not share substantive normative beliefs/goals and, if this proposal holds, group descriptors such as 'nurses' and 'nursing' cannot meaningfully or easily attach to political claims. Shared value theory is linked to the fallacy of composition and the concept of collective ascription error is introduced to explore the implausibility of using group descriptors such as 'nurses' and 'nursing' to refer to the beliefs/goals of all nurses. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Spanish Patriotic Groups in Mexico and the 98: Patriotism, Dissidence, and Political Proselytism

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Aimer Granados

2000-01-01

Full Text Available This paper reviews the political activities of the Spanish colony in Mexico during the Porfiriato, regarding the 1895-1898 war be­tween Spain and Cuba and the United States. The author focu­ses on three urban centers with Spanish residents -Mexico City, Veracruz and Merida- and analyzes the subject in relation with the colony's complex ideological, social and material interests. The patriotic activities carried out by the colony until the defeat of 1898 is not explained from the diplomatic viewpoint, which is the most common, but from the creation of  patriotic groups (juntas patrióticas, encouraged by the Spanish embassy and  by institutions such as the Casino, the interests of which were often contrary to those of the Mexican government and even entailed conflicts with Cuban secessionist groups also active in Mexico.

Rescheduling the special interest group.

Science.gov (United States)

Peace, Helen

1993-06-09

The committee members of the RCN Social Interest Group for Nurses Working Within Day Hospitals/Day Care for Older People would like to apologise to the large number of people who were interested in attending our conference, which unfortunately had to be postponed.

Is the political animal politically ignorant? Applying evolutionary psychology to the study of political attitudes.

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Petersen, Michael Bang; Aarøe, Lene

2012-12-20

As evidenced by research in evolutionary psychology, humans have evolved sophisticated psychological mechanisms tailored to solve enduring adaptive problems of social life. Many of these social problems are political in nature and relate to the distribution of costs and benefits within and between groups. In that sense, evolutionary psychology suggests that humans are, by nature, political animals. By implication, a straightforward application of evolutionary psychology to the study of public opinion seems to entail that modern individuals find politics intrinsically interesting. Yet, as documented by more than fifty years of research in political science, people lack knowledge of basic features of the political process and the ability to form consistent political attitudes. By reviewing and integrating research in evolutionary psychology and public opinion, we describe (1) why modern mass politics often fail to activate evolved mechanisms and (2) the conditions in which these mechanisms are in fact triggered.

BRICS and OMC: Conflicts of interest and political factor

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Dmitri Felix Nascimento

2015-10-01

Full Text Available The roles of the BRICS in the current international system extend the influence of this group of countries in the representations in the news disputes and guidelines in the World Trade Organization - WTO. The analysis aims to verify the political and economic consequences of the BRICS in the dispute with the developed countries surrounding the WTO negotiations.

Origin of political conflict in Arctic wilderness areas

Science.gov (United States)

James N. Gladden

2002-01-01

There are several important factors related to political conflict associated with arctic wilderness areas: scientific studies, economic interests, ethnic identities, geographic differences, and national histories. How groups with an interest in these wilderness areas inject their values into these factors stimulates political debate with each other and with stewarding...

Local conflicts of the 1980s in the Middle East and the interests of the Group of Seven

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Nemych, O. V.

2015-05-01

Full Text Available The author studies local conflicts of the 1980s in the Middle East and the interests of the Group of Seven. The purpose of the article is to represent the motivations of G7 of solution local conflicts of the 1980s in the Middle East. The author identified that interests of Group of Seven in resolving of local conflicts 1980s in the Middle East are can be determined by numbers of economic and political factors. This article is based on the analysis of sources and historiography. As a result of this research the author came to the conclusion that control over it – in terms of pricing policy accomplished OPEC – was an important precondition for the economy depended on oil imports of G Seven countries. Political motives component of G7 participation in resolving local conflicts in the Middle East was the trying to prevent the spread of Soviet influence on this region. Priority actions in shaping strategy of Seven countries were actually delegated to the United States, who played the leader of the Western world in the fight against the socialist camp. As a result shown that the motives solution of local conflicts in the Middle East for the Group of Seven countries were built on its own geopolitical and economic interests, rather than on a deep analysis of the internal causes of crises in Afghanistan, Lebanon or Iran.

Political Market Orientation: A Framework for Understanding Relationship Structures in Political Parties

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ormrod, Robert P.; Savigny, Heather

2012-01-01

This article is motivated by the growing need to integrate the current political science and marketing literature in order to provide a deeper understanding of the behaviour of political actors and their relationships with relevant stakeholder groups. In our article, we demonstrate how Ormrod...... strive for contextual sensitivity. By adopting this approach it is hoped that the fears noted by political scientists that political marketing is solely concerned with applying standard management models to political parties with the resulting emphasis on communication tactics at election time, together......’s conceptual model of political market orientation complements political science models of party organization by drawing attention to the competing interests of stakeholders in shaping party strategy and organizational structure. We treat parties as a multitude of actors rather than as monolithic entities...

Grants to Political Groups in the Spanish Legislative Assemblies

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Álvaro González-Juliana Muñoz

2014-06-01

Full Text Available This paper analyzes, from the perspective of Administrative Law, one of the sources of public funding of political parties in Spain: the grants to Political Groups in the Legislative Assemblies. This paper focuses on the study of the legal status of those grants, which have received little attention from the legal literature, despite its importance and despite the fact that they are poorly regulated. In this regard, this paper analyzes the legal nature of those grants and it concludes that they are authentic public subsidies. On the basis of this conclusion, the fundamental aspects of those grants become the subject of the study: the requirements and obligations of Political Groups, the procedure for the award of the grants, the control activity and the refund of the grant. As a result, this analysis makes clear the limits and errors of the meager regulation contained in parliamentary Regulations. Last, but not least, several solutions are proposed, taking the General Subsidies Act as a reference.

Working through a psychotherapy group's political cultures.

Science.gov (United States)

Ettin, Mark F; Cohen, Bertram D

2003-10-01

Macropolitical evolution, starting with authoritarian monarchism, has moved through anarchistic transitions either to the totalitarianism of fascism and communism or to liberal and social democracy. We posit analogous micropolitical development in process-oriented therapy groups: "dependence" and "counterdependence" corresponding to monarchism and anarchism; and "independence" and "interdependence" to liberal and social democracy, respectively. Transition from counterdependence to independence and interdependence may be: (1) facilitated through group members' cooperative experience of rebellion, or (2) blocked by collective identification, the internalization of dystopian or utopian fantasies that coalesce as "group-self" perceptions. We explore how group therapists work clinically with and through these several "political cultures" in the service of group and self transformation.

The Political Science of Information. Pratt Portfolio No. 2.

Science.gov (United States)

Breivik, Patricia Senn, Ed.

This collection of essays focuses on group social and political action as it relates to libraries and their environments. The introduction discusses the group-concept approach to studying library and information science. The essays are case studies of interest group politics, including: (1) the imprisonment of a librarian who refused to give…

Quantifying and Interpreting Group Differences in Interest Profiles

Science.gov (United States)

Armstrong, Patrick Ian; Fouad, Nadya A.; Rounds, James; Hubert, Lawrence

2010-01-01

Research on group differences in interests has often focused on structural hypotheses and mean-score differences in Holland's (1997) theory, with comparatively little research on basic interest measures. Group differences in interest profiles were examined using statistical methods for matching individuals with occupations, the C-index, Q…

Vested interests as drivers of political dynamics and change in China: Cases from the energy sector

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Delman, Jørgen

in the perception of recent Chinese leaderships and what is the basis for assuming that such interests are detrimental to the maintenance of contemporary Communist Party rule? In a wider perspective, I am interested to examine how vested interests form ad why, how they exert their influence, how they play......Shifting Chinese leaders and leaderships have seen vested interests as a disruptive driver of political dynamics in China ever since the establishment of the People’s Republic in 1949. Obviously, the nature and dynamics of vested interests are in the eyes of the beholder. But given the fact...

Unconventional politics of unconventional gas: Environmental reframing and policy change

Science.gov (United States)

Kear, Andrew Robert

The present Rocky Mountain West natural gas boom, enabled by historic pro-resource-development political, institutional, economic, and cultural structures, is a politically contested battle over values. Volatile political action, unconventional coalitions, and unconventional politics engulf this unconventional gas boom -- especially at the state level. In this comparative case study of natural gas policy in Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico, I measure and compare these values, expressed as frames, through textual analysis of interest group public documents and state legislative bills and statutes from 1999-2008. By developing a new measure of state legislative framing, I test the relationship between interest group and institutional framing and also provide a viable measure of policy change useful to Narrative Policy Analysis theory. Results show that competing interest group and state legislative framing efforts are dynamic, measurably different, and periodically correlative. Competing interest groups rarely engage each other, except as the conflict matures when status-quo-supporters break their silence and engage the challengers' frames that have gained legislative traction. Environmental and land-use counter-framing ensues, but status-quo-supporters remain vigilant in their economic framing. Economic frames retain their institutional privilege within Wyoming and New Mexico, but natural gas policy undergoes a complete environmental reframe in the Colorado state legislature. Although the historically dominant economy frame based on "Old West" values remains largely intact, the respective state legislatures partially reframe policy (within 4 years) using environment, alternative land-uses, and democracy frames based on "New West" and long-extant but previously marginalized status-quo-challenger definitions. This reframing is not a strictly partisan issue, but rather it is influenced by political context, policy diffusion, and long-term interest group advocacy and

Cognitive Engagement and Online Political Participation on Social Media among Youths in Malaysia: The Moderating role of Political Knowledge

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Abdulrauf Aishat Adebisi

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The role of political knowledge in engendering political participation among youths in a society cannot be overstated. Yet, there is scarcity of research in this area. Thus, this study assessed the moderating role of political knowledge in the relationship between Access to Political Information on Facebook and Twitter (APIFT, Political Interest (PI and Policy Satisfaction (PS with Online Political Participation on Facebook and Twitter (OPPFT. A cross-sectional survey was conducted on 238 undergraduate students of Universiti Utara Malaysia. Questionnaire was used to collect data which was analysed using Partial Least Squares-MultiGroup Analysis (PLS-MGA. Results revealed that political knowledge moderated the relationship between access to political information on Facebook and Twitter and political interest with youth online political participation on Facebook and Twitter. However, it did not moderate the relationship between policy satisfaction with youth online political participation on Facebook and Twitter. Generally, these findings suggests that political knowledge plays a significant role in youth online political participation in Malaysia. Consequently, this study has added empirical evidence to predictors of political participation while at the same time contributing to the body of knowledge on online political participation.

Political complexity predicts the spread of ethnolinguistic groups

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Currie, Thomas E.; Mace, Ruth

2009-01-01

Human languages show a remarkable degree of variation in the area they cover. However, the factors governing the distribution of human cultural groups such as languages are not well understood. While previous studies have examined the role of a number of environmental variables the importance of cultural factors has not been systematically addressed. Here we use a geographical information system (GIS) to integrate information about languages with environmental, ecological, and ethnographic data to test a number of hypotheses that have been proposed to explain the global distribution of languages. We show that the degree of political complexity and type of subsistence strategy exhibited by societies are important predictors of the area covered by a language. Political complexity is also strongly associated with the latitudinal gradient in language area, whereas subsistence strategy is not. We argue that a process of cultural group selection favoring more complex societies may have been important in shaping the present-day global distribution of language diversity. PMID:19380740

Group work is political work: a feminist perspective of interpersonal group psychotherapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Bender, A; Ewashen, C

2000-01-01

When practicing as group leaders, mental health nurses often incorporate Irvin Yalom's (1995, 1998) concepts of social microcosm and here-and-now. This article examines these concepts from a feminist perspective and offers an approach to group psychotherapy that processes gender issues and fosters collective consciousness-raising. A feminist perspective in group therapy challenges us to view the social microcosm as a reenactment of sociopolitical contexts and the here-and-now as a medium for developing personal and social responsibility. Therapy is not only about individual and interpersonal change in group members, but is an opportunity for healthy social change. Therapy becomes political work, raising the social consciousness of each participant as well as the group as a whole.

New Social Media and Politics in Thailand: The Emergence of Fascist Vigilante Groups on Facebook

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Wolfram Schaffar

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Since 2010, Facebook has become a battleground between competing political camps in Thailand. Facebook groups like the Social Sanction group, tellingly abbreviated as SS, and the Rubbish Collector Organization, which was founded in 2014 and has attracted more than 200,000 members, have played a crucial role in the process of political radicalization. The aim of these groups is to expose political opponents by accusing them of lèse-majesté, which can result in a prison sentence of 15 years or more. The groups also serve as fora for hate speech and are increasingly used as a tool of mobilization for state-sponsored mass events by the authoritarian regime that came to power with the coup d’état of May 2014. Contrary to its popular perception as a tool for democratization, Facebook has been successfully used by political groups reminiscent of fascist vigilante groups. This paper analyses the genesis of these groups and discusses the phenomenon in a broader political and historical context.

Partial Reform Equilibrium in Russia: A Case Study of the Political Interests of and in the Russian Gas and Oil Industry

Science.gov (United States)

Everett, Rabekah

While several theories abound that attempt to explain the obstacles to democracy in Russia, Joel Hellman's partial reform equilibrium model is an institutional theory that illustrates how weak institutions, combined with an instrumentalist cultural approach to the law and authoritarian-minded leadership, allowed the struggle over interests to craft and determine the nature of Russia's political structure. This thesis builds on the work of Hellman by using the partial reform theory to understand the evolution of interest infiltration and their impact on the formation of policies and institutions in favour of the elites or winners from 2004 to the present time period that allow them to wield law as a political weapon. The hypothesis posits that through their vested interests in state politics, the political and economic elites of the oil and gas industry have successfully stalled reform in Russia resulting in partial reform equilibrium. This is illustrated in a case study that was designed to collect the names, backgrounds, and social networks of gas and oil executives in order to determine how many of them have a history of, or are currently working as, ministers in the government or representatives in the Federation Council. The objective being to measure the degree to which gas and oil interests are present in government decision-making and conversely, the degree to which the government is present in the gas and oil industry. The thesis stresses the importance of institutional structure in determining Russia's political evolution, and uses vested interests as a primary source of structural institutional change, while also stressing on the social and international implications of this evolution.

Engaging in extreme activism in support of others’ political struggles: The role of politically motivated fusion with out-groups

Science.gov (United States)

Boos, Beverly; Kimel, Sasha Y.; Obaidi, Milan; Shani, Maor; Thomsen, Lotte

2018-01-01

Humans are a coalitional, parochial species. Yet, extreme actions of solidarity are sometimes taken for distant or unrelated groups. What motivates people to become solidary with groups to which they do not belong originally? Here, we demonstrate that such distant solidarity can occur when the perceived treatment of an out-group clashes with one’s political beliefs (e.g., for Leftists, oppressive occupation of the out-group) and that it is driven by fusion (or a feeling of oneness) with distant others with whom one does not share any common social category such as nationality, ethnicity or religion. In Study 1, being politically Leftist predicted European-Americans’ willingness to engage in extreme protest on behalf of Palestinians, which was mediated by fusion with the out-group. Next, in Study 2, we examined whether this pattern was moderated by out-group type. Here, Norwegian Leftists fused more with Palestinians (i.e., a group that, in the Norwegian context, is perceived to be occupied in an asymmetrical conflict) rather than Kurds (i.e., a group for which this perception is less salient). In Study 3, we experimentally tested the underlying mechanism by framing the Kurdish conflict in terms of an asymmetrical occupation (vs. symmetrical war or control conditions) and found that this increased Leftist European-Americans’ fusion with Kurds. Finally, in Study 4, we used a unique sample of non-Kurdish aspiring foreign fighters who were in the process of joining the Kurdish militia YPG. Here, fusion with the out-group predicted a greater likelihood to join and support the Kurdish forces in their fight against ISIS, insofar as respondents experienced that their political orientation morally compelled them to do so (Study 4). Together, our findings suggest that politically motivated fusion with out-groups underpins the extreme solidary action people may take on behalf of distant out-groups. Implications for future theory and research are discussed. PMID:29304156

The Politics of Affirmation Theory: When Group-Affirmation Leads to Greater Ingroup Bias.

Science.gov (United States)

Ehrlich, Gaven A; Gramzow, Richard H

2015-08-01

It has been well established in the literature that affirming the individual self reduces the tendency to exhibit group-favoring biases. The limited research examining group-affirmation and bias, however, is inconclusive. We argue that group-affirmation can exacerbate group-serving biases in certain contexts, and in the current set of studies, we document this phenomenon directly. Unlike self-affirmation, group-affirmation led to greater ingroup-favoring evaluative judgments among political partisans (Experiment 1). This increase in evaluative bias following group-affirmation was moderated by political party identification and was not found among those who affirmed a non-political ingroup (Experiment 2). In addition, the mechanism underlying these findings is explored and interpreted within the theoretical frameworks of self-categorization theory and the multiple self-aspects model (Experiments 2 and 3). The broader implications of our findings for the understanding of social identity and affirmation theory are discussed. © 2015 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

Women Making Politics in Rural Senegal

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Prag, Ebbe

Since the Senegalese local elections in 1996, women have increasingly entered the local political arena in rural councils and municipalities. This book addresses the question of how women act politically, what interests they defend and how they influence resource allocation. The author argues...... that structural changes have opened space for resourceful women to enter local politics. However women's mobilisation does not radically break with the clientelist and factional dynamics of Senegalese politics. Women leaders often start their career in party politics as result of co-optation by male political...... leaders, but they do not continue as passive objects of male manipulation. Senegalese female politicians demonstrate that they are capable of taking up political positions using the local women's groups and the Women's Federation as political backyard and support. They create networks that can...

Linguistic intergroup bias in political communication.

Science.gov (United States)

Anolli, Luigi; Zurloni, Valentino; Riva, Giuseppe

2006-07-01

The Linguistic Intergroup Bias (LIB) illustrates the disposition to communicate positive in-group and negative out-group behaviors more abstractly than negative in-group and positive out-group behaviors. The present research examined the function of language in reinforcing this bias in political communication. To illustrate the LIB, the Linguistic Category Model (LCM) was used, including a nouns category. Because social stereotypes are usually conveyed by nominal terms, the aim was to observe the relationship between stereotypes and language in political communication. Moreover, we were interested in analyzing the psychological processes that drive the LIB. Therefore, we verified whether the LIB is more related to language abstractness than to agent-patient causality. Several political debates and interviews, which took place before the latest Italian provincial elections, were analyzed. Results suggested that the language politicians use in communicating about political groups are conceptualized as stereotypes rather than as trait-based categories. Moreover, it seems that the LIB could not be explained only at a lexical level. Social implications of the present findings in interpersonal relations and causal attribution were discussed.

Ontology-Based Role Association Networks for Visualizing Trends in Political Debate

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andreasen, Troels; Christiansen, Henning; Eberholst, Mads Kæmsgaard

2015-01-01

Online resources, large data repositories and streaming social network messagesembed plenitudes of interesting knowledge, often of associative nature. A specific communicative context, such as the political debate in a given country, has groupings of actors, with changing attitudes and stancestow......Online resources, large data repositories and streaming social network messagesembed plenitudes of interesting knowledge, often of associative nature. A specific communicative context, such as the political debate in a given country, has groupings of actors, with changing attitudes...

Medical schools viewed from a political perspective: how political skills can improve education leadership.

Science.gov (United States)

Nordquist, Jonas; Grigsby, R Kevin

2011-12-01

Political science offers a unique perspective from which to inform education leadership practice. This article views leadership in the health professions through the lens of political science research and offers suggestions for how theories derived from political science can be used to develop education leadership practice. Political science is rarely used in the health professions education literature. This article illuminates how this discipline can generate a more nuanced understanding of leadership in health professions education by offering a terminology, a conceptual framework and insights derived from more than 80 years of empirical work. Previous research supports the premise that successful leaders have a good understanding of political processes. Studies show current health professional education is characterised by the influence of interest groups. At the same time, the need for urgent reform of health professional education is evident. Terminology, concepts and analytical models from political science can be used to develop the political understanding of education leaders and to ultimately support the necessary changes. The analytical concepts of interest and power are applicable to current health professional education. The model presented - analysing the policy process - provides us with a tool to fine-tune our understanding of leadership challenges and hence to communicate, analyse and create strategies that allow health professional education to better meet tomorrow's challenges. © Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2011.

Ethics and the politics of advancing nursing knowledge.

Science.gov (United States)

Milton, Constance L

2015-04-01

The politics of academia involve intricate human relationships that are political in nature as nurse leaders and scholars struggle to advance nursing science with complex leading-following situations. This article begins a dialogue of considering potential meanings for what it means to be political within competing interest groups in academia, and within the discipline of nursing. What is most important in the struggle for identity and what possibilities surface when potential competing interests in academia collide? The ethical tenets of humanbecoming and the leading-following model are used to illustrate issues surrounding academic integrity and possibilities for the advancement of nursing scholarship in future generations. © The Author(s) 2015.

Nuclear controversy and the political organisations and pressure groups

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Robin, M.

1983-01-01

This paper describes the rise of nuclear controversy in France and the organisation of pressure groups in a political context. The author points out that public opinion became alerted to the dangers of nuclear energy much later in France than for example in the United States and highlights the action of ecologist groups. He concludes that contrary to the case in Australia, the FRG and Sweden anti-nuclear pressure groups have not been successful in truly influencing French governmental policy in that area. (NEA) [fr

POLITENESS ON WHATSAPP: THE RESPONSES TO GREETINGS AND CONGRATULATIONS BY ENGLISH SPEAKING GROUPS IN INDONESIA

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Budi Purnomo

2017-12-01

Full Text Available In the last three years, WhatsApp (WA has become one of the most popular means of instant communication between individuals and the most preferred medium for contact among people who belong to a specific group. This tool provides the opportunity to send and receive text, audio and visual messages. Guidelines for writing WA messages are not available, and people may often be unsure which politeness and languages are appropriate. This research is intended to investigate the politeness markers used by English speaking groups in Indonesia to respond greetings and congratulations. This study is of a qualitative and descriptive nature. The data were the responses on behalf of 50 group members of English Student Club, 200 ones of English Teachers and 50 ones of English Lecturers, as evidenced in the politeness markers they respond to greetings and congratulations posted on the WA. Furthermore, the data were analyzed by using the parameter of politeness markers (Spencer-Oatey, 2008. The research findings show that the group members used various politeness markers on one occasion, but violate them on another occasion. The politeness markers they used from the most to the least frequency are politeness markers to greet, to agree, to give compliments, to express gratitude, to give notice, to apologize, to request, to give alternative suggestions, to command and to refuse. The value of this study contributes towards understanding politeness in online environments, such as WA, which is used for smooth communication through the establishment and maintenance of interpersonal relationships.

Jane Kelsey, Serving Whose Interests? The Political Economy of Trade in Services Agreements

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Maureen Irish

2009-02-01

Full Text Available Serving Whose Interests is an examination of the General Agreement on Trade in Services [GATS] since its inception in 1995, with several case studies that discuss services trade in specific applications around the world. The scholarship i s extensive and detailed. Jane Kelsey, law professor at the University of Auckland, has criticized the pro-market services trade regime i n her role as a political activist. In this book, her goals are to make the technicalities of trade rules accessible and to show their effects on people and communities.

Private Political Violence and Boss-Rule in the Philippines

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Peter Kreuzer

2009-04-01

Full Text Available Despite its rather strong and venerable democratic credentials the Philippines is still marred by political violence. Targeted killings and physical harassment by vigilantes, death squads, private armed groups, para-military militias, the police or members of the armed forces as well as violent competition for political jobs cost hundreds of lives every year. One central anchor point of this broad range of violent actors and forms are the locally embedded political bosses. (Defective democracy provides an ideal frame for the continuing competition between various segments of the highly fragmented elite. The paper shows how the bosses succeeded in controlling most means of political violence employed and were thereby able to advance their interests to an extraordinary extent. Upholding private control over means of violence furthered their interests as a political class even though it weakened the state

Political News and Political Consciousness

Science.gov (United States)

Schertges, Claudia

2007-01-01

This article deals with mass media in modern democratic societies, using the example of Israeli news reports in German television (TV) news. Central to this interest are processes of mediating politics: political socialisation and education; that is to say, empowering citizens via TV news to participate in democratic processes. The article…

“I Can Share Politics But I Don’t Discuss It”: Everyday Practices of Political Talk on Facebook

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Giovanna Mascheroni

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The article explores how a group of young people in Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom experience and manage informal political talk on Facebook. Based on 60 interviews with 14- to 25-year-olds with diverse interest and participation in politics, it understands political talk as a social achievement dependent on the situational definition, shaped by the perceived imagined audiences, shared expectations, and technological affordances. Results show that young people construct different interactional contexts on Facebook depending on their political experiences, but also on their understanding of the affordances of networked publics as shaped by the social norms of their peer groups. Many youth define Facebook as an unsafe social setting for informal political discussions, thus adhering to a form of “publicness” aimed at neutralizing conflicts. Others, instead, develop different forms of “publicness” based on emergent communicative skills that help them manage the uncertainty of social media as interactional contexts.

Political psychology.

Science.gov (United States)

Stone, Susanna; Johnson, Kate M; Beall, Erica; Meindl, Peter; Smith, Benjamin; Graham, Jesse

2014-07-01

Political psychology is a dynamic field of research that offers a unique blend of approaches and methods in the social and cognitive sciences. Political psychologists explore the interactions between macrolevel political structures and microlevel factors such as decision-making processes, motivations, and perceptions. In this article, we provide a broad overview of the field, beginning with a brief history of political psychology research and a summary of the primary methodological approaches in the field. We then give a more detailed account of research on ideology and social justice, two topics experiencing a resurgence of interest in current political psychology. Finally, we cover research on political persuasion and voting behavior. By summarizing these major areas of political psychology research, we hope to highlight the wide variety of theoretical and methodological approaches of cognitive scientists working at the intersection of psychology and political science. WIREs Cogn Sci 2014, 5:373-385. doi: 10.1002/wcs.1293 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website. The authors have declared no conflicts of interest for this article. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Structure of Vocational Interests for Diverse Groups on the 2005 Strong Interest Inventory

Science.gov (United States)

Kantamneni, Neeta; Fouad, Nadya

2011-01-01

This study was designed to examine the structure of vocational interests in a diverse sample of individuals who completed the 2005 revision of the Strong Interest Inventory. We examined the fit of three racial/ethnic groups (African American, Caucasian, and Latino/a), both genders, and three levels of professional status (GRS participant, student,…

Gateway Political Behaviors: The Frequency and Consequences of Low-Cost Political Engagement on Social Media

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Leticia Bode

2017-11-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this article is to determine to what extent engagement in easy political behaviors on social media occurs across the range of political interest, what predicts such engagement, and what effect such engagement may have on other political behaviors. It pits the idea that social media may activate the politically uninterested against the idea that social media is just another outlet for the politically interested to demonstrate their engagement. Analyzing survey data collected by the Pew Research Center, it concludes that many people, including the politically uninterested, do engage in easy political behaviors like liking and commenting on political content on social media. When they do, it can lead to greater political activity offline. However, those most likely to engage in easy political behaviors are also those who engage in harder political behaviors, offering support for both the interest and activation hypotheses.

Political Ideology, Trust, and Cooperation: In-group Favoritism among Republicans and Democrats during a US National Election.

Science.gov (United States)

Balliet, Daniel; Tybur, Joshua M; Wu, Junhui; Antonellis, Christian; Van Lange, Paul A M

2018-04-01

Theories suggest that political ideology relates to cooperation, with conservatives being more likely to pursue selfish outcomes, and liberals more likely to pursue egalitarian outcomes. In study 1, we examine how political ideology and political party affiliation (Republican vs. Democrat) predict cooperation with a partner who self-identifies as Republican or Democrat in two samples before ( n = 362) and after ( n = 366) the 2012 US presidential election. Liberals show slightly more concern for their partners' outcomes compared to conservatives (study 1), and in study 2 this relation is supported by a meta-analysis ( r = .15). However, in study 1, political ideology did not relate to cooperation in general. Both Republicans and Democrats extend more cooperation to their in-group relative to the out-group, and this is explained by expectations of cooperation from in-group versus out-group members. We discuss the relation between political ideology and cooperation within and between groups.

Modernizing dermatology interest groups in medical school: Certificate programs.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Jordan V; Korta, Dorota Z; Keller, Matthew

2017-11-15

This commentary addresses the increasingly competitive nature of applying to dermatology residency programs and how both interest groups in medical schools and their dermatology departments can help to better prepare applicants. As previous literature argued that dermatology has been underemphasized in medical school curricula, we propose five fundamental options that interest groups can implement in order to offer increased exposure to our field in medical training. Furthermore, with therecent trend of many schools conferring certificates in various specialized concentrations, we also discuss interest groups pioneering certificate-grantingprograms in dermatology competency. The pros and cons of having a recognized certificate program in dermatology are presented.

Interest group opinions about fuel reduction in southern Appalachia

Science.gov (United States)

Carin E. Vadala; Robert D. Bixler; Thomas A. Waldrop

2013-01-01

Opinions of interested publics and interest groups (n = 640) about fuel reduction (FR) in the Southern Appalachian Mountains were investigated through social survey using both pictorial and written questions. The study identified three discrete groups based on knowledge of forest history in the Southern Appalachian Mountains, attitudes toward social and ecological...

Civil society and state in the age of modernization: political dimension

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Людмила Александровна Гайнутдинова

2009-12-01

Full Text Available Socio-political practice of state, when it represented only interests of elites becomes unacceptable in the age of modernization which requires larger degrees of freedom. The solution of this conflict opens possibilities of participation in political processes for many social groups by means of political inclusion. That processes defined the shape of modern civil society.

Organizational Politics in Schools: Micro, Macro, and Logics of Action.

Science.gov (United States)

Bacharach, Samuel B.; Mundell, Bryan L.

1993-01-01

Develops a framework for analyzing the politics of school organizations, affirming a Weberian perspective as most appropriate. Develops "logic of action" (the implicit relationship between means and goals) as the focal point of organizational politics. Underlines the importance of analyzing interest groups and their strategies. Political…

Does sociability predict civic involvement and political participation?

Science.gov (United States)

Foschi, Renato; Lauriola, Marco

2014-02-01

In contemporary history as well as in political science, a strong associational life known as sociability is thought to explain the roots of modern democracy by establishing a link between the increasing availability of free time to the middle classes, increasing willingness to gather with others in circles or associations, and increasing social capital. In personality psychology, sociability is related to prosocial behavior (i.e., the need for affiliation, agreeableness, openness, and extraversion), whose importance in different political behaviors is increasingly recognized. In the present article, we carried out 5 studies (N = 1,429) that showed that political and associative sociability (a) can be reliably assessed, can have cross-cultural validity, and are properly associated with general social interest measures and personality domains and facets in the five-factor model; (b) do not overlap with similar concepts used in political psychology to account for political participation (political expertise, political interest, political self-efficacy); and (c) predicted political and nonpolitical group membership as well as observable choices in decision-making tasks with political and nonpolitical outcomes. The results are discussed, taking into consideration the extent to which specific facets of sociability can mediate between general personality traits and measures of civic involvement and political participation in a holistic model of political behavior. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

Contentious Politics and Participatory Democracy in Brazil

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Brian Wampler

2014-12-01

Full Text Available http://dx.doi.org/10.5007/2175-7984.2014v13n28p199 Contentious politics helps individuals and groups with limited political voice to place their ideas and interests on the political agenda. Contentious politics were long thought to occur when politically marginalized group had no other means to advance their political agenda. The June 2013 social mobilization in Brazil caught most political observers by surprise, especially given the creation of a large, wide-spread participatory architecture (national conferences, councils, participatory budgeting. The innovative institutions emerging in Brazil created a policy environment in which millions of citizens have regular access to state policymaking bodies. How does the institutionalization of a broader network of participatory institutions make it easier for citizens to engage in contentious politics? In what ways does this institutionalization make it more difficult for some citizens to engage in contentious politics? In what ways has the vast network of participatory institutions been largely irrelevant to how citizens use contentious politics? This article explore how the institutionalization of an extensive participatory democracy system in Brazil alters the incentive structures that encourage citizens to engage in contentious collective action.

The role of the party leadership to activization the political process of modern Ukraine

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N. V. Morar

2014-01-01

The role, place and their value is determined by the influence of which is carried out on the formation of political will and public opinion, the definition of public and governmental purposes, expressing the interests of social groups, political socialization and mobilization of voters of the national elite corps and replenishment policy, a process of public administration. It is concluded that the party leader is the most optimal form of leadership political process at the present stage of modernization of Ukrainian society as well as the most effective mechanism for implementing group interests in politics. A certain person or even a few actors perform the functions of the head of the party, his supporters organized activities to achieve program goals and objectives.

A typology of vaping: Identifying differing beliefs, motivations for use, identity and political interest amongst e-cigarette users.

Science.gov (United States)

Farrimond, Hannah

2017-10-01

The aim of this study was to identify and differentiate socially shared accounts of e-cigarette use (vaping) using Q-methodology, combining factor analysis with qualitative comments. Seventy statements on e-cigarettes, drawn from media, academic and online discussions, were sorted by participants along a continuum of agreement/disagreement, commenting on strongly ranked items. Each participant thus created their own 'account' of their vaping. A by-person correlation matrix of the sorts was conducted, then factor analysed, to identify similar accounts (pmotivated to maintain the rights of adults to vape. In Factor Two, 'Vaping as Medical Treatment', vaping was understood as a pragmatic choice about how to medicate one's smoking addiction, with the aim being to treat and ultimately reduce nicotine dependence. In Factor Three, 'Ambivalent E-Cigarette Use', participants reported fewer benefits and harboured more negative beliefs about e-cigarettes; they also strongly rejected a vaper identity, having no interest in online forums or being labelled a 'vaper' themselves. The UK e-cigarette users in this sample were not a homogeneous group; differing in their beliefs, motivations for use, identity and political interest. In particular they diverged on whether they accepted a medicalized account of vaping and identified as a vaper. Public health messages targeted to one group of e-cigarette users may not resonate with others. Crown Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Uncovering the political in non-political young muslim immigrant identities

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Niels Nørgaard Kristensen

2011-01-01

Full Text Available The theme of this paper is political identity and participation amongMuslim migrant young people in Denmark. Political identity is analysedby examining students’ political interests and perception of themselves as participants in politics, as well as their rationalities for politics. In order to address the research question ‘What characterizes political identities among Muslim immigrant young people in schools?’ we interviewed eight Muslim students from a Danish upper secondary school and from different national origins. The students’ political orientations seemed quite contradictory, even among those who might readily have been identified as a-political. Despite moderate political interest, all students showed some inclinations to participate in elections or in particular issues. However, they emphasized that their social studies classes primarily provided them with factual knowledge experience, and some students found this knowledge useful. None of the students seemed to experience school as an arena for participation. Consequently, there is first a need to emphasize the significance of a dynamic perspective on the phenomenon of political identity, and second, we need to know how students in school should be regarded as citizens in ‘the making’ or as equal citizens in a participatory arena.

Minority Political Representation: Muslim Councilors in Newham and Hackney

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Eren Tatari

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Scholars have long been intrigued by the role of minority elected officials in representing the interests of their communities. There is an on-going debate on whether distinctive minority agendas exist and whether the existence of minority representatives (descriptive representation is a necessary condition to secure the representation of minority interests (substantive representation. This article analyzes original interview data to examine these issues through a case study of Muslim city councilors and the dynamics of local government in the Newham and Hackney Borough Councils of London. It finds that the exceptionally high ethnic diversity of Newham with no dominant ethnic group, the lack of racial or religious divides among neighborhoods, and low racial tensions shapes the political culture of the Council, as well as the Muslim councilors, and yields high responsiveness for all minorities. It also finds that non-Muslim councilors play a significant role in the substantive representation of minority interests, including Muslim interests. In contrast, the case study of the Hackney Council reveals that beyond high party fragmentation, ethnicity and religiosity of the Muslim councilors vary widely and hinder effective representation. In addition, their political incorporation is low, and the leadership positions they hold seem to have symbolic rather than substantive impact. The political behavior and representative styles of Muslim councilors reveal a balancing perspective, whereby they advocate for group interests with a more moderate tone. These factors account for the low government responsiveness to Muslim interests in Hackney.

Media framing and political advertising in the Patients' Bill of Rights debate.

Science.gov (United States)

Rabinowitz, Aaron

2010-10-01

The purpose of this article is to assess the influence of interest groups over news content. In particular, I explore the possibility that political advertising campaigns affect the tenor and framing of newspaper coverage in health policy debates. To do so, I compare newspaper coverage of the Patients' Bill of Rights debate in 1999 in five states that were subject to extensive advertising campaigns with coverage in five comparison states that were not directly exposed to the advocacy campaigns. I find significant differences in coverage depending on the presence or absence of paid advertising campaigns, and conclude that readers were exposed to different perspectives and arguments about managed care regulation if the newspapers they read were published in states targeted by political advertisements. Specifically, newspaper coverage was 17 percent less likely to be supportive of managed care reform in states subject to advertising campaigns designed to foment opposition to the Patients' Bill of Rights. Understanding the ability of organized interests and political actors to successfully promote their preferred issue frames in a dynamic political environment is particularly important in light of the proliferation of interest groups, the prevalence of multimillion-dollar political advertising campaigns, and the health care reform debate under President Barack Obama.

Public sphere of politics: between classical grounds and new political actuality

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O. A. Tretyak

2016-10-01

Full Text Available The public sphere of politics as a theoretical concept of modern political science has been discussed in the article. The reasons of the increasing interest to the public sphere is a dominating subject. Studied The phenomenon of the public sphere being a tool of theoretical and methodological definition of the political world’s boundaries has been studied. The value aspects of media activity in the contemporary politics has been investigated. An attempt has been made to establish the potential of political publicity for the qualitative understanding of participatory democracy. The potential of the public sphere in the development of civil society and social capital has been described. The distinction between the public sphere of politics and political communication in the specific conditions of modern transformational societies has been reasonably grounded. The importance of the presence of state power in all spheres of life of the transformational society has been stressed. Such transformation has not been stoped after the liberal market reforms, which had to ensure the existence of a formal representative democracy. The influence of the elite and expert groups being the reason of the absence of really functioning future civil society has been considered. The features of the formation of civil and social activities as a precondition for the democratic political class’ functioning have been studied. The specifics of public political activity being the prerogative of the competent entities’ political broadcasting have been analyzed. The gradual formation of cyber public sphere and its political branch segment has been revealed. Thorough attention has been given to the processes of the public sphere’s politicization which are usual for primarily authoritarian and closed societies.

Utility of a dermatology interest group blog: the impact of medical student interest groups and Web 2.0 tools as educational resources.

Science.gov (United States)

Jalalat, Sheila Z; Wagner, Richard F

2014-01-01

The open access University of Texas Dermatology Interest Group blog was established in 2004 for the purposes of increasing communication and collaboration between medical students and dermatology faculty, residents, and alumni, as well as to promote educational opportunities and the missions for which the interest group was created. This blog is unique because of its longevity and continuous postings directed toward the educational and professional needs of medical students and residents. A blog user survey was performed to assess viewers' thoughts, purpose of viewing, demographic profile, subscriber status, usage of the blog and other Web 2.0 tools (forums, Facebook, blogs, Twitter, podcasts), and perceived usefulness. Sixty-one anonymous online surveys were completed during a 1-month period. Statistical analyses of the responses demonstrated that the utilization of web-based tools and the blog were valuable resources for students, especially for blog subscribers, those more involved in an interest group, and those reading the blog for a longer period of time. The usefulness and impact of this method of communication and dissemination of information in medical education may encourage other student groups, faculty advisors, and educators to implement similar educational tools at their institutions.

Inclusion as political mobilisation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kjær, Anne Mette; Muwanga, Nansozi

2016-01-01

constituencies. Finally, there is relatively weak pressure to push through education quality-enhancing reforms, be it from civil society in general, powerful interest groups, or parliament. At the local level, we find that how a school is situated within local elite networks is important in explaining local...... to implement qualityenhancing policies, first, because the formal and informal governance arrangements allow for a system of decentralised rent management that serves to appease lower level factions. Secondly, the NRM government is caught in the rhetoric of allowing free education in an appeal to rural......Uganda has been successful in broadening access to education. However, this achievement has been undermined by low literacy and numeracy levels and high drop-out rates. A political settlement perspective sheds light on the politics of education reforms. We find that there are weak political drives...

European Union: Gender and politics

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Žunić Natalija

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Political representation is the central issue in contemporary debates on the level of democracy in political institutions and processes in the European Union. Underrepresentation of particular groups in political institutions, decision-making and policy-making processes is perceived as the problem of justice, legitimacy and effectiveness in democratic societies. In this paper, the author analyzes the gender aspects of democratic decision-making processes and political representation of women in the EU member states. The social, historical and political dimension of women's efforts to obtain and promote their civil status and political rights have been the framework for developing the principle of gender equality as one of the founding EU principles. In the past hundred years, one of the most significant trends in politics has been the expansion of formal political representation of women. Yet, even though it has been more than a hundered years since women won their political rights in the 19th and the 20th century (the right to vote and the right to be voted, gender differences in political rights are still a substantial part of debate. Today, women's political representation is still inadequate and their political capacity and power have not been exercised to a sufficient extent (or proportionally through their actual representation in parliament. In March 2012, the European Commisision published a report on gender equality in different areas of social life; the Eurobarometer survey shows that women are generally underrepresented in politics. In national parliaments, only one out of four MPs is a woman. In the European Parliament, three out of ten parliamentarians are women. The statistics shows a huge discrepancy among the EU Member States in terms of women's representation in parliament (44.7% in Sweden as contrasted to 13.3% in Romania. The prevailing view in many studies is that post-industrial democracies are deficient as they have failed

Understanding political behavior: Essays in experimental political economy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gago Guerreiro de Brito Robalo, P.M.

2014-01-01

Explaining individual political behavior is one of the big challenges in the social sciences. The work contained in this thesis uses the tools of experimental economics, game theory and decision theory to shed light on political choices. Relaxing the neoclassical assumptions of self-interested

Political Conversation in Everyday Communicative Contexts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ângela Cristina Salgueiro Marques

2008-10-01

Full Text Available This article looks at forms of interaction and communicative exchanges in discussion groups composed of beneficiaries of a Brazilian income transfer program (Bolsa-Família Program and at how these forms contribute to the deliberative process. Discussion groups are used as a method for showing how everyday conversation and political discussion are interrelated. Our interest is not to analyze this program, but rather represents an attempt to capture and research moments in which group participants establish their own position relative to one another. At such moments, conversations on everyday subjects and personal dramas shift towards attitudes that include taking the risk of expressing dissonant opinions, explaining background assumptions, and producing counter-narratives. Eight discussion groups were established in two Brazilian cities in the Southeastern region: four in Belo Horizonte (MG and four in Campinas (SP. Keywords: everyday conversation; political discussion; deliberative process; discussion groups; poor women.

Small groups, large profits: Calculating interest rates in community-managed microfinance

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Ole Dahl

2012-01-01

Savings groups are a widely used strategy for women’s economic resilience – over 80% of members worldwide are women, and in the case described here, 72.5%. In these savings groups it is common to see the interest rate on savings reported as "20-30% annually". Using panel data from 204 groups...... in Malawi, I show that the right figure is likely to be at least twice this figure. For these groups, the annual return is 62%. The difference comes from sector-wide application of a non-standard interest rate calculations and unrealistic assumptions about the savings profile in the groups. As a result......, it is impossible to compare returns in savings groups with returns elsewhere. Moreover, the interest on savings is incomparable to the interest rate on loans. I argue for the use of a standardized comparable metric and suggest easy ways to implement it. Developments of new tools and standard along these lines...

Political and Economic Scope for Permit Markets in Europe

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Svendsen, Gert Tinggaard

1999-01-01

(organized polluters) due to the possibility of a free, initial distribution (grand-fathering). As such, a mix of green taxes (in relation to non-organized interests) and grandfathered permit markets (in relation to organized interests) should be considered in the search for cost-effective and politically...... of permit markets in the US. Therefore, the policy recommendation for e.g. CO2 reduction in Europe is to apply taxation in relation to large and non-organized groups only, such as households and the transportation sector. A permit market, on the other hand, is politically more attrac-tive to the industry...

The balanced ideological antipathy model: explaining the effects of ideological attitudes on inter-group antipathy across the political spectrum.

Science.gov (United States)

Crawford, Jarret T; Mallinas, Stephanie R; Furman, Bryan J

2015-12-01

We introduce the balanced ideological antipathy (BIA) model, which challenges assumptions that right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) and social dominance orientation (SDO) predict inter-group antipathy per se. Rather, the effects of RWA and SDO on antipathy should depend on the target's political orientation and political objectives, the specific components of RWA, and the type of antipathy expressed. Consistent with the model, two studies (N = 585) showed that the Traditionalism component of RWA positively and negatively predicted both political intolerance and prejudice toward tradition-threatening and -reaffirming groups, respectively, whereas SDO positively and negatively predicted prejudice (and to some extent political intolerance) toward hierarchy-attenuating and -enhancing groups, respectively. Critically, the Conservatism component of RWA positively predicted political intolerance (but not prejudice) toward each type of target group, suggesting it captures the anti-democratic impulse at the heart of authoritarianism. Recommendations for future research on the relationship between ideological attitudes and inter-group antipathy are discussed. © 2015 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

Political innovations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, Eva

2017-01-01

are mainly interested in assessing and promoting innovations in public service delivery, but have paid little or no attention to the need for innovations in polity, politics and policy. This article develops a research agenda for studying innovations in political institutions, in the political process...... and in policy outputs. It proposes a number of research themes related to political innovations that call for scholarly attention, and identifies push and pull factors influencing the likelihood that these themes will be addressed in future research....

Bangladesh pharmaceutical policy and politics.

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Reich, M R

1994-06-01

An analysis of the politics of Bangladesh pharmaceutical policy in the 1980s shows how significant health policy reforms in developing countries depend on political conditions both inside and outside the country. Bangladesh's drug policy of 1982 illustrates that governments can sometimes change public policy in ways unfavourable to multinational corporations, while the failed health policy reform of 1990 shows that reforms unfavourable to powerful domestic interest groups can be more difficult to achieve, even contributing to a government's downfall. The case provides evidence of basic changes in how the international agenda for health policy is set, especially the growing role of non-governmental organizations in international agencies and national policy debates. Understanding the political patterns of policy reform in Bangladesh has important implications for strategies to affect health policy in developing countries.

Cultural legacies and political preferences

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Siroky, David S.; Mueller, Sean; Hechter, Michael

2017-01-01

crucial in explaining the decision to secede, but not in a conventional pocketbook manner. To examine this theory, we analyze the 2013 referendum on the secession of the Jura Bernois region from the Canton of Berne in Switzerland, using municipal level census and referendum data. The results lend support......, ecological constraints such as geography and topography affect social interaction with like-minded individuals. On the basis of both these political preferences and ecological constraints, individuals then make rational choices about the desirability of secession. Instrumental considerations are therefore...... to the theory and suggest one way in which the politics of identity, based on factors like language and religion, can be fused with the politics of interest (preferences for more or less state intervention into the polity and economy) to better understand group behavior....

Experiences of a support group for interns in the setting of war and political turmoil.

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El Jamil, Fatima; Hamadeh, Ghassan N; Osman, Hibah

2007-10-01

Intern support groups have been instituted in many residency programs to improve resident well-being. In this article, we discuss the themes that emerged in intern support group meetings in a family medicine program operating in a setting of war and political instability. We held support groups, led by a family physician and a psychologist, that met monthly. Participants were residents in the family medicine program at the American University of Beirut. These residents began their training days after the commencement of the 34-day war between Israel and Hizbollah in 2006. Themes and issues discussed by the residents were noted and are reported in this article. We found that despite the stressors of the political situation, our interns focused on the usual stress of internship, such as the difficulties of functioning as interns in other departments and dealing with the time demands of internship as their main sources of stress at the beginning of internship. The stresses associated with the war did not emerge in the group until later in the year. These included tension with patients and political confrontations with staff, as well as personal struggles with the lack of political stability and depressed mood. This paper serves to share our experience and highlight some areas of concern that residents experience when training in a country or region that is at war.

CONSPIROLOGICAL APPROACHES TO THE REPRESENTATION OF POLITICAL PROCESSES

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Наталья Владимировна Кадурина

2013-08-01

Full Text Available The author of the paper makes an attempt to synthesize the effect of conspirological approaches on ideas of particular social groups of community about the existing political events around the world. Conspirological concepts are proving very popular in postmodern society as most modern political technologists try to treat unexplainable events of political reality through different conspiracy theories. Media actively uses conspirological concepts to attract readers and audiences, and political technologists use them as one of the means to influence the electoral processes.A growing interest to conspiracy theory determines its connection with political science. The general disadvantage of conspirological approach is poor evidences which show, according to some researches, its parascientific basis. A wide spread of conspirological concepts among political technologists and mass-media distorts the representation of political processes. To form a scientific vision of political processes the transparency of political situation is required which enables to decrease the role of conspirological approaches to political process.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.12731/2218-7405-2013-6-26

Political orientations do not cancel out, and politics is not about truth.

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Pfister, Hans-Rüdiger; Böhm, Gisela

2015-01-01

Duarte et al. propose that divergent political biases cancel each other out such that increasing political diversity will improve scientific validity. We argue that this idea is misguided. Their recommendations for improving political diversity in academia bear the danger of imposing political interests on science. Scientific scrutiny and criticism are the only viable remedies for bad science.

From War to Politics : Non-State Armed Groups in Transition, 2009 ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

An earlier project (103613) resulted in the creation of a research network on the experience of non-state armed groups (NSAGs) who have made the transition from armed resistance during protracted violent conflicts to political engagement in peace negotiations and post-war state building. This project will continue the ...

The political economy of diagnosis-related groups.

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Bertoli, Paola; Grembi, Veronica

2017-10-01

A well-established political economic literature has shown as multi-level governance affects the inefficiency of public expenditures. Yet, this expectation has not been empirically tested on health expenditures. We provide a political economy interpretation of the variation in the prices of 6 obstetric DRGs using Italy as a case study. Italy offers a unique institutional setting since its 21 regional governments can decide whether to adopt the national DRG system or to adjust/waive it. We investigate whether the composition and characteristics of regional governments do matter for the average DRG level and, if so, why. To address both questions, we first use a panel fixed effects model exploiting the results of 66 elections between 2000 and 2013 (i.e., 294 obs) to estimate the link between DRGs and the composition and characteristics of regional governments. Second, we investigate these results exploiting the implementation of a budget constraint policy through a difference-in-differences framework. The incidence of physicians in the regional government explains the variation of DRGs with low technological intensity, such as normal newborn, but not of those with high technological intensity, as severely premature newborn. We also observe a decrease in the average levels of DRGs after the budget constraint implementation, but the magnitude of this decrease depends primarily on the presence of physicians among politicians and the political alignment between the regional and the national government. To understand which kind of role the relevance of the political components plays (i.e., waste vs. better defined DRGs), we check whether any of the considered political economy variables have a positive impact on the quality of regional obstetric systems finding no effect. These results are a first evidence that a system of standardized prices, such as the DRGs, is not immune to political pressures. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The role of political affiliation in employment decisions: A model and research agenda.

Science.gov (United States)

Roth, Philip L; Goldberg, Caren B; Thatcher, Jason B

2017-09-01

Organizational researchers have studied how individuals identify with groups and organizations and how this affiliation influences behavior for decades (e.g., Tajfel, 1982). Interestingly, investigation into political affiliation and political affiliation similarity in the organizational sciences is extremely rare. This is striking, given the deep political divides that exist between groups of individuals described in the political science literature. We draw from theories based on similarity, organizational identification, and person-environment fit, as well as theoretical notions related to individuating information, to develop a model, the political affiliation model (PAM), which describes the implications of political affiliation and political similarity for employment decisions. We set forth a number of propositions based on PAM, to spur future research in the organizational sciences for a timely topic which has received little attention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Utility of a dermatology interest group blog: the impact of medical student interest groups and Web 2.0 tools as educational resources

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jalalat SZ

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Sheila Z Jalalat, Richard F Wagner Jr Department of Dermatology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA Abstract: The open access University of Texas Dermatology Interest Group blog was established in 2004 for the purposes of increasing communication and collaboration between medical students and dermatology faculty, residents, and alumni, as well as to promote educational opportunities and the missions for which the interest group was created. This blog is unique because of its longevity and continuous postings directed toward the educational and professional needs of medical students and residents. A blog user survey was performed to assess viewers' thoughts, purpose of viewing, demographic profile, subscriber status, usage of the blog and other Web 2.0 tools (forums, Facebook, blogs, Twitter, podcasts, and perceived usefulness. Sixty-one anonymous online surveys were completed during a 1-month period. Statistical analyses of the responses demonstrated that the utilization of web-based tools and the blog were valuable resources for students, especially for blog subscribers, those more involved in an interest group, and those reading the blog for a longer period of time. The usefulness and impact of this method of communication and dissemination of information in medical education may encourage other student groups, faculty advisors, and educators to implement similar educational tools at their institutions. Keywords: education, medical student, dermatology, blog

Incitement to Genocide against a Political Group: The Anti-Communist Killings in Indonesia

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Annie Elizabeth Pohlman

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Genocide and mass atrocities can be seen as the culminative result of extreme social exclusion. Two of the critical steps on the path to genocidal persecution are the isolation and exclusion of a particular group and the mobilisation and incitement of perpetrators. This paper examines the case of the 1965-1966 massacres in Indonesia in light of these two incipient stages of genocide. First, I discuss the Indonesian killings of 1965-1966 by situating them within the conceptual and legal understandings of genocide and argue that those persecuted belonged predominantly to a defined political group, that is, members and associates of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI. I argue that the exclusion of political groups from the legal definition of genocide given in the UN Convention on Genocide is unsupportable when examined both within the context that it was created and the greater conceptual understandings of genocide studies. To support this argument, I then outline the political situation in Indonesia prior to the 1 October 1965 coup and explain how the country went through a process of political pillarisation, effectively creating the conditions for the creation and then eradication of the Left in Indonesia. In the final part of the paper, I examine how these killings were incited. I argue that hate propaganda was used against the PKI and its supporters by the main perpetrators of the massacres, the Indonesian military, to incite a popular, genocidal campaign. As a result of this hate-propaganda campaign, Leftists in Indonesia experienced extreme forms of dehumanisation and social death which, in turn, facilitated their eradication.

The politics of researching global health politics

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Rushton, Simon

2015-01-01

In this comment, I build on Shiffman’s call for the global health community to more deeply investigate structural and productive power. I highlight two challenges we must grapple with as social scientists carrying out the types of investigation that Shiffman proposes: the politics of challenging the powerful; and the need to investigate types of expertise that have traditionally been thought of as ‘outside’ global health. In doing so, I argue that moving forward with the agenda Shiffman sets out requires social scientists interested in the global politics of health to be reflexive about our own exercise of structural and productive power and the fact that researching global health politics is itself a political undertaking. PMID:25905482

Teamwork Satisfaction: Exploring the Multilevel Interaction of Teamwork Interest and Group Extraversion

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French, Kimberly A.; Kottke, Janet L.

2013-01-01

Multilevel modeling is used to examine the impact of teamwork interest and group extraversion on group satisfaction. Participants included 206 undergraduates in 65 groups who were surveyed at the beginning and end of a requisite term-length group project for an upper-division university course. We hypothesized that teamwork interest and both…

Denunciation and the construction of norms in group conflict: examples from an Al-Qaeda-supporting group.

Science.gov (United States)

Finlay, W M L

2014-12-01

In situations of violent group conflict, group members often argue about how to deal with the outgroup. While some argue for aggression, force, and separation, others argue for negotiation and cooperation. Each side attempts to persuade the group that their own position is normative and is most in line with the interests and essence of the group. These arguments often involve denunciations of opponents as disloyal or deviant. In such situations, definitions of group identities and norms, and what counts as loyalty and deviance, are therefore disputed. This article analyses how a UK-based Al-Qaeda-supporting organization denounces 'moderate' Muslims in the United Kingdom who engage with secular institutions and who ally themselves with non-Muslims in political disputes. Drawing on theological, historical, and political arguments, a prescriptive norm is constructed whereby the correct behaviour of Muslims in the West is to avoid participation in secular political systems and to avoid political cooperation with non-Muslims. Muslims who are seen as breaking these norms are denounced and denigrated in a variety of ways by assigning them a range of deviant identity positions. Denunciations involve explanatory accounts which construct opponents as unworthy representatives of the group based on their deviation from Islam, or from ignorance, cowardice, mental weakness, or self-interest. This article illustrates that the practice of denunciation is an important aspect of the organization of group conflict. Finally, it argues that it is dangerous for social psychologists to treat group norms and prototypes as consensual. © 2014 The British Psychological Society.

Political party affiliation, political ideology and mortality.

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Pabayo, Roman; Kawachi, Ichiro; Muennig, Peter

2015-05-01

Ecological and cross-sectional studies have indicated that conservative political ideology is associated with better health. Longitudinal analyses of mortality are needed because subjective assessments of ideology may confound subjective assessments of health, particularly in cross-sectional analyses. Data were derived from the 2008 General Social Survey-National Death Index data set. Cox proportional analysis models were used to determine whether political party affiliation or political ideology was associated with time to death. Also, we attempted to identify whether self-reported happiness and self-rated health acted as mediators between political beliefs and time to death. In this analysis of 32,830 participants and a total follow-up time of 498,845 person-years, we find that political party affiliation and political ideology are associated with mortality. However, with the exception of independents (adjusted HR (AHR)=0.93, 95% CI 0.90 to 0.97), political party differences are explained by the participants' underlying sociodemographic characteristics. With respect to ideology, conservatives (AHR=1.06, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.12) and moderates (AHR=1.06, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.11) are at greater risk for mortality during follow-up than liberals. Political party affiliation and political ideology appear to be different predictors of mortality. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

THE POLITICS OF MULTICULTURALISM OF THE TOWANI TOLOTANG MINORITY IN SOUTH SULAWESI

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Zuly Qodir

2013-06-01

Full Text Available This article provides a description of the ethnographical and political issues of the minority group located in South Sulawesi, i.e. the believers of Towani Tolotang that still exist there even in the national political scene as they have representatives in the legislature. The community seems to be playing the politics of Towani Tolotang accommodating and making use of the will of the political regime of Muslims and Hindus, where both of them are scrambling for mutual acknowledgment and entering into the tradition of the religion: Islam or Hinduism. As a minority group, the Towani Tolotang community has a variety of strategies to survive and fight in various kinds of interest. Economic and political gain, and commodification of ethnicity and religion are rampant in the area due to decentralization. This article is based on field library and research on the minority people who have been dealing with political suppression and discriminatory treatment. Keywords: Towani, Tolotang and minority, political rights.

Conselhos de saúde, comissões intergestores e grupos de interesses no Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS Health councils, intergovernmental commissions, and interest groups in the Unified Health System (SUS

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José Mendes Ribeiro

1997-01-01

Full Text Available Os conselhos de saúde desenvolveram-se no Brasil em decorrência dos arranjos constitucionais de 1988 e expandiram a sua lógica de pactuação política entre grupos de interesses relevantes para a política pública. Organismos colegiados como as comissões intergestores representam a extensão desta lógica para as relações intergovernamentais e expressam também a intermediação da política pela técnica, acompanhando a tradição do estado de bem-estar europeu. Neste contexto, a tecnoburocracia de estado assume papel relevante no processo de tomada de decisões e na própria modelagem que o Estado processa para a atuação dos grupos de interesses. O artigo propõe o estudo destes organismos colegiados a partir de um enfoque centrado no Estado e que define dois modelos de conselhos de saúde. Um deles, o de vocalização política, caracteriza-se pelo predomínio das denúncias e por sobrecarga de demanda sobre a agenda política. Outro, o de pactuação, expressa o predomínio dos acordos entre os grupos de interesses e a autolimitação na formulação de demandas. Estes modelos não são hierarquizados e muitas vezes expressam o próprio ideário político de alguns dos grupos participantes dos colegiados.Health councils have developed in Brazil in keeping with arrangements under the 1988 Constitution, and the logic of their political consensus has expanded among interest groups relevant to public policy. Collegiate bodies, such as intergovernmental commissions, represent an extension of that logic to executive relationships and also express political intermediation by expertise, following the tradition of the European Welfare State. The state technical bureaucracy has thus developed a remarkable role in policy-making and in State-level modeling of interest groups. This article argues that such collegiate bodies should be analyzed through State action and defines two models for health councils. One, the vocal political model, is

Religion and Politics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bandak, Andreas

2018-01-01

Religion and politics provide an interesting juxtaposition. On the one hand, both may initially come across as rather self-evident categories, with religion dealing with human perceptions and what people hold as sacred, and politics addressing the control and governance of fellow human beings....... Nonetheless, such a simple opposition should only work as a starting point for an interrogation of both terms and how they have come to look and function as empirical and analytical categories. Focusing on the ways that religion is played out in relation to politics reveals different historical and cultural...... constellations and positions, which can be highlighted as variations of religion as politics, religion in politics, religion out of politics, and religion not politics....

The Effectiveness of Caps on Political Lobbying

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Matejka, M.; Onderstal, A.M.; De Waegenaere, A.M.B.

2002-01-01

In this paper, we analyze a lobby game, modelled as an all-pay auction in which interest groups submit bids in order to obtain a political prize.The bids are restricted to be below a cap imposed by the government.For both an incomplete and a complete information setting we show the following

Political learning among youth

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Solhaug, Trond; Kristensen, Niels Nørgaard

2014-01-01

This article focuses on students’ first political learning and explores the research question, what dynamic patterns of political learning can be explored among a selection of young, diverse Danish students’ first political interests? The authors use theories of learning in their analytical......, but are active constructors of their political life. Their emotions and social environment are highly important for their political orientation. It is recommended that further research focus on dynamic learning and on arenas for political learning rather than on “single agent studies.” Recommendations...

Interest Organizations across Economic Sectors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Berkhout, Joost; Carroll, Brendan; Braun, Caelesta

2015-01-01

of collective action of businesses. In contrast, we do not find consistent evidence that political institutions produce ‘demand’ for interest organizations by making laws, developing public policy or spending money. This is in contrast to the extensive evidence that such factors affect lobbying practices...... on the basis of political and economic institutional factors. Focusing on business interest representation, we show that economic institutions structure the ‘supply’ of interest organizations by affecting the number of potential constituents, the resources available for lobbying and the geographical level...

Political knowledge and awareness in adolescents.

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Furnham, A; Gunter, B

1983-12-01

Although some work has been done on adolescents' political attitudes, very little work has been done on their political knowledge. This study aimed to replicate a large study carried out eight years ago (Stradling, 1977) to see whether recent political changes altered adolescents' political knowledge and secondly to investigate the determinants (demographic, media usage, interest) of this knowledge. The results were strikingly similar to those of Stradling despite the smaller sample and the changes over time. The subjects appeared to know most about responsibility for public services and party political leaders and least about party political or parliamentary procedure. The canonical variable that best predicted overall knowledge was interest in politics and current affairs and to a lesser extent TV news watching and discussions with adults. The results are discussed in terms of political socialization and limitations of this work are considered.

Political apathy amongst students: A case study of Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University

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Ntsikelelo B. Breakfast

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The primary motivation for this research, in which a qualitative method was employed, was to examine political apathy amongst students at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. The secondary motivation was to question whether youth political apathy threatens the consolidation of democracy. The researchers arranged four focus groups at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. A purposive sampling technique was utilised. All 50 participants in the study were Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University undergraduate and postgraduate black students, with ages ranging from 21 to 35 years. The researchers encouraged participants to have maximum participation in the focus group deliberations. The researchers also made use of elite interviews in the study. The findings of this study suggest that political apathy does exist amongst students at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. Most of the participants in the focus groups indicated that young people in post-apartheid South Africa have no interest in politics.

Identity as constraint and resource in interest group evolution

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Halpin, Darren; Daugbjerg, Carsten

2015-01-01

, and the capability of challengers to demonstrate to key audiences that the ‘radical’ change is in some way consistent with the founding identity of the group. We demonstrate the application of this approach by examining a case of radical change—a shift in overall form—in a well-known UK interest group, the Soil...

Política de interesses, política do desvelo: representação e "singularidade feminina" Politics of Interest, Politics of Care: Representation and "Women's Singularity"

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LUÍS FELIPE MIGUEL

2001-01-01

Full Text Available O artigo discute diferentes estratégias de justificação da adoção de quotas eleitorais por sexo, com ênfase naquelas que reivindicam um estatuto moral diferenciado para as mulheres. Elas introduziriam um novo tipo de política, mais desinteressado e altruísta, reflexo do seu treinamento social como responsáveis pelo cuidado com os mais fracos (a começar pelas crianças. No entanto, essa "política do desvelo" ou "política maternal" termina por perpetuar a inserção subordinada das mulheres no mundo da política, na medida em que o cartão de ingresso é exatamente a negação da ação em defesa dos próprios interesses.This article discusses different strategies for justifying the adoption of sex-based electoral quotas, emphasizing the type that claim a different moral status for women. The latter advocate introduction of a new type of politics, more unselfish and altruistic, which is supposed to reflect women's social training as those who are responsible for the care of those who are weaker (beginning with children. However, this "politics of care" or "maternal politics" ends up perpetuating the subordinate position of women in the world of politics, to the extent that the very grounds for their admission-their "entrance ticket", as it were-represents the negation of action in defense of women's own interests.

Student life - Making politics matter.

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McCullough, Siobhan

2014-12-02

'What has politics got to do with nursing?' This is a question I hear often as a lecturer in nursing with a specialist interest in politics, as is the comment: 'I did not come into nursing to learn about politics.'

Hungarian Minority Politics in Post-Socialist Romania: Interests, Strategies, and Discourses

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Toró Tibor

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This paper analyses the integration strategies formulated by the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania and the Hungarian political elite in the post-communist period. It argues that the internal debates of the political community are formulated in a field where other actors (the Hungarian and the Romanian state, political parties, European institutions, etc. carry out their activities, which deeply influences both the chosen strategies and the needed resources for their implementation. Moreover, it questions the monolithic organization of the minority organization, showing that DAHR as the representative of the minority community was shaped by several internal debates and conflicts. Also from 2003 these conflicts have grown beyond the borders of the organization and since 2008 we can follow a whole new type of institutionalization. In achieving this, I introduce three strategies - individual integration, collective integration, and organizational integration - which are chosen by different fragments of the Hungarian minority elite both toward the Hungarian and the Romanian political sphere. Throughout the 1989-2012 period, the outcome of the conflict between the supporters of these strategies is deeply influenced by the policies of the two states.

Germany's energy policies from 1960 to 1980 against the background of foreign trade relations and foreign politics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Czakainski, M.

1993-01-01

There is hardly another area of politicis where the wishes and interests of different social groups clash so hard with facts and realities as the area of energy politics. The following article looks at Germany's energy politics between 1960 and 1980, it tries to highlight the vanifications of foreign trade relations and explain their impact on energy politics and on the resulting tensions on the area of foreign politics. (orig.) [de

Brazilian women in politics.

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Sanders, T G

1987-01-01

Women are gradually gaining influence in Brazilian politics, especially since recent advances in the women's movement, but they still play a limited role. There have been journals devoted to feminism and some notable feminists since 1850. In 1932 suffragettes in Brazil gained women the right to vote. Women's associations burgeoned in the 1940s and 1950s, culminating in a peak in number of women in national elected positions in 1965. A repressive military regime reversed the process, which resumed in 1975. 1975 was also significant for the Brazilian women's movement because of the U.N. Women's Year. Several large, influential feminist political action groups were formed, typically by upper class women with leftist views, although some church and union groups from lower classes also appeared. In 1979-1981, the coherence of these groups fell into schism and fragmentation, because of disagreements over the feminist political doctrines and roles, views on legality of abortion, and special interest groups such as lesbians. Another bitter dispute is opposition by leftist women to BEMFAM, the Brazilian Society of Family Welfare, which provides family planning for the poor: leftists oppose BEMFAM because it is supported by funds from "imperialist" countries such as the U.S. There are several types of feminists groups: those that emphasize health, sexuality and violence; those composed of lesbians; those originating from lower classes and unions; publicly instituted organizations. Brazilian law forbids discrimination against women holding public office, but in reality very few women actually do hold office, except for mayors of small towns and a few administrators of the Education and Social Security ministries. Political office in Brazil is gained by clientism, and since women rarely hold powerful positions in business, they are outsiders of the system. Brazilian women have achieved much, considering the low female literacy rate and traditional power system, but their

Consensus and conflict resolution: The politics of assessing risk

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nelkin, D.; Pollak, M.

1980-01-01

Not the structure of experiments can be generalized but the conditions that will allow dissenting groups to communicate effectively with administrative agencies. This includes a careful definition of the problem that gives due weight to political concerns, the appropriate involvement of affected interests, an unbiased management of the procedures, a fair distribution of expertise, and a real margin of choice. One of the more important outcomes of recent disputes is an awareness that technologies embody not only risks but also controversial political and social choices. (DG)

Political Culture, Schooling and Subaltern Groups in the Brazilian Empire (1822-1850)

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de Faria Filho, Luciano Mendes; Fonseca, Marcus Vinicius

2010-01-01

This paper articulates the concepts of political culture, schooling and slavery in order to comprehend the process of instituting modern schools in Brazil, during the period immediately after Independence in 1822. With a view to this, it takes as its starting point the strategies and proposals of different groups disputing the direction of the…

The political control of medical diagnoses - welfare retrenchment through demedicalization

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Møller, Marie Østergaard; Larsen, Lars Thorup

and how they give access to wel- fare benefits. Since there is wide popular support for universal health and social insurance, retrenchment can be legitimized by problematizing the target group or by changing the perception of the problem from a medical illness into something, which is merely a personal...... the ground for retrenchments. The qualitative case studies not only provide a detailed look into how politics take over medical decisions in order to regain control of access to wel- fare benefits. The paper also shows how the perception of target groups changes in the same process with sick people being...... interest or ‘need’. The paper compares two cases where retrenchment reforms have reframed medical conditions as personal preferences. First, access to fertility treatment has recently been cut off in the Danish health care system, because infertility is polit- ically reframed as putting their own interest...

Conservationism is not Conservatism: Do Interest Group Endorsements Help Voters Hold Representatives Accountable?

OpenAIRE

Kaufman, Aaron

2013-01-01

Much research assumes that voters know or can learn the positions their representatives take on key issue. Arthur Lupia found that voters could learn such information through advertisements and interest group endorsements. We examine whether these cues improve voters’ ability to infer their representative’s voting behavior and find that most interest groups fail to do so. In a follow-up study, we find that voters are ignorant of which positions the interest groups take on issues. Finally, we ...

Interest group influence and the delegation of police authority.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sloof, R.

1997-01-01

An interest group's choice between lobbying politicians and lobbying bureaucrats, and the decision ofpoliticians whether to delegate policy authority, are investigated simultaneously. Lobbying is modeledas strategic information transmission. By assumption only bureaucrats have the expertise to

The Impact of Political Advertising through Social Networking Sites on Egyptians’ Political Orientations and Choices

OpenAIRE

khaled A. Gad

2014-01-01

This paper examines the influence of political advertising through social networking sites on Egyptians’ political orientations and choices. The objective of this paper is to determine how Egyptians’ social networking sites users are interested in political promoting campaigns and how they deal with such campaigns. Also the paper measures the impact of these campaigns in influencing the current political events, the individuals’ political choices and orientations, and the extent to which they...

All hazardous waste politics is local: Grass-roots advocacy and public participation in siting and cleanup decisions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lowry, R.C.

1998-12-31

The combined effects of federalism and interest group pluralism pose particularly difficult problems for hazardous waste siting and cleanup decisions. Most national environmental groups have only limited involvement in local hazardous waste politics, while local grass-roots advocates have very different interests and sometimes are pitted against one another. Both the Environmental protection Agency and the Department of energy recently have begun to use site-specific citizen advisory boards at cleanup sites. This approach appears to improve communications at some sites, but does not address the issues of ``not in my back yard`` politics and alleged inequitable exposure to hazardous wastes.

The Politics of Law in a Post-Conflict UN Protectorate

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Grasten, Maj Lervad; J. Uberti, Luca

2017-01-01

rely on semi-structured interviews with international officials and a review of legal documents to argue that the process of institutional change was driven largely by a contest between conflicting legal norms, rather than a contest between politically organised interest-based groups. International...... on the background paradigm ushered in a protracted period of ideational contestation. Privatisation in post-war Kosovo was essentially about the ‘politics of law’, as the legalisation of privatisation policy led inevitably to the contentious politicisation of legal norms....

Rethinking Prefigurative Politics: Introduction to the Special Thematic Section

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Flora Cornish

2016-05-01

Full Text Available This special thematic section responds to the 21st century proliferation of social movements characterised by the slogans ‘another world is possible’ and ‘be the change you want to see’. It explores prefigurative politics as a means of instantiating radical social change in a context of widening global inequalities, climate change, and the crises and recoveries of neoliberal global capitalism. ‘Prefigurative politics’ refers to a range of social experiments that both critique the status quo and offer alternatives by implementing radically democratic practices in pursuit of social justice. This collection of articles makes the case for psychologists to engage with prefigurative politics as sites of psychological and social change, in the dual interests of understanding the world and changing it. The articles bridge psychology and politics in three different ways. One group of articles brings a psychological lens to political phenomena, arguing that attention to the emotional, relational and intergroup dynamics of prefigurative politics is required to understand their trajectories, challenges, and impacts. A second group focuses a political lens on social settings traditionally framed as psychological sites of well-being, enabling an understanding of their political nature. The third group addresses the ‘border tensions’ of the psychological and the political, contextualising and historicising the instantiation of prefigurative ideals and addressing tensions that arise between utopian ideals and various internal and external constraints. This introduction to the special section explores the concept and contemporary debates concerning prefigurative politics, outlines the rationale for a psychological engagement with this phenomenon, and presents the articles in the special thematic section. The general, prefigurative, aim is to advance psychology’s contribution to rethinking and remaking the world as it could be, not only

Transition to Market Economy in Eastern Europe: Interest groups and political institutions in Russia

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schjødt, Esben Bergmann; Svendsen, Gert Tinggaard

2002-01-01

revolutions," the old state monopolies were not removed. State monopolies have small-group advantages in contrast to the large group of private firms, which are numerous and not yet organized. It leads to an asymmetrical pattern of lobbyism in favor of non-transition, which can only be mitigated...... out comprehensive economic reforms. Free trade with the West and potential competition may put pressure on the old state monopolies. However, lobbies in the European Union may oppose free trade to maintain their monopoly....

Institutionalizing Political and Civic Engagement on Campus

Science.gov (United States)

Hoffman, Adam H.

2015-01-01

In this quasi-experimental design, I examine the impact of a political engagement program on students, looking at traditional measures of internal efficacy, as well as other areas of political engagement including levels of political knowledge, the development of political skills, and interest in media coverage of politics.

Hidden consequences of political efficacy: Testing an efficacy-apathy model of political mobilization.

Science.gov (United States)

Osborne, Danny; Yogeeswaran, Kumar; Sibley, Chris G

2015-10-01

Political efficacy-the belief that one can influence politics-is a key predictor of people's involvement in social movements. Political institutions that are open to change should, however, be seen as just. Thus, political efficacy may ironically undermine minority group members' support for collective action by simultaneously increasing their belief in the fairness of the system. The current study aims to examine this possibility in a national sample of Māori-New Zealand's indigenous minority population. Participants (N = 399) were Māori (Mage = 44.22; SD = 13.30) women (n = 272) and men (n = 115; unreported = 12) who completed a survey assessing their levels of (a) political efficacy, (b) system justification, and (c) support for the political mobilization of their group, as well as relevant demographic covariates. Consistent with past research, political efficacy had a positive direct effect on participants' support for the political mobilization of Māori. Nevertheless, political efficacy also had a negative indirect effect on political mobilization support via increases in system justification. These results held after controlling for participants' ethnic identification, self-efficacy, and conservatism. Our findings uncover a hidden consequence of political efficacy and show that, while believing that the political system is receptive to change predicts political mobilization, it can also undermine minorities' support for the mobilization of their group. Thus, our results uncover a previously unknown process that maintains inequality between ethnic minority and majority group members. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Growing Up Amid Ethno-political Conflict: Aggression and Emotional Desensitization Promote Hostility to Ethnic Out-groups

Science.gov (United States)

Niwa, Erika Y.; Boxer, Paul; Dubow, Eric; Huesmann, L. Rowell; Shikaki, Khalil; Landau, Simha; Gvirsman, Shira Dvir

2016-01-01

Ethno-political violence impacts thousands of youth and is associated with numerous negative outcomes. Yet little research examines adaptation to ethno-political violence over time or across multiple outcomes simultaneously. The present study examines longitudinal patterns of aggressive behavior and emotional distress as they co-occur among Palestinian (n=600) youth exposed to ethno-political violence over 3 years in 3 age cohorts (starting ages: 8, 11, 14). Findings indicate distinct profiles of aggressive behavior and emotional distress, and unique joint patterns. Further, youth among key joint profiles (e.g., high aggression-emotional desensitization) are more likely to endorse normative beliefs about aggression toward ethnic out-groups. This study offers a dynamic perspective on emotional and behavioral adaptation to ethno-political violence and the implications of those processes. PMID:27684400

Bounded mirroring: joint action and group membership in political theory and cognitive neuroscience

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Keestra, M.; Vander Valk, F.

2012-01-01

A crucial socio-political challenge for our age is how to redefine or extend group membership in such a way that it adequately responds to phenomena related to globalization like the prevalence of migration, the transformation of family and social networks, and changes in the position of the nation

Political participation of registered nurses.

Science.gov (United States)

Vandenhouten, Christine L; Malakar, Crystalmichelle L; Kubsch, Sylvia; Block, Derryl E; Gallagher-Lepak, Susan

2011-08-01

Level of political participation and factors contributing to participation were measured among Midwest RNs (n = 468) via an online survey (Cronbach's α = .95). Respondents reported engaging in primarily "low cost" activities (e.g., voting, discussing politics, and contacting elected officials), with fewer reporting speaking at public gatherings, participating in demonstrations, and membership in nursing organizations. Psychological engagement was most predictive (p political participation with the dimensions of political interest, political efficacy, and political information/knowledge highly significant (p political participation (p political content and did not prepare them for political participation. Findings showed that nurse educators and leaders of professional nursing organizations need to model and cultivate greater psychological engagement among students and nurses.

Russian Political, Economic, and Security Issues and U.S. Interests

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Goldman, Stuart D

2007-01-01

.... Federal forces have suppressed large-scale military resistance in Chechnya and in 2006 succeeded in killing most of the remaining top Chechen rebel military and political leaders, although sporadic violence continues...

A case study in the politics of free-market health care.

Science.gov (United States)

Begun, J W; Lippincott, R C

1982-01-01

Historically, most health occupations have developed legal and ethical restrictions on price advertising and other characteristics of "commercial" practice. Many of these regulations recently have come under critical scrutiny, on the grounds that they inhibit free-market health care delivery, thus keeping prices high, and productivity and innovation low. To help inform current health policy deliberations, we analyze the political history of anticompetitive regulations in one health occupation, optometry. Restrictions on commercial practice arose as a result of professional optometry's purge of commercial elements in the 1930s. Optometry's success in achieving commercial-practice restrictions at the state level was determined by the economic structure of the ophthalmic goods and services industry in each state in the 1930s, and by the political resources and organization of the competing interest groups. Efforts to deregulate health occupations will precipate political conflict to the extent that economic interests are threatened. Opposition to deregulation will be based overtly on the grounds that quality of care will deteriorate, and a significant political investment by proponents of free-market health care will be required to overcome such opposition.

Education and Political Development

Science.gov (United States)

Massialas, Byron G.

1977-01-01

Considers how education is related to politics with the focus on political socialization, political recruitment, i.e., the selection and training of political elites, and political integration or nation building of groups of people. (Author/RK)

The organization of political parties and the politics of bureaucratic reform

OpenAIRE

Cruz, Cesi; Keefer, Philip

2013-01-01

Bureaucratic reform is a priority of donor organizations, including the World Bank, but is notoriously difficult to implement. In many countries, politicians have little interest in the basic financial and personnel management systems that are essential to political oversight of bureaucratic performance. To explain this, this paper presents a new perspective on the political economy of bur...

Defining Functions of Danish Political Commentary

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bengtsson, Mette

2011-01-01

In Denmark political commentary is still a relatively new phenomenon. This paper analyzes the metadiscourse in relation to political commentary to identify the different understandings that have coalesced around political commentary as a genre. I argue that people in different positions (e.......g. citizens, politicians, journalists, political editors, chief editors and political commentators themselves) emphasize different explanations for the rise of the genre and thereby functions of political commentary as part of an argumentative strategy favouring their own interests...

Political Parties, Clientelism, and Bureaucratic Reform

OpenAIRE

Cruz, Cesi; Keefer, Philip

2015-01-01

The challenge of public administration reform is well-known: politicians often have little interest in the efficient implementation of government policy. Using new data from 439 World Bank public sector reform loans in 109 countries, we demonstrate that such reforms are significantly less likely to succeed in the presence of non-programmatic political parties. Earlier research uses evidence from a small group of countries to conclude that clientelistic politicians resist reforms that restrict...

The Politics of Encyclopaedias

Science.gov (United States)

Fozooni, Babak

2012-01-01

The paper assesses the political credibility of three encyclopaedias (Encyclopaedia Britannica, Encyclopedia of Marxism and Wikipedia) in relation to three chosen topics (Friedrich Engels's biography; the political philosophy of fascism; and, the discipline of social psychology). I was interested in discerning how entries are represented and…

Identification of voters with interest groups improves the electoral chances of the challenger

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sadiraj, V.; Tuinstra, J.; van Winden, F.

2010-01-01

This short paper investigates the consequences of voters identifying with special interest groups in a spatial model of electoral competition. We show that by effectively coordinating voting behavior, identification with interest groups leads to an increase in the size of the winning set, that is,

LOBBYING AND GR-PRACTICES IN EASTERN EUROPE AND THE BALTIC STATES: THE POLITICAL-SOCIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yu. M. Bolshakova

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This article analyzes the phenomenon of lobbying as a form of communication of public authorities, business and socio-political actors. The article based on the evaluation results of a poll presents a generalized picture of the functioning of lobbyists on the political landscape, disclosed the specifics of the use of GR-tech lobbyists at national and supranational level in the European Union. Analyzed data from a sociological study of the impact of information on the effectiveness of management decision-making by lobbyists in Eastern Europe and the Baltic States, evaluate the effectiveness of various political aktor-lobbyists. The system of power in the EU multi-level, lobbying is carried out with a strong competition between different interest groups. By the way, the Russian business poorly informed about the possibilities and mechanisms to defend their interests at EU level and does not use this tool. Institutes of the EU authorities, is the center of the work of lobbyists are the European Council, the Council of Ministers, the European Parliament and the European Commission. With regard to professional lobbying transparency of the process, about one in four out of five respondents said that business, trade associations and professional organizations are transparent in their approach to the process of political and administrative lobbying, while only one in five said this factor in relation to companies. Respondents clearly express support for democratization and openness of the political process, which is transparent to the various representatives and interest groups, and the lobbyists are expected to be open about their interests represented. It is not clear defined interests or lack of transparency called the most negative aspect of lobbying. Thus, many experts noted that the successful lobbying can change the state of the social environment and the socio-political relations. When both unsuccessful lobbying ends

Interest groups, the Lesotho Highlands Water Project Phase 1

African Journals Online (AJOL)

interest groups can bring about changes in the water policy arena. ... Lesotho Highlands Water Project Phase 1 as a case study. ... attempts to influence public policy and their representation ... ties concern the relations between state actors and non-state ..... 'bears responsibility here [LHWP], since it is the sponsor of.

Politeness Indicators in Nigeria Legislative Discourse

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Clara Unoalegie Bola Agbara

2018-02-01

Full Text Available In every human interaction, interlocutors strive to maintain appropriate decorum and politeness in order to avoid undue feeling of not being ‘nice’ or being insensitive to co-participant’s self-esteem or image. This culture of being ‘nice’ is expressed not only through verbal codes, but also through non-verbal cues such as pitch, tone, voice modulation, facial expression and other forms of body language. Nigeria legislative House reflects the uniqueness of Nigeria as a multicultural nation with about two hundred and fifty ethnic groups. Each tribe has a unique way of expressing ‘nice’ (politeness. This paper examines how Nigerian legislators from different ethnic groups acknowledge the self-esteem of other legislators during senate debates. The study used Scollon and Scollon’s politeness principle which states that in every interaction there is a continuous ‘face’ (self-image negotiation and this ‘face’ which is made up of two aspects - involvement and independent- must be balanced during interactions because ‘face’ is a paradoxical concept. The interest of this study is to identify and to explain how politicians, who though are in opposition, acknowledge the self-esteem of others. Six hansards were sampled from 2009 to 2010, one bill from each quarter of the year. It was discovered that speakers almost always punctuate their contributions to debate with different types of politeness indicators as a means of acknowledging both the involvement and dependent face wants of participants. The politeness indicators often used by senators include address forms which are used not only as vocative (to the presiding senator but also as designative (for reference to a third person mentioned in the speech, first person plural pronouns, rhetorical (speech politeness markers and ritualized utterances.

Psychological and Personality Profiles of Political Extremists

OpenAIRE

Alizadeh, Meysam; Weber, Ingmar; Cioffi-Revilla, Claudio; Fortunato, Santo; Macy, Michael

2017-01-01

Global recruitment into radical Islamic movements has spurred renewed interest in the appeal of political extremism. Is the appeal a rational response to material conditions or is it the expression of psychological and personality disorders associated with aggressive behavior, intolerance, conspiratorial imagination, and paranoia? Empirical answers using surveys have been limited by lack of access to extremist groups, while field studies have lacked psychological measures and failed to compar...

The visible hand of the state : on the organizational development of interest groups

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Fraussen, B.

2014-01-01

To understand dynamics within communities of organized interests, researchers have primarily studied organizational births and deaths. The organizational development of established interest organizations has received far less attention. This article claims that the evolution of interest groups'

Civic Political Culture, Participatory Governance and Political ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Prof

This study x-rayed the significance of civic political culture on participatory governance and its .... The literature on participatory governance theory assumes that deliberation is key to effective .... factors and capture all considerations involved in making certain that citizen interests .... vital element in any organization.

Organizational Repertoires and Institutional Change: Women's Groups and the Transformation of U.S. Politics, 1890-1920.

Science.gov (United States)

Clemens, Elisabeth S.

1993-01-01

Discusses social changes brought about in the United States as a result of the women's suffrage movement. Explains that groups marginalized by existing institutions must create alternative organizations if they are to be successful. Describes political innovations used by women's groups in the struggle for voting rights. (CFR)

The politics of socioeconomic status: how socioeconomic status may influence political attitudes and engagement.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown-Iannuzzi, Jazmin L; Lundberg, Kristjen B; McKee, Stephanie

2017-12-01

Socioeconomic status is hypothesized to be one factor informing political attitudes and actions. Presumably, this relationship is rooted in economic self-interest, with individuals preferring policies that would benefit them financially. In addition, these economic policy preferences are assumed to translate into political action. However, the relationships between socioeconomic status and political attitudes and behavior, as well as the psychological mechanisms associated with those relationships, are not straightforward. Here, we briefly review the current state of knowledge on the relationships between socioeconomic status and political attitudes and behavior. Overall, the research suggests that while socioeconomic status informs political attitudes toward economic policies, these attitudes may not correlate with complementary political behavior. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Strengthening nurses' political identity through service learning partnerships in education.

Science.gov (United States)

Olsan, Tobie H; Forbes, Rebecca A; MacWilliams, Gail; Norwood, Wade S; Reifsteck, Mary A; Trosin, Brenda; Weber, Margaret M

The extent to which nursing students are educationally prepared to lead health policy initiatives is inextricably linked to their political identity. Knowing and showing oneself to be a politic person in interactions with others is a dynamic social process that the authors propose can be facilitated by innovative, community-based service learning partnerships. A partnership between an elected city councilman and Registered Nurses in a baccalaureate-level professional issues course demonstrates how service learning can create a context for students' political socialization. In a pilot study, systematic qualitative research techniques were used to analyze the partners' reflections about their relationship. Findings suggest that students' political identities were developed through involvement in the community. Working on issues of mutual interest also raised policy makers' and nurses' consciousness of the value both groups contribute to addressing problems in urban communities.

Fostering marginalized youths' political participation: longitudinal roles of parental political socialization and youth sociopolitical development.

Science.gov (United States)

Diemer, Matthew A

2012-09-01

This study examines the roles of parental political socialization and the moral commitment to change social inequalities in predicting marginalized youths' (defined here as lower-SES youth of color) political participation. These issues are examined by applying structural equation modeling to a longitudinal panel of youth. Because tests of measurement invariance suggested racial/ethnic heterogeneity, the structural model was fit separately for three racial/ethnic groups. For each group, parental political socialization: discussion predicted youths' commitment to produce social change and for two groups, longitudinally predicted political participation. This study contributes to the literature by examining civic/political participation among disparate racial/ethnic groups, addresses an open scholarly question (whether youths' commitment to create social change predicts their "traditional" participation), and emphasizes parents' role in fostering marginalized youths' civic and political participation.

A trauma-like model of political extremism: psycho-political fault lines in Israel.

Science.gov (United States)

Laor, Nathaniel; Yanay-Shani, Alma; Wolmer, Leo; Khoury, Oula

2010-10-01

This study examines a trauma-like model of potentially violent political extremism among Jewish Israelis. We study the psychosocial characteristics of political extremists that may lie at the root of sociopolitical instability and assess personal (gender, stressful life events, Holocaust family background, and political activism) and psychological parameters (self- and political transcendence, perceived political threats, in/out-group identification ratio) that may predict readiness to engage in destructive political behavior. We examine the ideological zeal of various political groups, the relationship between the latter and perceived political threats, and the predictors of extreme political activism. Results showed that the extreme political poles displayed high level of ideological and morbid transcendence. Right extremists displayed higher perceived threats to physical existence and national identity. Left extremists scored highest on perceived moral integrity threat. Higher perceived threats to national identity and moral integrity, risk, and self-transcendence statistically explain morbid transcendence. When fear conjures up extremely skewed sociopolitical identifications across political boundaries, morbid transcendence may manifest itself in destructive political activity. © 2010 Association for Research in Nervous and Mental Disease.

Polity age and political budget cycles

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Aaskoven, Lasse

2018-01-01

Incumbent incentive for competence-signaling and lack of voter information are generally thought to be factors that increase the prevalence of political budget cycles. These mechanisms should be more prevalent in new political units. Since the creation of new political units is rarely exogenous......-experimental to study whether political budget cycles are larger in new political units. Contrary to theoretical predictions, political budget cycles seem to be of a smaller scale in the new municipalities, but only regarding budget cycles in budgetary overruns. The findings are of wider interest for discussions about...... the mechanisms behind context-conditional political budget cycles....

Political Identitiy Of A Minority Group Study Of Noaulu State Community Survival Strategy In Sepa Central Maluku

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abdul Manaf Tubaka

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This study has five objectives. Firstly why religion of Noaulu can survive in the Midst of social change Increasingly. Secondly how the relationship that has developed between Naulu Community and the government maintains Reviews their identity. Thirdly how the government treats the minority of Noaulu along with Reviews their existence. Fourthly how the factors of social culture and politics influence the sustainability of the political dynamic of Noaulu community in Sepa. Sixthly how the shared value that has been applied by Noaulu community and the political identity as addressing the political dynamic of the social structure of society. This study used a qualitative method with the approach of verstehen or understanding to dig the data is from inside inside view of values or meanings that comes from the subject of the study through the individuals and the phenomenon of political identity in Noaulu community. Data were gained through the observation depth interview and documentation. The analysis of data begins with making the abstraction Categorization coding checking the correctness of the data and then interpreting the data is and drawing the conclusion. Results of the study Showed that firstly the religion Becomes the adhesive strength of identity that Allows the sustainability of Noaulu Community. Secondly each of the minority community it will adapt Strategically to the power of the state in the relations of Resistance in compliance. Thirdly the New Order State has made the space plurality of race religion and ethnicity in the political stability that is rigid Thus it turns off the articulation space of religion and cultural identity of each minority group. Fourthly factors of social cultural political and give impact in the area of social relations culture and politics as well. Fifthly each of minority community always possess shared values such as high trust commitment to the religion loyaity to the group and the value of reciprocity

Political economy models and agricultural policy formation : empirical applicability and relevance for the CAP

OpenAIRE

Zee, van der, F.A.

1997-01-01

This study explores the relevance and applicability of political economy models for the explanation of agricultural policies. Part I (chapters 4-7) takes a general perspective and evaluates the empirical applicability of voting models and interest group models to agricultural policy formation in industrialised market economics. Part II (chapters 8-11) focuses on the empirical applicability of political economy models to agricultural policy formation and agricultural policy developmen...

Political Practice and Its Implication on Folk Art Marginalization (Case Study of Wayang Orang/ Human Puppet Ngesti Pandhowo

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Restu Lanjari

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The government, political practice, both reflected in the government, politics, policies and the attitude of the public figure, influences the existence of folk art that is overshadowed by changes as the results of modernization and industrialization. The aim of this research is to find out the marginalization of folk art because of political practice. This research was done using a qualitative approach while the subject of this research was Ngesti Pandhawa Human Puppet Group. The result of this research showed that folk art could be marginalized because of the influence of the changes in economic and politic that was formulated inside the modernization waves and technology development that offered new values. The attention of the government on the existence of folk art was still being questioned because of politic budget. The budget for art was extremely small compared to the budget for sport. The existence of folk art depended on the favor and interest of the local leaders, especially political interest.

Engagement, Passivity and Detachment: 16-Year-Old Students' Conceptions of Politics and the Relationship between People and Politics

Science.gov (United States)

Mathé, Nora Elise Hesby

2018-01-01

While there is a wealth of literature on young people and politics, most studies have examined their interest, trust and participation in politics as well as their attitudes toward and knowledge about formal politics. Little is known, however, about young people and the concept of politics. This article investigates 16-year-old students'…

Intra-Party Dynamics and the Political Transformation of Non-State Armed Groups

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Véronique Dudouet

2012-05-01

Full Text Available Although non-state armed groups are primary stakeholders in contemporary political conflicts, there has been little research into their members’ perspectives on internal factors shaping radicalisation and de-radicalisation. State and international actors often assume that bringing rebel leaders to the negotiating table or “converting” them to peaceful politicians means weakening, splitting, or dismantling militant structures. This paper re-evaluates those assumptions in the light of rebel leaders’ own accounts of internal organisational dynamics before, during, and after political conflicts and peace settlements. Participatory action research with “insider experts” from armed movements in Northern Ireland, Kosovo, Nepal, Aceh, El Salvador, Colombia, and South Africa reveals insiders’ analysis of leadership and organisational dynamics during armed conflict and political talks and highlights the rational decision-making process whereby proactive leaders constantly (reassess and adjust their tactics (from unarmed to armed and vice versa as the strategic environment evolves. Horizontal and vertical communication between members is critical for enabling collective ownership of transformation processes from violent insurgency to peaceful transition and preventing internal splits and disaffection during peace negotiations. The claim that rebel organisations should be dismantled as quickly as possible during peace processes is found to be dubious, highlighting instead the importance of retaining cohesive coordination and communication structures during volatile post-war transitions.

'Grounded' Politics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schmidt, Garbi

2012-01-01

play within one particular neighbourhood: Nørrebro in the Danish capital, Copenhagen. The article introduces the concept of grounded politics to analyse how groups of Muslim immigrants in Nørrebro use the space, relationships and history of the neighbourhood for identity political statements....... The article further describes how national political debates over the Muslim presence in Denmark affect identity political manifestations within Nørrebro. By using Duncan Bell’s concept of mythscape (Bell, 2003), the article shows how some political actors idealize Nørrebro’s past to contest the present...... ethnic and religious diversity of the neighbourhood and, further, to frame what they see as the deterioration of genuine Danish identity....

Maldives. Package on population education for special interest groups developed.

Science.gov (United States)

1995-01-01

The Population Education Program of the Non-Formal Education Center has developed a package of Population Education for Special Interest Groups comprising a learning package and fieldworker's guide. The learning package is especially developed for teaching population education for out-of-school populations. Special interest groups in Maldives include newly married couples, adolescents, and working youth. Produced under the guidance of UNESCO, Bangkok, the package contains 36 different materials such as posters, charts, leaflets, booklets, stories, and illustrated booklets which may be taught in 36 to 45 periods. The materials deal with eight themes, namely, family size and family welfare, population and resources, delayed marriage and parenthood, responsible parenthood, population-related values and beliefs, women in development, AIDS/STD, and respect for old people. Accompanying the learning package is the fieldworker's guide used to teach the package. It contains individual guides for each of the 36 learning materials. The guide gives the titles of the materials, format, objectives of the materials, messages, target groups, and an overview of the content of each learning materials. The methodologies used for teaching the learning materials include role playing, group discussion, questioning, brainstorming, survey, creative writing, problem-solving and evaluation. The package will be used by fieldworkers to conduct island-based population education courses. full text

Words of foreign origin in political discourse

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sabina Zorčič

2012-12-01

Full Text Available The paper discusses the use of words of foreign origin in Slovenian political discourse. At the outset, this usage is broken down into four groups: the first contains specific phrases and terminology inherent to the political domain; the second contains words of foreign origin generally present in the Slovene language (because of their high frequency of nonexclusivistic use, these words are not of interest to the scope of this investigation; the third contains various words of foreign origin used as affectional packaging for messages with the aim of stimulating the desired interpretation (framing reality; the fourth group, which is the most interesting for our research, is made up of words of foreign origin which could have a marker: + marked, + not necessary, + unwanted, but only if we accept the logic of purism. All the words in this group could be replaced - without any loss of meaning - with their Slovene equivalents. The speakerʼs motivation for using the foreign word is crucial to our discussion. In the framework of Pierre Bourdieuʼs poststructural theory as well as Austinʼs and Searleʼs speech act theory, statistical data is analysed to observe how usage frequency varies in correlation with selected factors which manifest the speakerʼs habitus. We argue that words of foreign origin represent symbolic cultural capital, a kind of added value which functions as credit and as such is an important form of the accumulation of capital.

CHALLENGES FOR TODAY’S RUSSIAN POLITICAL ELITE, AND WAYS TO ADDRESS THEM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ф И Шарков

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The authors aimed to conduct a study of the current state and prospects for the development of elitology in Russia, and to identify the public perception of political leaders, which is necessary for federal and regional elites and for improving the efficiency of the state personnel policy, mechanisms for interaction of elites in the social-political space and, thus, for increasing the transparency of power. The authors rely on the political, historical-legal, formal-legal, and structural-functional analytical approaches. Based on the results of the panel expert surveys conducted during the First All-Russian Elitological Congress “Elitology of Russia: The Current State and Prospects for the Development” (2013, Rostov-on-Don and the Second All-Russian Elitological Congress “Elitology and Strategies for the Development of Contemporary Russia” (2016, Rostov-on-Don, the authors reconstruct the general perception of Russian elites by the expert com-munity, and the dynamics of changes in the elite group; identify the public estimates of today’s regional political elites, and a discrepancy between elitism in the traditional sense and the real political power. The comparison of the results of the panel surveys conducted in 2013 and 2016 allowed to combine the findings in the groups: general perception of the Russian elites and the reliability of information about them; estimates of the dynamics of qualitative changes in the elites; measures to promote the development of inter-elite interaction and leadership. The authors made the following conclusions: both public and expert opinions underestimate the elite capital of the ruling groups; there are system symptoms of oligarchization of the elites that tend to use non-democratic means of holding power; there is an obvious task of changing the approaches to assessing and recruiting elites in the current social-political situation in Russia; in 2017, the Russian society is at the crossroads, and the

Historical events, groups and mentors: on agents of politicization and multiple ways of entering politics in Argentina

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mariana Gené

2017-12-01

Full Text Available This article analyzes the processes of politicization of the elites of the Interior Ministry in Argentina. Supported by in-depth interviews, archival material, journalistic records, and specific bibliography, the paper seeks to shed light on the centrality of historical events, militancy groups, and mentors in such paths. Firstly, we reflect on the role of political events understood as milestones of politicization, which then fuel a dispute over their interpretation and appropriation. Then we refer to the multiple character of the militancy groups and the theoretical and practical knowledge there harvested. Finally, we focus on the role played by mentors in facilitating experiences and contacts, fundamental rudiments for the political profession.

"Self-promotion": How regulatory focus affects the pursuit of self-interest at the expense of the group

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zaal, Maarten; Van Laar, C.; Stahl, Tomas; Ellemers, Naomi; Derks, Belle

Self-interested behavior may have positive consequences for individual group-members, but also negatively affects the outcomes of the group when group-level and individual-level interests are misaligned. In two studies, we examined such self-interested, group-undermining behavior from the

Motives of corporate political donations: industry regulation, subjective judgement and the origins of pragmatic and ideological corporations.

Science.gov (United States)

Harrigan, Nicholas M

2017-12-01

What motivates corporate political action? Are corporations motivated by their own narrow economic self-interest; are they committed to pursuing larger class interests; or are corporations instruments for status groups to pursue their own agendas? Sociologists have been divided over this question for much of the last century. This paper introduces a novel case - that of Australia - and an extensive dataset of over 1,500 corporations and 7,500 directors. The paper attempts to understand the motives of corporate political action by examining patterns of corporate political donations. Using statistical modelling, supported by qualitative evidence, the paper argues that, in the Australian case, corporate political action is largely motivated by the narrow economic self-interest of individual corporations. Firms' interests are, consistent with regulatory environment theory, defined by the nature of government regulation in their industry: those in highly regulated industries (such as banking) and those dependent on government support (such as defence) tend to adopt a strategy of hedging their political support, and make bipartisan donations (to both major parties). In contrast, firms facing hostile regulation (such as timber or mining), and those without strong dependence on state support (such as small companies) tend to adopt a strategy of conservative partisanship, and make conservative-only donations. This paper argues that regulatory environment theory needs to be modified to incorporate greater emphasis on the subjective political judgements of corporations facing hostile regulation: a corporation's adoption of conservative partisanship or hedging is not just a product of the objective regulation they face, but also whether corporate leaders judge such regulation as politically inevitable or something that can be resisted. Such a judgement is highly subjective, introducing a dynamic and unpredictable dimension to corporate political action. © London School of

Political priorities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ren, Jingzheng

2016-01-01

…THE POLITICAL LEADERS of the local government of Chongqing, China, vigorously promote a low-carbon economy and sustainable development to mitigate environmental pollution. Accordingly, research grants focused on this issue were supported by the government, and our group obtained a grant for a pr......…THE POLITICAL LEADERS of the local government of Chongqing, China, vigorously promote a low-carbon economy and sustainable development to mitigate environmental pollution. Accordingly, research grants focused on this issue were supported by the government, and our group obtained a grant...... for a project about industrial park planning and design.…In my view, political priorities based on correct decision-making and market requirements are beneficial for researchers....

Implementation Politics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hegland, Troels Jacob; Raakjær, Jesper

2008-01-01

level are supplemented or even replaced by national priorities. The chapter concludes that in order to capture the domestic politics associated with CFP implementation in Denmark, it is important to understand the policy process as a synergistic interaction between dominant interests, policy alliances...

The ancestral logic of politics: upper-body strength regulates men's assertion of self-interest over economic redistribution.

Science.gov (United States)

Petersen, Michael Bang; Sznycer, Daniel; Sell, Aaron; Cosmides, Leda; Tooby, John

2013-07-01

Over human evolutionary history, upper-body strength has been a major component of fighting ability. Evolutionary models of animal conflict predict that actors with greater fighting ability will more actively attempt to acquire or defend resources than less formidable contestants will. Here, we applied these models to political decision making about redistribution of income and wealth among modern humans. In studies conducted in Argentina, Denmark, and the United States, men with greater upper-body strength more strongly endorsed the self-beneficial position: Among men of lower socioeconomic status (SES), strength predicted increased support for redistribution; among men of higher SES, strength predicted increased opposition to redistribution. Because personal upper-body strength is irrelevant to payoffs from economic policies in modern mass democracies, the continuing role of strength suggests that modern political decision making is shaped by an evolved psychology designed for small-scale groups.

Political Ideology, Trust, and Cooperation

Science.gov (United States)

Balliet, Daniel; Tybur, Joshua M.; Wu, Junhui; Antonellis, Christian; Van Lange, Paul A. M.

2016-01-01

Theories suggest that political ideology relates to cooperation, with conservatives being more likely to pursue selfish outcomes, and liberals more likely to pursue egalitarian outcomes. In study 1, we examine how political ideology and political party affiliation (Republican vs. Democrat) predict cooperation with a partner who self-identifies as Republican or Democrat in two samples before (n = 362) and after (n = 366) the 2012 US presidential election. Liberals show slightly more concern for their partners’ outcomes compared to conservatives (study 1), and in study 2 this relation is supported by a meta-analysis (r = .15). However, in study 1, political ideology did not relate to cooperation in general. Both Republicans and Democrats extend more cooperation to their in-group relative to the out-group, and this is explained by expectations of cooperation from in-group versus out-group members. We discuss the relation between political ideology and cooperation within and between groups. PMID:29593363

Social goal-objective formation, democracy and national interest a theory of political economy under fuzzy rationality

CERN Document Server

Dompere, Kofi Kissi

2014-01-01

This book presents the development of a theory of social goal-objective formation and its relationship to national interest and social vision under a democratic decision-choice system with imperfect information structure. It provides a framework for the application of fuzzy logic and its mathematics to the analysis in resolving conflicts in individual preferences in the collective decision-choice space without violence. The book demonstrates how to use fuzzy logic and its mathematics in the study of economics, social sciences and other complex systems. It also presents the use of collaborative tools of opposites, duality, polarity, continuum in fuzzy paradigm with its logic, laws of thought and mathematics in developing a new approach to the theory of political economy in order to enhance the constructs of social decision-choice theory.

Ideology, interest-group formation, and protest: the case of the anti-nuclear power movement, the Clamshell Alliance, and the New Left

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cohen, E.M.

1981-01-01

The thesis analyzes the development of the Clamshell Alliance, the first and most successful anti-nuclear power protest group. The key question the dissertation asks is how did this organization stage such popular and well-attended protests during a period when leftist political activity seemed to have died out, and little mass protest was taking place. The thesis also explores why the Clamshell Alliance disintegrated at the same time as the anti-nuclear power movement's cause was gaining public acceptance in the wake of the Three Mile Island power-plant accident. The thesis finds that the principal resources the Clamshell drew upon to solve the problems of organizational formation were the activists, organizations, and ideology of the surviving New Left. The dissertation studies the struggles of the Clamshell Alliance as an example of the recurrent problems of leftist political activism in the U.S. It is concluded that only under special conditions can protest outside of regular political channels be both popular and effective. It is also proved that a larger organizational and ideological legacy of the sixties remains than is generally recongnized. Leftist beliefs continued to have adherents even after the protests stopped. Further, many individuals who came to political maturity after the sixties also were found to hold leftist beliefs. However, the political potential of this group can only be realized when an organization temporarily overcomes the barriers to mass leftist political action by developing an issue and a set of tactics that can appeal to leftists and nonleftists alike. Between such special acts of innovation the Left remains a political undercurrent outside of mainstream politics and without a means of effective influence because of its unwillingness to engage in conventional politics

Political economy models and agricultural policy formation : empirical applicability and relevance for the CAP

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zee, van der F.A.

1997-01-01

This study explores the relevance and applicability of political economy models for the explanation of agricultural policies. Part I (chapters 4-7) takes a general perspective and evaluates the empirical applicability of voting models and interest group models to agricultural policy

Silent Politics – How local chambers of commerce in the Philippines fail to foster democratisation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Basanta, Thapa

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Philippine democratic consolidation stagnates despite a vibrant civil society. A comparative exploration of three local chambers of commerce in the Visayas and Mindanao reveals that, contrary to established typologies, it is the decidedly non-confrontational stance towards government that keeps the chambers as civil society actors from contributing to democratic consolidation. Further, it becomes apparent that working within the existing clientelistic political structures is the most efficient strategy for interest groups to achieve political goals, while publicly confrontational strategies, which may be most conducive to democratic consolidation, can result in heavy political and economic costs.

Interest Groups' Influence over Drug Pricing Policy Reform in South Korea

Science.gov (United States)

Chung, Woojin

2005-01-01

In 1999, the Korean government made a drug pricing policy reform to improve the efficiency and transparency of the drug distribution system. Yet, its policy formation process was far from being rational. Facing harsh resistance from various interest groups, the government changed its details into something different from what was initially investigated and planned. So far, little evidence supports any improvement in Korea's drug distribution system. Instead, the new drug pricing policy has deteriorated Korea's national health insurance budget, indicating a heavier economic burden for the general public. From Korea's experience, we may draw some lessons for the future development of a better health care system. As a society becomes more pluralistic, the government should come out of authoritarianism and thoroughly prepare in advance for resistance to reform, by making greater efforts to persuade strong interest groups while informing the general public of potential benefits of the reform. Additionally, facing developing civic groups, the government should listen but not rely too much on them at the final stage of the policy formation. Many of the civic groups lack expertise to evaluate the details of policy and tend to act in a somewhat emotional way. PMID:15988802

Interest groups' influence over drug pricing policy reform in South Korea.

Science.gov (United States)

Chung, Woo Jin; Kim, Han Joong

2005-06-30

In 1999, the Korean government made a drug pricing policy reform to improve the efficiency and transparency of the drug distribution system. Yet, its policy formation process was far from being rational. Facing harsh resistance from various interest groups, the government changed its details into something different from what was initially investigated and planned. So far, little evidence supports any improvement in Korea's drug distribution system. Instead, the new drug pricing policy has deteriorated Korea's national health insurance budget, indicating a heavier economic burden for the general public. From Korea's experience, we may draw some lessons for the future development of a better health care system. As a society becomes more pluralistic, the government should come out of authoritarianism and thoroughly prepare in advance for resistance to reform, by making greater efforts to persuade strong interest groups while informing the general public of potential benefits of the reform. Additionally, facing developing civic groups, the government should listen but not rely too much on them at the final stage of the policy formation. Many of the civic groups lack expertise to evaluate the details of policy and tend to act in a somewhat emotional way.

PATTERNS OF INTERNET AND TRADITIONAL MEDIA USE FOR POLITICAL INFORMATION AND POLITICAL PARTICIPATION IN MALAYSIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohamad Zaini Abu Bakar

2011-06-01

Full Text Available There has been a growing academic interest in the role of new communication technology in the political process in Asia. The increasing influence of the Internet to diffuse political information may have facilitated high voter involvement in the political process in this region. This study examines patterns of on-line and traditional news media use among people who have access to the Internet in Malaysia. The results show an association between the use of the Internet and traditional media -- newspapers, television, and radio -- for political information among the respondents interviewed. This study suggests that the Internet is widely used to gather political information, but its use for this purpose is not replacing the newspapers and television. There is also an indication that the Internet users participate online in a limited number of political activities. However, the political knowledge gained from the Internet does not seem to influence the respondents’ choice of political candidate in elections.

Traditional medicine, professional monopoly and structural interests: a Korean case.

Science.gov (United States)

Cho, H J

2000-01-01

Oriental medicine (OM) is a widely practised traditional healing modality across the East Asian countries. The typical operating mode of traditional medicine in the region is characterized by a relatively stable, though asymmetrical, relationship with the biomedically-oriented health care system with a varying degree of collaboration. The present paper looks at the major conflict between OM and pharmacy in South Korea in the 1990s. Most of the discussions over the so-called 'Hanyak Punjaeng'(OM vs pharmacy dispute) have so far been carried out in the perspective of interest/pressure group politics. But this paper presents an alternative analysis about the genesis, process and resolution of the dispute. It is argued that Robert Alford's 'structural interests' model, rather than the conventional pluralist perspective, offers the most plausible explanation of the conflict. Three key findings are ascertained. First, a sectional, inter-professional conflict can erupt into a major social cataclysm beyond the confines of health care services, an unlikely incident of a 'low politics' case becoming a 'high politics' affair. Second, a bipartite professional monopoly based on the principle of professional credentialism came to be established. Third, the dispute brought about a notable change in the structural power distribution between the corporate rationalizer and professional monopolist.

Once upon an Oldman: special interest politics and the Oldman River dam

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Glenn, J.

1999-01-01

The Alberta government in 1986 commenced the construction of the Oldman irrigation dam in southern Alberta, and this sparked a controversy pitting the Alberta government and the federal government and a well-organized and highly effective irrigation lobby against local landowners, environmental interest groups, and the Peigan Indian band. At its peak in the early 1990s, the dispute featured a minor uprising on the Peigan reserve, an environmental review by the government in Ottawa, and rulings by the Supreme Court, as well the attention of the national media. The book tells the story of that controversy from its beginnings in 1976 to the present day. A critical analysis is made of how the participants dealt with some of the major issues at stake. The book emphasizes the continuity of events and what the outcomes might mean for the broader issues of environmental integrity and fairness to the Indian people. The book was researched and written in order to provide a clear an coherent account of the Oldman controversy, to show how it revealed the differences between what governments say about the environment and Indian people and how they act toward them, and illustrate the impotence of special interest groups in bringing about changes that are contrary to the received wisdom. refs

Words of foreign origin in political discourse

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sabina Zorčič

2012-12-01

Full Text Available The paper discusses the use of words of foreign origin in Slovenian political discourse. At the outset, this usage is broken down into four groups: the first contains specific phrases and terminology inherent to the political domain; the second contains words of foreign origin generally present in the Slovene language (because of their high frequency of nonexclusivistic use, these words are not of interest to the scope of this investigation; the third contains various words of foreign origin used as affectional packaging for messages with the aim of stimulating the desired interpretation (framing reality; the fourth group, which is the most interesting for our research, is made up of words of foreign origin which could have a marker: + marked, + not necessary, + unwanted, but only if we accept the logic of purism. All the words in this group could be replaced - without any loss of meaning - with their Slovene equivalents. The speakerʼs motivation for using the foreign word is crucial to our discussion. In the framework of Pierre Bourdieuʼs poststructural theory as well as Austinʼs and Searleʼs speech act theory, statistical data is analysed to observe how usage frequency varies in correlation with selected factors which manifest the speakerʼs habitus. We argue that words of foreign origin represent symbolic cultural capital, a kind of added value which functions as credit and as such is an important form of the accumulation of capital.       

Faithless: The politics of new atheism

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Steven Kettell

2013-11-01

Full Text Available The emergence of ‘new atheism’ during the course of the last decade helped fuel an upsurge of interest in issues around religion. But scholarly analysis of new atheism, particularly its political dimensions, remains embryonic. This paper addresses this lacuna by examining the politics of new atheism across a variety of themes related to politics. These include the causal factors underpinning its emergence and development, its organisational structure and composition, the political strategies pursued by its proponents, and the various internal tensions and conflicts that these dynamics have produced.

Climatic change as an argument in the chase for tax money and market intervention. Political economics and scientific uncertainty

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Benedictus, A.

2006-01-01

Based on a political-economical analysis of the stakeholders in the debate on climatic change the author states that the people involved use their arguments on climatic change and its consequences for their own interest and purposes. The precautionary principle is the democratic alibi for politicians and other interest groups to use those interests over the heads of the misguided public [nl

Restoring Politics to Political History

OpenAIRE

Kousser, J. Morgan

1982-01-01

If history ever was simply the study of past politics, it is no longer. Dissatisfied with narratives of Great Men, more interested in analyzing the impact of larger forces and in tracing out patterns of the lives of the masses of people, skeptical that a recounting of election campaigns and a counting of votes reveals much about social thought or action, strongly affected by currents of opinion which have long run deep in France, American historians have turned increas...

The Influence of Some Romanian Interest Groups Upon the Activity of Government and Parliament

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bianca COBÂRZAN

2005-10-01

Full Text Available The paper focuses on two specific interest groups, NGOs and trade unions, and on their influence upon the government and parliament. Our paper is based on an analyze of the activity of several interest groups during the period 2002-2004 and on the results of several researches and reports published on the last years. The analyze identifies petitioning for rule making, public meetings and debates, monitoring the activity of the public institutions and participating in advisory or regulatory committees as being the most common used mechanisms to influence the government and the parliament in Romania. Also, the analyze shows that administrative procedures affect the degree of bureaucratic autonomy. Overall, the results of this brief research show some pluralist forms of the interaction between the interest groups and the public institutions.

Comparing Political Journalism

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Comparing Political Journalism is a systematic, in-depth study of the factors that shape and influence political news coverage today. Using techniques drawn from the growing field of comparative political communication, an international group of contributors analyse political news content drawn...... Comparing Political Journalism offers an unparalleled scope in assessing the implications for the ongoing transformation of Western media systems, and addresses core concepts of central importance to students and scholars of political communication world-wide....... from newspapers, television news, and news websites from 16 countries, to assess what kinds of media systems are most conducive to producing quality journalism. Underpinned by key conceptual themes, such as the role that the media are expected to play in democracies and quality of coverage...

Deliberative Democracy V. Politics of Identity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

OSCAR PÉREZ DE LA FUENTE

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The defenders of deliberative democracy insist in the idea that for searching political truths is necessary to use values as universality, rationality and fairness. The defenders of the politics of identity distrust from this deliberative approach because, the interests of the powerful groups of the society are often behind those values. The common approach of deliberative democracy misunderstands the proper role, language, expression and actual interests of the members of the minorities. Deliberative democracy isn't really compromised with pluralism –social, cultural, ethnic, racial…– because it is more compromised with formal and substantial rules of decision that finally determine the result of the deliberation. Minorities claim for a new understanding of the democracy from the difference, from the identity. Thus, democracy is the result of a dialogue, not from abstractions, but from the particularity. In this sense, it is important the notion of ethics of alterity as a moral effort to understand the Other. This exercise excludes all kind of alterophobia (misogyny, xenophobia, racism, homophobia... and it is against relativist approach. An identity is legitimate in the way it includes the alterity. The minorities claim to think, other time, topics as democracy from the dynamics between identity/alterity, inclusion/exclusion, equal dignity/differentiated identity.

The Conditional Scope of Selective Exposure to Political Television Media, 1996-2012

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Robison, Joshua; Leeper, Thomas

Pew Research Center data from 1996 to 2012, we document that exposure to ideological or partisan media is heavily conditioned by time, audience size, and individuals’ interest in national politics. Selective exposure seems to be limited to partisans with a high interest in politics viewing a handful......A considerable amount of research documents an ideological or partisan bias in media exposure: liberals and Democrats are more likely to be exposed to liberal-leaning media while conservatives and Republicans are more likely to be exposed to conservative-leaning media. Much of this research......, however, was conducted in the mid-2000’s, a politically contentious period in American politics. We argue that there are many reasons to expect this political context to be a period that encouraged high degrees of selective exposure, especially among partisans and those with high political interest. Using...

Aesthetics and Political Culture in Modern Society

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Henrik Kaare

Do aesthetic appeals to senses and emotions in political debate necessarily marginalise political reason and reduce citizens to consumers – thus dangerously undermining democracy? Or is sensuous-emotional engagement, on the contrary, a basic fact of the political process and a crucial precondition...... in the political process do not by definition undermine politics’ content of reason. Instead, a differentiation must be made between a multiplicity of aesthetic forms of intervention – some of which tend to weaken the political judgement of citizens while other forms tend to stimulate competent judgement....... This book will be of interest to scholars in the fields of political science, sociology, media studies, and cultural studies....

The politics of fading dreams: Britain and the nuclear export business

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boardman, R.; Grieve, M.

1983-01-01

The subject is discussed as follows: introduction to a chapter focused on the politics of Britain's foreign nuclear trade; export goals and the nuclear programme (discussion of Magnox, AGR, SGHWR and PWR); the pursuit of exports; nuclear exports and proliferation (reprocessing; fast reactors; plutonium; INFCE); public opinion, nuclear power and exports (interest groups); conclusions (Britain's nuclear exports and non-proliferation). (U.K.)

The Specific of Political Fundraising

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Евгений Викторович Смолянинов

2010-06-01

Full Text Available The following study is dedicated to the process of political fundraising as a subject of political science. Through the article one can find the definition of political fundraising and American political scientists' approaches to the analysis of this process. Comparative analysis of political fundraising in the U.S.A. and Russian Federation demonstrates that its' transparency has an important impact on public's control of lobby groups and other shadow political entities.

The Concept “Trans-Regional Political Institution”

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Дмитрий Федорович Гуринович

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Considered in the paper transregional Institute, they are a new political format in the development of the multidimensionality of the conditions of contemporary globalization. The BRICS is increasingly developing global opportunities for effective, intensive and equitable international cooperation not only in the interests of the participating countries, but also ensure a maximum level of stability, security and progress of the world system, its progressive and steady development. The study of various aspects of TRANS-regional development of modern political institution, represented by the BRICS, is caused by the fact that the mechanism of its development depends not only on economic interests but also on political stability and regional cooperation of its member countries.

Final storage in Germany. Who is interested?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuehn, K.

2002-01-01

The final storage of radioactive waste and spent fuel in Germany - who, in Germany, has any interest in this subject, especially now that the new Atomic Energy Act has been adopted, and who is going to read this article? The author, Professor Klaus Kuehn, examines this question, analyzing in his contribution the current situation and the points of view of those who may be interested in this topic. In Prof. Kuehn's opinion, the addresses in particular are these: - the federal government, - the opposition in the federal parliament, - the federal states, - the Federal Ministry for the Environment, - the Federal Ministry for Research, - the Federal Ministry of Economics, - the Federal Office for Radiation Protection, - the operators of nuclear power plants, - the Working Group Elaborating Procedures for Selecting Repository Sites (AkEnd). Klaus Kuehn concludes that there is little interest at the present time in the subject of Final Storage in Germany, for reasons explained in detail which result both from the political constellation and from existing constraints. (orig.) [de

Political and Public Acceptability of Congestion Pricing: Ideology and Self-Interest

Science.gov (United States)

Harsman, Bjorn; Quigley, John M.

2010-01-01

Studies of the "stated preferences" of households generally report public and political opposition by urban commuters to congestion pricing. It is thought that this opposition inhibits or precludes tolls and pricing systems that would enhance efficiency in the use of scarce roadways. This paper analyzes the only case in which road…

Perceptions of political leaders.

Science.gov (United States)

David Schmitz, J; Murray, Gregg R

2017-01-01

Partisan identification is a fundamental force in individual and mass political behavior around the world. Informed by scholarship on human sociality, coalitional psychology, and group behavior, this research argues that partisan identification, like many other group-based behaviors, is influenced by forces of evolution. If correct, then party identifiers should exhibit adaptive behaviors when making group-related political decisions. The authors test this assertion with citizen assessments of the relative physical formidability of competing leaders, an important adaptive factor in leader evaluations. Using original and novel data collected during the contextually different 2008 and 2012 U.S. presidential elections, as well as two distinct measures obtained during both elections, this article presents evidence that partisans overestimate the physical stature of the presidential candidate of their own party compared with the stature of the candidate of the opposition party. These findings suggest that the power of party identification on political behavior may be attributable to the fact that modern political parties address problems similar to the problems groups faced in human ancestral times.

Media and politics: Empirical data on their cross-influence in health policy.

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-01

OBJECTIVES: Despite the central influence of public policies on health and welfare, relatively little is known about actual health care policy-making processes. This presentation will offer preliminary results from a federally funded project aimed at gaining insights into the interrelations among interest-group strategies, media discourses and political debates in health care. The policy debate on health care privatization in Quebec is used as a case study. APPROACH: Two sources of data were used: media sources and political debates. Media sources were the six main provincial newspapers in Quebec, two national newspapers and The Canadian Press, as well as transcripts from specific news-related programs of three national television stations and two national radio stations. Political debates were obtained through transcripts of all question periods in the Parliament and debates in the standing committee on health. Sources were systematically searched to identify all relevant data. Multiple search syntaxes were developed and tested to maximize sensitivity and specificity. All data was entered and coded into qualitative analysis software. RESULTS: Data was analyzed longitudinally from June 2005 to January 1, 2010. Four levels of results will be presented: 1) Descriptive analysis of the interest groups involved, their policy preferences and the rhetoric they employed to support their views. 2) Descriptive analysis of the main policy proposals that structured the debate as well as of the coalition of groups behind those proposals. 3) Graphic longitudinal analysis of the intensity of the debate and of the relative importance and evolution of various policy proposals. 4) Preliminary results on the nature, direction and level of inter-influence between the policy and media agendas. CONCLUSION: This presentation provides empirical evidence on current policy-making processes in health care. It shows, unsurprisingly, that policy-making is a circumvoluted process of inter

In pursuit of common interests: struggles and crisis of merchant conglomerate of Santafé de Bogotá at late colonial period

OpenAIRE

Luis Fernando Franco Rodríguez

2016-01-01

This article aims to show the existence in the city of Bogotá in the late eighteenth century and early nineteenth century of an important group of traders with great social, political and economic power that, acting as a body, ensured defending their interests before the viceregal authorities and the Consulado de Cartagena, and how that group broke up as a result of the political situation created by the crisis of the Spanish monarchy in 1808 and the independence of the Nuevo Reino de Granada.

The Kazakhstani Youth’s Engagement in Politics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shugyla Kilybayeva

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Current research on the Kazakhstani youth’s political participation has usually been informed by a rather traditional understanding of the concept of political participation, without considering the impact of social media and other non-traditional forms of political engagement. This article advocates for a more nuanced understanding of political participation in the country, and particularly among the younger generation, who – it will be shown, display a wide interest in the political developments of the country and are possibly encouraged by a wider access to information and social media through the internet. By pushing the boundaries of political participation, we suggest that young Kazakhs are more active in political debates than usually considered by a number of previous studies.

[Political psychology].

Science.gov (United States)

Resch, Mária; Bella, Tamás

2013-04-21

In Hungary one can mostly find references to the psychological processes of politics in the writings of publicists, public opinion pollsters, philosophers, social psychologists, and political analysts. It would be still important if not only legal scientists focusing on political institutions or sociologist-politologists concentrating on social structures could analyse the psychological aspects of political processes; but one could also do so through the application of the methods of political psychology. The authors review the history of political psychology, its position vis-à-vis other fields of science and the essential interfaces through which this field of science, which is still to be discovered in Hungary, connects to other social sciences. As far as its methodology comprising psycho-biographical analyses, questionnaire-based queries, cognitive mapping of interviews and statements are concerned, it is identical with the psychiatric tools of medical sciences. In the next part of this paper, the focus is shifted to the essence and contents of political psychology. Group dynamics properties, voters' attitudes, leaders' personalities and the behavioural patterns demonstrated by them in different political situations, authoritativeness, games, and charisma are all essential components of political psychology, which mostly analyses psychological-psychiatric processes and also involves medical sciences by relying on cognitive and behavioural sciences. This paper describes political psychology, which is basically part of social sciences, still, being an interdisciplinary science, has several ties to medical sciences through psychological and psychiatric aspects.

Inside-out: Interest groups’ “outside” media work as a means to manage “inside” lobbying efforts and relationships with politicians

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Trapp, Leila; Laursen, Bo

2017-01-01

sharpen our appreciation of the importance of political finesse, in addition to media savvy, amongst press staff in politically driven organizations; and finally, as part of the ever-growing mediatization of politics, we should recognize that political processes that traditionally have taken place in face......, (2) manage the ongoing face-to-face lobbying process, and (3) strengthen relationships to policy makers. While the first reason neatly reflects the well-known agenda-setting strategy in which raising public awareness on political issues is central, the remaining more surprising and underexplored...... reasons indicate a need to revise our assumptions about media work in politically motivated organizations. Our proposal is three-fold: Because interest groups view political actors as key consumers of news stories, media work should no longer be conceptualized as an exclusively outside strategy; we should...

Risk perception in an interest group context: an examination of the TMI restart issue

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Soderstrom, E.J.; Sorensen, J.H.; Copenhaver, E.D.; Carnes, S.A.

1984-01-01

Human response to environmental hazards and risks has been the subject of considerable research by social scientists. Work has traditionally focused on either individual response to the risks of an ongoing or future threat (hazards research), or group and organizational response to a specific disaster event (disaster research). As part of a larger investigation of the restart of the Unit 1 reactor at Three Mile Island (TMI), the response of interest groups active in the restart issue to the continued threat of TMI and to future risks due to restart was examined. After reviewing the restart issue in general, the local dimensions of the restart issue from interest group perspectives are discussed. A method for defining appropriate issues at the community level is reviewed. Differences in the perceived local impacts of alternative decisions, and systems of beliefs associated with differing perceptions are discussed. Finally, the implications of interest group versus individual perceptions of local issues for decision making about TMI, in particular, and about technological hazards management, in general, are discussed. Associated implications for determining socially acceptable risk levels are identified

Self-interested agents create, maintain, and modify group-functional culture.

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Manvir; Glowacki, Luke; Wrangham, Richard W

2016-01-01

We agree that institutions and rules are crucial for explaining human sociality, but we question the claim of there not being "alternatives to CGS [that] can easily account for the institutionalized cooperation that characterizes human societies" (target article, sect. 7). Hypothesizing that self-interested individuals coercively and collaboratively create rules, we propose that agent-based hypotheses offer viable alternatives to cultural group selection (CGS).

Tobacco and the Malays: ethnicity, health and the political economy of tobacco in Malaysia.

Science.gov (United States)

Barraclough, Simon; Morrow, Martha

2017-04-01

To identify the historical nexus between Malaysia's largest and politically dominant ethnic group and the political economy of tobacco, and to consider the implications of this connection for tobacco control. Primary and secondary documentary sources in both English and Malay were analysed to illuminate key events and decisions, and the discourse of industry and government. Sources included: speeches by Malaysian political and industry actors; tobacco industry reports, press releases and websites; government documents; World Health Organization (WHO) tobacco control literature; and press reports. Malays have the highest smoking prevalence among Malaysia's major ethnic groups. The tobacco industry has consistently been promoted as furthering Malay economic development. Malays play the major role in growing and curing. Government-owned Malay development trusts have been prominent investors in tobacco corporations, which have cultivated linkages with the Malay elite. The religious element of Malay ethnicity has also been significant. All Malays are Muslim, and the National Fatwa Council has declared smoking to be haram (forbidden); however, the Government has declined to implement this ruling. Exaggerated claims for the socio-economic benefits of tobacco production, government investment and close links between tobacco corporations and sections of the Malay elite have created a conflict of interest in public policy, limited the focus on tobacco as a health policy issue among Malays and retarded tobacco control policy. More recently, ratification of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, regional free trade policies reducing the numbers of growers, concerns about smoking from an Islamic viewpoint, and anxieties about the effects of smoking upon youth have increasingly challenged the dominant discourse that tobacco furthers Malay interests. Nevertheless, the industry remains a formidable political and economic presence in Malaysia that is likely to continue to

Indonesia's road to universal health coverage: a political journey.

Science.gov (United States)

Pisani, Elizabeth; Olivier Kok, Maarten; Nugroho, Kharisma

2017-03-01

In 2013 Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous country, declared that it would provide affordable health care for all its citizens within seven years. This crystallised an ambition first enshrined in law over five decades earlier, but never previously realised. This paper explores Indonesia's journey towards universal health coverage (UHC) from independence to the launch of a comprehensive health insurance scheme in January 2014. We find that Indonesia's path has been determined largely by domestic political concerns – different groups obtained access to healthcare as their socio-political importance grew. A major inflection point occurred following the Asian financial crisis of 1997. To stave off social unrest, the government provided health coverage for the poor for the first time, creating a path dependency that influenced later policy choices. The end of this programme coincided with decentralisation, leading to experimentation with several different models of health provision at the local level. When direct elections for local leaders were introduced in 2005, popular health schemes led to success at the polls. UHC became an electoral asset, moving up the political agenda. It also became contested, with national policy-makers appropriating health insurance programmes that were first developed locally, and taking credit for them. The Indonesian experience underlines the value of policy experimentation, and of a close understanding of the contextual and political factors that drive successful UHC models at the local level. Specific drivers of success and failure should be taken into account when scaling UHC to the national level. In the Indonesian example, UHC became possible when the interests of politically and economically influential groups were either satisfied or neutralised. While technical considerations took a back seat to political priorities in developing the structures for health coverage nationally, they will have to be addressed going forward

US politics and World Bank IDA-lending

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Thomas Barnebeck; Hansen, Henrik; Markussen, Thomas

2006-01-01

This paper studies the role of US political factors in the allocation of World Bank concessional lending, where US political interests are proxied by voting similarity in the United Nations General Assembly on issues identified as important by the US Department of State. In contrast to previous...

Non-controlling interests, financial performance and the equity of groups. An empirical study of groups listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Radosław Ignatowski

2015-09-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this article is to (a analyze IFRS requirements for the recognition and presentation of non-controlling (minority interests in consolidated financial statements in relation to theoretical concepts of consolidation of financial statements, and (b assess the share and importance of non-controlling inter-ests in financial performance and the equity of the groups of companies in practice.For the purpose of the article, selected scientific methods have been used, including: descriptive and analytical ones (for analyzing the theoretical concepts and IFRS requirements, critical analysis, especial-ly used for the literature review, and for the assessment of practice: primary empirical research methods, and quantitative methods, including descriptive statistics, nonparametric tests and correlation analysis. The empirical material collected was used to verify several hypotheses related to non-controlling interests of the groups whose parents are registered in Poland and whose securities are traded on a regulated, Polish capital market (Warsaw Stock Exchange. The empirical evidence is that non-controlling interests represent a very small part of group’s equity (taking the mean of about 3.5%, but the median below 1% and obviously, they are significantly lower than the share of majority interests. Their deviation among the different classes of companies (big, small and banks is negligible. Slightly higher is the share of minority interests in the group’s net profit and total comprehensive income. However, no significant difference is to be found between the shares of non-controlling interests in the group’s equity, net profit and total comprehensive income. Overall, shares of majority (minority interests in a group’s income are in line with their shares in the group’s equity. The hypothesis on comparable returns on non-controlling and majority interests (in terms of ROE cannot be rejected if both net profit and losses are considered

Russia and Global Climate Politics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tynkkynen, Nina

2014-09-01

Russia, as the fourth largest greenhouse-gas emitter in the world, and a major supplier of fossil fuels causing these emissions, played a decisive role in the enforcement of the Kyoto Protocol, the main instrument of global climate policy so far. Domestically, serious political measures to combat climate change have yet to be taken. Thus, Russia's performance in global climate politics indicates that goals other than genuinely environmental ones, such as political or economic benefits, are the main motivation of Russia's participation. Also, Russia's national pride and its status as a great power are at stake here. This paper scrutinizes Russia's stance in global climate politics, offering an overview of Russia's engagement in international climate politics and its domestic climate policy. In the second part of the paper, Russia's engagement in global environmental politics is discussed in the context of Russia's world status and the great-power concept. Accordingly, the paper aims to shed light on how and why Russia behaves in global climate politics in the way it does. This may be of interest to actors in international environmental politics in general, and relevant to future climate negotiations in particular. (author)

United States interests and Western Europe: Arms control, energy, and trade

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Czempiel, E.O.; Krell, G.; Mueller, H.

1981-01-01

The 'Research Group USA' within the Hessische Stiftung Friedens- und Konfliktforschung, Frankfurt, has analysed extensively the US policy towards Western Europe. In December 1980 the research group arranged an international Conference at Bad Homburg. Topics were American European policies in the field of arms control, trade and energy. The main findings of the research group were presented to the conference. This volume contains six papers presented to the conference: The Salt II-Debate in the US Senate; Issues in West German Security Policy: An American Perspective; US Energy Policy Foreign Policy Goals Versus Domestic Interests; Economic and Political Consequences of US Energy Policy on Europe; Foreign Trade Policy Interests and Decisions in the US; Multinational Corporations in Euro-American Trade. It contains also an introductory analysis of the somewhat larger US-European-Soviet Union context within which the American policy towards Western Europe has to be seen. (HSCH) [de

In pursuit of common interests: struggles and crisis of merchant conglomerate of Santafé de Bogotá at late colonial period

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luis Fernando Franco Rodríguez

2016-06-01

Full Text Available This article aims to show the existence in the city of Bogotá in the late eighteenth century and early nineteenth century of an important group of traders with great social, political and economic power that, acting as a body, ensured defending their interests before the viceregal authorities and the Consulado de Cartagena, and how that group broke up as a result of the political situation created by the crisis of the Spanish monarchy in 1808 and the independence of the Nuevo Reino de Granada.

Political economy of renewable energy policy in Germany. A consideration of the policy making process in the electricity market under the influence of interest groups

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mueller, Tom

2015-01-01

In the research, it is argued that the targeted promotion of renewables leads to a change in the technological path dependency on the electricity market or led. The historically market depending portfolio of products in the conventional power industry will be replaced by an increasingly strong dependence on the product portfolio of Renewable Energy Sector according to this argumentation. The present work is devoted to the political explanation of the change and transition process in the electricity market. The process of policy formation in this market (especially support policies for renewable energies) will be discussed. It is examined from a public choice perspective, which political actors and instances in the past were responsible for the development and maintenance of individual policy elements. In particular, in this analysis the different private sector stakeholders in the electricity market move to center of attention. [de

The alignment of customs duties to the interests of settlers, commerce and politics. Andalusia, 1241-1550

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José Damián González Arce

2018-05-01

Full Text Available This paper aims to analyze the royal policy of exemptions and reductions of customs duties in Andalusia during the Late Middle Ages. In particular, the taxes studied are the almojarifazgo, tithes, the Moorish half-tithe imposed on imports and exports with Granada, and other marginal taxes, such as rodas, castillerías and tolls. The granting of these franchises reveals the economic and political interests of monarchs in particular periods and circumstances. Their reduction or elimination, on the other hand, shows the changes over time that removed or reduced the causes of depopulation, border insecurity and economic backwardness that motivated the exemptions. The documentation used is from the Archivo General de Simancas and the municipal archives of Seville, Cordoba, Carmona and Jerez. Finally, we conclude that tax advantages served to attract population, and that only the most exposed or strategic populations were able to remain more or less intact over time, especially when they were also key elements for foreign trade.

Experiments as politics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Spears, R; Smith, HJ

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the political nature of laboratory experiments. Such experiments can be construed as paradigms of power, open to construction and debate, where different agents and interests are involved in a process of struggle over both (re)presentation and substance.

Religious Groups as Interest Groups: The United States Catholic Bishops in the Welfare Reform Debate of 1995–1996 and the Health Care Reform Debate of 2009–20101

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anne Marie Cammisa

2016-02-01

Full Text Available The United States has a long history of religious influence on public policy: the anti-slavery movement, progressivism, prohibition, civil rights, abortion, school vouchers, school prayer and nuclear disarmament are all issues that have involved religion and religious groups in policymaking. In recent decades, the number of religious interest groups (as well as interest groups in general has greatly expanded, but the role that the religious organizations play as interest groups in the policy arena has received relatively little attention. How are they similar to and different from other interest groups? What tactics do they use? How successful are they? Under what conditions is success or failure more likely? This article examines Roman Catholic religious groups as interest groups in the congressional policymaking process. First, it places Catholic interest groups in the context of the interest group literature, and second, it examines Catholic interest groups’ activity in the passage of welfare reform in 1996 and in the passage of health care reform in 2010. In both cases, they played a greater role in context-setting than in actually changing provisions.

The politics of arms control treaty ratification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krepon, M.; Caldwell, D.

1991-01-01

This book presents a critical examination of executive-congressional relations and the domestic politics of arms control treaty ratification within the United States during the twentieth century. The staring point of this study is the hypothesis that the politics of treaty ratification can be as important as the negotiations leading up to agreements. Benefits to international peace and security sought in years of painstaking diplomatic effort can be lost without Senate consent, as was the case with the Treaty of Versailles and the second treaty arising from the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT II). The authors of the case studies were requested to present first a brief, historical introduction to the case indicating why the case was important, the background concerning the origins of the treaty, and the treaty's major provisions. The purpose of the introduction to the case was not to provide a complete picture of the negotiating record but to set the stage for a more in-depth discussion of the events that followed after the treaty was signed. The authors address five substantive areas: the international political context of the treaty, the domestic political context, the role of the president, executive-congressional relations, and public opinion and the role of interest groups. The questions and issues concerning each of these areas are briefly summarized

The State-Conspiracy Model of Political Socialization.

Science.gov (United States)

Homan, Roger

1980-01-01

This essay reviews the political socialization literature and the assumptions underlying the theory that political socialization, formal and informal, is sponsored by the state to reinforce its stability and social order. The author argues that family influence and enlightened self-interest are strong, independent factors in personal political…

POLITENESS MAXIM OF MAIN CHARACTER IN SECRET FORGIVEN

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sang Ayu Isnu Maharani

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Maxim of Politeness is an interesting subject to be discussed, since politeness has been criticized from our childhood. We are obliques to be polite to anyone either in speaking or in acting. Somehow we are manage to show politeness in our spoken expression though our intention might be not so polite. For example we must appriciate others opinion although we feel objection toward the opinion. In this article the analysis of politeness is based on maxim proposes by Leech. He proposed six types of politeness maxim. The discussion shows that the main character (Kristen and Kami use all types of maxim in their conversation. The most commonly used are approbation maxim and agreement maxim

Political Technologies in Strengthening Ethnopolitical (Inter-Ethnic and Inter-Confessional Dialogue

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gayduk Vadim Vitalyevich

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Situations with uncertain developments and results are more often taking place in the world of politics. In this regard, the role of actors who are interested in the implementation of plans for peaceful conflict resolution and non-violence is becoming more urgent. The modern world is replete with situations in which a decision should be made only by qualified intermediaries (mediators, whose purpose is to resolve the conflict by the most effective and painless method. This article discusses the main aspects of the technology which is new for the political reality – political mediation as a vital means for solving complex inter-ethnic and interconfessional problems. The author attempts to identify general and specific characteristics of the conflict field that are peculiar for both international and inter-ethnic contradictions arising in the process of multilateral relations of nations with each other and between ethnic groups in multi-ethnic space. At this, the attention is focused on the fact that the conflicts arise out of the contradictions between the interests of these social organisms. The article provides the system of argumentation of the thesis that the use of mediation technologies helps to achieve the combination of the parties’ autonomy and to guarantee a mutually beneficial result on a common ground. For this purpose the conflicting parties endow a third party with certain powers – the mediator, who is involved in order to look at the conflict from the side and help conflicting actors to get rid of excessive emotion and bias in a dispute. Thus, political mediation is a form of alternative expert and political dispute resolution and settlement, voluntarily elected by conflicting communities on the basis of their desire to reach agreement and political objectivity.

Political economy of the US financial crisis 2007-2009

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vuk Vuković

2011-03-01

Full Text Available The emphasis of this paper is on the political economy of the subprime mortgage crisis in the United States and how the policy makers contributed to it through their legislation and regulations, made under the rising influence of interest groups and the lobbying activities of the finance industry. The “Great Recession” of 2007-2009 began as a bubble-burst in the mortgage market in the United States that spilled over to the entire financial market of the US, and afterwards to the integrated world financial market. The crisis sprang up over the US real sector and, due to the decline in US aggregate demand, spread consequently to the real economy of the rest of the World. No sound evidence has been given for the publicly proclaimed idea that the causes of the crisis lie within the self-regulating free market. The causes of the crisis lie primarily in the activities of political power, i.e. in the extensive government regulation which has, under the strong influence of interest groups and the lobbying power of financial corporations, led to favouritism in macroeconomic policies and inefficient resource allocation. Regulation was enforced by stimulating affordable housing through government sponsored enterprises, oligopoly of the rating agencies, banking regulation and an increasing connection between government and the finance industry.

Forthcoming Issue on Game Theory and Political Economy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

William D. Ferguson

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Game theory offers a rigorous set of concepts, relationships, and models that invite myriad applications to problems of political economy. Indeed, game theory can serve as a fundamental modeling technique that can bridge microfoundations of political and economic exchanges, with developmental processes and macro implications related to growth and distribution. Applications can range from localized interactions within workplaces, firms, political organizations, and community groups; to intermediate-level market, industry, community, or inter-organizational transactions; to encompassing national, regional, population, or global interactions. At any of these levels, game models can illustrate strategic responses of economic or political actors (individuals or organizations to specifiable conditions concerning any or all of the following: prevailing social context—notably informal institutions (such as social norms and formal institutions (such as mutually understood laws and regulations; available information (complete or not; accessible or strategically manipulated; agents’ motivations (material and/or social; and even levels of rationality—substantive (full cognition or bounded (limited cognition. Applicable models may operate on the basis of given institutional context and preference orientations or may explore associated developmental processes, including adaptive social learning. Of particular interest are representations of one or more of the myriad social dilemmas (or collective-action problems that inhabit political economy, associated exercises or distributions of power, and/or representations of potential resolutions to such dilemmas—perhaps with policy implications. Accordingly, this forthcoming issue of Economies seeks game-theoretic models based on classical, evolutionary, behavioral, or epistemic game theory that can be applied to one or more problems in political economy.

WOMEN IN POLITICS IN GHANA A Study on Local Government in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

UDS-CAPTURED

Women's participation in politics in Ghana is low, both at local and the national .... These somewhat explain the difficulties women experience in accessing .... interest she had in pursuing a political career especially at the national level. .... One interesting thing that came up was that the women themselves were aware that.

Essays on the political economy of trade and regulation: biotechnology and conservation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Shao, Qianqian

2017-01-01

Economics and politics interact. Political and economic forces influence the choices of policy instruments, the distribution of economic rent, and the distribution of political power. Politicians balance the interaction of economic rents and political interests in the policy-making process. Some

Judicial Review and Political Partisanship

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Garoupaa, Nuno; Grembi, Veronica

2015-01-01

Due to the collapse of the party system during the mid-nineties, Italy represents an interesting case study to test the effects of a transition from a consensual to a majoritarian model of democracy on judicial behavior at the level of the Constitutional Court. Using a dataset of 972 cases...... of substantive judicial review (ricorsi in via principale) from 1985 to 2005, and proposing new measures of political alignment within constitutional review, we analyze the effect of a change in the political party system on judicial behavior. Our results show that political alignment is a stronger predictor...... of judicial decision making under majoritarian than consensual model of democracy....

Lobbying friends and foes in climate policy: The case of business and environmental interest groups in the European Union

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gullberg, Anne Therese

2008-01-01

Drawing on two conflicting hypotheses from the theoretical literature on lobbying, I consider the strategies applied by interest groups lobbying to influence climate policy in the European Union (EU). The first hypothesis claims that interest groups lobby their 'friends', decision-makers with positions similar to their own. The second claims that interest groups lobby their 'foes', decision-makers with positions opposed to their own. Using interviews with lobbyists and decision-makers, I demonstrate that in the field of climate policy, interest groups in the EU lobby both friends and foes, but under different conditions. Moreover, I find that the interest groups' motives are not always in line with the theoretical hypotheses. Interest groups lobby their friends on single policy decisions to exchange information, to further a common cause and to exert pressure, and their foes because a foe on one issue might prove to be a friend on another issue. Interest groups direct general lobbying towards both friends and foes. This paper provides a new empirical contribution to a literature that has so far been heavily dominated by studies focusing on lobbying in the US

The Political Economy of Federally Sponsored Data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bart Ragon

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Librarian involvement in the Open Access (OA movement has traditionally focused on access to scholarly publications. Recent actions by the White House have focused attention on access on the data produced from federally sponsored research. Questions have emerged concerning access to the output of federally sponsored research and whether it is a public or private good. Understanding the political battle over access to federally funded research is closely tied to the ownership of the peer review process in higher education and associated revenue streams, and as a result, interest groups seeking to influence government regulation have politicized the issues. As a major funder of research in higher education, policies from the federal government are likely to drive change in research practices at higher education institutions and impact library services. The political economy of federally sponsored research data will shape research enterprises in higher education inspire a number of new services distributed throughout the research life cycle.

Political issues in contemporary art of Ukraine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Natalia Usenko

2014-12-01

Full Text Available At the beginning of the XXI century Ukrainian art observed activization of the artist’s interest for the political life of the country. The starting point was 2004, marked by protests against unfair elections in the country, the birth of the first “Maidan” and “Orange revolution”. In a number of artistic actions organized by art groups we can see the reflection of the revolution events and, later, the frustrations of its ideals. The most striking manifestation of political issues in contemporary art in Ukraine was the great creativity following the second “Maidan” (2013. In this spontaneous Performance everyone plays a role: the participants are the protesters, official persons, fighters of “Berkut” and interior force troops, journalists and others. Protesters’ tents, barricades, a statue of Lenin and “Maidan” itself (or Independence Square as a place of free will and creativity became the Symbols of the “Maidan” and its own art objects.

Political economy of nuclear power, 1946-1982

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cohn, S.M.

1986-01-01

This dissertation seeks to explain the pattern of nuclear power development in the United States, treating the subject as a case study of how major infrastructural development choices are made in a modern capitalist economy. The main concept adduced in the thesis to organize nuclear history is that of an Official Technology (OT). The latter enjoys strong state support, the promoted image of the coming technology and capture of critical mass advantages. The dissertation analyzes the incentives key political-economic interests had for promoting nuclear power to OT status 1946-1974 and the mechanisms used by these groups to facilitate nuclear expansion. At OT differential, tallying the microeconomic impact of nuclear's capture of OT status is calculated. Included in the differential are the benefits of scale economies, learning curve cost reductions, federal subsidies and regulatory incentives, misleading information environments, and bureaucratic momentum. Nuclear's decline after 1974 is tied to the erosion of this differential by a political challenge to the technology's OT status

The effects of social media on political party perception and voting behavior

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Riezebos, Peter; de Vries, Sjoerd A.; de Vries, Pieter Walter; de Zeeuw, Erik

2011-01-01

This study sought to determine to what extent social media influences political party perception (PPP) and political voting behavior. Based on literature a conceptual model was developed which measures political interest, political trust, religion and the use of social media and their effects on PPP

U.S. Geological Survey Karst Interest Group Proceedings, Bowling Green, Kentucky, May 27-29, 2008

Science.gov (United States)

Kuniansky, Eve L.

2008-01-01

States are developed in carbonate rocks and karst areas. These aquifers and the springs that discharge from them, serve as major water-supply sources and as unique biological habitats. Commonly, there is competition for the water resources of karst aquifers, and urban development in karst areas can impact the ecosystem and water quality of these aquifers. The concept for developing a Karst Interest Group evolved from the November 1999 National Ground-Water Meeting of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Water Resources Division. As a result, the Karst Interest Group was formed in 2000. The Karst Interest Group is a loose-knit grass-roots organization of USGS employees devoted to fostering better communication among scientists working on, or interested in, karst hydrology studies. The mission of the Karst Interest Group is to encourage and support interdisciplinary collaboration and technology transfer among USGS scientists working in karst areas. Additionally, the Karst Interest Group encourages cooperative studies between the different disciplines of the USGS and other Department of Interior agencies and university researchers or research institutes. The first Karst Interest Group workshop was held in St. Petersburg, Florida, February 13-16, 2001, in the vicinity of karst features of the Floridan aquifer system. The proceedings of that first meeting, Water-Resources Investigations Report 01-4011 are available online at: http://water.usgs.gov/ogw/karst/ The second Karst Interest Group workshop was held August 20-22, 2002, in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, in close proximity to the carbonate aquifers of the northern Shenandoah Valley. The proceedings of the second workshop were published in Water-Resources Investigations Report 02-4174, which is available online at the previously mentioned website. The third workshop of the Karst Interest Group was held September, 12-15, 2005, in Rapid City, South Dakota, which is in close proximity to karst features

Non-controlling interests, financial performance and the equity of groups. An empirical study of groups listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange 

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Radosław Ignatowski

2015-11-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this article is to (a analyze IFRS requirements for the recognition and presentation of non-controlling (minority interests in consolidated financial statements in relation to theoretical concepts of consolidation of financial statements, and (b assess the share and importance of non-controlling inter-ests in financial performance and the equity of the groups of companies in practice. For the purpose of the article, selected scientific methods have been used, including: descriptive and analytical ones (for analyzing the theoretical concepts and IFRS requirements, critical analysis, especial-ly used for the literature review, and for the assessment of practice: primary empirical research methods, and quantitative methods, including descriptive statistics, nonparametric tests and correlation analysis. The empirical material collected was used to verify several hypotheses related to non-controlling interests of the groups whose parents are registered in Poland and whose securities are traded on a regulated, Polish capital market (Warsaw Stock Exchange. The empirical evidence is that non-controlling interests represent a very small part of group’s equity (taking the mean of about 3.5%, but the median below 1% and obviously, they are significantly lower than the share of majority interests. Their deviation among the different classes of companies (big, small and banks is negligible. Slightly higher is the share of minority interests in the group’s net profit and total comprehensive income. However, no significant difference is to be found between the shares of non-controlling interests in the group’s equity, net profit and total comprehensive income. Overall, shares of majority (minority interests in a group’s income are in line with their shares in the group’s equity. The hypothesis on comparable returns on non-controlling and majority interests (in terms of ROE cannot be rejected if both net profit and losses are considered

Jesús de Polanco and the Prisa Group

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mercedes Cabrera

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The main goal of this article is to present Jesús de Polanco’s (1929–2007 successive business initiatives that culminated in the expansion of the PRISA Group (Promotora de Informaciones S.A., which was the leading Spanish multi-media group of its time.  As well as the interest that his career triggers, Polanco’s biography allows us to address the relationship between the company and politics during the closing decades of the Franco dictatorship and the transition to democracy from a concrete perspective. Those were years marked by profound transformations, not only in the political life of the country but also in its economy, society and business structures that affected the entire communications media sector.

Analyzing online political discussions: Methodological considerations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vergeer, M.R.M.; Hermans, E.A.H.M.

2008-01-01

Online political discussions are thought to lead to more political engagement and empowerment of peripheral groups in society and thereby contributing to deliberative citizenship. Because people have increased opportunities to voice their political opinions and publish these for a potentially large

Revisiting Maine’s lobster commons: rescaling political subjects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jennifer F. Brewer

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Calls for cross-scalar theoretical and methodological approaches are not new to commons scholarship. Such efforts might be hastened by channelling poststructuralist and critical theory perspectives through the geographic subfield of political ecology, including attention to political scales and subjects. Toward this end, this paper reconsiders Maine’s lobster fishery. This case has provided rich material for watershed commons scholarship, demonstrating the ability of social groups to conserve resources independent of government or markets, and it continues to offer new findings. Recent fieldwork shows that as lobster boat captains advance collective interests through state-supported co-management governance arrangements, concerns of crew and non-fishing community members may be marginalized. Regulatory exclusion prevents broader distribution of resource benefits at a time when employment alternatives are scarce. More pluralistic approaches to commons theory and its policy application have utility well beyond the lobster case.

Integrating Gender into the Political Science Core Curriculum

Science.gov (United States)

Cassese, Erin C.; Bos, Angela L.; Duncan, Lauren E.

2012-01-01

The New Research on Gender in Political Psychology Conference brought together new and experienced teachers with interests in gender politics. The conference session "Teaching Gender throughout the Curriculum" generated a great deal of discussion concerning the pedagogical practice of gender mainstreaming. Gender mainstreaming--the integration of…

Organizational Life and Political Incorporation of Two Asian Immigrant Groups: A Case Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Aptekar, Sofya

2009-10-14

Civil society is the foundation of a healthy democracy but its immigrant element has received little attention. This paper is a case study of immigrant organizations of highly-skilled Asian Indians and Chinese immigrants in a suburban town of Edison, New Jersey. I find that civic participation of Asian Indian immigrants spills over into political incorporation while Chinese immigrant organizations remain marginalized. I argue the local processes of racialization are central in explaining differences in political incorporation of immigrants. In the local context, the Chinese are seen as successful but conformist model minorities and Asian Indians as invaders and troublemakers. The racialization of Asian Indians has resulted in more political activity and higher levels of political visibility of their organizations. The results highlight shortcomings of current assimilation theories, which give little space to civic and political incorporation and view human capital in an unqualifiedly positive light.

Political Education and School Organization

Science.gov (United States)

Hawley, Willis D.

1971-01-01

Major issue raised in this paper is whether schools are providing students with the type of programs and environment that foster the full development of interest in, and capacity for, democratic politics. (Author)

The role of cybersecurity in world politics

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Vladimir Tigranovich Tsakanyan

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to investigate a significant and increasing role of cybersecurity in world politics. Cybersecurity threats are one of the main national security, public safety, and economic challenges every nation faces in XXI century. Cyberspace is a defining feature of modern life. Individuals and communities worldwide connect, socialize, and organize themselves in and through cyberspace. The existence of numerous cyber security issues on various spheres of life naturally increase political interest in resolving them. The need for cybersecurity is growing ranging from particular cases to national and international - becoming the main problem of diplomacy and world politics. Based on the different national approaches, cybersecurity is seen as the instrument to gain national interests. All countries believe that cybersecurity is an instrument to achieve state’s national interest, since more of the modern theories are focus in the material gain. Meanwhile, some countries see cybersecurity as the tool to influence the adversaries’ perception. This condition build based on the enormous destruction power of cyberattacks. In contrast with the two main approaches, the national security institutions emphasize to the idea, not the material gain. The difference between these national security approaches is the way to use this instrument is used in order to gain the objectives. Indeed, cybersecurity has an important and special role in the world politics.

Politics out of the History of Politics

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Diana Sartori

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Wendy Brown’s approach in Politics out of History is characterized by an attempt to analyze the presence of the past which can be read not only under the light of Nietzsche’s legacy, but also through a comparison with Hannah Arendt’s conception of the gap between the past and the future. Like Arendt, Brown aims to look at the present as the site of politics and freedom, even though the former conceives the break with tradition as the unavoidable starting point, while the latter assumes that that break is not fully accomplished because it was not recognized. Rather, it produces Wounded Attachments whose effect is that of limiting the possibility of left criticism. Moving from this parallel, Brown’s analysis is compared to the Italian philosophy of sexual difference, stressing their common interest in thinking freedom beyond a female identity built on a presumed common oppression.

Emergence of interest groups on hazardous waste siting: How do they form and survive

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Williams, R.G.; Payne, B.A.

1986-01-01

The disposal and siting of hazardous and radioactive wastes has created numerous problems for decision-makers in the field of waste management. The social/political problems have proven to be some of the most difficult to solve. Public knowledge of the presence of hazardous and radioactive waste sites has grown considerably in recent years. Over the same period, the process of choosing new disposal sites has attracted a great deal of publicity. In many cases, when existing sites are discovered or when a community is being considered for a new disposal site, organized groups emerge in the community to support or oppose the proposed actions and the decision-makers responsible. Emergent groups are a form of organized collective action in response to a particular situation or event, such as the siting or discovery of a hazardous waste disposal site. Sociological methods and theory can provide insight on the patterns common to these groups, their emergence, and their survival or decline. The questions addressed in this paper are: what are the variables that lead to the formation of such groups, and what conditions or group actions contribute to their growth and survival?

Turkmenistan: Recent Developments and U.S. Interests

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Nichol, Jim

2004-01-01

According to the Bush Administration, the United States "has strategic and economic interests in helping Turkmenistan achieve political stability, independence, and integration into the global economy...

Standing in the middle: Insider/outsider positionality while conducting qualitative research with opposing military veteran political groups

Science.gov (United States)

David Flores

2018-01-01

This case study describes the process and challenges of conducting qualitative research on two opposing military veteran political groups: Iraq Veterans Against the War and Vets for Freedom. The discussion is based on a dissertation project that compelled me to reflect on my simultaneous "insider" status as a military veteran and "outsider" status...

Effects of physical attractiveness on political beliefs.

Science.gov (United States)

Peterson, Rolfe Daus; Palmer, Carl L

2017-01-01

Physical attractiveness is an important social factor in our daily interactions. Scholars in social psychology provide evidence that attractiveness stereotypes and the "halo effect" are prominent in affecting the traits we attribute to others. However, the interest in attractiveness has not directly filtered down to questions of political behavior beyond candidates and elites. Utilizing measures of attractiveness across multiple surveys, we examine the relationship between attractiveness and political beliefs. Controlling for socioeconomic status, we find that more attractive individuals are more likely to report higher levels of political efficacy, identify as conservative, and identify as Republican. These findings suggest an additional mechanism for political socialization that has further implications for understanding how the body intertwines with the social nature of politics.

Intersectional Political Consciousness: Appreciation for Intragroup Differences and Solidarity in Diverse Groups

Science.gov (United States)

Greenwood, Ronni Michelle

2008-01-01

This article introduces an intersectional approach to political consciousness and presents data to demonstrate its importance for predicting solidarity in diverse social change organizations. Women activists (N = 174) completed measures of political consciousness, diversity, and solidarity. As expected, women differed in the degree to which their…

Environment protection and energy politics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pernice, I.

1993-01-01

Three aspects make the issue of energy politics and environment protection in the European Community interesting: Questions of competence, international stipulations, and the concrete measures the Community implements or plans in fulfillment of its duty to integrate these two political spheres. At the international level impulses for an environmentally benign energy policy are given by the World Climate Convention, the Agenda 21 passed at the Rio Conference, and by the European Energy Charter and its consequential documents. (orig./HSCH) [de

A Topic Space Oriented User Group Discovering Scheme in Social Network: A Trust Chain Based Interest Measuring Perspective

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Wang Dong

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Currently, user group has become an effective platform for information sharing and communicating among users in social network sites. In present work, we propose a single topic user group discovering scheme, which includes three phases: topic impact evaluation, interest degree measurement, and trust chain based discovering, to enable selecting influential topic and discovering users into a topic oriented group. Our main works include (1 an overview of proposed scheme and its related definitions; (2 topic space construction method based on topic relatedness clustering and its impact (influence degree and popularity degree evaluation; (3 a trust chain model to take user relation network topological information into account with a strength classification perspective; (4 an interest degree (user explicit and implicit interest degree evaluation method based on trust chain among users; and (5 a topic space oriented user group discovering method to group core users according to their explicit interest degrees and to predict ordinary users under implicit interest and user trust chain. Finally, experimental results are given to explain effectiveness and feasibility of our scheme.

Identity construction and British Muslims' political activity: beyond rational actor theory.

Science.gov (United States)

Hopkins, Nick; Kahani-Hopkins, Vered

2004-09-01

Political activity is often addressed in terms of rational actor theory (RAT). We review RAT's psychological assumptions and highlight the neglect of collective identity. In turn, we view the perception of 'interest' as contingent upon constructions of identity and explore how different characterizations of collective identity are organized strategically so as to shape people's understandings of their interests and how they should act to realize them. Using examples taken from a study of British Muslims' political activity we emphasize the contested and strategic dimension to identity construction and analyse how activists addressing the same constituency construe Muslim identity in different ways so as to promote different conceptions of collective interest. Specifically, we explore the contested invocations of Prophetic example in the definition of Muslim identity. The broader thrust behind this work is a critique of the sharp dichotomization of Muslim and non-Muslim political activity. We maintain that essentially similar processes of identity construction underlie all attempts to organize collective sentiment and political action (including that comprising so-called 'conventional' electoralist politics in the West), and that conceiving of identity as a site of political struggle underscores the inadequacy of Orientalist characterizations of Muslim identity in terms of a singular, transhistorical essence.

How Internal Political Efficacy Translates Political Knowledge Into Political Participation

Science.gov (United States)

Reichert, Frank

2016-01-01

This study presents evidence for the mediation effect of political knowledge through political self-efficacy (i.e. internal political efficacy) in the prediction of political participation. It employs an action theoretic approach—by and large grounded on the Theory of Planned Behaviour—and uses data from the German Longitudinal Election Study to examine whether political knowledge has distinct direct effects on voting, conventional, and/or unconventional political participation. It argues that political knowledge raises internal political efficacy and thereby indirectly increases the chance that a citizen will participate in politics. The results of mediated multiple regression analyses yield evidence that political knowledge indeed translates into internal political efficacy, thus it affects political participation of various kinds indirectly. However, internal political efficacy and intentions to participate politically yield simultaneous direct effects only on conventional political participation. Sequentially mediated effects appear for voting and conventional political participation, with political knowledge being mediated by internal political efficacy and subsequently also by behavioural intentions. The mediation patterns for unconventional political participation are less clear though. The discussion accounts for restrictions of this study and points to questions for answer by future research. PMID:27298633

Notes on the Analysis of Political Profiles and Careers. The study of Ruling Groups in a Hinterland Province of Argentina. (Mendoza, 1852-1900

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Eliana Valeria Fucili

2018-01-01

Full Text Available This paper provides some theses to enrich studies on the conformation and characterization of nineteenth century Argentinean ruling groups. For this purpose, the article takes as its object of study the political teams of the Mendoza province that emerged during the second half of the 19th century, and presents solid empirical evidence to identify a set of 725 political actors responsible of embodying and activating the dynamics of the provincial state. This information has been analyzed with quantitative methods and qualitative tools such as prosopography, sociological interpretations and sociability analyses, allowing us to distinguish several features of the local leadership. A wide variety of documents—official records, departmental dispatches, press of the time— was used to investigate these questions, in order to explore the variables related to the unfolding of these actors’ political careers: their socio-professional profile, their continuity or permanence in public service positions, and the projection of their itineraries. As a whole, the article constitutes a contribution to current historiographical debates about the relative complexity of the nineteenth century political system and the role of provincial and local political groups in the process of shaping the Argentine national state. This study also represents a substantive advance in regard to literature about elites and ruling teams, which has been based on meager and unsystematic data, producing hasty generalizations that have nevertheless been taken as valid indicators to define a broad political spectrum.

Public service broadcasting (PSB regulation in Indonesia: Between market and public interest

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Masduki

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The reform of public service broadcasting (PSB faces many obstacles in countries with political transition such as Indonesia. After 1998-political change, the arrival of ideas to establish PSB in Indonesia in two decades lacks of appropriate policies. As in other transitional states in Eastern Europe, there is the lack of regulatory design as well as its implementation. This paper examines process of formulating PSB law in 2002, particularly pays attention to industry capture over the making process as a critical tool to observe a long-controvercial of broadcasting law revision process in Indonesia (2012-2016. By use public interest and capture theories in regulation, this paper answers why the outcome of PSB regulation is weak by observing how the law was made. This study provides new analysis on PSB media law that still rare in Indonesia. As independent and non-profit body, Indonesian PSB represented by RRI (Radio of the Republic Indonesia and TVRI (Television of the Republic Indonesia is protected by Broadcasting Act.32/2002. It was enacted in favor of two actors: authoritarian officials with interest to use PSB as their mouthpiece in one side and the industry groups with interest to apply free market policy on the other.

Subjectivities, the political and the politics: derives on a theoretical discussion

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José Ignacio Allevi

2015-11-01

Full Text Available In the paper that follows, I propose myself to tense a series of theoretical discussions on what each one of them understand by subjetification processes, in a social and political key. With that purpose in mind, I organize the writing into two sections. The first one will discuss the processes of subjective setting-up from the perspective of Slavoj Zizek taking his dialogue with the lacanian psychoanalysis, thinking on its approaches on the renewed spot of the subject in the postestructuralist frame. In a second moment, I will continue with the proposals of Judith Butler and Ernesto Laclau, taking Jacques Rancière as a counterpoint with the aim of resituate the point on the subjetification process as a political commitment. The main goal I am pursuing with this critique relies on reflecting, on the one hand, on the strictly political character that some authors give to the subjetive constitution process itself, while, on the other hand, I am interested on the possible divergences on those that examine the process in a mayor and more complex frame, related to the constitution of the social. The starting point of this reflections is found on the differences that a myriad of authors compromised with a posfundacional view have proposed between the political and the politics, and on the spot of the subject on that arena.

Political consumer behaviour among university students in Brazil and Germany: The role of contextual features and core political values.

Science.gov (United States)

Kotzur, Patrick F; Torres, Cláudio V; Kedzior, Karina K; Boehnke, Klaus

2017-04-01

This study investigates the relationship between political consumerism and core political values (CPVs) among university students in Brazil (N = 414) and Germany (N = 222). Despite the prerequisite to endorse values that are compatible with political consumerism, contextual features of one's immediate environment might affect overall levels of political consumerism. Our results show that political consumerism is significantly associated with higher income in Brazil (but not in Germany). After controlling for income, political consumerism was practised more frequently in Germany than in Brazil, in urban compared with rural areas, and was not dependent on gender. The urban-rural split was stronger in Brazil than in Germany. These results confirm our hypothesis that contextual features are associated with political consumerism. Furthermore, the political value Equality positively predicted political consumerism in both countries. In contrast, Traditional Morality and support of Free Enterprise negatively predicted political consumerism, although the effect sizes of these relationships were only small. These results suggest that political consumerism among university students is widespread in Germany but not in Brazil. Interestingly, regardless of its low prevalence in Brazil, political consumerism is positively associated with the CPV of Equality among university students in both countries. © 2015 International Union of Psychological Science.

Rodriquez V. San Antonio Independent School District: Gathering the Ayes of Texas--The Politics of School Finance Reform

Science.gov (United States)

Yudof, Mark G.; Morgan, Daniel C.

1974-01-01

An historical account is given of movements toward educational finance reform in Texas, culminating in the Rodriquez v. San Antonio Independent School District case and its aftermath. The role of political pressures applied by various interest groups is traced and the prospects for future reform assessed. (EH)

Political view of youth voters in surabaya

Science.gov (United States)

Kartikasari, M. M.; Suwanda, I. M.; Adi, A. S.

2018-01-01

In the study of political socialization, youth voters are one of the targets of political parties in obtaining constituents. This article will reveal the views of youth voters in interpreting politics. Youth voters who are the subject of the study are college students in the first year. In general, they have different social life backgrounds but are in the same environment, the life of urban people, where their involvement with information technology is high. Political knowledge of youth voters is widely gained through mass media, where information is produced based on market needs. It encourages inconsistency in the direction of thinking that develops by voters. On the one hand, politics is seen as an activity based on ideal democratic values, but on the other hand politics is also seen as a practice that focuses on winning the battle of interests. This suggests that the youth voter political views are oriented toward superficial knowledge directed more by the mass media, not from experience gained through the process of political socialization.

Private political archives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Waldemar Chorążyczewski

2010-12-01

Full Text Available "Private political archives" are understood by me as all acts collected intently by a private person. These acts are connected with the person's participation in political life and gathered in order to be used in public activity as the source of argumentation and information about factors and mechanisms of political processes. Private political archives of the first half of the XVI century were mainly created by royal servants, often with reference to their job duties. These duties could inspire to collect political acts for private purposes. During the reign of Sigismund Augustus, archives of gentry activists were developed to small extent and they mainly focused on parliamentary life. Private political archives were created outside the executionist movement, namely in the community gathered around the royal court. After 1572, Crown and Lithuanian magnates greatly influenced the creation of political archives. Archives of lesser gentry, scarce and poor, did not disappear completely. However, they became difficult for identification. Therefore, developmental process concerned exclusively documentary "treasure troves" created by magnates. They had the financial means and possibilities to create truly valuable political archives. The same as in the previous period the dynamisms of executionist movement was reflected in political archival documentation, now the creation of patronage system and clientele, or traditionally understood magnate oligarchy, (depending on the point of view corresponded best to archives development. The heritage of previous generations was the treasure trove of patterns and solutions. However, this trove was used selectively, on one hand giving up patterns and rights that were uncomfortable, and, on the other, giving the value of precedence to unexpected acts that gained more importance or even new content in changed political conditions. The application of interpretation principle raised interest in old acts and patterns

From everyday conversation to political action : Talking austerity in online ‘third spaces’

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Graham, Todd; Jackson, Daniel; Wright, Scott

2015-01-01

Taking forward a new agenda for online political deliberation – the study of everyday political talk in non-political, online ‘third spaces’ – this article examines the dynamics of political talk across three general interest UK based online forums. The quantitative analysis found that discussions

Personality, Political Attitudes and Participation in Protests: The Direct and Mediated Effects of Psychological Factors on Political Activism

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ednaldo Aparecido Ribeiro

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Studies combining psychology and political science have shown that personality traits such as extroversion and openness to experiences are conditioning factors of political activism. However, the mechanisms through which this effect occurs are still poorly understood. Aiming to advance this topic, this article presents the results of an investigation that looked to analyse the mediated effects of personality traits in the Brazilian context, taking as mediating conditioning factors various attitudes and subjective dispositions commonly found in the literature, such as interest in politics and subjective political efficacy. Using the Latin American Public Opinion Project data, the hypothesis was tested that personality influences behaviour, since it favours the development of a number of attitudes that function as basic factors conditioning civic engagement. The results indicate the significant mediated effects of extroversion and openness to experience, especially with regard to political knowledge.

Future-Proofing Japan’s Interests in the Arctic

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tonami, Aki

2014-01-01

credentials Japan has to be involved in the leading Arctic forum. However, a closer look at its engagement in the Arctic indicates that Japan has genuine interests in political, economic, and environmental developments there. This essay examines Japan’s interests in the Arctic, its new role as an observer...

Political Efficacy and Participation of Nurse Practitioners.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Rourke, Nancy C; Crawford, Sybil L; Morris, Nancy S; Pulcini, Joyce

2017-08-01

Twenty-eight states have laws and regulations limiting the ability of nurse practitioners (NPs) to practice to the full extent of their education and training, thereby preventing patients from fully accessing NP services. Revisions to state laws and regulations require NPs to engage in the political process. Understanding the political engagement of NPs may facilitate the efforts of nurse leaders and nursing organizations to promote change in state rules and regulations. The purpose of this study was to describe the political efficacy and political participation of U.S. NPs and gain insight into factors associated with political interest and engagement. In the fall of 2015, we mailed a survey to 2,020 NPs randomly chosen from the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners' database and 632 responded (31% response rate). Participants completed the Trust in Government (external political efficacy) and the Political Efficacy (internal political efficacy) scales, and a demographic form. Overall, NPs have low political efficacy. Older age ( p≤.001), health policy mentoring ( p≤.001), and specific education on health policy ( p≤.001) were all positively associated with internal political efficacy and political participation. External political efficacy was not significantly associated with any of the study variables. Political activities of NPs are largely limited to voting and contacting legislators. Identifying factors that engage NPs in grassroots political activities and the broader political arena is warranted, particularly with current initiatives to make changes to state laws and regulations that limit their practice.

Identity Politics and Gender Issues in Contemporary Iran with emphasis on the Poetry of Ahmed Shamlou

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Ardestani

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Today, identity politics is one of the most important analytic tools of social scientists. With this approach, they focus on political attitudes and interests of social groups who are mainly concerned with gender, race, ethnicity or religion. Attitude towards the female sexuality is one of the most important spectrums in their study. The epistemological development is rooted in the fundamental social changes and its understanding requires a careful study of some aspects in contemporary political literature of Iran. The main question of this study is the focus on gender in the contemporary political literature that may lead to the realm of identity politics in Iran. Any focus on identity and gender discourses will involve a critical analysis and application of the Fairclough’s model on Shamlou’s poems. Thus, a social scientist may tend to answer the questions of identity politics and gender issues. Our hypothesis is that Iranian society has gradually moved towards a new understanding of the concept of gender since the Constitutional Movement and it has helped the articulation of identity politics in Iran. The main manifestation of this politics should be sought in political literature which has always been an area for thinking due to the lack of civil society in the body polity of Iran.

Development of political advertisement in the Republic of Kazakhstan

OpenAIRE

Nassimov, M.

2014-01-01

The article reveals the importance and place of contemporary political advertisement of Kazakhstan as social phenomena. We know century we live as century of informatization. And the basis of advertisement is not only commercial information; it is also social, political, ideological informatization too. Realizing concept of the advertisement we can determine the importance of advertisement in social and political processes of society. In Kazakhstan politi- cal advertisement an interest to dai...

Prejudice is about politics: a collective action perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Drury, John

2012-12-01

In line with Dixon et al.'s argument, I contend that prejudice should be understood in broadly political rather than in narrowly psychological terms. First, what counts as prejudice is a political judgement. Second, studies of collective action demonstrate that it is in "political" struggles, where subordinate groups together oppose dominant groups, that prejudice can be overcome.

A spanner in the works? anti-politics in global health policy: Comment on "A ghost in the machine? politics in global health policy".

Science.gov (United States)

McCoy, David; Singh, Guddi

2014-08-01

The formulation of global health policy is political; and all institutions operating in the global health landscape are political. This is because policies and institutions inevitably represent certain values, reflect particular ideologies, and preferentially serve some interests over others. This may be expressed explicitly and consciously; or implicitly and unconsciously. But it's important to recognise the social and political dimension of global health policy. In some instances however, the politics of global health policy may be actively denied or obscured. This has been described in the development studies literature as a form of 'anti-politics'. In this article we describe four forms of anti-politics and consider their application to the global health sector.

How Intense Policy Demanders Shape Postreform Politics: Evidence from the Affordable Care Act.

Science.gov (United States)

Rocco, Philip; Haeder, Simon F

2018-04-01

The implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has been a politically volatile process. The ACA's institutional design and delayed feedback effects created a window of opportunity for its partisan opponents to launch challenges at both the federal and state level. Yet as recent research suggests, postreform politics depends on more than policy feedback alone; rather, it is shaped by the partisan and interest-group environment. We argue that "intense policy demanders" played an important role in defining the policy alternatives that comprised congressional Republicans' efforts to repeal and replace the ACA. To test this argument, we drew on an original data set of bill introductions in the House of Representatives between 2011 and 2016. Our analysis suggests that business contributions and political ideology affected the likelihood that House Republicans would introduce measures repealing significant portions of the ACA. A secondary analysis shows that intense policy demanders also shaped the vote on House Republicans' initial ACA replacement plan. These findings highlight the role intense policy demanders can play in shaping the postreform political agenda. Copyright © 2018 by Duke University Press.

Identity Politics, the Ethos of Vulnerability, and Education

Science.gov (United States)

Brunila, Kristiina; Rossi, Leena-Maija

2018-01-01

In this article, identity politics is understood as a form of politics stressing collective but malleable group identities as the basis of political action. This notion of identity politics also allows thinking of identity as intersectional. The focus of this article, and a problem related to identity politics, is that when discussed in the…

The essential tension between leadership and power: when leaders sacrifice group goals for the sake of self-interest.

Science.gov (United States)

Maner, Jon K; Mead, Nicole L

2010-09-01

Throughout human history, leaders have been responsible for helping groups attain important goals. Ideally, leaders use their power to steer groups toward desired outcomes. However, leaders can also use their power in the service of self-interest rather than effective leadership. Five experiments identified factors within both the person and the social context that determine whether leaders wield their power to promote group goals versus self-interest. In most cases, leaders behaved in a manner consistent with group goals. However, when their power was tenuous due to instability within the hierarchy, leaders high (but not low) in dominance motivation prioritized their own power over group goals: They withheld valuable information from the group, excluded a highly skilled group member, and prevented a proficient group member from having any influence over a group task. These self-interested actions were eliminated when the group was competing against a rival outgroup. Findings provide important insight into factors that influence the way leaders navigate the essential tension between leadership and power. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved).

The Role of Political Elites in the Development of Politics of Memory in the Baltic States

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Smirnov Vadim

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The article focuses on multiple cases of the politicization of history by the Baltic political elites. Three states of development of politics of memory in the Baltic States are identified. Problems of political exploitation of the past are scrutinized in the context of political life and international relations. It is concluded that the narratives of the past where nazi and Soviet legacies are equated are actively promoted on the pan-European level. Elites of the Baltic States play a salient role in this process and enhance ties with the elites of the Eastern Europe, expert and political communities of the Western Europe and USA. The dominant trends in the development of the historical politics in the Baltic countries are the administrative and legislative instruments for approval of the preferred narratives of the past, as well as an active political work at the international level aimed at the inclusion of the Baltic narratives of the past into the European politics of memory. Historical politics of the Baltic States shows the Baltic countries as the victims of "two totalitarianisms" ("Nazi and Soviet occupation", and this point of view is widely used as a foreign policy tool. The politicization of the "anti-totalitarianism" issue is now a popular foreign policy tool that not only serves the interests of the Baltic and Eastern European politicians, but also finds ideological supporters in Western Europe and the United States.

Politics, Media and Youth: Understanding Political Socialization via Video Production in Secondary Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Dunsmore, Kate; Lagos, Taso G.

2008-01-01

Research on the lack of civic and political engagement on the part of today's youth has relied on traditional, often quantitative, measures of political knowledge that may miss important elements of the process. Using an ethnographic approach with a group of inner-city high school students, our study reveals a richer construction of students'…

Muslim Political Elite and the Revival of the Left in Indonesian Politics (1996-2001

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ahmad Suhelmi

2006-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract: Based upon elite interviews, document analysis and library research, this study analyses the responses of the Indonesian Muslim political elite to the phenomena of the emergence of the alleged communist Partai Rakyat Demokratik (People’s Democratic Party and the flourishing of the Leftist books in Indonesia during 1996-2001 which is one of the most critical historical phases in Indonesian politics that witnessed significant political changes affecting the life of Indonesians in general and Muslims in particular. The adverse responses of most Muslim political elite to the revival of the Left are basically driven by the interweaving of theological, historical and political factors as well as traumatic historical experience. With the passage of time, there have been significant changes, and strained relations between Islamic political groups and the Leftists have thawed but not eliminated.

African Politics at American Colleges and Universities: Topics, Approaches, and Readings.

Science.gov (United States)

DeLancey, Mark; And Others

1989-01-01

Traces new developments in the study of African comparative politics since 1978 by surveying a number of college teachers of African politics. Finds there is an escalation of interest in the politics of South Africa. The lack of student knowledge concerning Africa and the lack of an agreed-upon text are identified as problems. (KO)

Political extremism predicts belief in conspiracy theories

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Prooijen, J.W.; Krouwel, A.P.M.; Pollet, T. V.

2015-01-01

Historical records suggest that the political extremes—at both the “left” and the “right”—substantially endorsed conspiracy beliefs about other-minded groups. The present contribution empirically tests whether extreme political ideologies, at either side of the political spectrum, are positively

Climate politics in the Lower Mekong Basin. National interests and transboundary cooperation on climate change

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baadsgaard Lange, R.; Moerck Jensen, K.

2013-09-01

Climate change is expected to intensify water security concerns in international river basins. UNFCCC and DAC-donors have been important generators of political attention to the climate agenda among governments in the Mekong Basin in relation to regional cooperation, national policy-making and capacity building. However, the formal commitment to climate action is not necessarily reflected in the everyday business of development. In this paper we use a political economy approach to understand when and how climate change becomes a political priority for the governments of Laos, Thailand and Vietnam, and for transboundary cooperation. Uneven distribution of climate hazards and vulnerabilities create different national risk perceptions and commitment to climate action. Donor funding and national development strategies are also strong drivers of climate action and inaction. Climate change is sometimes used as a scapegoat for domestic policy failures and as a tool to acquire donor funding. We recommend prioritizing climate action in the context of immediate development challenges and 'no regrets' interventions that are likely to enhance adaptive capacity and governments' commitment. (Author)

Nuclear politics: Exploring the nexus between citizens movements and public policy in Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tabusa, K.

1992-01-01

This dissertation analyzes the relationship between the grass-roots antinuclear movement and nuclear energy policy in Japan. In particular, it seeks to explain the lack of impact of the grass-roots antinuclear movement on Japanese nuclear energy policymaking. To explain the lack of political pressure exerted, the author focuses on the lack of open-quotes political opportunitiesclose quotes for the movement. Past studies on antinuclear movements and nuclear energy policymaking of the Western countries indicate that such opportunities are provided in the processes of parliamentary politics, bureaucratic rivalries, central-local governmental conflicts, and judicial intervention in the resolution of political conflicts. The author's study argues that closed political opportunity structure of the Japanese political system has separated the grass-roots antinuclear movement from the national nuclear energy policymaking process by imposing constraints on the development and achievement of the movement. The research shows that: (1) the nature of party conflicts (balance of power and idealogy) in the Japanese parliament tends to discourage the representation of antinuclear interests by opposition parties; (2) the government has successfully prevented antinuclear groups from interfering with the licensing and regulatory processes; and (3) the local governments and courts have failed to intervene in the nuclear energy conflict on behalf of antinuclear groups. The closed opportunity structure has also led the movement to stress the mobilization of public opinion rather than manipulation of institutional access to the policymaking process as its strategy. In addition to well-publicized protest activities and mass demonstrations, electoral campaigns and litigation have also become activities primarily designed to appeal to the public, which has so far failed to indicate strong support for the antinuclear movement

Social dynamics interest groups in a model of spatial competition

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tuinstra, J.; Sadiraj, V.; van Winden, F.A.A.M.

2000-01-01

A well-known result in spatial voting theory is that, for a one-dimensional issue space and under certain mild conditions, political parties choose platforms coinciding with the median voter's position. This result does not carry over to multi-dimensional issue spaces however, since then an

Still not at Ease : Corruption and Conflict of Interest in Hybrid Political Orders

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Feikema, E.T.

2015-01-01

Corruption is considered to be predominantly a problem in ‘developing’ countries, for which a more neutral notion is: ‘hybrid political order’ (HPO). According to the Western view, corruption is a breach of the trustworthiness of public, or private, institutions that have a legal status. The view

The multidimensional politics of inequality: taking stock of identity politics in the U.S. Presidential election of 2016.

Science.gov (United States)

McCall, Leslie; Orloff, Ann Shola

2017-11-01

Many Democrats hoped that a particular kind of identity politics - women's - would help Hillary Clinton win the White House. In the aftermath of the election, some commentators bemoaned the fact that a majority of white women had voted for Trump, and called it a kind of betrayal, underlining their expectation that women would naturally, on the basis of their gender identity, support a woman with women-friendly politics. Indeed, this kind of thinking about identity politics has been widespread with reference to a number of demographic groups. Meanwhile, identity politics is lamented from the right and left by those who favour a greater emphasis on class-based inequalities, or a greater national identity, some of whom blame identity politics for spawning or justifying a backlash of right-leaning populism in the US. We argue for a turn to a more robust definition of identity as multidimensional and politically mediated for understanding political alignments over the past several decades. The multidimensionality of inequality - intersectionality or complex inequality - is widely accepted in the study of gender and race across the social science disciplines but has yet to be as successfully integrated into studies of electoral politics. Thinking about women's positioning in systems of complex inequality, and how the political parties have or have not articulated the concerns of different groups of women, helps us to understand the 2016 election, as well as past and potentially future political developments. © London School of Economics and Political Science 2017.

Does political stability improve the aid-growth relationship? A panel ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

on the role of political stability on the aid-growth relationship in SSA. Results ... related using recent SSA data, and (2) identify the effects of political stability ...... particular it will be interesting to investigate how big a role a free press plays in.

Economic Integration and Political Disintegration

OpenAIRE

Alberto Alesina; Enrico Spolaore; Romain Wacziarg

1997-01-01

Trade liberalization and political separatism go hand in hand. In a world of trade restrictions, large countries enjoy economic benefits because political boundaries determine the size of the market. In a world of free trade and global markets even relatively small cultural, linguistic or ethnic groups can benefit from forming small and homogeneous political jurisdictions that trade peacefully and are economically integrated with others. This paper provides a formal model of the relationship ...

Political determinants of progress in the MDGs in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Atti, Emma; Gulis, Gabriel

2017-11-01

Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) lagged furthest behind in achieving targets for the millennium development goals (MDG). We investigate the hypothesis that its slow progress is influenced by political factors. Longitudinal data on three health MDG indicators: under-five mortality, maternal mortality and HIV prevalence rates were collated from 1990 to 2012 in 48 countries. Countries were grouped into geo-political and eco-political groups. Groupings were based on conflict trends in geographical regions and the International Monetary Fund's classification of SSA countries based on gross national income and development assistance respectively. Cumulative progress in each group was derived and main effects tested using ANOVA. Correlation analysis was conducted between political variables - POLITY 2, fragile state index (FSI), voter turnout rates, civil liberty scores (CLS) and the health variables. Our results suggest a significant main effect of eco-political and geo-political groups on some of the health variables. Political conflict as measured by FSI and political participation as measured by CLS were stronger predictors of slow progress in reducing under-five mortality rates and maternal mortality ratios. Our findings highlight the need for further research on political determinants of mortality in SSA. Cohesive effort should focus on strengthening countries' political, economic and social capacities in order to achieve sustainable goals beyond 2015.

How to Teach Political Advice

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mouritzen, Poul Erik

in close cooperation with the ministries and the mayor’s office. Besides training students to work under pressure, to write short and precise memos, to work in groups as well as on their own, to assess the political aspects of an issue, the course had some rather positive side effects in terms of student......, staffed with permanent civil servants rather than politically appointed persons. The aim of the course is to train the students in servicing the political and administrative top leaders of a politically led organization that is exposed to daily attention from the public, media and opposition. The course...

The Political Economy of Recent Economic Growth in India

OpenAIRE

Raghbendra Jha

2004-01-01

The political economy of India’s economic growth is an issue of abiding interest. Higher and sustained economic growth has, all over the world, been the surest and most time tested means of raising living standards and reducing poverty. Further, given that it is a functioning democracy, economic policy in India can often be dictated by political expediency as political parties indulge in competitive populism in the face of improvements in social indicators such as literacy, infant mortality a...

Character of the mutual perception of the political system and the environment as a criterion of the political security

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I. V. Ishchenko

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Political security is connected with the lack of external and internal threats, or the reduction of their severity. The maintenance of the internal public security should start from the explanation of the nature of the relationship between the political and institutional structures and most active social groups. The author suggests using a mental construct as an indicator of conflict/harmony in this sphere. It has been proposed to implement this idea by comparing the mental constructs of political institutions and social environment. One of the methods to implement this idea has been revealed in the article. This method is based on the search of leading values which are characterizing basic political and institutional structures and social environment. Two components have been described in the mental constructor: rational and irrational. Moreover, the formula, that makes it possible to compare and evaluate the congruence of mental constructs of political and institutional structures and the environment on the basis of the detected values, has been suggested. The advantage of this formula is its flexibility. Consequently, it can describe the features of social and political interaction in all political systems. The regularity has four components. The first component describes the level of implementation of the social environment’s values being a result of certain internal and external policies. It contains a self-assessment of individuals - representatives of the social environment level of its own value system’s implementation. Moreover, the author takes into account the assessment of the political and institutional structures that is given by these individuals. Individuals assess these structures in connection to the actions and decisions aimed at the implementation of public interests and values. The second component of the formula describes the level of implementation and the congruence of values of basic political and institutional

Women and Politics – The Glass Ceiling

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Irina Zamfirache

2010-03-01

Full Text Available The role of women in modern politics is a subject that needs further insight, considering the growthin number of women that nowadays have relevant political positions on the international stage.There are studies today that emphasize the equality issue and all that is gender role related, but ourinterest is to analyze the women representation in power related positions. Due to the fastmodernization of the political environment and the rapid spreading of the feminist way of thought,several authors took interest in the gender differences in politics. The article follows some keydimensions in understanding the gender-role in politics: the glass ceiling, the role of the media indrawing the image of the woman politician, the gender affinity effect. In the end we would like topoint out the differences for men and women in exploiting the opportunities and securing the positions of power.

The competing meanings of "biopolitics" in political science. Biological and postmodern approaches to politics.

Science.gov (United States)

Liesen, Laurette T; Walsh, Mary Barbara

2012-01-01

The term "biopolitics" carries multiple, sometimes competing, meanings in political science. When the term was first used in the United States in the late 1970s, it referred to an emerging subdiscipline that incorporated the theories and data of the life sciences into the study of political behavior and public policy. But by the mid-1990s, biopolitics was adopted by postmodernist scholars at the American Political Science Association's annual meeting who followed Foucault's work in examining the power of the state on individuals. Michel Foucault first used the term biopolitics in the 1970s to denote social and political power over life. Since then, two groups of political scientists have been using this term in very different ways. This paper examines the parallel developments of the term "biopolitics," how two subdisciplines gained (and one lost) control of the term, and what the future holds for its meaning in political science.

If Schools Are for Learning, the Study of the Politics of Education Is Just Beginning.

Science.gov (United States)

Hawley, Willis D.

This chapter argues that political scientists have been more interested in studying political processes than in studying who receives what benefits from the political process. To illustrate his thesis that few political scientists have linked the political process to policy outcomes, the author briefly discusses four general categories of public…

Sex, secularism and religious influence in US politics.

Science.gov (United States)

Bernstein, Elizabeth; Jakobsen, Janet R

2010-01-01

Through an analysis of alliances between secular and religious actors in US politics and a specific case study on anti-trafficking policy, we show that the intertwining of religion and politics in the US comes from two sources: 1) the secular political and cultural institutions of American public life that have developed historically out of Protestantism, and which predominantly operate by presuming Protestant norms and values; and 2) the direct influence on US politics of religious groups and organisations, particularly in the past quarter-century of lobby groups and political action committees identified with conservative evangelical Christianity. The sources of policies that promote gender and sexual inequality in the US are both secular and religious and we conclude that it is inaccurate to assume that religious influence in politics is necessarily conservative or that more secular politics will necessarily be more progressive than the religious varieties.

Market and Money: Economic Instruments of Political Europe

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Florina Pînzaru

2006-10-01

Full Text Available By the creation of the unique currency, the European construction advanced, in the late twenty years, more in economic terms than in political ones. Still, at a closer look there can be found interesting arguments to sustain the idea of a political background for this surprising economic acceleration. Creating the common market and a new currency are things which have been possible only because of favourable factors in economy and of strong political will. This paper analyses the market as a frame of a political construction, and euro as a decisive tool for the purpose of the United Europe. For the first time in history, there is a space which approaches beliefs and values with the “help” of a currency, integrated in the political agenda.

Political Warfare and Contentious Politics

Science.gov (United States)

2015-06-01

the DC and PSLI Overt, Indirect • US forming a coalition with France and Britain to return Trieste to Italy control • US Urged French and British...efforts to alter Chile’s social construct by calling for the end to the Allende government, pointing out the failures of Marxism , encouraging a...political or social change. Frances Piven and Richard Cloward describe three attributes associated with group consciousness and cognitive

7th International Conference of Political Economy

OpenAIRE

BEKEN, Gülçin

2016-01-01

Abstract. In this study, the 7th International Conference of Political Economy in İstanbul was evaluated. This year it  was organized by Marmara University Faculty of Economics and Batman University Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences with the cooperation of their international supporters all over the world. These conference series are said to be successful to bring all the scholars, academicians, students, and volunteers who are interested in political economy. Starting from 200...

Political Show-Technology in the Post-Soviet Space

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O. E. Grishin

2015-01-01

Full Text Available In the modern political process of Russia actively used technology show. With their help, political actors can influence public opinion and shape the public interest in certain issues. In Russia, these technologies are relevant, and are especially well developed. The pressing of the problem is due to a new round of information war on the territory of Ukraine. Inclusion in the information space, and discuss the pressing issues of modern Ukraine by media people such as C. Shuster and V. Solovyov, suggests that the political show has entertainment figures, actuality, the ambiguity of the proposed conclusions. At the same time it becomes part of the information war and political reality of the normal state.

Web-based tailored lifestyle programs: exploration of the target group's interests and implications for practice.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Verheijden, M.W.; Jans, M.P.; Hildebrandt, V.H.

2008-01-01

An important challenge in Web-based health promotion is to increase the reach of the target audience by taking the target groups' desires into consideration. Data from 505 members of a Dutch Internet panel (representative for Dutch Internet users) were used to asses the target group's interests and

Women’s Role in the Spanish Politics: The PSOE Case

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Gema Sánchez Medero

2008-05-01

Full Text Available This article analyzes women incorporation in different levels of political life, namely in the political parties and representative institutions. The aspects it focused on were the actions taken by the PSOE (Spanish Labour Socialist Party in relation to the paritary democracy, so as to properly evaluate the consequences produced on the organization party itself and on those institutional areas where they have obtained representation (General Spanish Parliament, Autonomous Parliaments, and City Halls, to observe whether women are actually committed to political life or such integration only obeys to political party interests.

2007 Winter meeting - nuclear power in a relationship of tension between politics, society, and the economy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

2007-01-01

Some 300 interested representatives of the power industry, industry at large, politics, administration, science and research met in Berlin on February 7 and 8, 2007 by invitation of the Deutsches Atomforum e.V. to exchange ideas and experience at the '2007 Winter Meeting'. This year's event was dedicated to the basic conditions underlying the use of nuclear power in Germany, Europe and worldwide. Seven contributions and statements by representatives from politics, industry, and society reflected a broad spectrum of divergent aspects and opinions about the topic of the meeting. Hans-Ulrich Joerges (stern, Berlin) chaired a discussion among Baerbel Hoehn (MP, Alliance 90/The Greens), Dr. Gerd Jaeger (RWE Power AG, Essen), Herbert Reul (MEP, energy policy spokesman of the CDU/CSU group of the European Parliament), and Prof. Dr.-Ing. Ulrich Wagner (Munich Technical University) about current and future aspects of power supply with or without nuclear energy. At the beginning of the year, the '2007 Winter Meeting' offered an interesting start of the debates accompanying this year's climate discussions, the problems associated with gas and oil deliveries from Russia, and the goal to adopt politically a sustainable energy program in the course of the year. (orig.)

Analysis of the Russian political tolerance in society-government relations

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A. V. Korolevska

2014-08-01

Full Text Available The high culture of tolerance accelerates political socialization, improves the qualities of a citizen, a sense of ownership of public affairs, instilling respect for democratic values. Relevance of the work is determined by processes that occur in today’s society and that lead not only to confusion but to destruction of public relations. The article reviews the state of political tolerance in the system of relations society – authorities in Russia. Based on opinion polls statistical analyzes to determine trends in contemporary ensure political tolerance is conducted. Due to correlation between support for Putin and the perception of the political situation in the country as well is determined existence. Fixes sustainable public discontent actual situation in the country, however, people do not use the opportunities for political activism. Almost two thirds of Russians believe that the interests of the government and society in do not match. The low percentage of respondents believe that the political course of the country’s leadership in the interests of ordinary people. There is a steady trend to an agreement among the Russian population to concentrate power in his hands. There is a slight increase of the population of those who are ready to connect to solve their problems in life forms of protest activity.

Politeness Strategies Used in Text Messaging

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Shahrzad Eshghinejad

2016-03-01

Full Text Available One aspect of short message service (SMS communication through a cell phone is use of politeness strategies. As it is extensively argued that females are more polite language users, the present study sought to describe the strategies used by these two groups and to find out whether there is any significant difference between male and female English as a foreign language (EFL learners in the use of positive and negative politeness strategies in sending SMS to their professors, considering that there is an asymmetric power relation and social distance between them. To this end, a corpus of 300 L1 (Persian and L2 (English request messages was compiled. Results of qualitative and quantitative data analysis showed no significant difference between the two groups. Results of the study have implication in politeness research.

Power, Profits, and Politics: Energy Security and Cooperation in Eurasia

Science.gov (United States)

Svyatets, Ekaterina

This study explores varying outcomes of energy cooperation, defined as diplomatic relations, bilateral trade, and investment in oil and natural gas. Tests of theories pertinent to energy security - broadly speaking, realism, liberalism, and domestic politics---reveal that they alone can offer only a narrow and one-sided explanation, not embracing the complexity of energy issues. Nevertheless, using them as a starting point, this study outlined a structured framework that incorporates three variables---economic potential, geopolitical rivalry, and domestic interest groups---that are applied to the cases of U.S.-Russia, U.S.-Azerbaijan, and Russia-Germany energy ties. This study concludes that if the economic potential (defined by geographic proximity and resource availability) is very high, such as in the case of Russia-Germany, states can overcome geopolitical rivalries and historical enmities in favor of energy cooperation. However, if the economic potential is relatively low (because of geographic obstacles or easily available alternative suppliers, as in the cases of U.S.-Russia and U.S.-Azerbaijan), then geopolitics prevails---for example, to bypass Russia or to limit American access to contracts in Russia when U.S.-Russian relations are strained. In all the cases explored here, domestic interest groups have mixed influence: if they are united along energy issues, they usually successfully achieve their energy policy goals, although the impact of these groups often becomes intertwined with state interests. In other situations, when powerful interest groups are divided or focused on non-energy-related issues (such as ethnic priorities), their influence over energy deals is much lower.

Art as a Cultural Politics and Diplomacy

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Dicky Rezadi Munaf

2017-05-01

Full Text Available As a creative activity, art cannot be merely understood as an individual expression, but a social stage, in which common aesthetic experiences are socially built. Being a social product, art is a medium of various socio-political interests, particularly the interests of a particular community or institution. By employing a participatory research method, this paper is aimed at understanding of how art is used by a particular state’s institution for two interrelated functions. Internally, art is used to create social cohesion and commonality, to enhance work‘s productivity and creativity in the institution. Externally, art is practiced as form of cultural diplomacy, to promote national political, economical and cultural interests in the context of international relation. The conclusion of the research is that the functions of art in the context of state‘s institution are as a form of esthetic experience, institutional and community building, cultural exchange and cultural diplomacy. Keywords: Art, Aesthetic, Institution, Cultural Diplomacy, National Security and Safety.

The political economy of railway construction in Nigeria: the Bornu ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The political economy of railway construction in Nigeria: the Bornu railway extension. ... One key strategy employed was to side with the faction of the Nigerian petty bourgeoisie whose political, economic and class interests were in agreement with ... The 400-mile extension was eventually constructed and opened in 1964.

Why and How Political Science Can Contribute to Public Health? Proposals for Collaborative Research Avenues.

Science.gov (United States)

Gagnon, France; Bergeron, Pierre; Clavier, Carole; Fafard, Patrick; Martin, Elisabeth; Blouin, Chantal

2017-04-05

Written by a group of political science researchers, this commentary focuses on the contributions of political science to public health and proposes research avenues to increase those contributions. Despite progress, the links between researchers from these two fields develop only slowly. Divergences between the approach of political science to public policy and the expectations that public health can have about the role of political science, are often seen as an obstacle to collaboration between experts in these two areas. Thus, promising and practical research avenues are proposed along with strategies to strengthen and develop them. Considering the interdisciplinary and intersectoral nature of population health, it is important to create a critical mass of researchers interested in the health of populations and in healthy public policy that can thrive working at the junction of political science and public health. © 2017 The Author(s); Published by Kerman University of Medical Sciences. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Effects of perceived workplace politics in hospitals on nurses' behavioural intentions in Ghana.

Science.gov (United States)

Atinga, Roger A; Domfeh, Kwame A; Kayi, Esinam; Abuosi, Aaron; Dzansi, Gladys

2014-03-01

To examine the effects of perceived workplace politics in hospitals on nurses' job satisfaction, commitment, exit intention, job neglect, absenteeism and performance. One of the factors contributing to nurses' poor advancement in clinical practice is the existence of petty politics, which has given rise to competing self-interest. However, little evidence exists to inform policy direction on the implication of politics on nurses' behaviour. A total of 610 nurses comprising associate and nursing professionals completed a structured questionnaire modelled on workplace politics and its outcome variables. Descriptive statistics and mean comparisons were used to analyse data. A multivariate regression model was computed to examine association between perceived politics and nurses' behavioural intentions. Perceived politics potentially leads to decline in job satisfaction, commitment and work performance. However, perceived workplace politics is associated with high intention to leave, negligent behaviour and absenteeism. Measures aimed at improving nursing management and health-care delivery should be directed at minimising the use of politics to promote self-interest. Evidence-based best practices in nursing management centred on the creation of an enabling environment for nurses to participate in decision-making should be given critical attention. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

BLOGS ARE THE ELEMENTS OF POLITICAL FIELD

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Юлия Игоревна Нестеренок

2014-05-01

Full Text Available The article analyzes the influence of blogosphere on the political process. The author studies political mechanisms of public policy-making through the activity of political blogs. The article also grounds the choice of the research tools and shows that the Internet is becoming, in contrast to the other media platforms, the territory of free self-expression.The article analyses and summarizes different communication theories and defines blogs’ role in a modern political and communication space.The application of modern Internet technologies and the development of other mass media encourage the formation of different representational images of political events.During the study different types of communicative interaction in different types of democracy are represented in the article, and as well the increase of Internet community role’s influence on the modern political process.Democratic reforms are inevitably linked with the increase of public political activity, where one of the forms of expression of one’s opinion is political blogging.In a modern political space one can note a new generation of consumers of media goods with skills, talents, interest and enthusiasm to use the opened opportunities of creating and transforming the continent. In the summary we point out that modern political process differs the appearance of new determinants of mass media development as well as the development of other communication facilities.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.12731/2218-7405-2013-10-44

Political conservatism, rigidity, and dogmatism in American foreign policy officials: the 1966 Mennis data.

Science.gov (United States)

Kemmelmeier, Markus

2007-01-01

Researchers have established a relationship between political orientation and cognitive styles (A. Chirumbolo, 2002; J. T. Jost, J. Glaser, A. W. Kruglanski, & F. Sulloway, 2003a, 2003b; M. Kemmelmeier, 1997). In this article, the author examined whether this finding is true in the political elite, whether the relationship is linear or curvilinear, and whether interest in politics moderates the relationship between political orientation and cognitive styles. He used a 1966 sample of American foreign policy officials (N = 95) to examine the relationship between self-described conservatism and party identification and individual differences in rigidity and dogmatism. Rigidity was related to self-described conservatism, but this relationship was only significant among participants high in political interest, whereas dogmatism was unconditionally related to party identification. All relationships were linear and did not contain a curvilinear component.

POLITICAL ISLAM IN THE 21ST CENTURY

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Ferran Izquierdo Brichs

2011-04-01

Full Text Available Since the 1980s, political Islam or Islamism has created enormous concern both in the political media and the news media. The revolution in Iran in the late 1970s and the election victory by FIS in Algeria in the late 1980s represented two decisive points in the popular and ideological mobilisation by Islamist groups. Immediately after that, the civil war in Algeria and terrorist violence left their mark on the 1990s. The perception of Islamism today is still associated, in many cases, with the dynamics of the end of the past century, and with the jihadism of a few fundamentalist groups, without taking into account the fact that the majority of Islamist groups have undergone an enormous evolution, and that the context in which they are operating is also very different. As we will see, instead of the jihadism or the ideological radicalness of the past century, today’s political Islam is much better represented by the moderation (both ideological and in terms of political activity of Turkey’s AKP party, the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Morocco’s PJD, Tunisia’s al-Nahdah and most of the parties and large groups. Central factors in this dynamic of moderation are, on one hand, the link between Islamist groups with regimes and, on the other, the claims for and acceptance of liberal democracy as a strategy in their political struggle.

Against liberal pluralist political practice in South Africa

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Pieter Coetzee

1997-03-01

Full Text Available In this article I take issue with liberal pluralist political practice in South Africa. Multicultural civil society requires the recognition of cultural categories which modernity, in the shape of liberal pluralism, cannot accommodate and therefore ignore in the interests of fostering a single monocultural politics. In South Africa this trend has taken the usual route of difference-blind, assimilationisl political programmes aimed at nation building (under the slogan “one people - one nation". I attempt to show that liberal pluralist practice can be adapted to make space for cultural and ethnic categories, and that a nation of a common political identity can be constructed out of this adaptation, but that a re-interpretaiion of liberal notions of liberty and equality is required.

The role of student surgical interest groups and surgical Olympiads in anatomical and surgical undergraduate training in Russia.

Science.gov (United States)

Dydykin, Sergey; Kapitonova, Marina

2015-01-01

Traditional department-based surgical interest groups in Russian medical schools are useful tools for student-based selection of specialty training. They also form a nucleus for initiating research activities among undergraduate students. In Russia, the Departments of Topographical Anatomy and Operative Surgery play an important role in initiating student-led research and providing learners with advanced, practical surgical skills. In tandem with department-led activities, student surgical interest groups prepare learners through surgical competitions, known as "Surgical Olympiads," which have been conducted in many Russian centers on a regular basis since 1988. Surgical Olympiads stimulate student interest in the development of surgical skills before graduation and encourage students to choose surgery as their postgraduate specialty. Many of the participants in these surgical Olympiads have become highly qualified specialists in general surgery, orthopedic surgery, neurosurgery, urology, gynecology, and emergency medicine. The present article emphasizes the role of student interest groups and surgical Olympiads in clinical anatomical and surgical undergraduate training in Russia. © 2015 American Association of Anatomists.

Dimensions of Aggressiveness as a Psychological Background of Political Orientations and Ethnocentrism: a Comparison of Different Sociodemographic Groups in Vojvodina

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Zlatko Šram

2001-12-01

Full Text Available The author begins with the supposition (1 that specific dimensions of aggressiveness provide a background for various political orientations and ethnocentrism, and (2 that different traits among respondents influence notably the latent configuration of dimensions pertaining to political orientations, ethnocentrism and aggressive behaviour. A sample of 628 adults was derived in a logical manner from the electoral lists of the commune of Subotica. Factor analysis revealed latent variables pertaining to political orientations, ethnocentrism and aggressiveness. Canonical correlation analysis was carried out in order to determine, on the one hand, the relations between the group of variables constituting the area of political orientations and ethnocentrism and, on the other hand, the group of variables constituting the area of aggressiveness. The model of canonical correlation analysis produced two statistically significant canonical correlations. The canonical correlation between the two groups reached 0.49, meaning that − based on knowledge of the different dimensions of aggressiveness − it is possible to explain 24% of the variants in regard to the joint appearance of certain dimensions of political orientations and ethnocentrism. The author postulates the existence of an ideological model that he calls "national exclusiveness and an anti-Western militarist-statist orientation", the background of which includes sociopathological aggressiveness. He also postulates the existence of another ideological model, which he calls "anti-Western militarist-statist", which is not based on sociopathological aggressiveness, but is primarily determined by asocial behaviour in childhood. The author likewise highlights the existence of a relationship between affective national attachment and the need for national homogenising through a certain type of aggressiveness with neurotic characteristics (impulsiveness, egocentrism, absence of empathy. The results of

Self-interest and the theory of action.

Science.gov (United States)

Barbalet, Jack

2012-09-01

The concept of self-interest remains underdeveloped in sociology although central to economics. Recent methodological and social trends render sociological indifference to the concept untenable. The term has enjoyed historical predominance in the West since the sixteenth century. While it is seen in modern economics as a singular motivating force, Adam Smith regarded self-interest in economic action as necessarily moderated by sympathy. In addition to its problematic economic conceptualization self-interest has an experiential basis in unequal power relations. An alternative to the concept of self-interest is presented by Amartya Sen in his account of commitment; its inconsistencies, however, render Sen's statement unsatisfactory. Differences between present and future interests indicate that the distinction between self-interested and other-interested action is not sustainable. © London School of Economics and Political Science 2012.

EEG Analysis of the Brain Activity during the Observation of Commercial, Political, or Public Service Announcements

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Giovanni Vecchiato

2010-01-01

Full Text Available The use of modern brain imaging techniques could be useful to understand what brain areas are involved in the observation of video clips related to commercial advertising, as well as for the support of political campaigns, and also the areas of Public Service Announcements (PSAs. In this paper we describe the capability of tracking brain activity during the observation of commercials, political spots, and PSAs with advanced high-resolution EEG statistical techniques in time and frequency domains in a group of normal subjects. We analyzed the statistically significant cortical spectral power activity in different frequency bands during the observation of a commercial video clip related to the use of a beer in a group of 13 normal subjects. In addition, a TV speech of the Prime Minister of Italy was analyzed in two groups of swing and “supporter” voters. Results suggested that the cortical activity during the observation of commercial spots could vary consistently across the spot. This fact suggest the possibility to remove the parts of the spot that are not particularly attractive by using those cerebral indexes. The cortical activity during the observation of the political speech indicated a major cortical activity in the supporters group when compared to the swing voters. In this case, it is possible to conclude that the communication proposed has failed to raise attention or interest on swing voters. In conclusions, high-resolution EEG statistical techniques have been proved to able to generate useful insights about the particular fruition of TV messages, related to both commercial as well as political fields.

EEG analysis of the brain activity during the observation of commercial, political, or public service announcements.

Science.gov (United States)

Vecchiato, Giovanni; Astolfi, Laura; Tabarrini, Alessandro; Salinari, Serenella; Mattia, Donatella; Cincotti, Febo; Bianchi, Luigi; Sorrentino, Domenica; Aloise, Fabio; Soranzo, Ramon; Babiloni, Fabio

2010-01-01

The use of modern brain imaging techniques could be useful to understand what brain areas are involved in the observation of video clips related to commercial advertising, as well as for the support of political campaigns, and also the areas of Public Service Announcements (PSAs). In this paper we describe the capability of tracking brain activity during the observation of commercials, political spots, and PSAs with advanced high-resolution EEG statistical techniques in time and frequency domains in a group of normal subjects. We analyzed the statistically significant cortical spectral power activity in different frequency bands during the observation of a commercial video clip related to the use of a beer in a group of 13 normal subjects. In addition, a TV speech of the Prime Minister of Italy was analyzed in two groups of swing and "supporter" voters. Results suggested that the cortical activity during the observation of commercial spots could vary consistently across the spot. This fact suggest the possibility to remove the parts of the spot that are not particularly attractive by using those cerebral indexes. The cortical activity during the observation of the political speech indicated a major cortical activity in the supporters group when compared to the swing voters. In this case, it is possible to conclude that the communication proposed has failed to raise attention or interest on swing voters. In conclusions, high-resolution EEG statistical techniques have been proved to able to generate useful insights about the particular fruition of TV messages, related to both commercial as well as political fields.

An exploration of social identity: The geography and politics of news-sharing communities in twitter

Science.gov (United States)

HerdaĞdelen, AmaÇ; Zuo, Wenyun; Gard-Murray, Alexander; Bar-Yam, Yaneer

2013-11-01

The importance of collective social action in current events is manifest in the Arab Spring and Occupy movements. Electronic social media have become a pervasive channel for social interactions, and a basis of collective social response to information. The study of social media can reveal how individual actions combine to become the collective dynamics of society. Characterizing the groups that form spontaneously may reveal both how individuals self-identify and how they will act together. Here we map the social, political, and geographical properties of news-sharing communities on Twitter, a popular micro-blogging platform. We track user-generated messages that contain links to New York Times online articles and we label users according to the topic of the links they share, their geographic location, and their self-descriptive keywords. When users are clustered based on who follows whom in Twitter, we find social groups separate by whether they are interested in local (NY), national (US) or global (cosmopolitan) issues. The national group subdivides into liberal, conservative and other, the latter being a diverse but mostly business oriented group with sports, arts and other splinters. The national political groups are based across the US but are distinct from the national group that is broadly interested in a variety of topics. A person who is cosmopolitan associates with others who are cosmopolitan, and a US liberal / conservative associates with others who are US liberal / conservative, creating separated social groups with those identities. The existence of "citizens" of local, national and cosmopolitan communities is a basis for dialog and action at each of these levels of societal organization.

Keen foreign interest in Pakistan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mehta, D.

1997-01-01

Despite a reputation for political and economic instability, Pakistan continues to attract keen attention from the world's major oil and gas companies. Interest is not just confined to the potentially profitable upstream exploration and prospecting industry but also to downstream refining and distribution, where significant multi-million dollar projects are planned to meet the country's insatiable demand for petroleum products. (Author)

Hamas and Israel: Conflicting Strategies of Group-Based Politics

Science.gov (United States)

2008-12-01

Justice, Durham and London: Duke University Press, 1990, pp. 189-197. 3. Many works deal with this issue. A detailed study of the city of Acre is...instructive. Rebecca L. Torstrick, The Limits of Coexistence: Identity Politics in Israel, Ann Arbor : University of Michigan Press, 2000. 4. Alisa...as with “Intifadha farms,” raising produce, chickens , and dairy cows, and boycotting Israeli products, refusing to pay taxes, and in merchants

``Political'' Science

Science.gov (United States)

Berzak Hopkins, Laura

2013-03-01

Politics and policy affect all of us, both as scientists and as citizens, and issues ranging from laboratory budgets to arms control treaties clearly require research problem-solving skills and technical expertise. There is a critical role for scientists in each aspect of the political system, and in fact, we as a society need more scientists to take part in politics. Furthermore, the research we pursue has important societal applications and is fascinating! We have a right and a responsibility to share our scientific knowledge not only with each other, but with the general public as well. So, why are we as a community of scientists reticent in the public arena, hesitant to enter politics, and even at times unsupportive of our peers who transition into governmental roles? In this time of fiscal constraint, when difficult research funding (and de-funding) choices are regularly being made, we as scientists must step up to the plate, reach across the aisle, and explain why what we do is fascinating, inspiring, and important, not just to us, but to society as a whole. A range of policy-relevant roles exists inside and outside the laboratory, such as Congressional Fellowships. Each year the Congressional Fellowships program brings together approximately thirty scientists at all stages of their careers to serve as scientific advisors in a variety of offices in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. Although the jump from lab to lobbying meetings can be frustrating, the transition can also be intriguing. Firsthand experience with the ``how'' and ``why'' (or lack thereof) of politics and policy is invaluable and provides a unique opportunity to expand and broaden one's background. The opportunity to work on Capitol Hill is unparalleled, particularly because our nation has a definite need for scientists with the inclination and interest to inform and develop policy. But, whatever role you decide to take, from contributing scientific news to local publications to

The Political and Territorial Development of Nations without States

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jernej Zupančič

2010-12-01

Full Text Available This paper analyzes the issue of nations without states in contemporary Europe between the Atlantic and the Urals. The political map of the continent comprises forty-seven countries, most of which are nation-states. However, the cultural mosaic of Europe is far more complex; there are around fifty ethnic groups (in addition to historical, territorial, or indigenous ethnic minorities and an enormous number of immigrant ethnic communities lacking a state-based organization. Together, these people add up to 78 million, or almost 15% of the European population. Twenty-seven groups can be considered nations without states; they are culturally and ethnically based and have various forms of territorial integrity and political organization. However, they did not create a state organization, despite many attempts by some through history. Without a state organization, those communities have poorer opportunities to protect their folk culture and to reproduce various elements of ethnic identity. This is why they seek territorial autonomy or independent statehood through nationalist movements. In many cases, these ambitions are encompassed in regional movements. These movements have been popular in Europe, particularly because the idea of a “Europe of regions” as part of the European Union has had broad political support and acceptance. However, it has not actually succeeded. The EU and Europe as a whole are still a Europe of (nation-states. In general, regional movements have been successful and through this some nations without states have attained part of their political ambitions in the form of territorial autonomy. The regionalization of former centralist states (e.g., Spain and the United Kingdom increased the chances of ethnic survival for the Catalans, Basques, Scots, and Welsh. On the other hand, the regionalization of nations without states represented territorial division, a kind of “divide and rule” strategy serving to reduce their

Travel Health Advisory Group: a joint travel industry and travel health Special Interest Group promoting healthy travel in Australia.

Science.gov (United States)

Leggat, Peter A; Zwar, Nicholas; Hudson, Bernie

2012-09-01

The Travel Health Advisory Group (THAG), established in 1997, is a joint initiative between the travel industry and travel health professionals in Australia that aims to promote healthy travel. THAG seeks to promote cooperation in improving the health of travellers between the travel industry and travel medicine professionals and to raise public awareness of the importance of travel health. From 2011, THAG has been a Special Interest Group of The Australasian College of Tropical Medicine and its membership has been active in several areas, including web-based travel health information, travel health promotion, media releases, research and education in Australia. Information is given on the objectives, membership and an overview of the various activities of the group. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

POLITICAL TRADITIONS: THE CONCEPT AND STRUCTURE

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Наталья Алексеевна Мамина

2013-05-01

Full Text Available The article refers to the theoretical aspects of the study of the political traditions phenomenon. The influence of traditional components of the political culture on the current political process is recognized in contemporary literature, but political traditions rarely become the original subject of a scientific research, which explains the vagueness of their interpretation and the need of their system understanding.The author analyzes existing interpretations of the concept "tradition", on which formulates the definition of "political traditions" as (1 a form of fixation for meaningful content of the nation’s socio-political experience and as (2 a mechanism of political-cultural continuity.The author identifies mental, behavioral and institutional levels in the structure of political traditions. Mental level consists of political symbols, myths and stereotypes, which form the image of political reality and authority, and values and norms, which affect the motivation of political behavior. Behavioral level includes models of behavior and patterns of action, such as political habits and rituals. Institutional level reflects historical features of interaction between branches of power and relations between the state and society.The author pays attention to the influence of structural elements of political traditions on the political consciousness and behavior of individuals and social groups. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.12731/2218-7405-2013-4-25

Gendering transnational party politics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kantola, Johanna; Rolandsen-Agustín, Lise

2016-01-01

research traditions, we build toward an analytical framework to study gender and transnational party politics. Our empirical analysis focuses on two policy issues, the economic crisis and the sexual and reproductive health and rights, analyzing European Parliament reports, debates and voting on the issues...... from 2009 to 2014. By focusing on gender equality constructions and the way in which consensus and contestation are built around them within and between party groups, we argue that shared constructions about gender equality are issue specific and change over time. Consensus breaks down along the left......In this article, we analyze transnational party politics in the European Union from a gender perspective. This is a subject that has been neglected both by mainstream European studies on party politics and by gender scholars who work on political parties. Drawing on the insights of these two...

Creating and sustaining a military women's Health Research Interest Group.

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson, Candy; Trego, Lori; Rychnovsky, Jacqueline; Steele, Nancy; Foradori, Megan

2015-01-01

In 2008, four doctorate military nurse scientists representing the triservices (Army, Navy, and Air Force) identified a common interest in the health and care of all women in the armed forces. For 7 years, the team's shared vision to improve servicewomen's health inspired them to commit to a rigorous schedule of planning, developing, and implementing an innovative program that has the capability of advancing scientific knowledge and influencing health policy and practice through research. The ultimate goal of the Military Women's Health Research Interest Group (MWHRIG) is to support military clinicians and leaders in making evidence-based practice and policy decisions. They developed a 4-pronged approach to cultivate the science of military women's healthcare: evaluate the existing evidence, develop a research agenda that addresses gaps in knowledge, facilitate the collaboration of multidisciplinary research, and build the bench of future researchers. The MWHRIG has been a resource to key leaders; its value has been validated by multiservice and multidisciplinary consultations. However, the journey to goal attainment has only been achieved by the enduring commitment of these MWHRIG leaders and their passion to ensure the health and wellbeing of the many women who serve in the United States military. This article describes their journey of dedication.

Role of political parties in the formation of civil society in Uzbekistan

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Сирожжон Насипкулович Бердикулов

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The article considers the role of political parties in the development of civil society and the rule of law, as well as issues of political parties differ from other public organizations, the concept of a multi-party system, the importance of a multi-party system in ensuring political pluralism, inter-party competition, constructive opposition, the expression of the interests of the electorate, the space of political parties in parliament and local councils (soviets

Evil Act: Politics Domination in Higher Education Universities (Empirical Evidence from Pakistan)

OpenAIRE

Hasan, Syed Akif; Subhani, Muhammad Imtiaz; Osman, Ms. Amber

2012-01-01

The social interaction taking place in our society is politics. Essential to any governing bodies, institutions etc. this paper’s forte is to specifically assess the politics phenomenon in the academic institutions of higher education. The involvement of politics in the academic society i.e. staff, faculty and employer has been of interest to this study. Politics can be liberal and conservative depending on the individuals running and other perceiving it, which gives birth to the argumentati...

Tobacco Industry Political Power and Influence in Florida From 1979 to 1999

OpenAIRE

Givel, Michael S. Ph.D.; Glantz, Stanton A. Ph.D.

1999-01-01

The tobacco industry is a major political and legal force in Florida through campaign contributions, public relations efforts, lobbying and litigation, which at least from the late 1970s, has had a centralized political organization in Florida that defends and promotes its political and economic interests at the local and state levels of government. Although the industry has operated in the open in some political campaigns, it has also operated quietly behind the scenes, often through front g...

Strategic Integration: The Practical Politics of Integrated Research in Context

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Lorrae van Kerkhoff

2005-01-01

Full Text Available Designing an integrative research program requires that research leaders negotiate a balance between the scientific interest of research and the practical interests of non-scientific partners. This paper examines the ways integrated research is formally categorised, and analyses the tangible expressions of the practical politics involved in reconciling scientific and practical interests. Drawing on a comparative study of two Australian Cooperative Research Centres, I argue that categories used by the research leaders to describe the research programs embody three different strategies for structuring the relationships between researchers and their partners. These include matching research program categories to partners’ implementation program categories, reproducing existing integrative partnership models, and filling gaps in understanding with new technical approaches. These strategies offer different advantages and disadvantages. The cases suggest that the integrative approach favoured by each Centre depended on issues such as the geographic scope of policy arenas, sources of scientific credibility, and the political risks facing partners. The practical politics of research organisation offers a new lens for understanding both the practice and theory of integrated research.

Relative deprivation and political protest

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R. M. Kliuchnyk

2017-03-01

Examples of anti-system political parties and movements have been given. Many of them have changed the political disposition in Europe. Lega Nord (Italy, PEGIDA (Germany, Movimento 5 Stelle (Italy, Front National (France, Ataka (Bulgaria, etc are between them. These parties and movements influence increasingly on the European political process. Nativism and populism are marked as main peculiarities of such right parties. According to the author, Anti-Trump protests in the USA are the examples of the relative deprivation of numerous groups of people that feel their rights and freedoms being threatened.

Political Risk and Foreign Direct Investments in Kosovo

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MSc. Neshat Podvorica

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to present the importance of political risk and its impact on attracting investments, also to analyse policies made by the Kosovo institutions to reduce political risk and increase the FDIs. Attracting of the FDIs is complex because they depend on many factors, and one of the methods that measure political risk is the model used by the PRS Group that includes the flow of the economy through 12 components. Measuring political risk plays an important role in transitional countries, because these are countries that have problems in various fields and also the trust on by the investors is low. As a finding of this study is that Kosovo is estimated to have moderate political risk, and is close to joining the group of countries with low political risk. Challenges faced by Kosovo in reducing political risk are concentrated in several components, which are: socioeconomic, corruption and rule of law components. Kosovo has taken significant steps in improving the conditions for investment, government stability and positioning of the country facing internal and external conflicts.

Political Socialization.

Science.gov (United States)

Himmelweit, Hilde T.

1983-01-01

Described are two longitudinal studies, one British, the other American, which examined the influences of varied socializing agents--e.g., family, school, peer groups--on voting behavior. The studies emphasized the hitherto unappreciated importance of the political, social, and economic climate of society and its changes on socialization. (CS)

Water demand management in Yemen and Jordan: addressing power and interests.

Science.gov (United States)

Zeitoun, Mark; Allan, Tony; Al Aulaqi, Nasser; Jabarin, Amer; Laamrani, Hammou

2012-01-01

This paper investigates the extent to which entrenched interests of stakeholder groups both maintain water use practice, and may be confronted. The focus is on the agricultural sectors of Yemen and Jordan, where water resource policymakers face resistance in their attempts to reduce water use to environmentally sustainable levels through implementation of water demand management (WDM) activities. Some farmers in both countries that have invested in irrigated production of high-value crops (such as qat and bananas) benefit from a political economy that encourages increased rather than reduced water consumption. The resultant over-exploitation of water resources affects groups in unequal measures. Stakeholder analysis demonstrates that the more ‘powerful’ groups (chiefly the large landowners and the political elites, as well as the ministries of irrigation over which they exert influence) are generally opposed to reform in water use, while the proponents of WDM (e.g. water resource managers, environmental ministries and NGOs, and the international donor community) are found to have minimal influence over water use policy and decisionmaking. Efforts and ideas attempted by this latter group to challenge the status quo are classified here as either (a) influencing or (b) challenging the power asymmetry, and the merits and limits of both approaches are discussed. The interpretation of evidence suggests current practice is likely to endure, but may be more effectively challenged if a long-term approach is taken with an awareness of opportunities generated by windows of opportunity and the participation of ‘overlap groups’.

Me, us, or them: who is more conformist? Perception of conformity and political orientation.

Science.gov (United States)

Cavazza, Nicoletta; Mucchi-Faina, Angelica

2008-06-01

Research has shown that people perceive others as more vulnerable than themselves to media communication, and their political out-group as more vulnerable than their political in-group. In the present study, the authors predicted that the same two biases would appear with respect to another kind of influence--conformity--but that participants' judgments would display a different pattern according to their political orientations. Right-wing and left-wing university students were asked to evaluate conformity and to estimate how conformist they, their political in-group, their political out-group, and other groups are. As hypothesized, right-wingers expressed more ambivalence toward conformity and viewed it less negatively than did left-wingers. Political orientation had no impact on the discrepancy between self and others, but it did moderate the in-group-out-group discrepancy.

The political parties and significant personalities of the Bessarabian Zemstvo (1869-1917

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Valentin Tomuleţ

2017-12-01

Full Text Available This article focuses on some parties and significant personalities who worked in the Bessarabian institution of local self-government – Zemstvo (created in 1869 and contributed to the development of the province. The authors found that some nobles united and formed political parties. Parties of the Zemstvo were groups of persons related to the most influential families from Bessarabia. For some of them the Zemstvo served as a platform on which the nobles could solve their problems. It can be said that the Zemstvo was the “alter ego” of the Bessarabian nobility. As a result, in the political life of Bessarabia two main parties were formed – “Young Bessarabia” (“Molodaya Bessarabiya” and “Old Greek Party” (Starogrecheskaya”, which succeeded each other at the helm of power. In the early 1880s, the “Old Greek party” finally defeated its rival and gained full power in the Bessarabian Zemstvo administration. Counselors saw in the Bessarabian Zemstvo an important and reliable instrument for committing abuses. For example, the Head of the Orhei Zemstvo Council Cozac embezzled money from the Zemstvo budget. When the fact of the theft was uncovered, and this was written about in the press, Cozac shot himself. Each group of the nobles included not only people related to certain interest in economic and political life of Bessarabia, but also people related by kinship, acting in the family interests. In 1881-1884, 18 of the 52 provincial councelors were relatives: brothers Semigradov (4 people, brothers Krupensky, brothers Sinadino, brothers Dunca, brothers Cotruta (2 people. The Krupensky family was the most influential family in the Bessarabian Zemstvo. The publicist P. Krushevan wrote in this regard that the Krupensky clan usurped all the power in Bessarabia, and the Governor S. Urusov noted their importance in economic and political life of the province. Many members of the Zemstvo left their mark in the economic, political, and

Explaining ethnic politics in the Baltic States : reviewing the triadic nexus model / Vello Pettai

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Pettai, Vello, 1968-

2006-01-01

Rets. rmt.: Dovile Budryte. Taming nationalism? Political community building in the post-soviet Baltic States; David J. Galbreath. Nation-building and minority politics in post-socialist states : interests, influences and identities in Estonia and Latvia; Judith G. Kelley. Ethnic politics in Europe : the power of norms and incentives. Skeemid

Public Sphere - Political Advertisement Relationship in Turkey: Analysing Political Advertisements of JDP in General Elections 2011

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Erdal Dağtaş

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Public sphere is a social space, open to active individual access and free discussion, rescued from state intervention, where communicative action free from violence and individual benefits is undertaken; and rational-critical discourse is built. Political advertisement is the type advertising which aims at directing voters or the government to a particular action, having them adopt a certain view or approach. The concept of political advertising emerged with the practice of using commercial advertising techniques to promote a party, candidate or an idea. Justice and Development Party (JDP, has been ruling Turkey since 2002. The leader of the party is Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. It is a conservative party and has carried out some practices that could be regarded as negative. Anti-secular attitudes are also among these practices. Thus, analysing the political advertisements of JDP has proved to be interesting. Public sphere studies are mostly conducted through news stories and columns in media. In that sense, it is significant to analyse political advertisements in terms of public sphere. In this study, the political advertisements of the ruling Justice and Development Party (JDP in the process of Turkish General Parliamentary Election, 2011 have been analysed. The political advertisements in question have been analysed via Sabah newspaper. The reason for choosing Sabah is that it supports JDP as an example of partisan press. The samples have been taken from 2 weeks before the elections. Accordingly, as a full-page advertisement is published every day, 14 political advertisement analyses have been conducted in total. Political advertisements have been analysed using qualitative text analysis. As the study follows the path of public place-political advertising relationship, it finds meaning in itself.

"Between Rationality and Politics": Autobiographical Portraits of Adult Education Programme Planning.

Science.gov (United States)

McLean, Scott

2000-01-01

Contrasts two models of adult education program planning: (1) the technical rational model, which asserts that planning is rational application of decision-making processes; and (2) the political model, which views planning as negotiation of personal and organizational interests. Finds a place for both political sensitivity and technical…

Generations of decay: the political geography of decommissioning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blowers, A.

1990-01-01

Energy is politics. We rarely find it where we need it, it imposes upon other areas when we move it, and the less control we have over its development and use, the more politically insecure we feel. Nuclear power appears to avoid the traditional politics of energy supply by geographically internalizing much of the fuel cycle. But the problem of waste disposal, including decommissioning, is a major source of political conflict and uncertainty affecting the whole future of the nuclear industry. One of the most politically motivated decisions of the decommissioning era will be in choosing whether the process will be immediate or deferred. Deferred decommissioning is the most likely strategy, and that geographical inertia is the likely outcome. Such inertia is a feature of industrial decline, with each industrial epoch leaving the detritus of past decisions for future generations to discover and deal with. The political basis of the nuclear fuel cycle is its links with considerations of wastes, hazards, longevity, and equity, all matters of public interest and concern. As part of the nuclear fuel cycle, decommissioning will include these considerations too, and it is for this reason that, wherever decommissioning takes place, political questions arise. (author)

Western Political Consulting Techniques and Post-Soviet Political Technology in Political Campaigns in Latvia

OpenAIRE

Bērziņa, Ieva

2012-01-01

Western Political Consulting Techniques and Post-Soviet Political Technology in Political Campaigns in Latvia Ieva Dmitričenko Keywords: political campaignsm political consulting, political technology, parties, marketing, media Political campaigning is an international phenomenon, because there is a free flow of information, knowledge and human resource among practitioners of political campaigning in various countries. As a result political campaigning techniques that have proven to ...

Increasing medical student exposure to musculoskeletal medicine: the initial impact of the Orthopaedic Surgery and Sports Medicine Interest Group

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Mickelson DT

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Dayne T Mickelson,1 Philip K Louie,2 Kenneth R Gundle,3 Alex W Farnand,4 Douglas P Hanel5 1Department of Orthopedic Surgery and Sports Medicine, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA; 2Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA; 3Department of Orthopedics and Rehabilitation, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA; 4Department of General Surgery, Presence Saint Joseph Hospital – Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA; 5Department of Orthopedic Surgery and Sports Medicine, University of Washington, Harborview Medical Center, Seattle, WA, USA Purpose: To investigate the impact of the Orthopaedic Surgery and Sports Medicine Interest Group (OSSMIG on medical student interest and confidence in core musculoskeletal (MSK concepts through supplemental education and experiences at a single tertiary, academic institution.Methods: Medical student OSSMIG members at various levels of training were anonymously surveyed at the beginning and end of the 2014–2015 academic year.Results: Eighteen (N=18 medical student interest group members completed the survey. Significant improvement in their level of training was observed with regard to respondents’ self-assessed competence and confidence in MSK medicine (p<0.05. Additionally, respondents’ attitudes toward exposure and support from the interest group were significantly higher than those provided by the institution (p<0.05. Members believed OSSMIG increased interest in MSK medicine, improved confidence in their ability to perform orthopedics-related physical exams, strengthened mentorship with residents and attendings, and developed a connection with the Department of Orthopedic Surgery and its residents (median “Strongly Agree”, interquartile range one and two scale items.Conclusion: Since its inception 8 years ago, OSSMIG has been well received and has positively impacted University of Washington School of Medicine students through various interventions

Psychological aspects of political tolerance among adolescents.

Science.gov (United States)

Sotelo, M J; Sangrador, J L

1997-12-01

This study concerns 273 Spanish adolescents, aged between 14 and 17, 125 boys and 148 girls. The measured variables were political tolerance, liking for several groups, political experience, cognitive moral reasoning, support for democratic norms, support for violent groups, identification with a group of friends, identification with a religious group, and identification with a soccer team. The objectives of this work were (a) to establish groups of adolescents based on the relationship between their willingness to extend rights to several groups and their liking of these groups, (b) to know the personality characteristics of tolerant and intolerant adolescents, and (c) to set up correlations between age and total tolerance, total liking, and the variables correlated with tolerance. The main findings are that older and younger adolescents belong to different groups, with respect to tolerance, and something similar can be said about boys and girls. Intolerant adolescents perceive themselves as anxious, insecure, solitary, and obstinate. Significant positive correlations between age and political experience, rated support for democratic norms and ratings for identification with a group of friends were found. On the contrary, there were significant negative correlations between age and rated support for violent groups, identification with a religious group, and identification with a soccer team.

The political feasibility of Norway as the ‘green battery’ of Europe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gullberg, Anne Therese

2013-01-01

Norway has great potential for producing pumped-storage hydropower, and the European Union (EU) hope Norway can contribute to Europe's transition to a renewable energy system by serving as a ‘green battery’. This is certainly technically feasible. However, this paper asks whether the green battery idea is politically feasible. The paper analyses four scenarios, three of which Norway serves as a green battery and one domestic. It focuses on decision-makers' and interest groups' positions on new interconnectors from Norway to continental Europe and the United Kingdom (UK), pumped-storage hydropower, and new renewable energy production in Norway. The paper argues that the present policy is characterised by incremental change—decisions about new interconnectors are made on an individual basis. Moreover the paper argues there is little reason to believe that this status quo policy will change based on any of the green battery scenarios in the near term. Still, decision-makers and interest groups are positive, in principle, towards new interconnectors and pumped-storage hydropower. Hence, Norway might become a green battery in the longer term. In the short term, however, a politically feasible contribution from Norway is balancing power through already existing hydropower capacity. - Highlights: ► Norwegian status quo policy is characterised by incremental change. ► Status quo is no likely to be replaced by a green battery scenario in the short term. ► Norway might become the green battery of Europe in the longer term

Ethnicity and Politics. IRSS Research Reports.

Science.gov (United States)

Schneider, Mark

This research report examines the role of ethnicity in politics. The concept of ethnicity encompasses at least four distinct dimensions: nationality identification, religious identification, old vs. new ethnic stock, and racial membership. In the national sample analyzed, several interesting patterns of ethnic differentiation emerged. First, none…

Political engagement as an element of social recovery: a qualitative study.

Science.gov (United States)

Bergstresser, Sara M; Brown, Isaac S; Colesante, Amy

2013-08-01

Taking a qualitative approach, this study sought to describe consumer attitudes toward political participation and the association between political engagement and social recovery. This study used data from seven focus groups of self-identified consumers of mental health services in the New York City area (N=52). Attitudes and behaviors related to voting and other forms of political engagement were identified and classified according to grounded theory, with a focus on the relationship between political engagement and broader social functioning, participation, and recovery. Participants described the symbolic meaning of voting and political participation in terms of connection to social inclusion versus exclusion. Participants described political participation as a component of empowerment for minority groups in general, including persons who use mental health services and those from racial-ethnic minority groups. Qualitative studies of the symbolic meanings of political participation are an important component of understanding the broad yet interconnected dimensions of social recovery.

Nationalism, territory and extremism in party politics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bourne, Angela

In the paper I address the empirical puzzle arising from different responses by political authorities in Spain and the UK to the existence of political parties integrated in the terrorist groups Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA, Basque Homeland and Freedom) and the Irish Republican Army. More specifica......In the paper I address the empirical puzzle arising from different responses by political authorities in Spain and the UK to the existence of political parties integrated in the terrorist groups Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA, Basque Homeland and Freedom) and the Irish Republican Army. More...... for realization of free speech rights and representation is also emphasized, and where proscription is seen as inimical to resolution of conflict underpinning violence. In the context of party competition, a winning coalition is required for one discourse to predominate. However, I also argued that both ideas...

Listening for Noise in Political Thought

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Bruce Buchan

2012-11-01

Full Text Available The acoustic dimension of political philosophy has rarely attracted serious attention, in part because scholars have tended to assume that political theories, ideas, and concepts, exist as abstract entities that are often noiselessly communicated in written texts. And yet, the noisy communication of political ideas whether in the form of Socratic dialogues, Churchillian orations, or in the hushed tones of focus group conversations treasured by deliberative democrats today, has a rich political history and a continuing relevance. This paper will focus on five performative modes for the communication of political ideas: the monologue, the dialogue, the oration, the interjection, and the noisy crowd. While this list may not be exhaustive, it will be used here as a starting point for further exploration. I will contend that in each of these performative modes, the communication of political ideas is framed by the noise of actual, or textually imagined kinds of political speech designed to underscore the validity of the ideas conveyed. One of the most important reasons for traversing this variable performative and acoustic terrain today is to enable us to hear and to listen to political speech amid the potentially polluting hum of political white noise.

The Social Composition and Main Tasks of Russian Right-Monarchist and Centrist Political Parties of the Early Twentieth Century

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Alexander S. Zabolotskikh

2016-01-01

Full Text Available This article analyzes the social composition of the political parties of the Russian Empire in the early XX century and a real reflection of interests of different social groups. The estates principle of social organization of pre-revolutionary Russia, seems, was to be decisive to formation of the party organizations. However, in practice, many public organizations (in particular, the Black Hundred Party declared their all-estates character, trying to become the spokesman of the greatest possible number of social groups. By the beginning of XXcen tury in Russia there were about 60 parties, which could be called the all-Russian. Comparing the most famous of them, the author concludes that representatives of the Black Hundreds largely managed to realize the proclaimed all-estates construction principle of political organization. As stated by the leader of the Monarchist Party V.A.Gringmut, "Black Hundred-monarchists - are thousands, millions, it's - the whole Russian Orthodox people, remaining faithful to the oath unlimited Orthodox tsar" [10, p. 156]. The ideology of the Black Hundreds, which had the universal Christian character, reflecting the traditionalist outlook of the country's population, contributed to their penetration into the masses. Contrary to popular belief, the big bourgeoisie and the landlord class were not the only groups that are members of the «Union of October 17 th». However Octobrists faced with serious problems, attracting to its ranks of workers and peasants of the Russian population, because they are more focused on employers rather than workers. For example, as the researchers note, an important role in the creation of the "Union of October 17 th " played factory owners Brusnitsyns in St. Petersburg [3, p.122]. But by 1917 Octobrists altogether lost control of the labor movement. Thus, despite the constant positioning of the political parties of the Russian Empire as all-estates, in reality, they pursued the interests

The Social Composition and Main Tasks of Russian Right-Monarchist and Centrist Political Parties of the Early Twentieth Century

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexander S. Zabolotskikh

2016-01-01

Full Text Available This article analyzes the social composition of the political parties of the Russian Empire in the early XX century and a real reflection of interests of different social groups. The estates principle of social organization of pre-revolutionary Russia, seems, was to be decisive to formation of the party organizations. However, in practice, many public organizations (in particular, the Black Hundred Party declared their all-estates character, trying to become the spokesman of the greatest possible number of social groups. By the beginning of XXcen tury in Russia there were about 60 parties, which could be called the all-Russian. Comparing the most famous of them, the author concludes that representatives of the Black Hundreds largely managed to realize the proclaimed all-estates construction principle of political organization. As stated by the leader of the Monarchist Party V.A.Gringmut, "Black Hundred-monarchists - are thousands, millions, it's - the whole Russian Orthodox people, remaining faithful to the oath unlimited Orthodox tsar" [10, p. 156]. The ideology of the Black Hundreds, which had the universal Christian character, reflecting the traditionalist outlook of the country's population, contributed to their penetration into the masses. Contrary to popular belief, the big bourgeoisie and the landlord class were not the only groups that are members of the «Union of October 17th». However Octobrists faced with serious problems, attracting to its ranks of workers and peasants of the Russian population, because they are more focused on employers rather than workers. For example, as the researchers note, an important role in the creation of the "Union of October 17th" played factory owners Brusnitsyns in St. Petersburg [3, p.122]. But by 1917 Octobrists altogether lost control of the labor movement. Thus, despite the constant positioning of the political parties of the Russian Empire as all-estates, in reality, they pursued the interests of

Doctor knows best: physician endorsements, public opinion, and the politics of comparative effectiveness research.

Science.gov (United States)

Gerber, Alan S; Patashnik, Eric M; Doherty, David; Dowling, Conor M

2014-02-01

The Obama administration has made a major investment in comparative effectiveness research (CER) to learn what treatments work best for which patients. CER has the potential to reduce wasteful medical spending and improve patient outcomes, but the political sustainability of this initiative remains unclear because of concerns that it will threaten the doctor-patient relationship. An unresolved question is whether it is possible to boost public support for the use of CER as a cost-control strategy. We investigate one potential source of public support: Americans' trust in physicians as faithful agents of patient interests. We conducted two national surveys to explore the public's confidence in doctors compared to other groups. We find that doctors are viewed as harder workers, more trustworthy, and more caring than other professionals. Through survey experiments, we demonstrate that the support of doctors' groups for proposals to control costs and use CER have a greater influence on aggregate public opinion than do cues from political actors including congressional Democrats, Republicans, and a bipartisan commission. Our survey results suggest that the medical profession's stance will be an important factor in shaping the political viability of efforts to use CER as a tool for health care cost control.

Political ideology and health in Japan: a disaggregated analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Subramanian, S V; Hamano, Tsuyoshi; Perkins, Jessica M; Koyabu, Akio; Fujisawa, Yoshikazu

2010-09-01

Recent studies from the USA and Europe suggest an association between an individual's political ideology and their health status, with those claiming to be conservatives reporting better health. The presence of this association is examined in Japan. Individual-level data from the 2000-3, 2005 and 2006 Japan General Social Survey were analysed. The outcomes of interest were self-rated poor health and smoking status. The independent variable of interest was reported political beliefs on a 5-point 'left'-to-'right' scale. Covariates included age, sex, education, income, occupational status and fixed effects for survey periods. Logistic regression models were estimated. There was an inverse association between political ideology (left to right) and self-rated poor health as well as between ideology and smoking status even after adjusting for age, sex, socioeconomic status and fixed effects for survey periods. Compared with those who identified as 'left', the OR for reporting poor health and smoking among those who identified as 'right' was 0.86 (95% CI 0.74 to 0.99) and 0.80 (95% CI 0.70 to 0.91), respectively. Health differences by political ideology have typically been interpreted as reflecting socioeconomic differences. The results from Japan corroborate the previous findings from the USA and Europe that socioeconomic differences do not account for health differences by political ideologies. Political ideology is likely to be a marker of several latent values and attitudes (eg, religiosity, individual responsibility and/or community participation) that might be beneficial for health at the individual level.

The Prediction of Political Competencies by Political Action and Political Media Consumption

Science.gov (United States)

Reichert, Frank

2014-01-01

Political competencies are often considered a precondition for political action; however, they are not independent of previous political participation, which may also include the frequency and the kind of political media consumption. My research aims at finding out the importance of participation in political activities in the past, as well as…

Non-financial conflicts of interests in psychiatric research and practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Maj, Mario

2008-08-01

Not all conflicts of interests affecting psychiatry are financial in nature. Our field is vulnerable to some varieties of nonfinancial conflicts of interests. Examples include the possible conflict between a researcher's allegiance to a school of thought and the integrity of psychotherapy research, or between a psychiatrist's political commitment and patients' welfare.

Beyond takeovers: politics comes to corporate control.

Science.gov (United States)

Pound, J

1992-01-01

In the 1990s, politics will replace takeovers as the defining tool for corporate governance challenges, and a marketplace of ideas will replace the frenzied activity that once dominated the financial marketplace in the 1980s. In the transaction-driven market of the past, corporate raiders used junk bonds and other financial tools to take control of their targets. In the new marketplace of ideas, debate will replace debt as active shareholders press specific operating policies for their target corporations in a new politicized market for corporate control. John Pound, associate professor of public policy at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, reports that investors are already using shadow management committees, independent director slates, and outside experts to influence management policy. Pound cites Carl Icahn's battle for control of USX as an example of the emerging trend. What began as a hostile takeover ended with a negotiated solution in which many constituencies ultimately played a role in the restructuring of the company. This political approach to governance gives management a chance to embrace a bargain that is in its long-term interest. By promoting politically based tactics, managers can generate political capital with their major investors. Managers in companies as diverse as Avon and Lockheed now meet regularly with investors, seeking their input on both financial and strategic decisions. In the new politicized market for corporate control, striking a bargain with long-term investors is ultimately in the best interest of the corporation.

Stoicism and imperium: the virtus of the roman political man. - doi: 10.4025/actascieduc.v33i2.13145

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Renata Lopes Biazotto Venturini

2011-10-01

Full Text Available The objective of this article is to study the relationships between Stoicism and the Principate by reading letters by Pliny. Pliny the Younger came from an equestrian family that rose to the senate. After opposition under the reign of Emperor Domitian, it became one of the ideologues and most active participants in imperial power during the reign of Nerva and Trajan. As a political man, he extolled virtus, finding support in the mos maiorum (tradition, and stoic moderation. Leader of a cultural and political circle and close friend to Trajan, Pliny illustrated the Emperor's views, particularly the ideology of a senatorial group for permanent conciliation between the Curia and the prince, seeking to legitimize the politics of the Ceaser and guide senatorial interests

How Do Acquired Political Identities Influence Our Neural Processing toward Others within the Context of a Trust Game?

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Chien-Te; Fan, Yang-Teng; Du, Ye-Rong; Yang, Tien-Tun; Liu, Ho-Ling; Yen, Nai-Shing; Chen, Shu-Heng; Hsung, Ray-May

2018-01-01

Trust is essential for mutually beneficial human interactions in economic exchange and politics and people's social identities notably have dramatic effects on trust behaviors toward others. Previous literature concerning social identities generally suggests that people tend to show in-group favoritism toward members who share the same identity. However, how our brains process signals of identity while facing uncertain situations in interpersonal interactions remains largely unclear. To address this issue, we performed an fMRI experiment with 54 healthy adults who belonged to two identity groups of opposing political orientations. The identity information of participants was extracted from a large-scale social survey on the 2012 Taiwan presidential election. Accordingly, participants were categorized as either the Kuomintang (KMT) or the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) supporters. During the experiment, participants played trust games with computer agents with labels of the same or the opposing political identity. Interestingly, our results suggest that the behaviors of the two groups cannot be equally attributed to in-group favoritism. Behaviorally, only the DPP supporter group showed a significant trust preference toward in-group members, which did not hold for the KMT supporter group. Consistently, neurophysiological findings further revealed that only the DPP supporter group showed neuronal responses to both unexpected negative feedback from in-group members in anterior insula, temporoparietal junction, and dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex, as well as to unexpected rewards from out-group members in caudate. These findings therefore suggest that acquired identities play a more complex role in modulating people's social expectation in interpersonal trust behaviors under identity-relevant contexts.

How Do Acquired Political Identities Influence Our Neural Processing toward Others within the Context of a Trust Game?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chien-Te Wu

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Trust is essential for mutually beneficial human interactions in economic exchange and politics and people’s social identities notably have dramatic effects on trust behaviors toward others. Previous literature concerning social identities generally suggests that people tend to show in-group favoritism toward members who share the same identity. However, how our brains process signals of identity while facing uncertain situations in interpersonal interactions remains largely unclear. To address this issue, we performed an fMRI experiment with 54 healthy adults who belonged to two identity groups of opposing political orientations. The identity information of participants was extracted from a large-scale social survey on the 2012 Taiwan presidential election. Accordingly, participants were categorized as either the Kuomintang (KMT or the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP supporters. During the experiment, participants played trust games with computer agents with labels of the same or the opposing political identity. Interestingly, our results suggest that the behaviors of the two groups cannot be equally attributed to in-group favoritism. Behaviorally, only the DPP supporter group showed a significant trust preference toward in-group members, which did not hold for the KMT supporter group. Consistently, neurophysiological findings further revealed that only the DPP supporter group showed neuronal responses to both unexpected negative feedback from in-group members in anterior insula, temporoparietal junction, and dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex, as well as to unexpected rewards from out-group members in caudate. These findings therefore suggest that acquired identities play a more complex role in modulating people’s social expectation in interpersonal trust behaviors under identity-relevant contexts.

How Do Acquired Political Identities Influence Our Neural Processing toward Others within the Context of a Trust Game?

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Chien-Te; Fan, Yang-Teng; Du, Ye-Rong; Yang, Tien-Tun; Liu, Ho-Ling; Yen, Nai-Shing; Chen, Shu-Heng; Hsung, Ray-May

2018-01-01

Trust is essential for mutually beneficial human interactions in economic exchange and politics and people’s social identities notably have dramatic effects on trust behaviors toward others. Previous literature concerning social identities generally suggests that people tend to show in-group favoritism toward members who share the same identity. However, how our brains process signals of identity while facing uncertain situations in interpersonal interactions remains largely unclear. To address this issue, we performed an fMRI experiment with 54 healthy adults who belonged to two identity groups of opposing political orientations. The identity information of participants was extracted from a large-scale social survey on the 2012 Taiwan presidential election. Accordingly, participants were categorized as either the Kuomintang (KMT) or the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) supporters. During the experiment, participants played trust games with computer agents with labels of the same or the opposing political identity. Interestingly, our results suggest that the behaviors of the two groups cannot be equally attributed to in-group favoritism. Behaviorally, only the DPP supporter group showed a significant trust preference toward in-group members, which did not hold for the KMT supporter group. Consistently, neurophysiological findings further revealed that only the DPP supporter group showed neuronal responses to both unexpected negative feedback from in-group members in anterior insula, temporoparietal junction, and dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex, as well as to unexpected rewards from out-group members in caudate. These findings therefore suggest that acquired identities play a more complex role in modulating people’s social expectation in interpersonal trust behaviors under identity-relevant contexts. PMID:29456496

Adaptation as a political process: adjusting to drought and conflict in Kenya's drylands.

Science.gov (United States)

Eriksen, Siri; Lind, Jeremy

2009-05-01

In this article, we argue that people's adjustments to multiple shocks and changes, such as conflict and drought, are intrinsically political processes that have uneven outcomes. Strengthening local adaptive capacity is a critical component of adapting to climate change. Based on fieldwork in two areas in Kenya, we investigate how people seek to access livelihood adjustment options and promote particular adaptation interests through forming social relations and political alliances to influence collective decision-making. First, we find that, in the face of drought and conflict, relations are formed among individuals, politicians, customary institutions, and government administration aimed at retaining or strengthening power bases in addition to securing material means of survival. Second, national economic and political structures and processes affect local adaptive capacity in fundamental ways, such as through the unequal allocation of resources across regions, development policy biased against pastoralism, and competition for elected political positions. Third, conflict is part and parcel of the adaptation process, not just an external factor inhibiting local adaptation strategies. Fourth, there are relative winners and losers of adaptation, but whether or not local adjustments to drought and conflict compound existing inequalities depends on power relations at multiple geographic scales that shape how conflicting interests are negotiated locally. Climate change adaptation policies are unlikely to be successful or minimize inequity unless the political dimensions of local adaptation are considered; however, existing power structures and conflicts of interests represent political obstacles to developing such policies.

Public and political attitudes to nuclear power in Sweden

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wikdahl, C.-E.; Swedish Atomic Forum)

1988-01-01

The first important decisions about a large nuclear programme in Sweden were taken in the early 1960s without any political opposition at all. The first signs of an anti-nuclear movement were seen in 1972, and at the general election in 1976 nuclear power was for the first time the main political issue. It remained so until 1980, when Parliament, after a referendum, decided to phase out nuclear power not later than the year 2010. After that decision, political interest in nuclear power evaporated, but returned again after the Chernobyl accident in April 1986. Both the decision in Parliament in 1980 and the Government's bill of May 1987 put Sweden in an unique position. Public attitudes and the political situation in Sweden are examined. (author)

PENDEKATAN PEMASARAN POLITIK (POLITICAL MARKETING DALAM PEMILIHAN UMUM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joko Sutarso

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Political Marketing Approach (Political Marketing in Indonesia began to be known in Indonesia in the general election in the era of reform. This approach is increasingly recognized in line with the success of new parties that perform this approach in a variety of campaigns so as to obtain a significant number of seats in representative institutions. As an approach, the political marketing does not guarantee victory, but at least can provide a means of understanding that politics can be offered using a commercial product marketing approach. One of the things that are important in this approach is to attempt an understanding of the electorate by grouping them in a particular group or so-called segmentation. Each segment is considered homogeneous so that effective programs can be arranged for the group. The introduction to the audience of voters is an important part in the preparation of the election campaign program.

Interests, relationships, identities: three central issues for individuals and groups in negotiating their social environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Kelman, Herbert C

2006-01-01

This chapter begins with a summary of a model, developed half a century ago, that distinguishes three qualitatively different processes of social influence: compliance, identification, and internalization. The model, originally geared to and experimentally tested in the context of persuasive communication, was subsequently applied to influence in the context of long-term relationships, including psychotherapy, international exchanges, and the socialization of national/ethnic identity. It has been extended to analysis of the relationship of individuals to social systems. Individuals' rule, role, and value orientations to a system--conceptually linked to compliance, identification, and internalization--predict different reactions to their own violations of societal standards, different patterns of personal involvement in the political system, and differences in attitude toward authorities and readiness to obey. In a further extension of the model, three approaches to peacemaking in international or intergroup conflicts are identified--conflict settlement, conflict resolution, and reconciliation--which, respectively, focus on the accommodation of interests, relationships, and identities, and are conducive to changes at the level of compliance, identification, and internalization.

What the Recovery Movement Tells Us About Prefigurative Politics

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Melinda Beckwith

2016-05-01

Full Text Available The concept of prefigurative politics has re-emerged following recent worldwide uprisings, such as the Occupy movement, to which this concept has been applied. In applying a contemporary analysis to prefigurative politics, we explore the contribution of community-based recovery groups to the recovery movement, a socio-political movement in the fields of mental health and addiction treatment. We argue that collective action in recovery groups is derived from the formation of an opinion-based social identity and results in alternative approaches to unmet needs, creatively addressing these identified needs through the utilisation of personal, social and collective resources within an emerging recovery community. To illustrate our argument, we provide examples of community-based recovery groups and the approaches they use in addressing the identified needs of their recovery community. We conclude with an analysis of what community-based recovery groups and the wider recovery movement can contribute to a contemporary understanding of prefigurative politics.

Political liberalism and religious claims

Science.gov (United States)

2016-01-01

This article gives an overview of 4 important lacunae in political liberalism and identifies, in a preliminary fashion, some trends in the literature that can come in for support in filling these blind spots, which prevent political liberalism from a correct assessment of the diverse nature of religious claims. Political liberalism operates with implicit assumptions about religious actors being either ‘liberal’ or ‘fundamentalist’ and ignores a third, in-between group, namely traditionalist religious actors and their claims. After having explained what makes traditionalist religious actors different from liberal and fundamentalist religious actors, the author develops 4 areas in which political liberalism should be pushed further theoretically in order to correctly theorize the challenge which traditional religious actors pose to liberal democracy. These 4 areas (blind spots) are: (1) the context of translation; (2) the politics of exemptions; (3) the multivocality of theology; and (4) the transnational nature of norm-contestation. PMID:28344375

Ascendancy of agricultural biotechnology in the Australian political mainstream coexists with technology criticism by a vocal-minority.

Science.gov (United States)

Tribe, David

2014-07-03

Australia is a federation of States. This political structure necessitates collaborative arrangements between Australian governments to harmonize national regulation of gene technology and food standards. Extensive political negotiation among institutions of federal government has managed regulation of GM crops and food. Well-developed human resources in Australian government provided numerous policy documents facilitating a transparent political process. Workable legislation has been devised in the face of criticisms of gene technology though the political process. Conflicts between potential disruptions to food commodity trade by precautionary proposals for environmental protection were one cause of political tensions, and differences in policy priorities at regional political levels versus national and international forums for negotiation were another. Australian policy outcomes on GM crops reflect (a) strong economic self-interest in innovative and productive farming, (b) reliance on global agricultural market reforms through the Cairns trade group and the WTO, and (c) the importance of Codex Alimentarius and WTO instruments SPS and TBT. Precautionary frameworks for GM food safety assurance that are inconsistent with WTO obligations were avoided in legislation. Since 2008 the 2 major parties, Australian Labor Party (ALP) and the Liberals appear to have reached a workable consensus at the Federal policy level about an important role for agricultural biotechnology in Australia's economic future.

Ascendancy of agricultural biotechnology in the Australian political mainstream coexists with technology criticism by a vocal-minority

Science.gov (United States)

Tribe, David

2014-01-01

Australia is a federation of States. This political structure necessitates collaborative arrangements between Australian governments to harmonize national regulation of gene technology and food standards. Extensive political negotiation among institutions of federal government has managed regulation of GM crops and food. Well-developed human resources in Australian government provided numerous policy documents facilitating a transparent political process. Workable legislation has been devised in the face of criticisms of gene technology though the political process. Conflicts between potential disruptions to food commodity trade by precautionary proposals for environmental protection were one cause of political tensions, and differences in policy priorities at regional political levels versus national and international forums for negotiation were another. Australian policy outcomes on GM crops reflect (a) strong economic self-interest in innovative and productive farming, (b) reliance on global agricultural market reforms through the Cairns trade group and the WTO, and (c) the importance of Codex Alimentarius and WTO instruments SPS and TBT. Precautionary frameworks for GM food safety assurance that are inconsistent with WTO obligations were avoided in legislation. Since 2008 the 2 major parties, Australian Labor Party (ALP) and the Liberals appear to have reached a workable consensus at the Federal policy level about an important role for agricultural biotechnology in Australia's economic future. PMID:25437242

Local Politics and Religion in Papua

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Idrus Al Hamid

2013-08-01

Full Text Available Local political conflicts become an integral part of Indonesia. Various cause roots are assumed come from a religious dimension, in addition to ethnicity. In cases of Jayapura, Papua, local political dimensions of the conflict was obviously display as factors that religion should be integrating factor, but in fact religion become disintegrating factor. The various power of groups interconnect with a religious impulse that local political tensions grew louder and spread. The aim of this study is to describe analytically about the emergence of a strain on the local level in Jayapura Papua in the field of religion. To elaborate the analysis in this article, the excavation data through in-depth interviews, focus group discussion, and literature studies or documents on issues that occur on local level.

Comments on report ''The impact of nuclear waste disposals to the marine environment'' by Political Ecology Research Group (RR-8)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1982-06-01

A series of statements made by the Political Ecology Research Group in a report ''The Impact of Nuclear Waste Disposals to the Marine Environment'' are commented on by British Nuclear Fuels Ltd. Areas covered include radioactive discharges, health effects, recommendations for reducing discharge arising from the Windscale Inquiry and solid waste disposal to the deep ocean. (author)

Political Party Funding in Romania - One Step Forward, Two Steps Back?

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Iulian Georgel Savenco

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Within political life, the determining role is given to political parties in their capacity as actors in the electoral campaign and in the race for political power. This is the reason for which we believe that the means of financing political parties and the electoral campaigns in which they partake is an important aspect within the electoral reform, as without an adequate funding their chances of winning the electoral race are drastically reduced. On the other hand, funding of political parties is of great interest as the lack of transparency which usually encircles this process can lead to a dangerous phenomenon, namely corruption. Throughout this article we present the current situation and critically analyze the changes which the Romanian legislature plans to apply to the political party financing law.

The Rio de Janeiro - Sao Paulo pipeline: the interests onset in the emptiness of the energy and regional development federal politics; Oleoduto Rio de Janeiro-Sao Paulo: embate de interesses no vazio da politica federal de energia e de desenvolvimento regional

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Alveal, Carmen

2007-07-01

The PETROBRAS project in constructing a pipeline between the Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo states originated a dispute of strategic interests between the PETROBRAS and the Rio de Janeiro state. However, the relevant dimension in this dispute is the absence of a Brazilian politics for the development of refining as an important thruster of regional development; this theme deserve to be inserted in the Brazilian energy politic agenda.

Corruption – The Politic and Bureaucratic Shield of the Underground Economy

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Silviu Pripoaie

2011-12-01

Full Text Available In a conditional manner, corruption is considered the specific behavior for the entity thatrepresents the state and public authority of using public resources for personal profits. Internationalinstitutions for corruption evaluation (the World Bank or Transparency International generallyqualify the phenomenon as“the abuse of public power for private benefit”.Thus, corruption andunderground economy create the condition for the development of group interests, that, thanks to theirinfluence, do not subordinate the national legislation and control the political and economical nationalsystems, giving a perspective on what is known in the professional literature as“state capture”(Hellman & Kaufmann, 2001.

'Heated political dynamics exist ...': examining the politics of palliative care in rural British Columbia, Canada.

Science.gov (United States)

Crooks, Valorie A; Castleden, Heather; Hanlon, Neil; Schuurman, Nadine

2011-01-01

Palliative care is delivered by a number of professional groups and informal providers across a range of settings. This arrangement works well in that it maximizes avenues for providing care, but may also bring about complicated 'politics' due to struggles over control and decision-making power. Thirty-one interviews conducted with formal and informal palliative care providers in a rural region of British Columbia, Canada, are drawn upon as a case study. Three types of politics impacting on palliative care provision are identified: inter-community, inter-site, and inter-professional. Three themes crosscut these politics: ownership, entitlement, and administration. The politics revealed by the interviews, and heretofore underexplored in the palliative literature, have implications for the delivery of palliative care. For example, the outcomes of the politics simultaneously facilitate (e.g. by promoting advocacy for local services) and serve as a barrier to (e.g. by privileging certain communities/care sites/provider) palliative care provision.

Politicization beyond politics: Narratives and mechanisms of Iraq War veterans’ activism

Science.gov (United States)

David Flores

2016-01-01

There is growing interest in the implications of military service for the political attitudes, behaviors, and activism of military veterans. This article considers how promission and antiwar veterans’ narrate their experiences of becoming political activists and the mechanisms that effect that transition. The research draws on narratives from 40 members of the...

Political Ideology, Trust, and Cooperation: In-group Favoritism among Republicans and Democrats during a US National Election

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Balliet, Daniel; Tybur, Joshua M.; Wu, Junhui; Antonellis, Christian; Van Lange, Paul A.M.

2018-01-01

Theories suggest that political ideology relates to cooperation, with conservatives being more likely to pursue selfish outcomes, and liberals more likely to pursue egalitarian outcomes. In study 1, we examine how political ideology and political party affiliation (Republican vs. Democrat) predict

Evolution of Russia''s geopolitical interests and priorities in Transcaucasia

OpenAIRE

Kuznetsov, Oleg

2012-01-01

The author presents his conception of the evolution of Russia's geopolitical interests in Transcaucasia (the Central and part of the Southern Caucasus) caused by a gradual transformation of the military-strategic, political, ideological (including religious) ideas of the Russian elites at different periods. The author relies on a wide range of recent historical and political scientific studies, as well as historiographic surveys and scholarly works of the imperial and Soviet periods, to clari...

Political Terrorism: A Mini-Course for High School Social Studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Ellington, Lucien

By participating in the 2-week mini-course, high school students will learn that (1) there is a difference between political terror and other criminal activity; (2) governments as well as nongovernmental groups engage in political terrorism; (3) political terrorism has been present throughout history; (4) political terrorism is a world wide…

Political Diversity in Social and Personality Psychology.

Science.gov (United States)

Inbar, Yoel; Lammers, Joris

2012-09-01

A lack of political diversity in psychology is said to lead to a number of pernicious outcomes, including biased research and active discrimination against conservatives. We surveyed a large number (combined N = 800) of social and personality psychologists and discovered several interesting facts. First, although only 6% described themselves as conservative "overall," there was more diversity of political opinion on economic issues and foreign policy. Second, respondents significantly underestimated the proportion of conservatives among their colleagues. Third, conservatives fear negative consequences of revealing their political beliefs to their colleagues. Finally, they are right to do so: In decisions ranging from paper reviews to hiring, many social and personality psychologists said that they would discriminate against openly conservative colleagues. The more liberal respondents were, the more they said they would discriminate. © The Author(s) 2012.

The Relationship Between Teacher Behavior Toward Students and Student Political Attitudes: The Development of Political Cynicism.

Science.gov (United States)

Rossell, Christine H.; Hawley, Willis D.

By examining the attitudes and perceptions of 1625 fifth grade students in North Carolina, this study tested the hypothesis that the way teachers treat their students can have an effect on their political attitudes. It was found that when teachers treat students fairly and show interest in their ideas and problems, students are less politically…

Perceptions of others' political affiliation are moderated by individual perceivers' own political attitudes.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John Paul Wilson

Full Text Available Previous research has shown that perceivers can accurately extract information about perceptually ambiguous group memberships from facial information alone. For example, people demonstrate above-chance accuracy in categorizing political ideology from faces. Further, they ascribe particular personality traits to faces according to political party (e.g., Republicans are dominant and mature, Democrats are likeable and trustworthy. Here, we report three studies that replicated and extended these effects. In Study 1a, we provide evidence that, in addition to showing accuracy in categorization, politically-conservative participants expressed a bias toward categorizing targets as outgroup members. In Study 1b, we replicate this relationship with a larger sample and a stimulus set consisting of faces of professional politicians. In Study 2, we find that trait ascriptions based on target political affiliation are moderated by perceiver political ideology. Specifically, although Democrats are stereotyped as more likeable and trustworthy, conservative participants rated faces that were categorized as Republicans in Study 1a as more likeable and trustworthy than faces categorized as Democrats. Thus, this paper joins a growing literature showing that it is critical to consider perceiver identity in examining perceptions of identities and traits from faces.

Perceptions of others' political affiliation are moderated by individual perceivers' own political attitudes.

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson, John Paul; Rule, Nicholas O

2014-01-01

Previous research has shown that perceivers can accurately extract information about perceptually ambiguous group memberships from facial information alone. For example, people demonstrate above-chance accuracy in categorizing political ideology from faces. Further, they ascribe particular personality traits to faces according to political party (e.g., Republicans are dominant and mature, Democrats are likeable and trustworthy). Here, we report three studies that replicated and extended these effects. In Study 1a, we provide evidence that, in addition to showing accuracy in categorization, politically-conservative participants expressed a bias toward categorizing targets as outgroup members. In Study 1b, we replicate this relationship with a larger sample and a stimulus set consisting of faces of professional politicians. In Study 2, we find that trait ascriptions based on target political affiliation are moderated by perceiver political ideology. Specifically, although Democrats are stereotyped as more likeable and trustworthy, conservative participants rated faces that were categorized as Republicans in Study 1a as more likeable and trustworthy than faces categorized as Democrats. Thus, this paper joins a growing literature showing that it is critical to consider perceiver identity in examining perceptions of identities and traits from faces.

Perceptions of Others' Political Affiliation Are Moderated by Individual Perceivers' Own Political Attitudes

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson, John Paul; Rule, Nicholas O.

2014-01-01

Previous research has shown that perceivers can accurately extract information about perceptually ambiguous group memberships from facial information alone. For example, people demonstrate above-chance accuracy in categorizing political ideology from faces. Further, they ascribe particular personality traits to faces according to political party (e.g., Republicans are dominant and mature, Democrats are likeable and trustworthy). Here, we report three studies that replicated and extended these effects. In Study 1a, we provide evidence that, in addition to showing accuracy in categorization, politically-conservative participants expressed a bias toward categorizing targets as outgroup members. In Study 1b, we replicate this relationship with a larger sample and a stimulus set consisting of faces of professional politicians. In Study 2, we find that trait ascriptions based on target political affiliation are moderated by perceiver political ideology. Specifically, although Democrats are stereotyped as more likeable and trustworthy, conservative participants rated faces that were categorized as Republicans in Study 1a as more likeable and trustworthy than faces categorized as Democrats. Thus, this paper joins a growing literature showing that it is critical to consider perceiver identity in examining perceptions of identities and traits from faces. PMID:24781819

School Board Chairmen and School Superintendents: An Analysis of Perceptions Concerning Special Interest Groups and Educational Governance.

Science.gov (United States)

Feuerstein, Abe; Opfer, V. Darleen

1998-01-01

Surveyed all Virginia school board chairmen and superintendents on local governance issues. Discusses both groups' perceptions of board members' orientation to their role as elected representatives, their personal attitude toward the electoral process, their assessment of interest-group involvement in district decision making, their feelings…

Political Crowdfunding as concept of political technologies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Valeria GOLKA

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Political crowdfunding is analyzed as a new concept of political science. The justification of use of crowdfunding technologies not only in business but also in the political sphere is argued. The efficiency, availability, low cost of the new forms of political investment through the development of information and communication technologies are noted. The typology of political crowdfunding is proposed. Political projects promoting domestic crowdfunding platforms are analyzed. Attention is drawn to the problem of legal gaps in the regulation of crowdfunding is studied. The foreign experience of organizing public support (mikroinvestment political projects. It is emphasized that in terms of political theory crowdfunding is based on solidarity. The crowdfunding properties of transforming social capital accumulated by social networks into financial capital are mentioned.

Book Review: "The Honest Broker: Making Sense of Science in Policy and Politics"

Science.gov (United States)

The Honest Broker is a must-read for any scientist with even a modest interest in environmental policy or politics, and I recommend it especially to scientists unfamiliar with the continuing controversy over how scientists misuse science in environmental policy and politics. The ...

Trade union activity, cultural, public and political life of Krasnoyarsk Polytechnic Institute in the second half of 1950s–1980

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Petrik Valeriy V.

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Basing on rich documentary, the article studies the activity of the trade union organization in Krasnoyarsk Polytechnic Institute and the impact the trade union had on the cultural, public and political life of the Institute in the second half of the 1950s-1980s. The activity is stated to be held in different forms and areas: amateur arts, propaganda, wall-newspaper and house magazine, vigilant groups, University of Culture, student club, lecturing agitation group, student construction brigades, department, groups and hostels competitions. The authors come to the conclusion that involving students and faculty members into cultural, public and political life added greatly to fostering the future engineers as it took them less time to adapt to the team-spirited workforce after graduating from the higher educational establishment. The article is intended for the people interested in history of higher education in Siberia and Russia.

Space, politics, and the political

OpenAIRE

dikec , mustafa

1987-01-01

International audience; Introduction Geography and politics'', Gottmann wrote in 1980, ``have long been in search of each other'' (page 11). Debates in the literature suggest not only that they have found each other, but also that the encounter has instigated, notably in the last decade or so, a body of literature seeking to think space politically, and to think politics spatially. This is not to suggest that previous work on space was apolitical, nor to suggest that previous work on politics...

Interest Groups and Strategic Constructivism: Business Actors and Border Security Policies in the European Union

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Baird, T.E.

Evidence suggests that business lobbying shapes European Union (EU) border security policies, but there has been no detailed empirical and theoretical work detailing how interest groups exert influence in this domain. Building on strategic constructivist accounts of policy-making, the article argues

The driving forces of stability. Exploring the nature of long-term bureaucracy-interest group interactions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Braun, C.H.J.M.

2013-01-01

This article explores the nature of long-term interactions between bureaucrats and interest groups by examining two behavioral logics associated with stability in public policy making. In addition to the implicit short-term strategic choices that usually feature in resource-exchange explanations of

Forming of political opinion and decision

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Urban, K.

1980-01-01

Taking the SNR-300 reactor in Kalkar as an example, the process of forming of political opinion and decision is reconstructed in order to get a picture of typical consensus- and conflict patterns in the discussion of safety problems. On this basis, it should be possible to derive a freedom of action for the political and administrative managing of safety matters by means of feed back with social groups. As a crucial point the aspects concerning the steps of the forming of political opinion and decision are examined. (DG) [de

Greenland and the international politics of a changing arctic

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Greenland and the International Politics of a Changing Arctic examines the international politics of semi-independent Greenland in a changing and increasingly globalised Arctic. Without sovereign statehood, but with increased geopolitical importance, independent foreign policy ambitions......, and a solidified self-image as a trailblazer for Arctic indigenous peoples’ rights, Greenland is making its mark on the Arctic and is in turn affected – and empowered – by Arctic developments. The chapters in this collection analyse how a distinct Greenlandic foreign policy identity shapes political ends and means...... for regional change in the Arctic. This is the first comprehensive and interdisciplinary examination of Greenland’s international relations and how they are connected to wider Arctic politics. It will be essential reading for students and scholars interested in Arctic governance and security, international...

Policy Responsiveness and Political Accountability in City Politics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anthony M. Sayers

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Peculiar patterns have emerged in municipal politics in Canada. Unlike at federal and provincial levels of government, party politics is weak or absent in cities. But looking at the entire history of municipal elections of three Western Canadian cities — Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver — also finds that, again unlike politicians at higher levels, municipal representatives are increasingly more likely to win repeated re-elections, facing a much lower threat from any competitive challenge. In addition, the careers of municipal politicians are growing steadily longer, leading to relatively stable, almost static, city governments that tend to see change most commonly when councillors choose to step down, rather than being forced out. Such patterns, of course, run counter to the general presumption in lively democracies, including this one, that the responsiveness of government leaders (that is, following the wishes of their constituents and their accountability for the actions they take are best served by frequent turnovers in government: The need to throw politicians out every now and again to let new ones try and do things better. Whether the remarkable levels of stability and incumbency on city councils actually do serve the best interests of voters is unclear. More clear is that the lack of a party system at the city level seems to have contributed to this peculiar dynamic, and that city politicians have an interest in keeping it that way. While party affiliations provide a candidate some benefits in the form of campaign co-ordination, they also provide voters with increased clarity about what each candidate stands for policy-wise. That might be helpful to voters, but city politicians might find it more useful to blur their positions, leaving voters uncertain of exactly how to define a specific councillor’s stand, overall. The amount of information required to root through a councillor’s voting record, and the relatively light media

Managing the conflict between individual needs and group interests--ethical leadership in health care organizations.

Science.gov (United States)

Shale, Suzanne

2008-03-01

This paper derives from a grounded theory study of how Medical Directors working within the UK National Health Service manage the moral quandaries that they encounter as leaders of health care organizations. The reason health care organizations exist is to provide better care for individuals through providing shared resources for groups of people. This creates a paradox at the heart of health care organization, because serving the interests of groups sometimes runs counter to serving the needs of individuals. The paradox presents ethical dilemmas at every level of the organization, from the boardroom to the bedside. Medical Directors experience these organizational ethical dilemmas most acutely by virtue of their position in the organization. As doctors, their professional ethic obliges them to put the interests of individual patients first. As executive directors, their role is to help secure the delivery of services that meet the needs of the whole patient population. What should they do when the interests of groups of patients, and of individual patients, appear to conflict? The first task of an ethical healthcare organization is to secure the trust of patients, and two examples of medical ethical leadership are discussed against this background. These examples suggest that conflict between individual and population needs is integral to health care organization, so dilemmas addressed at one level of the organization inevitably re-emerge in altered form at other levels. Finally, analysis of the ethical activity that Medical Directors have described affords insight into the interpersonal components of ethical skill and knowledge.

Electoral democracy, revolutionary politics and political violence: the emergence of Fascism in Italy, 1920-21.

Science.gov (United States)

Elazar, D S

2000-09-01

This study examines the determination of the Italian Fascists' extra-parliamentary, para-military, violent strategy. What were the effects of the socialists' political strategy, relying on electoral democracy, on the creation and strategy of the Fascist Action Squads? A comparison among Italy's 69 provinces, based on quantitative and qualitative historical evidence reveals a distinct pattern in the Fascists' violence. They attacked mainly provinces where the Socialists enjoyed the greatest electoral support. This pattern was a product of two historical processes: (a) the threat of the Socialist party to the landlords' economic and political hegemony, and (b) the landlords' tradition of militant anti-worker organization which culminated in their alliance with the Fascists. The Fascists' struggle for, and takeover of, political power was not an immanent historical necessity. It was first and foremost an anti-socialist reaction. It was shaped both 'from below', by the political power and radicalism of the PSI and the para-military capacity of the Fascist Squads; and 'from above', by the active support the Fascists received from the landlords and the state. Supported by organized landlords and blessed with the authorities' benevolence, the Squads were able to destroy - physically and politically - the legitimately constituted provincial governments of the Socialists. The alliance with the landlords determined the Squads' almost exclusive attacks on Socialist provincial strongholds that constituted the greatest threat to the landlords' interests, while provinces dominated by the ruling Liberal party were excluded from the Squads' path of 'punitive expeditions'.

CfDS attends the first meeting of the All-Party Parliamentary Astronomy and Space Environment Group

Science.gov (United States)

Mizon, B.

1999-06-01

This group first met on March 11th, 1999, as 'a forum for discussion to further parliamentary interest in astronomy and the space environment affecting terrestrial life and its climate; and to increase awareness of the social, political and philosophical implications of present and future space technologies connected with exploring and understanding the cosmos'. CfDS coordinator Bob Mizon attended the first meeting of the group.

Political Anger: The Basis for Contemporary Lack of Civility in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The incidence of political anger and its dynamics calls for concern in the political arena. It has left in its trail all forms of casualties and threat to political and democratic stability in Nigeria. This paper argued that high stakes in politics, limited avenues for ventilating anger, the tendency to focus on majority ethnic groups while ...

Research Data Alliance's Interest Group on "Weather, Climate and Air Quality"

Science.gov (United States)

Bretonnière, Pierre-Antoine; Benincasa, Francesco

2016-04-01

Research Data Alliance's Interest Group on "Weather, Climate and Air Quality" More than ever in the history of Earth sciences, scientists are confronted with the problem of dealing with huge amounts of data that grow continuously at a rate that becomes a challenge to process and analyse them using conventional methods. Data come from many different and widely distributed sources, ranging from satellite platforms and in-situ sensors to model simulations, and with different degrees of openness. How can Earth scientists deal with this diversity and big volume and extract useful information to understand and predict the relevant processes? The Research Data Alliance (RDA, https://rd-alliance.org/), an organization that promotes and develops new data policies, data standards and focuses on the development of new technical solutions applicable in many distinct areas of sciences, recently entered in its third phase. In this framework, an Interest Group (IG) comprised of community experts that are committed to directly or indirectly enable and facilitate data sharing, exchange, or interoperability in the fields of weather, climate and air quality has been created recently. Its aim is to explore and discuss the challenges for the use and efficient analysis of large and diverse datasets of relevance for these fields taking advantage of the knowledge generated and exchanged in RDA. At the same time, this IG intends to be a meeting point between members of the aforementioned communities to share experiences and propose new solutions to overcome the forthcoming challenges. Based on the collaboration between several research meteorological and European climate institutes, but also taking into account the input from the private (from the renewable energies, satellites and agriculture sectors for example) and public sectors, this IG will suggest practical and applicable solutions for Big Data issues, both at technological and policy level, encountered by these communities. We

Russian-Saudian Political Interaction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. G. Kosach

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The article analyzes the development of Russian-Saudi political interaction after the restoration (at that time of Soviet-Saudi relations of bilateral relations in September 1990. The article focuses on the role of the Russian Muslim community in shaping the Russian politics towards Riyadh in the 1990-2000s. The authors state there are both periods of “crises” and detente in the development of Russian-Saudi political interaction that were marked by events in Chechnya and former Yugoslavia in 1994-2000, “Arab Spring” 2011, the post-September 2015 era, the Russian anti-terrorist campaign in Syria. The alternation of these periods is the constant of Russian-Saudi political contacts, despite the similarity in the approaches of both sides to the ways and methods of solving crisis situations in the Middle East region, as well as the Saudi’s pro-Russian position regarding the change in the status of the Crimea and the situation in the east of Ukraine. The general attitude of both sides towards ISIS and Jabha al-Nusra as a source of terrorism, regional instability and the challenge of international security does not remove the two main contradictions that divide Moscow and Riyadh – attitude toward the official Syrian regime and the Iran’s regional policy. The study comes to the conclusion that Russia and Saudi Arabia are interested (albeit for various reasons in diversifying their foreign policy and foreign economic relations.

Terrorism and Political Parties

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bourne, Angela

In the paper I address the empirical puzzle arising from different responses by political authorities in Spain and the UK to the existence of political parties integrated in the terrorist groups Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA, Basque Homeland and Freedom) and the Irish Republican Army (IRA). More...... for realization of free speech rights and representation is also emphasized, and where proscription is seen as inimical to resolution of conflict underpinning violence. In the context of party competition, a winning coalition is required for one discourse to predominate. However, I also argued that both ideas...

Political Transmigrants: Rethinking Hmong Political Activism in America

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nengher N. Vang, Ph.D

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Since the initial resettlement of the Hmong in the United States in the mid-1970s, they have maintained strong political and military relationships with the Lao People‘s Democratic Republic (LPDR. Yet, there is little research on that relationship and the involvement of the Hmong in the United States in political developments in Laos. Most works on Hmong political activism have focused on the electoral participation and representation of Hmong Americans in relation to American domestic politics. In this article, using archival, ethnographic, and interview data that I have collected between 2006 and 2009 in Laos, Thailand, and the United States, I describe and analyze the non-domestic or transnational form of Hmong American political expression and participation. I argue that Hmong political activism in America not only was transnational from the outset, but that their transnational involvement in political developments in Laos and their relations with the Lao PDR government also had a significant impact on their ethnic politics. Many Hmong political activists made their entry into ethnic politics through the door of transnational politics, and many were motivated by transnational political issues to participate in domestic American politics. By exploring their transnational involvement in political developments in Laos and their relations with the Lao PDR government, we get a more complete and dynamic understanding of Hmong political activism in the United States than is possible by focusing exclusively on domestic and electoral participation. Examining their transnational politics also allows us to see the transnationality of not only their culture, identity, and community but also that of their political activities and aspirations.

Political oil import diversification by financial and commercial traders

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kashcheeva, Mila; Tsui, Kevin K.

2015-01-01

International politics affects the oil trade. But do financial and commercial traders who participate in spot oil trading also respond to changes in international politics? We construct a firm-level dataset for all U.S. oil-importing companies over 1986–2008 to examine how these firms respond to increases in “political distance” between the U.S. and her trading partners, measured by divergence in their UN General Assembly voting patterns. Consistent with previous macro evidence, we first show that individual firms diversify their oil imports politically, even after controlling for unobserved firm heterogeneity. However, the political pattern of oil imports is not entirely driven by the concerns of hold-up risks, which exist when oil transactions via term contracts are associated with backward vertical FDI that is subject to expropriation. In particular, our results indicate that even financial and commercial traders significantly reduce their oil imports from U.S. political enemies. Interestingly, while these traders diversify their oil imports politically immediately after changes in international politics, other oil companies reduce their oil imports with a significant time lag. Our findings suggest that in designing regulations to avoid harmful repercussions on commodity and financial assets, policymakers need to understand the nature of political risk. -- Highlights: •American firms diversify their oil imports politically. •Financial and commercial traders diversify their oil imports politically immediately. •Other oil companies reduce their oil imports with a significant time lag. •Policymakers need to understand the nature of political risk

Political CSR in an SME Perspective

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jeppesen, Søren; Morsing, Mette

We engage a discussion of political CSR in SMEs in an African context. Based on critical observations on Western MNC action in emerging economies, political economists have argued that business profit far more than society from CSR. In this paper we argue that the imperative for growth in develop......We engage a discussion of political CSR in SMEs in an African context. Based on critical observations on Western MNC action in emerging economies, political economists have argued that business profit far more than society from CSR. In this paper we argue that the imperative for growth...... in developing economies provide an option to consider the scope and potential of SME engagement for local social development. Interestingly, while African business is not usually compared to nor found to share much similarity with European business practices, our empirical studies of CSR in African SMEs reveal...... a number of shared characteristics with their European counterparts. Supported by prior studies on European SMEs and our empirical findings from Africa, we conceptualize how CSR in SMEs in both regions first and foremost tends to be strongly focused on the ”proximity factors” of employees and local society...

A fractionally cointegrated VAR analysis of economic voting and political support

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jones, Maggie E. C.; Ørregård Nielsen, Morten; Popiel, Michael Ksawery

We use a fractionally cointegrated vector autoregressive model to examine the relationship between Canadian political support and macroeconomic conditions. This model is well suited for the analysis because it allows multiple fractional time series and admits simple asymptotic inference for the m......We use a fractionally cointegrated vector autoregressive model to examine the relationship between Canadian political support and macroeconomic conditions. This model is well suited for the analysis because it allows multiple fractional time series and admits simple asymptotic inference...... for the model parameters and tests of the hypotheses of interest. In the long-run equilibrium, we find that support for the Progressive Conservative Party was higher during periods of high interest rates and low unemployment, while support for the Liberal Party was higher during periods of low interest rates...

FORUM OF POLITICAL PARTIES, THINK TANKS AND NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS OF THE BRICS GROUP

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. Gladun

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The Joint International Forum of Political Parties, Think Tanks and NonGovernmental Organizations of the BRICS took place in Fuzhou, China on 10–12 June 2017. The event was hosted jointly by the International Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the China Council for BRICS Think Tank Cooperation and the China NGO Network for International Exchanges.For the first time in the story of BRICS cooperation the countries’ representatives witnessed the renewed format of the BRICS Academic Forum – two traditional tracks (academic conference and civil track were supplemented by the assembly of political parties. Taking its turn in chairing the multinational BRICS association in 2017, China proposed this new Forum format and joined together three dialogues that had grown out of the BRICS Academic Forum, which took place now for the ninth time.1 Another innovation on China’s part was the outreach format – representatives of 28 countries, including Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Cambodia, Egypt, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Kenya, Argentina, Chile and Mexico among others took part.The Joint International Forum was a truly large-scale international event – 37 political parties of 26 countries, 105 think tanks, and over 400 representatives of 79 civil society organizations were in attendance.2The Forum participants engaged in separate deliberations at the BRICS Academic Forum on “Pooling Wisdom and New Ideas for Cooperation,” the BRICS Civil Society Organizations Forum on “Stronger People-to-People Bond for Better Cooperation,” and the BRICS Political Parties Dialogue on the “Guiding Role of Political Parties in Promoting Cooperation.” The Forum was a complete success with broad consensus.

Challenges and opportunities in international molecular cancer prevention research: An ASPO Molecular Epidemiology and the Environment and International Cancer Prevention Interest Groups Report.

Science.gov (United States)

Epplein, Meira; Bostick, Roberd M; Mu, Lina; Ogino, Shuji; Braithwaite, Dejana; Kanetsky, Peter A

2014-11-01

The International Agency for Research on Cancer estimates that over half of the new cancer cases and almost two-thirds of the cancer deaths in 2012 occurred in low and middle income countries. To discuss the challenges and opportunities to reducing the burden of cancer worldwide, the Molecular Epidemiology and the Environment and the International Issues in Cancer Special Interest Groups joined forces to hold a session during the 38th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Preventive Oncology (March 2014, Arlington, Virginia). The session highlighted three topics of particular interest to molecular cancer prevention researchers working internationally, specifically: 1) biomarkers in cancer research; 2) environmental exposures and cancer; and 3) molecular pathological epidemiology. A major factor for successful collaboration illuminated during the discussion was the need for strong, committed, and reliable international partners. A key element of establishing such relationships is to thoroughly involve individual international collaborators in the development of the research question; engaged international collaborators are particularly motivated to champion and shepherd the project through all necessary steps, including issues relating to institutional review boards, political sensitivity, laboratory-based assays, and tumor subtyping. Also essential is allotting time for the building, maintaining, and investing in such relationships so that successful international collaborations may take root and bloom. While there are many challenges inherent to international molecular cancer research, the opportunities for furthering the science and prevention of cancer worldwide are great, particularly at this time of increasing cancer incidence and prevalence in low and middle income countries. ©2014 American Association for Cancer Research.

Women and political representation.

Science.gov (United States)

Rathod, P B

1999-01-01

A remarkable progress in women's participation in politics throughout the world was witnessed in the final decade of the 20th century. According to the Inter-Parliamentary Union report, there were only eight countries with no women in their legislatures in 1998. The number of women ministers at the cabinet level worldwide doubled in a decade, and the number of countries without any women ministers dropped from 93 to 48 during 1987-96. However, this progress is far from satisfactory. Political representation of women, minorities, and other social groups is still inadequate. This may be due to a complex combination of socioeconomic, cultural, and institutional factors. The view that women's political participation increases with social and economic development is supported by data from the Nordic countries, where there are higher proportions of women legislators than in less developed countries. While better levels of socioeconomic development, having a women-friendly political culture, and higher literacy are considered favorable factors for women's increased political representation, adopting one of the proportional representation systems (such as a party-list system, a single transferable vote system, or a mixed proportional system with multi-member constituencies) is the single factor most responsible for the higher representation of women.

Addiction, agency, and the politics of self-control: doing harm reduction in a heroin users' group.

Science.gov (United States)

Gowan, Teresa; Whetstone, Sarah; Andic, Tanja

2012-04-01

Our 2007-2009 ethnography describes and analyses the practice of harm reduction in a heroin users' group in the midwestern United States. While dominant addiction interventions conceptualize the addict as powerless - either through moral or physical weakness - this group contested such "commonsense," treating illicit drug use as one of many ways that modern individuals attempt to "fill the void." Insisting on the destigmatization of addiction and the normalization of illicit drug use, the group helped its members work on incremental steps toward self-management. Although "Connection Points" had very limited resources to improve the lives of its members, our work suggests that the users' group did much to restore self-respect, rational subjectivity, and autonomy to a group historically represented as incapable of reason and self-control. As the users cohered as a community, they developed a critique of the oppressions suffered by "junkies," discussed their rights and entitlements, and even planned the occasional political action. Engaging with literature on the cultural construction of agency and responsibility, we consider, but ultimately complicate, the conceptualization of needle exchange as a "neoliberal" form of population management. Within the context of the United States' War on Drugs, the group's work on destigmatization, health education, and the practice of incremental control showed the potential for reassertions of social citizenship within highly marginal spaces. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Using group consciousness theories to understand political activism: case studies of Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Ingo Hasselbach.

Science.gov (United States)

Duncan, Lauren E

2010-12-01

I describe and integrate several theories of group consciousness and collective action, along with 3 case studies of political activists. I have 2 goals: (1) to use the theories to help us understand something puzzling about each life and (2) to use the cases to complicate and expand the theories. Barack Obama's case raises the question of how someone with a politicized Black identity evolved into a politician working for all oppressed people and complicates racial identity development theory. Hillary Clinton's case raises the question of how a middle-class White girl raised in a conservative family became a prominent Democratic Party politician and complicates group consciousness theories by demonstrating the importance of generation and personality. Ingo Hasselbach's (a former German neo-Nazi leader) case illustrates relative deprivation theory and raises the question of whether theories developed to explain subordinate group consciousness can be applied to movements of dominant group consciousness. © 2010 The Author. Journal of Personality © 2010, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Political Dynamics Affected by Turncoats

Science.gov (United States)

Di Salvo, Rosa; Gorgone, Matteo; Oliveri, Francesco

2017-11-01

An operatorial theoretical model based on raising and lowering fermionic operators for the description of the dynamics of a political system consisting of macro-groups affected by turncoat-like behaviors is presented. The analysis of the party system dynamics is carried on by combining the action of a suitable quadratic Hamiltonian operator with specific rules (depending on the variations of the mean values of the observables) able to adjust periodically the conservative model to the political environment.

Interest Groups, the Courts, and Educational Equality: A Policy Regimes Approach to "Vergara v. California"

Science.gov (United States)

Superfine, Benjamin Michael; Thompson, Alea R.

2016-01-01

In "Vergara v. California" (2014), a trial-level court ruled that California laws governing teacher tenure and dismissal were unconstitutional. This study analyzes "Vergara" in light of the shifting use of the courts to promote equal educational opportunities and the changing power bases of educational interest groups,…

The New Right and family politics.

Science.gov (United States)

Somerville, J

1992-05-01

Political concern for the family has historically been intermittent; the present context is that there are considerable consequences for individuals, families, and personal life. Socioeconomic and cultural changes brought the rise of the New Right; The Thatcher (UK) and Reagan (US) administrations were committed to strengthening the traditional family. The emergence of the family as a social problem and the political agenda are discussed. The costs of liberalism were felt in a recessionary economy. The US political agenda of Carter to hold a White House Conference on the American Family never materialized. Reagan used the restoration of the traditional American family as a way to get the economy back on its feet. Moral crusaders and the new evangelical Christian movement merged with the political right; the "Gang of Four" (Republican Party right) politicians involved morally conservative communities normally outside the political area into the New Right. Grass roots organizations were mobilized on the Right. The British situation is explained; differences existed in that there were no antiabortion and moral lobby groups tied to the Right although their influence was felt. Pressure group politics is relatively novel to Britain. The Moral Majority in the US and right wing pressure groups on the Tory government are but 1 part of the New Right; it is characterized as populist, proclaiming the Radical Conservatism of Adam Smith and Edmund Burke. The approach in this article is to show the complex interactions of theory, biography, and public opinion in the practical politics of the New Right. Policy outcomes are not predictable because of ideological differences in New Right attitudes toward the family. The attitudes of the moral order and the family is exemplified in the work of Roger Scruton's neoconservative stand on social order, Robert Nozick's Kantian proposition that human beings are ends with natural inviolable rights of individual freedom, Hayak and Friedman

Upgraded coal interest group. Quarterly report, July 1, 1995--September 30, 1995

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Weber, W. [Electric Power Research Inst., Chattanooga, TN (United States); Lebowitz, H.E. [Fossil Fuel Sciences, Palo Alto, CA (United States)

1995-12-31

The objectives of the Upgraded Coal Interest Group (UCIG) are as follows: Review and update the status of various coal upgrading technologies and developments and critically assess the results. Perform engineering screening analyses on various coal upgrading approaches. Perform commercialization analyses that will promote the availability and use of upgraded coal products by quantifying the benefits of using them. Identify market opportunities for introduction of upgraded coals. Perform critical analyses on a variety of coals and technologies in areas important to users but not readily available. Perform critical experiments which will show the differences between technologies.

An investigation into the relationship between political activity levels and political market orientation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ormrod, Robert P.; Henneberg, Stephan C.

2010-01-01

Purpose - The key objective of this research is to investigate the relationship between party member activity-levels and perceptions of their party's political market orientation. Specifically, it aims to scrutinise the differences in the interplay of attitudinal and behavioural aspects of politi......Purpose - The key objective of this research is to investigate the relationship between party member activity-levels and perceptions of their party's political market orientation. Specifically, it aims to scrutinise the differences in the interplay of attitudinal and behavioural aspects...... of political market orientation. Design/methodology/approach - Using a wide variety of respondent groups within the party, the research draws on an existing conceptualisation of political market orientation and empirically test its relationship with party member activity levels. Three models, plus a baseline...... model, are developed and data from 1,156 questionnaires are used to investigate a structural equation model using the partial least square method. Findings - While the baseline model exhibits a robust pattern of positive relationships between the attitudinal and behavioural constructs, the comparative...

Political parties and politics on the Internet: An analysis of the websites of Catalan political parties

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Albert Padró-Solanet

2008-02-01

Full Text Available

The article analyses the use of New Information and Communications Technologies (NICT by the political parties, going beyond approaches focusing on the potential of these technologies for political transformation and renovation. In order to do this a set of variables that characterise the strategic position of the Catalan parties is employed: ideology, organisation and position in the electoral market. The analysis shows three different forms of usage of the Internet. One group of parties (PSC, CDC-CiU uses it to promote participation and campaigning activities; a second group (ICV, Cs, to generate new resources, and finally, a third group (PSC, ERC uses it to build contact networks. The size, and to a lesser degree the type of organisation, stand out as the major explanatory variables. The major parties use the Internet to promote campaign activities and participation; in contrast, smaller parties tend to make use of the Internet to generate new sources of financing and workforce. Depending on the type of organisation, the parties of the masses seem to be more likely to use the Internet to set up and activate an extensive contact network which recreates the characteristic associative realm of these parties in cyberspace.

[Politics and power in gerontological nursing in Brazil].

Science.gov (United States)

Kletemberg, Denise Faucz; Padilha, Maria Itayra

2012-10-01

The objective of the present study was to identify the politic activities implemented by gerontological nursing in Brazil in the period spanning 1970 to 1996, which aimed at making it an effective specialty in elderly care. This descriptive-qualitative study was performed using a historical approach, using thematic oral history. Fourteen nurses, pioneers in the field, took part in the study. The following categories were identified: 1) Political organization of the field; and 2) Relationship between the field and the State. Results identified the following examples of political activities: traveling throughout Brazil, aimed at getting researchers interested in the theme; creating the Scientific Department of Gerontological Nursing; and assuming an effective participation in the creation of public policies in the country. The specialty is aware of the political relevance for its construction and has been making efforts to achieve recognition as a field of knowledge within the multidisciplinary team of elderly care.

Catalan brinkmanship tool for political rivalry in Spain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Górnicka Weronika

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The aim of this article is to analyze the independence activities undertaken by the Catalan government in the context of the brinkmanship strategy and the assumptions of game theory based on “the game of chicken”. It allows us to put the issue of Catalan’s claims in a different context than to refer to political, historical or cultural grounds for self-determination. By adopting this approach to the problem and putting it in the field of political competition at central and national level, it is possible to expose the elements that treat the whole problem as a political game, rather than a real endeavor to reach a consensus between the parties and finally solve the problem. In addition, from the point of view of party interests, it is beneficial that the problem of Catalan independence, absorbing much public attention, continues to function in the political sphere and in the consciousness of the people.

The political mobilization of corporate directors: socio-economic correlates of affiliation to European pressure groups.

Science.gov (United States)

Bond, Matthew; Glouharova, Siana; Harrigan, Nicholas

2010-06-01

Business has played a central role in the debate over Britain's place in the European Union. This paper examines the socio-economic characteristics of directors of Britain's largest corporations who affiliated either to Business for Sterling or Britain in Europe. It reports associations between directors' social backgrounds and their probabilities of affiliation. Elite university education, club membership, wealth and multiple directorships were all associated with higher propensities to affiliate. The associations are consistent with the idea that directors' social resources allow them to overcome collective action problems as well as supplying them with the motivations to affiliate. They also indicated that directors form a privileged group in that they have a number of very powerful actors who can take unilateral political actions.

Politics of Ethno-Nationalism: a Post-Colonial and Post-Socialist Schema

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

ANTON L. ALLAHAR

2010-06-01

Full Text Available The present paper aims to propose a schema for analysing the contemporary politics of national and ethnic identity in post-colonial and post-socialist states. To this end it will seek: (a to provide a comprehensive operational definition of nationalism, (b to qualify that definition by the addition of the adjective ‘ethnic,' (c to assess the extent to which the concept ‘ethnic nationalism' can help us to understand some of the politics of ethnicity and national identity in a post-independence setting, and (d to problematize the notion of ‘false consciousness' in ethno-national political appeals. My argument will be situated within the broad theoretical framework of a non-reductionist, neo-Marxist class analysis, for it is my conviction that ethno-national consciousness and politics are better understood if we are able to trace the concrete class interests and motives of their promoters. In other words, whether as sentiment or as movement, nationalism cannot be divorced from the class interests of its leading promoters. But one must be cautious when absolutizing the class claim, for in the specific case of ethnic nationalism, for example, Robin Williams has noted that "to dismiss ethnicity as false consciousness ignores the clear evidence that ethnies often sacrifice economic interests in favour of symbolic gains" (1994:64-65, and even beyond this, as Ronaldo Munck reminds us, "nationalism matters because people die for it" (1986:2..

The Politics of Mass Digitization

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thylstrup, Nanna Bonde

Mass-digitization of cultural-heritage archives has become increasingly pervasive. From Google Books to Europeana, bounded material is converted into ephemeral data on an unprecedented scale, promising to provide mankind with readily accessible and enduring reservoirs of knowledge. Interrogating...... this phenomenon, this dissertation asks how mass digitization affects the politics of cultural heritage. Its central argument is that mass digitization of cultural heritage is neither a neutral technical process, nor a transposition of the politics of analog cultural heritage to the digital realm on a 1:1 scale....... Rather, it should be understood as distinct subpolitical processes that bring together a multiplicity of interests and actors hitherto foreign to the field of cultural heritage archives. Mass digitization is thus upheaving the disciplinary enclosures of cultural heritage and gives rise to new territorial...

Legal and Political Obstacles and Opportunities for Successful Nuclear Projects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yanovskiy, M.

2014-01-01

Every business suffers from excessive regulations, unpredictable changes in legislation, various kinds of the political rent, extorting practices like 'big business social responsibility' and more. The industries with long-term return-of-investment (ROI) are most vulnerable to political and legal risks. For the nuclear industry, long-lasted public perception of radiation as an imminent threat caused the present over-regulation look natural. Therefore ROI is above two decades, essentially precluding private entrepreneurship activity. While durable solution includes changing public perception and updating regulation, both are 'facts on the ground' and 'habits are hard to break'. Political alliances, appeal to public opinion and lobbying are legitimate methods for promoting industry's interests in a democratic state. However in case of the nuclear industry, bureaucratic and political interests seem too strong to be overpowered by regular lobbying activities. Durable solutions we are searching for should not only eliminate the present legal and political obstacles, but also prevent them in near- to middle-term future. Such solutions would mitigate risks and remove barriers in number of industries, including nuclear industry as well. Particularly, 'not in my backyard' (NIMBY) attitude to nuclear installations is often viewed as a formidable problem. However, this problem has pretty old and reliable solution via compensation for real estate devaluation, if such takes place. Such solution may preclude some projects, but makes others predictable and reliable (e.g. in sparsely populated or relatively poor areas)

The political economy of trade liberalization and environmental policy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fredriksson, P.G.

1999-01-01

A pressure group model where environmental and industry lobby groups offer political support in return for favorable pollution tax policies is used to explain and predict the equilibrium pollution tax in sectors protected by tariffs. The political economy effects of trade liberalization are investigated. The pollution tax is shown to decrease if the lobbying effort by the environmental lobby decreases more rapidly than by the industry lobby Ceteris paribus. The level of political conflict falls with trade liberalization. Pollution may increase because of a reduction of the pollution tax, and tax revenues may fall simultaneously as pollution increases