Rethinking political correctness.

Science.gov (United States)

Ely, Robin J; Meyerson, Debra E; Davidson, Martin N

2006-09-01

Legal and cultural changes over the past 40 years ushered unprecedented numbers of women and people of color into companies' professional ranks. Laws now protect these traditionally underrepresented groups from blatant forms of discrimination in hiring and promotion. Meanwhile, political correctness has reset the standards for civility and respect in people's day-to-day interactions. Despite this obvious progress, the authors' research has shown that political correctness is a double-edged sword. While it has helped many employees feel unlimited by their race, gender, or religion,the PC rule book can hinder people's ability to develop effective relationships across race, gender, and religious lines. Companies need to equip workers with skills--not rules--for building these relationships. The authors offer the following five principles for healthy resolution of the tensions that commonly arise over difference: Pause to short-circuit the emotion and reflect; connect with others, affirming the importance of relationships; question yourself to identify blind spots and discover what makes you defensive; get genuine support that helps you gain a broader perspective; and shift your mind-set from one that says, "You need to change," to one that asks, "What can I change?" When people treat their cultural differences--and related conflicts and tensions--as opportunities to gain a more accurate view of themselves, one another, and the situation, trust builds and relationships become stronger. Leaders should put aside the PC rule book and instead model and encourage risk taking in the service of building the organization's relational capacity. The benefits will reverberate through every dimension of the company's work.

Deaf Culture and the Cochlear Implant Debate: Cyborg Politics and the Identity of People with Disabilities.

Science.gov (United States)

Cherney, James L.

1999-01-01

Examines the potential benefits and limitations of cyborg politics. Explores depictions of cyborgs in science fiction stories and examines the deaf culture's arguments in the cochlear-implant debate. Investigates the current viability of cyborg politics as a mode of advocacy for people with disabilities. (SC)

Political Correctness and the System of Education: Selected Examples and Consequences

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Marcin Rojek

2012-11-01

Full Text Available This paper aims at analysing political correctness in the context of education. Political correctness has already been widely studied and commented on; however, the phenomenon has received surprisingly little attention in relation to schooling and, particularly, teachers. In the Polish system of education, political correctness is manifest first of all in the overt policy applied by people in charge of education, who refrain from using terminology of e.g. “free market,” “commercial value,” “product,” “competition,” or “profit,” which could be unfavourably received or assessed by teachers. It turns out that political correctness, though founded upon proper assumptions and ideally contributing to common good, can be incorrectly understood or used for political purposes, and thus lose its initial sense, thwart communication between politicians and teachers and hinder their mutual understanding or even render it impossible. This paper attempts to reveal yet another set of conditions, this time the language-related ones, in which contemporary teachers work.

The Written Corrective Feedback Debate: Next Steps for Classroom Teachers and Practitioners

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Dan

2012-01-01

Language teachers spend much of their time providing corrective feedback on students' writing in hope of helping them improve grammatical accuracy. Turning to research for guidance, however, can leave practitioners with few concrete answers as to the effectiveness of written corrective feedback (CF). Debate in the literature continues, reflecting…

Amerykańska filozofia polityczna. Niedokończona debata (AMERICAN POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY. AN UNFINISHED DEBATE

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Piotr Bołtuć

2007-06-01

Full Text Available The author begins by drawing a distinction between an earlier stage of contemporary American political philosophy, informed by the Rawls-Nozick-Walzer debate, and a later stage geared towards social issues such as multiculturalism. His point is that the earlier debate was incomplete because an important group of views went underrepresented. This becomes clear when one use two variables to classify the main political theories: higher taxes and more social services versus lower taxes and fewer social services (economic left and right and the level of individualism versus collectivism (liberals and communitarians. This gives us four positions: left-wing liberalism, left-wing communitarianism, right-wing liberalism and right-wing communitarianism. The author claims that right-wing communitarianism is barely represented in the debate that grounded today's political philosophy. He sketches a version of conservatism, relying mostly on Nisbet and Kirk, to illustrate the missing position of right wing communitarianism. Although he does not endorse many aspects of conservatism as right-wing communitarianism, he argues that it is a theoretically viable option and suggest that sociological reasons may explain why it is underrepresented among professional philosophers. As a part of the argument he also outlines a position called equality without egalitarianism.

Democracy, political representation, leadership and the institutional question. Debates on the theory and practice of politics in contemporary democracies

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Hernán Fair

2017-02-01

Full Text Available This paper analyzes the problem of political representation in contemporary democracies, its links with the role of political leadership and the institutional issue. In the first part, it examines the debates on political representation from the predominant perspectives of Latin American political science and critiques from alternative views of the discipline. The second part focuses on representative democracies today, examining the links and tensions between Laclau´s post-foundational theory of populism and neo-institutionalist political science. The last part critiques laclausian theory of populism, distinguishing conceptually between the institutional, administrative and pluralistic elements and the liberal tradition, which appears juxtaposed in the laclausian approach, and between the populist (post-foundational and ideological (foundational forms, on the basis of the analytical differences between authoritarianism, dictatorship and totalitarism. After that, some resources of the classical tradition of democracy and republicanism are incorporated, which are sub-theorized in Laclau’s approach. Finally, these tools are used to conceptualize and analyze two dimensions, defined as participatory-horizontal-popular and representative-pluralist, which tend to construct a post-foundational theory of radical democracy for the twenty-first century.

Federal Minimum Wage Debate: Are Gubernatorial Politics Behind a Hotel Line Employee Wage?

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Nicholas Thomas

2016-05-01

Full Text Available As the United States approaches mid-2016, seats throughout the Executive, Judicial, and Legislative branches of the federal government are in play. As Republicans and Democrats fight for control, the docket of debatable topics continues to grow. One issue in particular, employee compensation, continues to be one of the most popular in both state and federal level politics.

Deflecting the Political in the Visual Images of Execution and the Death Penalty Debate

Science.gov (United States)

George, Diana; Shoos, Diane

2005-01-01

Examining a range of visual images of executions, both legal (the executions of convicted murderers) and extralegal (the lynchings of innocent African Americans), in still photographs and in Hollywood films, the authors suggest that while such images may flatten and neutralize the popular debates and politics surrounding the issues, this is not…

German law on circumcision and its debate: how an ethical and legal issue turned political.

Science.gov (United States)

Aurenque, Diana; Wiesing, Urban

2015-03-01

The article aims to illuminate the recent debate in Germany about the legitimacy of circumcision for religious reasons. The aim is both to evaluate the new German law allowing religious circumcision, and to outline the resulting conflict between the surrounding ethical and legal issues. We first elucidate the diversity of legal and medical views on religious circumcision in Germany. Next we examine to what extent invasive and irreversible physical interventions on infant boys unable to given their consent should be carried out for non-medical reasons. To this end, the potential benefits and harms of circumcision for non-medical reasons are compared. We argue that circumcision does not provide any benefits for the 'child as a child' and poses only risks to boys. We then set out to clarify and analyse political (rather than ethical) justifications of the new circumcision law. We demonstrate through this analysis how the circumcision debate in Germany has been transformed from a legal and ethical problem into a political issue, due at least in part to Germany's unique historical context. Although such a particular political sensibility is entirely comprehensible, it raises particular problems when it comes to framing and responding to medical ethical issues - as in the case of religious circumcision. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

School and the Future: How Teachers and Teacher Education Are Articulated in the Political Debate

Science.gov (United States)

Forssell, Anna

2015-01-01

To Govern in the name of the future is considered to be an essential part of policy-making in education. In Sweden, this is particularly evident in the political and public rhetoric used in debates on modern schooling and educational reform. However, this is not merely a national phenomenon; rather, educational governance in the name of the future…

A political dimension of public budget: the councils of rights as a space for collective and plural debate

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Valdir Anhucci

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The consolidation of the political dimension of the Councils of Rights is linked to its understanding as plural public spaces, divergence and the constant struggle of ideas. The political dimension becomes crucial, especially in the process of defining and managing the public budget for both planning and to expand the debate on the allocation of financial resources for the implementation of public policies. It is this space that the different interests manifest themselves, becoming a field of political struggle for the appropriation of public resources in ensuring the rights and social protection of the most disenfranchised segments of society. The public budget in the spaces of advice gained a political dimension, the prospect of mere instrument accounting

Fuel for Debate: Three Studies of the Political Mobilization for and against Hydraulic Fracturing in New York State

Science.gov (United States)

Dokshin, Fedor Aleksandrovich

This dissertation uses the context of the unfolding boom in oil and gas production enabled by hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") technology to ask several interrelated questions: What motivates people to oppose or support industrial development? How do material interests interact with political identities to shape political mobilization? What consequences does this political contestation have for policymaking? Three stand-alone articles, each using unique data and methods, provide new evidence for answering these questions. The three studies place a common emphasis on the multiple meanings that fracking has for opponents and supporters of proposed development as well as the alternative structural conditions that give rise to the divergent beliefs and the social networks that facilitate mobilization. The first article, examines the passage of local zoning ordinances prohibiting fracking and identifies spatial and temporal processes that influenced the pattern of ordinance adoption. The second article, looks more closely at political mobilization for and against hydraulic fracturing by examining individual-level data collected from one town's debate over a proposed ban on oil and gas development. The third article uses a large set of public comments to directly examine the meanings that the public attached to hydraulic fracturing and whether residents who live in close proximity to proposed development understood the industry in systematically different terms than individuals who participated in the debate despite facing little or no direct impact from fracking.

Politics of inclusion and empowerment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, John; Siim, Birte

The book examines the political and academic debates about the interplay between political, civil and social citizenship in US and Europe......The book examines the political and academic debates about the interplay between political, civil and social citizenship in US and Europe...

Dressing down the front line: How political discussion of teachers affects their political and institutional trust

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bech, Emily Cochran

We know that government performance and the tone of political debate can affect citizens’ trust in state institutions and political leaders, which have long been known to underpin democratic sustainability. But how does political debate about public employees affect their confidence in political...

The hazards of correcting myths about health care reform.

Science.gov (United States)

Nyhan, Brendan; Reifler, Jason; Ubel, Peter A

2013-02-01

Misperceptions are a major problem in debates about health care reform and other controversial health issues. We conducted an experiment to determine if more aggressive media fact-checking could correct the false belief that the Affordable Care Act would create "death panels." Participants from an opt-in Internet panel were randomly assigned to either a control group in which they read an article on Sarah Palin's claims about "death panels" or an intervention group in which the article also contained corrective information refuting Palin. The correction reduced belief in death panels and strong opposition to the reform bill among those who view Palin unfavorably and those who view her favorably but have low political knowledge. However, it backfired among politically knowledgeable Palin supporters, who were more likely to believe in death panels and to strongly oppose reform if they received the correction. These results underscore the difficulty of reducing misperceptions about health care reform among individuals with the motivation and sophistication to reject corrective information.

Dallas Smythe Today - The Audience Commodity, the Digital Labour Debate, Marxist Political Economy and Critical Theory.

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Christian Fuchs

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Due to the global capitalist crisis, neoliberalism and the logic of commodification of everything have suffered cracks, fissures and holes. There is a return of the interest in Marx, which requires us to think about the role of Marxism in Media and Communication Studies. This paper contributes to this task by discussing some foundations of contemporary Marxist media and communication studies, including a focus on the renewed interest in Dallas Smythe’s audience commodity category as part of the digital labour debate. Dallas Smythe reminds us of the importance of engagement with Marx’s works for studying the media in capitalism critically. Both Critical Theory and Critical Political Economy of the Media and Communication have been criticized for being one-sided. Such interpretations are mainly based on selective readings. They ignore that in both approaches there has been with different weightings a focus on aspects of media commodification, audiences, ideology and alternatives. Critical Theory and Critical Political Economy are complementary and should be combined in Critical Media and Communication Studies today. Dallas Smythe’s notion of the audience commodity has gained new relevance in the debate about corporate Internet services’ exploitation of digital labour. The exploitation of digital labour involves processes of coercion, alienation and appropriation.

Performing Politics

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Troy R. E. Paddock

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Walter Benjamin’s observation that fascism turns politics into aesthetics is, by now, a well-worn idea. This article argues that Benjamin’s critique of politics can apply just as much to the modern democratic politics of the United States. Borrowing from Benjamin, Jürgen Habermas, and Carl Schmitt, this article suggests that modern political discourse in the United States does not follow the classical liberal ideal of rational discourse in the marketplace of ideas within the public sphere. Instead, contemporary politics has become spectacle where images and slogans replace thought and debate in a 24/7 news cycle and political infotainment programs. The result is that progressives and conservatives have their own political “ecospheres” which enable them to have their own perspective reinforced, and debate is replaced by straw man arguments and personal attacks.

Political Issues. The Debates around the Govern- ment of New Spain during the Process of Independence

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Alfredo Ávila

2009-07-01

Full Text Available When Charles IV relinquished his dominions in favor of Bonaparte, the inhabitants of New Spain and other Hispanic territories faced a major problem: who would be in charge of government? Or, in Servando Teresa de Mier's words: what had to be done so that a group of individuals could be recognized by the heads of the military and obeyed by the people? The main political actors soon realized that any option would be disputable.  Our paper examines this phenomenon during the process of Independence. Juntas, congresses and governments would always be liable to questioning. The return of Ferdinand VII to the throne and his incapacity to restore the pre-1808 order proved that there was no turning back the process of debating the political order.

Public policy and media frames: the debate over migration in Brazil

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Augusto Veloso Leão

2013-04-01

Full Text Available The main goal of this article is to provide a good basis to assess the way media frames are embedded in a wider social scenario, and how public and political preferences can be researched through media debate. The methodology adopted allows for an analysis of newspaper articles that can show broader trends of the debate and serve as a thermometer to measure public debate. It can further highlight details and enable in-depth analyses of media discourse. The article explores the interconnectedness of media debate and policy-making process by means of the analysis of articles published in a Brazilian newspaper between 2009 and 2010. Quantitative and qualitative methodologies are employed to identify the frames used in media and to offer insights of their relationship with the political debate. The ongoing political debate has raised attention to the issue of migration, with a great numbers of actors expressing very diverse points of view. A broader public debate has been initiated and some portions of it find voice in different means of communication. The paper argues that changes in the public and in the media debate are a response to changes in the political debate, while at the same time the first two also help to outline the latter.

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...

"THE GROSSEST AND MOST UNJUST SPECIES OF FAVORITISM” COMPETING VIEWS OF REPUBLICAN POLITICAL ECONOMY: THE TARIFF DEBATES OF 1841 AND 1842

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John A. Moore

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Historians have long examined the causes of the American Civil War. Frequently, they identify three explanatory factors: slavery, states’ rights and tariffs. This paper assesses the Tariffs of 1841 and 1842, asserting that arguments attributing the tariff as a causal factor of the Civil War are exaggerated and deserve reconsideration. Upon close examination, these tariff debates represent a continuation of a long-standing discourse as to whether American foreign trade policy should embrace free trade or protectionist characteristics. Consequently, these debates, which occurred only nineteen years before Fort Sumter, are more closely aligned with late 18th century debates over political economy than they are as a prelude cause to Civil War.

Brexit and the Politics of UK Growth Models

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rosamond, Ben

2018-01-01

Brexit has reopened and repoliticized the debate about future growth models for the UK economy. This contribution argues that this debate is built around historically specific path dependencies that reflect the particular character of public debate about British political economy, while also...... particular attention to the importance of the politics of support. It suggests that recent debate about growth models has been largely subsumed within the politics of Brexit, which has politicized that debate, albeit through the emergent political economy frames that Brexit has provoked. The paper explores...... suggesting that the debate around Brexit takes place at a very distinctive moment in the history of democratic capitalism in Europe. This combination gives the renewed politicization a specific and perhaps perverse character. The paper considers how we should approach debates about growth models, paying...

Behaviour Change in the UK Climate Debate: An Assessment of Responsibility, Agency and Political Dimensions

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Shane Fudge

2011-06-01

Full Text Available This paper explores the politics around the role of agency in the UK climate change debate. Government interventions on the demand side of consumption have increasingly involved attempts to obtain greater traction with the values, attitudes and beliefs of citizens in relation to climate change and also in terms of influencing consumer behaviour at an individual level. With figures showing that approximately 40% of the UK’s carbon emissions are attributable to household and transport behaviour, policy initiatives have progressively focused on the facilitation of “sustainable behaviours”. Evidence suggests however, that mobilisation of pro-environmental attitudes in addressing the perceived “value-action gap” has so far had limited success. Research in this field suggests that there is a more significant and nuanced “gap” between context and behaviour; a relationship that perhaps provides a more adroit reflection of reasons why people do not necessarily react in the way that policy-makers anticipate. Tracing the development of the UK Government’s behaviour change agenda over the last decade, we posit that a core reason for the limitations of this programme relates to an excessively narrow focus on the individual. This has served to obscure some of the wider political and economic aspects of the debate in favour of a more simplified discussion. The second part of the paper reports findings from a series of focus groups exploring some of the wider political views that people hold around household energy habits, purchase and use of domestic appliances, and transport behaviour-and discusses these insights in relation to the literature on the agenda’s apparent limitations. The paper concludes by considering whether the aims of the Big Society approach (recently established by the UK’s Coalition Government hold the potential to engage more directly with some of these issues or whether they merely constitute a “repackaging” of the

Academic Debate: Publications Which Promote Political Agendas Have no Place in Scientific and Medical Journals, and Academics Should Refrain from Publishing in Such Journals.

Science.gov (United States)

Glick, Shimon; Clarfield, A Mark; Strous, Rael D; Horton, Richard

2015-01-01

This paper presents the full debate held on October 1, 2014, which focused on the following resolution: "Publications which promote political agendas have no place in scientific and medical journals, and academics should refrain from publishing in such journals." The debate moderator was Professor Shimon Glick. Taking the pro stance was Professor A. Mark Clarfield; the con stance was held by Professor Rael D. Strous. Following the first part of the debate, Dr Richard Horton, Editor-in-Chief of The Lancet, gave his thoughts on the topic. This was followed by the opportunity for rebuttal by Professors Clarfield and Strous. The debate was summarized and closed by Professor Glick. This paper provides a slightly edited text of the debate, for ease of reading.

From crucial issue to additional question. A study of the political debate about nuclear waste in Sweden 1976-2009; Fraan oedesfraaga till oevrig fraaga. En studie av den politiska debatten om kaernavfallet i Sverige 1976-2009

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nord, Lars; Stur, Elisabeth (Mid Sweden University (Sweden))

2010-11-15

The overall purpose of this paper is to investigate how the premises for the political decision processes in the issue of final disposal of the Swedish nuclear waste are affected by changes in the public opinion climate and global events. The paper therefore focuses on questions concerning how the national political debate leading up to decisions interacts with the media debate, and the public opinion dynamic that arises when the two debates relate to each other. Particular interest is devoted to the arguments and standpoints that occur in politics and media and how they refer to the prevailing public opinion situation and to conditions in the surrounding world of a political, legal, economic, ecological and technological nature. An analysis of the arenas and actors involved in the debates ought to provide valuable knowledge regarding how the political agenda has been formed at different points in time. The following questions are of central interest to the study: - What characterizes the parliamentary and the party political debate in the nuclear waste issue, and in what way have actors, standpoints and arguments changed over time? - What characterizes opinion formation and news reporting in the media in the nuclear waste issue and in what way have actors, standpoints and arguments changed over time? The course of the debate at four different times and in connection with four parliamentary elections during the period 1976-2009 is analyzed in the study. The subject of the analysis includes the four parliamentary parties the Centre Party, the Liberal Party, the Moderates and the Social Democrats. These four parties have been chosen because they have been represented in the Swedish Parliament during the entire period studied and are therefore reasonable to compare. The study has mainly been conducted as a qualitative textual analysis of public print, party documents and media content. The qualitative text analysis is complemented to some extent by other existing

Science communication as political communication

Science.gov (United States)

Scheufele, Dietram A.

2014-01-01

Scientific debates in modern societies often blur the lines between the science that is being debated and the political, moral, and legal implications that come with its societal applications. This manuscript traces the origins of this phenomenon to professional norms within the scientific discipline and to the nature and complexities of modern science and offers an expanded model of science communication that takes into account the political contexts in which science communication takes place. In a second step, it explores what we know from empirical work in political communication, public opinion research, and communication research about the dynamics that determine how issues are debated and attitudes are formed in political environments. Finally, it discusses how and why it will be increasingly important for science communicators to draw from these different literatures to ensure that the voice of the scientific community is heard in the broader societal debates surrounding science. PMID:25225389

Science communication as political communication.

Science.gov (United States)

Scheufele, Dietram A

2014-09-16

Scientific debates in modern societies often blur the lines between the science that is being debated and the political, moral, and legal implications that come with its societal applications. This manuscript traces the origins of this phenomenon to professional norms within the scientific discipline and to the nature and complexities of modern science and offers an expanded model of science communication that takes into account the political contexts in which science communication takes place. In a second step, it explores what we know from empirical work in political communication, public opinion research, and communication research about the dynamics that determine how issues are debated and attitudes are formed in political environments. Finally, it discusses how and why it will be increasingly important for science communicators to draw from these different literatures to ensure that the voice of the scientific community is heard in the broader societal debates surrounding science.

Darfur debated

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roberta Cohen

2007-12-01

Full Text Available Bruising debates within the human rights and humanitarian communities have centered on the numbers who have died in Darfur, the use of the term genocide, the efficacy of military versus political solutions and the extent to which human rights advocacy can undermine humanitarian programmes on the ground.

Chinese Debates on the Democratization Process

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Peer Møller Christensen

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The new economic importance of the Chinese economy has created Chinese expectations that the country will be able to regain a political and cultural position in the world in accordance with this economic status. But for China to become a respected member of world society, one of the most severe obstacles is its, from a western perspective, undemocratic political system. The article describes the lively debate going on among Chinese intellectuals of diverse political-ideological convictions about what kind of democracy should be the model for China’s future political system. The liberally oriented intellectuals want a political system very much like American liberal constitutional democracy, while intellectuals on the left side of the political spectrum want a democracy with a clear socialist basis. Although Chinese intellectuals form a minority in society, these intellectual debates are sure to have influence on both public opinion and opinions and attitudes among political decision makers inside the Chinese Communist Party. Further investigations will have to establish to what degree the perceptions of China's political future and democratization are reflected in the political attitudes among the Chinese in general, and how they are perceived inside the confines of political decision making in the Chinese Communist Party. Only then will it be possible to answer the questions: "What kind of democracy do the Chinese want?" and "What kind of democracy are the Chinese going to get?"

Naturlighed, barnets tarv og kompensationsberettigelse i den politiske debat om kunstig befrugtning

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Lasse

2012-01-01

moral principles, the functioning based and the responsibility-sensitivity principle, that both independently and together support the conclusion that people suffering the disadvantage of being infertile is in fact entitled to public funded compensation. The article concludes that it is morally......This article provides a normative discussion of the political debate on public funded fertility-treatment in Denmark. It shows that especially three normative considerations attract attention in the debate. In the early part of the debate (1996) many Danish politicians weigh highly the moral......, and due to Parfit’s non-identity problem the interest of the child is irrelevant to such political debates. In the late part of the debate (2010) the question of whether infertility entails compensation-entitlement becomes crucial. Drawing on insights of political philosophy, the article suggests two...

Understanding political responsibility in corporate citizenship

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tempels, Tjidde; Blok, Vincent; Verweij, Marcel

2017-01-01

In this article, we explore the debate on corporate citizenship and the role of business in global governance. In the debate on political corporate social responsibility it is assumed that under globalization business is taking up a greater political role. Apart from economic responsibilities

Politics Backstage - Television Documentaries, Politics and Politicians

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Ib Bondebjerg

2006-09-01

Full Text Available This article deals with "the transformation of visibility" in political discourse on and representation of politics and politicians in resent Dansih television documentaries. Drawing on the theories of Habermas, Meyrowitz and John B. Thompson, it is argued that the political persona on television is moved closer to the individual citizen, creating a sort "mediated quasi-inter- action" giving mediated communication a stronger element of face-to-face interaction. Together with the more pervasive "live" coverage of politics and politicians, this expands media coverage to both the backstage of political processes and the private and personal backstage of politicians, changing the form of democracy and public debate.

The Body Politic in Pain.

Science.gov (United States)

Linker, Beth

2017-01-01

In his 2015 book Pain: A Political History, Keith Wailoo demonstrates how a medicalized condition became central to defining party politics in the United States from World War II down to the present. Drawing on sources ranging from postwar Congressional hearings concerning the veteran welfare state to debates surrounding Rush Limbaugh's OxyContin addiction, Wailoo offers a fresh analysis of both U.S. political history and medical history, showing how today's highly polarized party system emerged in part from debates surrounding the existence and worth of pain, as well as its management.

Political correctness: mental disorder, childish fad or advance of human civilization?

OpenAIRE

Geser, Hans

2008-01-01

Der vorliegende Beitrag befasst sich mit dem Begriff der "Political Correctness"(PC). Nach einem kurzen Überblick über den Entstehungshintergrund und die unterschiedliche Auslegungen in verschiedenen Ländern geht der Autor auf die moralische Dimension ein. Der nächste Abschnitt befasst sich mit der normativen Kraft von Sprache und dem Rückfall in binäre Gut-Schlecht-Kategorien. Im Anschluss daran wird die kulturelle Dimension des Begriffs und die Gefahr des paternalistischen kulturellen Relat...

The Artilect Debate

Science.gov (United States)

de Garis, Hugo; Halioris, Sam

Twenty-first-century technologies will allow the creation of massively intelligent machines, many trillions of times as smart, fast, and durable as humans. Issues concerning industrial, consumer, and military applications of mobile autonomous robots, cyborgs, and computer-based AI systems could divisively split humanity into ideological camps regarding whether "artilects" (artificial intellects) should be built or not. The artilect debate, unlike any before it, could dominate the 21st-century political landscape, and has the potential to cause conflict on a global scale. Research is needed to inform policy and individual decisions; and healthy debate should be initiated now to prepare institutions and individuals alike for the impact of AI.

The Politics of Dependence

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cockburn, Patrick Joseph

The central claim of this book is that thinking about ‘dependence’ should be at the core of political theory principally because it helps us to think about issues of economic justice. Unlike political theories that either condemn or celebrate dependence, the book argues that dependence...... is an inescapable fact of social life, neither good nor bad in itself. The real political issues are about how we as a society organise and judge various forms of dependence. And this is, in fact, what much political debate is about if we dig beneath the surface. On the one hand, we disagree about how we should...... organise vulnerability; on the other hand, we disagree about who we should condemn as parasitical. Vulnerability and parasitism are thus key concepts for understanding political debate about forms of dependence. Showing the tension between these two sides to the problem of economic dependence...

"Is political behavior a viable coping strategy to perceived organizational politics? Unveiling the underlying resource dynamics": Correction to Sun and Chen (2017).

Science.gov (United States)

2017-10-01

Reports an error in "Is Political Behavior a Viable Coping Strategy to Perceived Organizational Politics? Unveiling the Underlying Resource Dynamics" by Shuhua Sun and Huaizhong Chen ( Journal of Applied Psychology , Advanced Online Publication, May 22, 2017, np). In the article, Table 1 contained a formatting error. Correlation coefficient values in the last four cells of column 6 were misplaced with correlation coefficient values in the last four cells of column 7. All versions of this article have been corrected. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2017-22542-001.) We conduct a theory-driven empirical investigation on whether political behavior, as a coping strategy to perceived organizational politics, creates resource trade-offs in moderating the relationship between perceived organizational politics and task performance. Drawing on conservation of resources theory, we hypothesize that political behavior mitigates the adverse effect of perceived organizational politics on task performance via psychological empowerment, yet exacerbates its adverse effect on task performance via emotional exhaustion. Three-wave multisource data from a sample of 222 employees and their 75 supervisors were collected for hypothesis testing. Findings supported our hypotheses. Our study enhances understandings of the complex resource dynamics of using political behavior to cope with perceived organizational politics and highlights the need to move stress-coping research from a focus on the stress-buffering effect of coping on outcomes to a focus on the underlying competing resource dynamics. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Politics sans economics: commentary on the political economy of demonetization in India

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Zaad Mahmood

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Between 8th November and 31st December 2016 the Indian government instituted one of the biggest demonetisation exercises in the world by withdrawing 86 percent of all currency in the form of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes. This paper looks at the debate surrounding the demonetisation exercise and attempts to provide a political economy logic. Interrogating the various arguments around demonetisation, it argues that demonetisation has been reduced to a political posturing as the economic consequences remain highly debated.

Color blindness and interracial interaction: playing the political correctness game.

Science.gov (United States)

Norton, Michael I; Sommers, Samuel R; Apfelbaum, Evan P; Pura, Natassia; Ariely, Dan

2006-11-01

Two experiments explored the ramifications of endorsing color blindness as a strategy for appearing unprejudiced. In Study 1, Whites proved adept at categorizing faces on the basis of race, but understated their ability to do so. In Study 2, Whites playing the Political Correctness Game--a matching task that requires describing other individuals--were less likely to use race as a descriptor when paired with a Black partner than when paired with a White partner, a strategy that impaired communication and performance. In addition, avoidance of race was associated with Whites making less eye contact with and appearing less friendly toward Black partners.

Queer Hegemonies : Politics and Ideology in Contemporary Queer Debates

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Colpani, G.

2017-01-01

In this dissertation, I explore contemporary transformations of both progressive sexual politics and queer theory from a politico-philosophical perspective. On the one hand, I analyze how LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer) politics have been recently articulated to the politico-economic

'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....

The net neutrality debate on Twitter

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wolf J. Schünemann

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The internet has been seen as a medium that empowers individual political actors in relation to established political elites and media gatekeepers. The present article discusses this “net empowerment hypothesis” and tests it empirically by analysing Twitter communication on the regulation of net neutrality. We extracted 503.839 tweets containing #NetNeutrality posted between January and March 2015 and analysed central developments and the network structure of the debate. The empirical results show that traditional actors from media and politics still maintain a central role.

Political Polarization in Social Media: Analysis of the "Twitter Political Field" in Japan

OpenAIRE

Takikawa, Hiroki; Nagayoshi, Kikuko

2017-01-01

There is an ongoing debate about whether the Internet is like a public sphere or an echo chamber. Among many forms of social media, Twitter is one of the most crucial online places for political debate. Most of the previous studies focus on the formal structure of the Twitter political field, such as its homophilic tendency, or otherwise limit the analysis to a few topics. In order to explore whether Twitter functions as an echo chamber in general, however, we have to investigate not only the...

In Anführungszeichen. Glanz und Elend der Political Correctness von Matthias Dusini und Thomas Edlinger

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Raffaela Rogy

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Matthias Dusini und Thomas Edlinger nähern sich in erfrischend lockerem Ton dem Thema Political Correctness (PC, indem sie dessen historisches Gewebe offenlegen, aktuelle Debatten aufzeigen und eigene Überlegungen dazu vorstellen. Raffaela Rogy berichtet.

Political Correctness, Historically Speaking.

Science.gov (United States)

Lipset, Seymour Martin

1992-01-01

This historical review examines conservative and liberal attitudes on U.S. campuses in terms of political, ethnic, racial, gender, and religious issues. Discussed are the era of protest (1960s), the era of quiescence and move toward conservatism (1970-84), reversing the trend via increasing faculty liberalism, and contemporary opinion (a…

Visual Linguistic Analysis of Political Discussions : Measuring Deliberative Quality

OpenAIRE

Gold, Valentin; El-Assady, Mennatallah; Hautli-Janisz, Annette; Bögel, Tina; Rohrdantz, Christian; Butt, Miriam; Holzinger, Katharina; Keim, Daniel

2017-01-01

This article reports on a Digital Humanities research project which is concerned with the automated linguistic and visual analysis of political discourses with a particular focus on the concept of deliberative communication. According to the theory of deliberative communication as discussed within political science, political debates should be inclusive and stakeholders participating in these debates are required to justify their positions rationally and respectfully and should eventually def...

Israel debates raising commitment to CERN

CERN Multimedia

Watzman, H

2000-01-01

Israel's science ministry is debating whether to apply for full membership of CERN since the 1992 agreement allowing Israel observer status is about to expire. Israeli physicists are pushing for full membership for political as well as scientific reasons (1 page).

Politics, Security, Theory

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wæver, Ole

2011-01-01

theory is found to ‘act politically’ through three structural features that systematically shape the political effects of using the theory. The article further discusses – on the basis of the preceding articles in the special issue – three emerging debates around securitization theory: ethics......This article outlines three ways of analysing the ‘politics of securitization’, emphasizing an often-overlooked form of politics practised through theory design. The structure and nature of a theory can have systematic political implications. Analysis of this ‘politics of securitization......’ is distinct from both the study of political practices of securitization and explorations of competing concepts of politics among security theories. It means tracking what kinds of analysis the theory can produce and whether such analysis systematically impacts real-life political struggles. Securitization...

Latest legal and social developments in the euthanasia debate: bad moral consciences and political unrest.

Science.gov (United States)

Ferreira, N

2007-06-01

Several events that took place during recent years, such as the French Act on the rights of patients and the end of life, the Terri Schiavo case and Lord Joffe's proposal for an Assisted Dying Bill in the United Kingdom, have triggered the debate on euthanasia more than ever. It is therefore opportune to revisit basic notions related thereto and to make a comparative analysis of the legal regime of euthanasia in several countries in Europe and elsewhere, as well as to try to see how the public awareness of the problem has of late developed. There seems to be a clear trend in many legal systems towards an increasing respect for the patient's right to self-determination. However, we are still looking at a complex social game, where legal and medical terminology are manipulated and euphemisms are invented in order to accommodate bad moral consciences and avoid political unrest.

Science, politics, and the GM debate in Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Tencalla, Francesca

2006-02-01

Europe today stands at a crossroad, facing challenges but also opportunities. In its intent to make Europe a leading technology-based economy by 2010, the European Commission has identified biotechnology and genomics as fields for future growth, crucial for supporting the agricultural and food processing industry. Since first commercialization in 1996, GM crop areas have grown at double-digit rates, making this one of the most rapidly adopted technologies in agriculture. However, in contrast to other world areas and despite European Commission support, Europe has found itself 'bogged-down' in a polemic between opponents and supporters of plant biotechnology. As a result, planted areas have remained small. This stalemate is due to a lack of political leadership, especially at the Member State level, all the more surprising in light of European early development and competitive advantage with crop biotechnology. This situation proves once again that, for cutting-edge innovations, a solid science base alone is not sufficient. Acceptance or rejection of new technologies depends on interlinked political, economic, and societal factors that create a favorable or unfavorable situation at a given time. This article will look at GM crops in Europe and the role science and politics have played in the introduction of crop biotechnology.

Religion and Politics by Other Means

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José Fernando Serrano Amaya

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The article discusses the 2016 debate over egalitarian adoption in Colombia in order to suggest that in the fields of gender and sexuality, religion and politics constitute the same flow of signifiers. That flow is dislocated, temporary, and unstable, since it depends on the dynamics of social conflicts and political transitions. Thus, the Colombian case can be interpreted as the emergence of a religious project in political terms, which secularizes its discourse in order to spiritualize society.  In turn, both the legal debate, with its appeal to State authority, and populism, with its longing to return to founding principles, are means for that emergence.

The European debate on governance networks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, Eva; Torfing, Jacob

2014-01-01

This paper aims to take stock of the European debate on governance networks in order to assess whether or not it has succeeded to develop a new a viable paradigm based on clear concepts, sound theories and methods and an expansive research agenda. The political and institutional conditions...... for the emergence of the Europe governance debate are analyzed and the notions of ‘governance’ and ‘governance networks’ are critically examined and defined. A brief assessment of the empirical significance of governance networks at different levels of governing is followed by a presentation and comparison...... development, the European debate on governance networks provides a new and important paradigm for understanding the emerging forms of multilateral action and pluricentric governance....

Food, Risk and Politics: Scare, scandal and crisis - insights into the risk politics of food safety

OpenAIRE

Randall, Ed J.

2009-01-01

This book is about the risk politics of food safety. Food-related risks regularly grab the headlines in ways that threaten reasoned debate and obstruct sensible policy making. The author explains why this is the case. He goes on to make the case for a properly informed and fully open public debate about food safety issues. He argues that this is the true antidote to the politics of scare, scandal and crisis.\\ud \\ud The book skilfully weaves together the many different threads of food safety a...

A Functional Analysis of the 1988 Bush-Dukakis Presidential Debates.

Science.gov (United States)

Benoit, William L.; Brazeal, LeAnn M.

2002-01-01

Applies the Functional Theory of Political Campaign Discourse to the 1988 presidential debates between George Bush and Michael Dukakis. Challenges the notion that this campaign was mostly negative. Concludes that despite the belief that modern campaigns are devoid of substance, these debates stressed policy about twice as much as character. (SG)

Macro- and Micro-Political Vernaculizations of Rights

Science.gov (United States)

Bloomer, Fiona

2017-01-01

Abstract How abortion is dealt with in law and policy is shaped through the multiple political and societal discourses on the issue within a particular society. Debate on abortion is constantly in flux, with progressive and regressive movements witnessed globally. This paper examines the translation of human rights norms into discourses on abortion in Northern Ireland, a region where abortion is highly restricted, with extensive contemporary public debate into potential liberalization of abortion law. This paper emanates from research examining political debates on abortion in Northern Ireland and contrasts findings with recent civil society developments, identifying competing narratives of human rights with regard to abortion at the macro- and micro-political level. The paper identifies the complexities of using human rights as a lobbying tool, and questions the utility of rights-based arguments in furthering abortion law reform. The paper concludes that a legalistic rights-based approach may have limited efficacy in creating a more nuanced debate and perspective on abortion in Northern Ireland but that it has particular resonance in arguing for limited reform in extreme cases. PMID:28630550

Understanding public opinion in debates over biomedical research: looking beyond political partisanship to focus on beliefs about science and society.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matthew Nisbet

Full Text Available As social scientists have investigated the political and social factors influencing public opinion in science-related policy debates, there has been growing interest in the implications of this research for public communication and outreach. Given the level of political polarization in the United States, much of the focus has been on partisan differences in public opinion, the strategies employed by political leaders and advocates that promote those differences, and the counter-strategies for overcoming them. Yet this focus on partisan differences tends to overlook the processes by which core beliefs about science and society impact public opinion and how these schema are often activated by specific frames of reference embedded in media coverage and popular discourse. In this study, analyzing cross-sectional, nationally representative survey data collected between 2002 and 2010, we investigate the relative influence of political partisanship and science-related schema on Americans' support for embryonic stem cell research. In comparison to the influence of partisan identity, our findings suggest that generalized beliefs about science and society were more chronically accessible, less volatile in relation to media attention and focusing events, and an overall stronger influence on public opinion. Classifying respondents into four unique audience groups based on their beliefs about science and society, we additionally find that individuals within each of these groups split relatively evenly by partisanship but differ on other important dimensions. The implications for public engagement and future research on controversies related to biomedical science are discussed.

Understanding public opinion in debates over biomedical research: looking beyond political partisanship to focus on beliefs about science and society.

Science.gov (United States)

Nisbet, Matthew; Markowitz, Ezra M

2014-01-01

As social scientists have investigated the political and social factors influencing public opinion in science-related policy debates, there has been growing interest in the implications of this research for public communication and outreach. Given the level of political polarization in the United States, much of the focus has been on partisan differences in public opinion, the strategies employed by political leaders and advocates that promote those differences, and the counter-strategies for overcoming them. Yet this focus on partisan differences tends to overlook the processes by which core beliefs about science and society impact public opinion and how these schema are often activated by specific frames of reference embedded in media coverage and popular discourse. In this study, analyzing cross-sectional, nationally representative survey data collected between 2002 and 2010, we investigate the relative influence of political partisanship and science-related schema on Americans' support for embryonic stem cell research. In comparison to the influence of partisan identity, our findings suggest that generalized beliefs about science and society were more chronically accessible, less volatile in relation to media attention and focusing events, and an overall stronger influence on public opinion. Classifying respondents into four unique audience groups based on their beliefs about science and society, we additionally find that individuals within each of these groups split relatively evenly by partisanship but differ on other important dimensions. The implications for public engagement and future research on controversies related to biomedical science are discussed.

Understanding Public Opinion in Debates over Biomedical Research: Looking beyond Political Partisanship to Focus on Beliefs about Science and Society

Science.gov (United States)

Nisbet, Matthew; Markowitz, Ezra M.

2014-01-01

As social scientists have investigated the political and social factors influencing public opinion in science-related policy debates, there has been growing interest in the implications of this research for public communication and outreach. Given the level of political polarization in the United States, much of the focus has been on partisan differences in public opinion, the strategies employed by political leaders and advocates that promote those differences, and the counter-strategies for overcoming them. Yet this focus on partisan differences tends to overlook the processes by which core beliefs about science and society impact public opinion and how these schema are often activated by specific frames of reference embedded in media coverage and popular discourse. In this study, analyzing cross-sectional, nationally representative survey data collected between 2002 and 2010, we investigate the relative influence of political partisanship and science-related schema on Americans' support for embryonic stem cell research. In comparison to the influence of partisan identity, our findings suggest that generalized beliefs about science and society were more chronically accessible, less volatile in relation to media attention and focusing events, and an overall stronger influence on public opinion. Classifying respondents into four unique audience groups based on their beliefs about science and society, we additionally find that individuals within each of these groups split relatively evenly by partisanship but differ on other important dimensions. The implications for public engagement and future research on controversies related to biomedical science are discussed. PMID:24558393

Kant's Moral and Political Cosmopolitanism

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kleingeld, Pauline

2016-01-01

In this essay, I first outline the contexts in which the idea of cosmopolitanism appears in Kant’s moral and political philosophy. I then survey the three main debates regarding his political cosmopolitanism, namely, on the nature of the international federation he advocated, his theory of

Parliamentary cultures and human embryos: the Dutch and British debates compared

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kirejczyk, Marta

1999-01-01

Twenty years ago, the technology of in vitro fertilization created a new artefact: the human embryo outside the woman's body. In many countries, political debates developed around this artefact. One of the central questions in these debates is whether it is permissible to use human embryos in

Energy-political stagnation or innovation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kitschelt, H.

1982-01-01

The author discusses the enquete report 1980. He makes an inventory for a political and sociological interpretation of the interim report between meaningful innovation and political insignificance as well as intellectual stagnation. The report is considered as an indicator for the transformation of the energy-political arena in the Federal Republic of Germany over the last years. ''Stagnation'' or ''innovation'' of the argumentation patterns in the report of the enquete commission relate to the question whether the analyses in that document are rather a brake or a motor to a shift of political perspectives in energy policy. A progress can be seen in the report regarding political debate about energy-options in the semi-official political spectrum of the Federal Republic of Germany, in as far as differring options of energy-political development are being acknowledged for the first time. At the same time, debate inside the commission directs the attention to issues of institutional policy in the energy sector. Considering the fights within the commission before the report was agreed on, it seems doubtful if its proposals for compromise will prove a sound political basis. The tensions inside the commission are just a first sign of the power conflicts due above all if the recommendations for energy conservation are intransigently carried out. (orig./HSCH) [de

Means of discourse manipulations in political party programs in Spain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Irina V. Smirnova

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Thanks to different mass media sources, members of any society are well aware of political developments and events and politicians. Every person has his or her own formed political beliefs and affirmations, interpreters other people's actions during political developments and evaluates events that take place. Political forces, in turn, see a person (a potential elector as an object of external information influence. This lets them use political communication when competing for the power. In the modern democratic society this competition is carried out via parliamentarian debates, politicians' speeches, examining political parties' programs, political agitation and voting. General audience-oriented political discourse implements its function of political information influence. As the goal of any political party's program (as an independent form of text in the system of political discourse is to win the elections and come to power, thus the audience influence function is one of the most fundamental and serve as the basis for the text. The text of a program itself is characterized by its persuasive orientation towards the audience, which reveal itself in such methods as convincing, argumentation, manipulation and evaluation. All the political programs pertain to parties which are at the power or which are in opposition. The main characteristic of oppositional programs is the criticism of the power, vice versa, the dominant party's programs confirm the correctness of their policy. All the political programs are multi-authored. The written form of any political program lets put into practice a detailed text analysis. This article presents the analysis of the texts of two leading Spanish political parties (the Spanish socialist worker's party and the people's party of Spain.

TV programming in times of changing political communication: a longitudinal analysis of the political information environment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Santen, R.; Vliegenthart, R.

2013-01-01

Debate about the quantity of political information often tends to evaluate television negatively since it became a widely used mass medium. Systematic data on the supply and proportion of political information on television, however, are scarce. This research fills this gap by presenting a

The Politics of the Gaze Foucault, Lacan and Zizek

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Henry Krips

2010-03-01

Full Text Available Joan Copjec accuses orthodox film theory of misrepresenting the Lacanian gaze by assimilating it to Foucauldian panopticon (Copjec 1994: 18-19. Although Copjec is correct that orthodox film theory misrepresents the Lacanian gaze, she, in turn, misrepresents Foucault by choosing to focus exclusively upon those as-pects of his work on the panopticon that have been taken up by orthodox film the-ory (Copjec 1994: 4. In so doing, I argue, Copjec misses key parallels between the Lacanian and Foucauldian concepts of the gaze. More than a narrow academic dispute about how to read Foucault and Lacan, this debate has wider political sig-nificance. In particular, using Slavoj Zizek's work, I show that a correct account of the panoptic gaze leads us to rethink the question of how to oppose modern techniques of surveillance.

Fatal exit the automotive black box debate

CERN Document Server

Kowalick, Tom

2005-01-01

"Fatal Exit: The Automotive Black Box Debate cuts through thirty years of political wrangling and institutional biases to provide an argument for the Motor Vehicle Event Data Recorder (MVEDR). This automotive equivalent of an airplane's flight recorder or black box is intended to solve the mysteries of car crashes and improve the safety of our roads. The reader is taken inside the automotive industry and the government highway safety establishment to foster an understanding of the politics and the positions on all sides of this safety debate. The author takes an unbiased approach, chronologically presenting each argument and uncovering the agendas and mandates of each of the stakeholders." "This publication is essential reading for all consumers who need to have their voices heard on this critical issue, as well as for attorneys, public safety advocates, public policy administrators, engineers, automotive professionals, journalists, and insurance executives."--Jacket.

Unpacking the great transmission debate

Science.gov (United States)

Denning, Kathryn

2010-12-01

The debate about the wisdom of sending interstellar transmissions is well-known to those involved in SETI, and frustrating for many. Its tendency towards intractability is a result of multiple factors, including: different models of the scientist's role as citizen and/or leader; disparate ideas about society's readiness to cope with frontier science; variable political substrates, particularly ideas concerning individual freedom and state control; competing ideologies of globalization; and the perceived relative risks and benefits of contact. (Variations in the latter, i.e. assessments of the risks and benefits of contact, derive partly from different thinking styles, including tolerance for risk, and partly from inferences based upon episodes of biological and cultural contact on Earth.) Unpacking the debate into its components may be of use to those debating policy about SETI transmissions, or at the very least, help keep in focus what, precisely, the perennial arguments are really about.

European Union: Gender and politics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

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

Educating Voters: Political Education in Norwegian Upper-Secondary Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Borhaug, Kjetil

2008-01-01

Research on political education in schools suggests that an emphasis on formal structure, constitutional principles, formal citizen rights, and debates on current issues is common. The Norwegian national curriculum on political education envisions a different political education emphasizing that students should be critical of political life and…

Political Microcultures: Linking Civic Life and Democratic Discourse

Science.gov (United States)

Perrin, Andrew J.

2005-01-01

At the core of democratic citizenship is deliberation: citizens' tendency and capacity for debating issues of common importance. This study considers civic organizations--often found to be political mobilizers--as political microcultures: environments for political discourse that structure participants' understanding of the practice of…

The cleavable matter: Discursive orders in Swedish nuclear power politics 1972-1980

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lindquist, P.

1997-09-01

This study applies a qualitative discourse-theoretical method to analyse the central argumentation in the parliamentary debate on nuclear power in Sweden during 1972-1980, reconstructed from official documents such as governmental and parliamentary bills, committee reports, parliamentary debate protocols, and official commission reports. Particular concern is directed to the process in which various discursive orders emerging within the political debate tend to have a structuring influence on the political argumentation regarding what can be said, by whom this can be said, and how this can be said. It is argued that these discursive orders have a profound, and in a systems theoretical sense self-dynamic influence, going beyond the original intentions of the political actors, on how the energy policy issue is interpreted and constructed. It is argued, furthermore, that these discursive orders actively exploit the political context of meaning by deliberately instrumentalising and incorporating competing argumentative elements into their own cognitive structure. In other words, the dominant political system incorporates the arguments of the political opposition and of the environmental and anti nuclear movements in order to consolidate its political power. The discourse theoretical analysis of the Swedish nuclear power debate in that sense unveils a deep resistance against a true political discourse, in the sense of Habermas, as a rational and domination-free process of reaching mutual understanding. 152 refs

Debating Diversity: Ethics and Controversial Public Issues

Science.gov (United States)

Darr, Christopher R.

2016-01-01

Courses: Ethics, Organizational Communication, Political Communication. Objectives: After completing this unit activity, students should be able to (1) apply multiple ethical perspectives to real-world diversity issues in a debate format, and (2) explain the role of informational and social category diversity in current controversies.

Identities of the political theory: among science, normativity and history

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ricardo Silva

2008-12-01

Full Text Available This article aims to present a brief overview of the evolving debates on the problem of the identity of political theory, mainly in the Anglophone academic context since the end of the 1950’s. At least three ways of identifying the nature of political theory have shaped those de-bates: the scientistic, the normative and the historical.

Two passports – One Nation? Parliamentary Debates on Multiple Citizenship in Poland

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Agnieszka Weinar

2003-09-01

Full Text Available The article presents the descriptive and analytical approach to the discursive events concerning the issue of dual/multiple citizenship. In order to reconstruct the processes leading to redefinition of Polishness among the symbolic elites, it focuses at argumentative strategies used by the disputants in the Polish parliamentary debates. The process of redefinition of political identity on this level is particularly visible in the policy discourse constructed around the legislative proposals. The rhetoric structure of this discourse reflects the dividing lines shaping the belief systems among the symbolic elites. It also shows the directions of the present and future developments of the concept of Polishness. The end of the communist regime in Poland brought not only systemic changes, but also the need to redefine the legal basis of Polish political community. As it occurred, the problem of citizenship is very much interwoven with the idea of the nationhood, what can be quite contrary to the recent globalization of the concept. The debates on dual/multiple citizenship in Poland provoked the much deeper debate on the limits of Polishness, the spacial and ideational creation of political communities and the issue of getting to terms with the painful past. Therefore, the analysis of the Polish policy discourse on multiple citizenship inevitably uncovered the underlying struggle on a new definition of Polish political community. The clear distinction, present in the debates, between the multiple citizenship of Polish and non-Polish origin must evoke certain worries concerning the scale of ethnocentrism governing the concept of citizen in the new Poland.

Consciousness operationalized, a debate realigned.

Science.gov (United States)

Carruthers, Peter; Veillet, Bénédicte

2017-10-01

This paper revisits the debate about cognitive phenomenology. It elaborates, defends, and improves on our earlier proposal for resolving that debate, according to which the test for irreducible phenomenology is the presence of explanatory gaps. After showing how proposals like ours have been misunderstood or misused by others, we deploy our operationalization to argue that the correct way to align the debate over cognitive phenomenology is not between sensory and (alleged) cognitive phenomenology, but rather between non-conceptual and (alleged) conceptual or propositional phenomenology. In doing so we defend three varieties of non-sensory (amodal) 1 non-conceptual phenomenology: valence, a sense of approximate number, and a sense of elapsed time. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The 'humanitarian dimension' of nuclear disarmament: a legitimate debate?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tertrais, Bruno

2015-01-01

Since 2010, a debate on the 'humanitarian dimension' of disarmament has been initiated by several governments and non-governmental organisations. It is not unreasonable to measure the potential impact of a major nuclear event on populations and on the biosphere. Yet the grounds for this debate are questionable, and its political conclusions even more so. (author)

Toward a gender politics of aging.

Science.gov (United States)

Carney, Gemma M

2018-01-01

The article proposes a Gender Politics of Aging approach to the study of aging societies. The approach recognizes the feminization of old age, ageism's roots in sexist discourse, and the need to recognize the role of politics in driving demographic debates. Drawing together arguments from feminist gerontology and political demography, the article argues that the intersection of politics and gender must be considered if appropriate responses to an older, feminized demography are to be produced. I conclude that the work of aging feminists provides a rich vein of research and praxis from which a gender politics of aging approach can draw.

Japan's Nuclear Future: Policy Debate, Prospects, and U.S. Interests

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Chanlett-Avery, Emma; Nikitin, Mary Beth

2008-01-01

.... The previous taboo within the Japanese political community of discussing a nuclear weapons capability appears to have been broken, as several officials and opinion leaders have urged an open debate on the topic...

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.

The Politics of the Teaching of Reading

Science.gov (United States)

Soler, Janet

2016-01-01

Historically, political debates have broken out over how to teach reading in primary schools and infant classrooms. These debates and "reading wars" have often resulted from public concerns and media reportage of a fall in reading standards. They also reflect the importance placed on learning to read by parents, teachers, employers, and…

The Gender Politics of Abortion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lucila Scavone

2008-05-01

Full Text Available The debates and feminist actions in favor of the legalization of abortion in Brazil were characterized by progresses and regressions, and above all by countless political negotiations. From the omission of the word “abortion”, in the mid-seventies, to the political choice of decriminalization and application of the cases foreseen by law, Brazilian feminism has been marked by the choice of negotiation. The article concludes that these negotiations have succeeded politically but failed to reach society and heighten public awareness at a large scale.

Gilles Deleuze and the contemporary biopolitical debate

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Marcelo Antonelli

2015-09-01

Full Text Available The present work is a research on Gilles Deleuze’s contribution to the contemporary biopolitical debate. To begin with, we analyze his interpretation of Foucault’s conception of biopolitics, especially the vitalist matrix of his reading, and we examine its impact on the distinction between “biopower” and “biopolitics” according to certain authors (Lazzarato, Negri, Revel. We then reveal the presence of deleuzian notions in other perspectives (the “impersonal” in Esposito, the “society of control” in Negri. Finally, we propose renewing the fundamental tensions of the debate on Life, Politics, Language and the Condition of Man, based on concepts elaborated by Deleuze

The Politics of Legal Arrangements

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Leander, Anna

2018-01-01

This article explores the place of formal legal arrangements in the politics surrounding the hybrid, enmeshed public-in-the-private forms of authority this special issue focuses on. It does so by analyzing the significance of one specific legal arrangement, the Duty of Care, for the politics...... and divisions currently organizing debates about the regulation of commercial security as well as about managerialism in international law more generally....

Abortion debates in Finland and the Republic of Ireland: textual analysis of experiential thinking and argumentation in parliamentary and layperson discussions.

Science.gov (United States)

Mustonen, Anne-Mari; Paakkonen, Tommi; Ryökäs, Esko; Nieminen, Petteri

2017-12-02

The ethical discussion about abortion has been polarized in Finland and the Republic of Ireland, two European countries with very different abortion legislation (liberal vs. highly restrictive). The aim of the present study was to analyze experiential thinking patterns and argumentative strategies in political and layperson debates regarding induced abortion. The content of Finnish and Irish texts (n = 493), consisting of transcripts of parliamentary debates and online texts, such as blogs, was analyzed systematically. The texts were investigated for the aspects of experiential thinking, for selected argumentative moves and for any differences in the prevalence of these features between countries or between political vs. layperson debates. The Finnish and Irish discussions about induced abortion relied heavily on experiential thinking patterns and emotionally laden arguments instead of objective research data. This was evident in the very high prevalence of testimonials, narratives, loaded language and appeals to emotion in both political and layperson debates regardless of the country or the debater's position on abortion issue. Research data that did not support the position of the debater were relatively often omitted by confirmation bias. The Irish debaters appealed to popularity more often than the Finnish ones, while magical/religious thinking was mainly observed in the Finnish layperson discussion. The national history and the prevailing cultural and religious atmosphere of the two countries could explain these differences. The abortion debate mostly reinforces the opinions of one's peer group rather than convinces the opposite party to change their position. The stalemate and continuation of the same arguments being repeated could be associated with experiential thinking and emotional argumentative strategies in both political and layperson debates.

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 great climate debate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sudhakara Reddy, B.; Assenza, Gaudenz B.

2009-01-01

For over two decades, scientific and political communities have debated whether and how to act on climate change. The present paper revisits these debates and synthesizes the longstanding arguments. Firstly, it provides an overview of the development of international climate policy and discusses clashing positions, represented by sceptics and supporters of action on climate change. Secondly, it discusses the market-based measures as a means to increase the win-win opportunities and to attract profit-minded investors to invest in climate change mitigation. Finally, the paper examines whether climate protection policies can yield benefits both for the environment and the economy. A new breed of analysts are identified who are convinced of the climate change problem, while remaining sceptical of the proposed solutions. The paper suggests the integration of climate policies with those of development priorities that are vitally important for developing countries and stresses the need for using sustainable development as a framework for climate change policies.

The nuclear debate: ethics versus effectiveness; Morale et efficacite dans le debat nucleaire

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lambert, D

2009-04-15

Following some political maneuvering, a new debate on the future of nuclear deterrence is about to resurface. And a first deadline has been set by the need to restore the strategic balance between the United States and Russia before the START Treaty ends on 5 December 2009, as well as by preparation for the next NPT Review Conference. Perception of the main threat has changed, but so have concepts of deterrence. Far from outmoded, deterrence forms part of a broader vision in which realism has the edge over idealism. (author)

The Media's Role in Political Campaigns. ERIC Digest.

Science.gov (United States)

Gottlieb, Stephen S.

This digest examines the relationship between the political process and the media. The digest discusses the ramifications of advertising in politics; the role of the televised debate in elections; individual voter characteristics and the media; and media coverage and campaign awareness. Fifteen references are attached. (RS)

The Belgium debate on tactical nuclear weapons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dumoulin, Andre

2008-01-01

This publication proposes a discussion about the opinions and positions of the various Belgium political actors and authorities regarding nuclear weapons. After a synthesis of several interviews with different actors, the author analyses the debate content, and more precisely the positions of peace movements, of the government, and of political parties. Several documents are proposed in appendix: a presentation of the evolution on Belgium nuclear missions, a government's answer to parliamentary resolutions regarding non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament, and a working paper submitted by Belgium, Norway and the Netherlands in the perspective of the 2005 Conference of Parties on the Non-Proliferation Treaty

Memory for flip-flopping: detection and recollection of political contradictions.

Science.gov (United States)

Putnam, Adam L; Wahlheim, Christopher N; Jacoby, Larry L

2014-10-01

During political campaigns, candidates often change their positions on controversial issues. Does changing positions create confusion and impair memory for a politician's current position? In 3 experiments, two political candidates held positions on controversial issues in two debates. Across the debates, their positions were repeated, changed, or held only in the second debate (control). Relative to the control condition, recall of the most recent position on issues was enhanced when change was detected and recollected, whereas recall was impaired when change was not recollected. Furthermore, examining the errors revealed that subjects were more likely to intrude a Debate 1 response than to recall a blend of the two positions, and that recollecting change decreased Debate 1 intrusions. We argue that detecting change produces a recursive representation that embeds the original position in memory along with the more recent position. Recollecting change then enhances memory for the politician's positions and their order of occurrence by accessing the recursive trace.

Political Concepts for the Ethical Debate on Dilemmas on Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roberto Israel Rodríguez Soriano

2015-09-01

Full Text Available This essay is a reflection on some of the political elements embedded in the ethical problems of medically assisted suicide and euthanasia. The thesis work is that political theoretical founda­tions of modern nations are aimed to protect the lives of people, a fact that responds to a series of historical processes of the very development of modern political theory. These fundamentals directly affect the cultural and political positions for the refusal to accept the legalization or regulation of the two practices in question, thus denying the right of self-determination in human decision making on the own life and death.

Writerly Gaming: Political Gaming

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Christian Ulrik

2007-01-01

software for private entertainment (looking/feeling real) or they can be pragmatic software used for training of professionals (affecting soldiers’, pilots’, etc. perception of the real). A third, and less debated game-reality relationship, based on public awareness and typically a socio-political agenda...

Revisiting the Political Economy of Communication

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nicholas Garnham

2014-02-01

The task of the paper and the seminar was to revisit some of Nicholas Garnham’s ideas, writings and contributions to the study of the Political Economy of Communication and to reflect on the concepts, history, current status and perspectives of this field and the broader study of political economy today. The topics covered include Raymond Williams’ cultural materialism, Pierre Bourdieu’s sociology of culture, the debate between Political Economy and Cultural Studies, information society theory, Karl Marx’s theory and the critique of capitalism.

The political challenges of nuclear waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andren, Mats; Strandberg, Urban

2005-01-01

This anthology is made up of nine essays on the nuclear waste issue, both its political, social and technical aspects, with the aim to create a platform for debate and planning of research. The contributions are titled: 'From clean energy to dangerous waste - the regulatory management of nuclear power in the Swedish welfare society. An economic-historic review , 'The course of the high-level waste into the national political arena', 'The technical principles behind the Swedish repository for spent fuels', 'Waste, legitimacy and local citizenship', 'Nuclear issues in societal planning', 'Usefulness or riddance - transmutation or just disposal?', 'National nuclear fuel policy in an European Union?', 'Conclusion - the challenges of the nuclear waste issue', 'Final words - about the need for critical debate and multi-disciplinary research'

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...

Fracking in the UK press: threat dynamics in an unfolding debate.

Science.gov (United States)

Jaspal, Rusi; Nerlich, Brigitte

2014-04-01

Shale gas is a novel source of fossil fuel which is extracted by induced hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking". This article examines the socio-political dimension of fracking as manifested in the UK press at three key temporal points in the debate on the practice. Three newspaper corpora were analysed qualitatively using Thematic Analysis and Social Representations Theory. Three overarching themes are discussed: "April-May 2011: from Optimism to Scepticism"; "November 2011: (De-) Constructing and Re-Constructing Risk and Danger"; "April 2012: consolidating Social Representations of Fracking". In this article, we examine the emergence of and inter-relations between competing social representations, discuss the dynamics of threat positioning and show how threat can be re-construed in order to serve particular socio-political ends in the debate on fracking.

The political use of psychiatry: A comparison between totalitarian regimes.

Science.gov (United States)

Buoli, Massimiliano; Giannuli, Aldo Sabino

2017-03-01

After the end of Second World War, the recent experience of the Nazi horrors stimulated a debate about the political use of psychiatry. Over the years, the focus shifted on major dictatorships of the time and especially on Soviet Union. This article aims to provide a critical review of the ways in which psychiatry was used by totalitarian regimes of the 20th century. We summarized relevant literature about political use of psychiatry in totalitarian regimes of the 20th century, with particular focus on Fascism, Nazism, Argentina dictatorship, Soviet Union and China. One of the features that are common to most of the dictatorships is that the use of psychiatry has become more prominent when the regimes have had the need to make more acceptable the imprisonment of enemies in the eyes of the world. This for example happened in the Nazi regime when sterilization and killing of psychiatric patients was explained as a kind of euthanasia, or in the Soviet Union after the formal closure of the corrective labor camps and the slow resumption of relations with the capitalistic world, or in China to justify persecution of religious minorities and preserve economic relations with Western countries. Psychiatry has been variously used by totalitarian regimes as a means of political persecution and especially when it was necessary to make acceptable to public opinion the imprisonment of political opponents.

Glosa about political ethics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ćorić Dragana

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Debates about political ethics aren't new. They have been present since ancient Greek philosophers. Machiavelli set some new principles, regarding amoral behavior of the prince, which could be quite legitimate and legal. He didn't invented anything new, he just admitted that, that was the reality. Some modern authors think that ethics and politics should be departed always, some other think that they should cooperate. In the end of the day, the voters are those who must face with amoral behavior of politicians, because it seems that politicians don't recognize ethics at all? Or is it just look like? In this paper, we will try in short to tell something about origins of political ethics, its burning issues, and about possible ways of implementation of political ethics and its development.

Elite Cohesion in Political Communication

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mayerhöffer, Eva

communication studies that allows us to view high-ranking journalists and editors as elites in their own right, entering into enduring relations with political elites. Based on the combination of these two otherwise separated disciplines, the dissertation develops an integrated and comprehensive model of elite......The dissertation presents the first comprehensive analysis of the political communication elite– high-ranking journalists, editors, politicians and their communication advisors – that shapes the content and form of political messages, news, debate and decisions in modern democracies. Although...... there is no shortage of research on the changing nature of politics due to the increasing influence of the media, the relations between the key elites in the age of ‘mediated politics’ have yet to be analyzed thoroughly. Theoretically, the dissertation provides a new bridge between elite theory and political...

The Resource Control Debate: Enthroning Parasitism or Instituting ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

... dominated (and still dominates) political power in Nigeria.The paper argues that there is nothing fundamentally wrong with the principle of “Resource Control” which is basically a product of the weird brand of federal system in Nigeria (I choose to call it “unitary federalism”). The conclude that the “Resource Control” debate ...

Everyday political talk in the internet-based public sphere

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Graham, Todd; Coleman, Stephen; Freelon, Deen

Ever since the advent of the Internet, political communication scholars have debated its potential to facilitate and support public deliberation as a means of revitalizing and extending the public sphere. Much of the debate has focused on the medium’s potential in offering communicative spaces that

What Does Political Participation Mean to Spanish Students?

Science.gov (United States)

Sant, Edda

2014-01-01

This article explores how a group of Spanish students (aged 11-19) understand the meaning of "political participation" in society and discusses the implications of their views for debates and practices in citizenship education. The ways in which these students (n = 112) describe and interpret political participation are analysed using an…

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.

Audience perceptions of candidates' appropriateness as a function of nonverbal behaviors displayed during televised political debates.

Science.gov (United States)

Seiter, John S; Weger, Harry

2005-04-01

Compared to televised debates using a single-screen format, such debates using a split screen presenting both debaters simultaneously show viewers the nonverbal reactions of each debater's opponent. The authors examined how appropriate or inappropriate such nonverbal behaviors are perceived to be. Students watched one of four versions of a televised debate. One version used a single-screen format, showing only the speaker, whereas the other three versions used a split-screen format in which the speaker's oppodent displayed constant, occasional, or no nonverbal disagreement with the speaker. Students then rated the debaters' appropriateness. Analysis indicated that the opponent was perceived to be less appropriate when he displayed any background disagreement compared to when he did not. The students perceived the speaker as most appropriate when his opponent displayed constant nonverbal disagreement.

E-cigarettes: a need to broaden the debate.

Science.gov (United States)

Latif, E; Nair, M

2016-11-01

The unregulated market for e-cigarettes continues to grow, with debates on their efficacy and impact on global public health. E-cigarettes, or electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDs), are marketed as a 'safe' alternative to tobacco products and a tool for 'harm reduction'. Some public health experts are calling it a 'game changer' and favour the 'harm reduction' strategy, while others dispute this claim. In our opinion, the debate needs to be broadened to encompass other related concerns and effects on non-users and affected stakeholders. As with tobacco control, a holistic approach is needed to build a raft of policies that effectively address the issue from all angles and look beyond the direct health implications of e-cigarette use to explore the social, economic, political and environmental aspects of this debate, putting 'harm reduction' in context.

Putting Politics Where It Belongs: In the Classroom

Science.gov (United States)

Hess, Diana; Gatti, Lauren

2010-01-01

Throughout the last 50 years, the debate over engaging politics in the college classroom has raged on, sparked in part by the belief that liberal biases saturate scholarship and teaching in universities, which in turn lays the bedrock for the left-wing indoctrination of students. Polarizing and vitriolic debates abound regarding if, when, and how…

Green politics: dictatorship or democracy?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Radcliffe, J

2000-03-01

At the heart of the green debate are a set of basic contradictions concerning beliefs and actions. This book reveals the problems associated with these contradictions, including adherence to decentralized political forms while accepting authoritarian intervention on behalf of the environment; a belief that this is the politics of the new age but in practice split between left and right; a rejection of the rationalist scientific project and a reliance on the lessons of the science of ecology. (author)

Autonomy and Sovereignty as the Impossible Elements of a Well-Ordered Politics.

Science.gov (United States)

Harris, Will

This paper questions and reevaluates the individualism (liberalism) and communitarianism debate in terms of its core concepts' language and political theory. One of the major purposes of political theory is to aim for a neutral or perhaps universal or general language of politics and forms of polity. Political theory needs to attempt to get…

Fostering Scholarly Discussion and Critical Thinking in the Political Science Classroom

Science.gov (United States)

Marks, Michael P.

2008-01-01

This article suggests strategies for promoting scholarly discussion and critical thinking in political science classes. When scholars study politics they are engaged in an investigation into the dynamics of governance, not a debate over personal political beliefs. The problem with a politicized classroom is that it gives students a false…

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...

Global Warming: A Review of the Debates on the Causes ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Global Warming: A Review of the Debates on the Causes, Consequences and ... of many species, population displacement/migration, desertification, famine, ... and make it a major political, institutional and environmental challenge of our time. ... Alternative actions such as climate change adaptation and/or mitigation ...

Turkey's EU Quest and Political Cleavages under AKP

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rahigh-Aghsan, Ali

2011-01-01

This article analyses the extent to which the rise of political Islam (Note 1) in Turkey has triggered an intense and polarized debate about the principle eligibility of Turkey to be a full European Union (EU) member state. The Justice and Development Party’s (Adalet ve Kalkinma Partisi......) The overall political targets of political Islam in Turkey seems less compatible with the traditional Turkish EU quest than formerly (2) The Turkish political Islamic turnaround is contributing to a climate of increasing scepticism in Europe, and presents significant obstacles to EU accession. As a result...

Utopian, uselees or aporetic?: about Politics and Deconstruction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jordi Massó Castilla

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Since the death of Derrida, the question of politics is at the forefront of debates about deconstruction. This article covers the main criticisms that Derrida's work on the political has received. The argument put forward is that these thinkers assimilate Derrida and Lévinas thoughts, which leads to describe the political aspect of deconstruction as «utopian», «useless» or «aporetic». However, a closer reading taking charge of Derrida's writings published posthumously, reveals both his objections to the thought of Lévinas and the political implications of deconstruction.

A multiculturalism-feminism dispute: Muslim women and the Sharia debate in Canada and Australia.

Science.gov (United States)

Ghobadzadeh, Naser

2010-01-01

Canadian Muslim women, as opposed to their Australian counterparts, have attained prominent social status not only in terms of their contribution to electoral politics but also in other political spheres. With its focus on the Sharia debate, this paper investigates one potential explanation for this difference. Challenging Okin's feminist perspective, which claims that multiculturalism is an undesirable policy for emancipation, it is argued that multiculturalism facilitates agency of female members of Muslim communities. A comparative examination of the Sharia debate between the two secular countries of Canada and Australia demonstrates that the former's more robust multicultural polity in terms of responding to requests to adopt the Sharia have not only culminated in Muslim women's empowerment but have enhanced their political representation. In contrast, Australian Muslim women have neither had the opportunity to articulate their position with regard to Sharia nor to contribute to an important issue that could have empowered them.

Debatable Premises in Telecom Policy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hurwitz, Justin (Gus); Layton, Roslyn

2015-01-01

‟t stand up well to critical analysis. This paper collects and responds to a number of these premises that, collectively, underlie much popular, political, and academic support for increased telecommunications regulation in the United States and Europe – as well as much of the rest of the world....... in the world. The Internet is opening up new platforms for business, education, government, and civic engagement. It has literally been a driving force in toppling governments. Telecommunications policy is important to every government in the world, and debates over what policies should be implemented...

The politics of municipal fragmentation in Ghana

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Abdulai Kuyini Mohammed

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The scholarly debate over the rival merits of local government consolidation and fragmentation is an old but enduring one. However, in this debate very little attention has been focused on the political dimension of council amalgamation and fragmentation – yet political considerations play a central role in both the formulation and outcomes of de-concentration policy. The purpose of this article is to fill a gap in the literature by examining local government fragmentation in Ghana from 1988 to 2014. The article does this by identifying the key players and analysing their interests and gains, as well as the tensions arising from the fragmentation exercise. The implications from the Ghanaian case for more general theories of fragmentation are drawn out.

Candidate Political Philosophy: Revelations in the 1960 and 1976 Debates.

Science.gov (United States)

Meadow, Robert G.; Jackson-Beeck, Marilyn

Since voters rarely have access to a candidate's unexpurgated statements, they rely on political advertising, film footage, and media interpretations. Thus, their expectations of candidates generally reflect selective reporting and self-aggrandizement. A framework for researching the degree of understanding reached between politicians and the…

The Public Ethics of Sovereignty of Evil and Political Liberalism

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elvio Baccarini

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The paper debates the issue of the preventive procedural concept of politics versus the aspirational liberal concept of politics as discussed in Derek Edyvane's book Civic Virtue and the Sovereignty of Evil: Political Ethics in Uncertain Times. The author indicates the necessity to conceptually differentiate sovereign evils from universal evils, and offers a defense of the liberal concept of justice.

Which theory of communication is “political correctness”?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael Nnamdi Konye

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The paper focuses on ‟political correctness”, which has become a late 20th century catch-phrase in Western European and North American liberal democracies but also has found currency in the political climate of the Asian and Eastern countries. A historical and multi-cultural review is intended as an introduction to a broader philosophical analysis of the Marxist backgrounds of political correctness and its neo-Marxist theoretical correctives in Jürgen Habermas’s theory of communicative action. My aim is to draw out both the educational and cultural implications of laying out the ethos of contemporary discourse on the foundations of the evolving dynamics of the rhetoric of political correctness.

Expansive Learning and Chicana/o and Latina/o Students' Political-Historical Knowledge

Science.gov (United States)

Pacheco, Mariana

2009-01-01

This article examines how Chicana/o and Latina/o youth employed their political-historical knowledge to "talk back" to the xenophobia and political contradictions that underlie the (im)migration "debate." A literacy unit that honed bilingual students' everyday translating created opportunities for students to utilize this political-historical…

A Debate on the Relationship between Poetry and Politics in W.H. Auden’s In Memory of W.B. Yeats and A. Ostriker’s Elegy before the War

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mateusz Marecki

2011-06-01

Full Text Available W.H. Auden’s In Memoriam W.B. Yeats and A. Ostriker’s Elegy Before the War are two pre-war elegies, in which personal and political dimensions are juxtaposed. W.H. Auden’s poem portrays the death of a celebrity against the background of the perplexing 1930s when there was evident growing anxiety about Facism and its repercussions. In her long, 7-section work, A. Ostriker not only commemorates her dead mother, she also formulates a very powerfully articulated anti-war manifesto, in which she both denounces American imperialism during the 2nd Iraq war and questions the meaning of war and violence. W.H. Auden’s elegy serves as a starting point for a debate A. Ostriker sparks over the role of poetry and its relationship with politics. When analysed together with the author’s essays on poetry, their other famous poems and their post-war elegies (The Shield of Achilles and The Eight and Thirteenth, the two poems taken under examination display that the poets’ stance concerning the role of poetry is neither explicit nor consistent. It is interesting also how the debate can be perceived in the context of a dilemma signaled in A. Ostriker’s Poem Sixty Years After Auschwitz where the poet deliberates over what should be the appropriate shape and tone of poetry after the Holocaust.

Antiterrorist policy and public debate, 1996-2009 | Política antiterrorista y debate público, 1996-2009

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juan Avilés

2010-12-01

Full Text Available This paper examines the important role that terrorism has played in Spanish political debates over the last few years. To this end, we explore the breaking of the antiterrorist consensus between national parties and the PNV in the wake of the Lizarra agreement, the legislative and judicial offensive directed against ETA and its supporters backed by the consensus between the PP and PSOE during Aznar’s second term in office, the political impact of the terrorist attacks of 11 March 2004 and the conspiracy theories spread by certain sectors of the media, and the clash brought about by Zapatero’s initial attempt to negotiate with ETA. | Este artículo examina el importante papel que el terrorismo ha jugado en el debate político español en estos últimos años. Los temas centrales se refieren a la ruptura del consenso antiterrorista entre los partidos de ámbito nacional y el PNV a raíz del pacto de Lizarra, la ofensiva legislativa y judicial contra ETA y su entorno apoyada por el consenso entre PP y PSOE en la segunda legislatura de Aznar, el impacto político de los atentados del 11-M y las teorías conspirativas propagadas por algunos medios de comunicación, y el enfrentamiento que se produjo por la tentativa inicial de Zapatero de negociar con ETA.

Climate: science, ideology and politics. An emblematic controversy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lebeau, A.

2010-01-01

Climate change is now a familiar subject for most of the individuals living in the industrialized countries, and no doubt a subject of growing interest in the emergent countries such as China. How has this theme lodged itself in public debate? Who are the actors in that debate and how much of a part do they play? Andre Lebeau has examined these questions, attempting to determine how this initially highly scientific subject has, over time, found a foothold in economic, political and media debate. (author)

Climate change: a political assessment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

O' Keefe, W. [Solutions Consulting (USA)

2000-07-01

The paper consists of the author's personal remarks on a political assessment of climate change policy in the United States. The author focuses on four major political forces; environmental organisations, the Clinton-Gore administration, the U.S. senate and the business community. The author considers that much of the climate change debate is scaremongering by the environmentalists with little scientific basis. There is a need for business to present its case better if it is to avoid economically damaging, but unjustified environmental regulations.

Debate over Islamic Symbolism and Substantialism in the Formulation of Local Regulation in Tasikmalaya Municipality

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fitriyani Yuliawati

2018-01-01

Full Text Available This study aims to reveal debate over the formulation of local regulation. Particularly, it seeks to know political dynamics at the grassroot level in policy-making. Theoretical assumption mentions that policy-making is not only a process of government technocracy, but it can also a debate over current discourse among citizens. The qualitative study discloses that the political debate over this discourse occurs due to contradictory perspectives on the aspirations of Shari’a law as a part of formal institutions in the state. The first camp argued that Islam should exist in the public as an effort to build an ideal society. Islam must be included as part of the state, at least in local regulation. In contrast, the second camp argued that in building the ideal society, state does not need to include Islam as part of the state in the regulation.

Minority Politics Courses: Moving beyond Controversy and toward Active Learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Alex-Assensoh, Yvette

2000-01-01

Focuses on an undergraduate course, "Outside Politics: How Minorities Play the Political Game". Describes how to create a foundation for active and collaborative learning and to promote critical thinking, discussion, and writing through reading assignments. Discusses the use of debates and role playing, autobiographies and videos, and…

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

[The historian's competence tested by authority: on an academic debate of the 18th century].

Science.gov (United States)

Schandeler, Jean-Pierre

2014-01-01

The debate which took place in the 1720s at the Royal Academy of Inscriptions and Letters on the possibility or impossibility of understanding the history of the first centuries of Rome is generally interpreted to be less of a debate than an important epistemological clarification. A contextualization which takes into account the political stakes of the debate allows one to understand that the debate was the beginning of a larger process of the autonomisation of the field of historical studies, not only from the perspective of disciplinary divides, but also in relation to monarchal power.

The New Departure Debate Surrounding Congressional Efforts to Create a National System of Education, 1871-1889

Science.gov (United States)

Groen, Mark

2007-01-01

Congressman George Frisbie Hoar of Massachusetts introduced a bill "to establish a system of national education" on February 25, 1870. This bill, and others that followed, opened an acrimonious political debate that lasted for twenty years. The opening salvos of that debate, and the regional issues of ethnicity and religion that framed…

Homeschooling in Brazil: A Matter of Rights or a Political Debate?

Science.gov (United States)

Barbosa, Luciane Muniz Ribeiro

2016-01-01

This article presents an analysis of the right to education in Brazil in light of the growing number of Brazilian families practicing homeschooling. The debate is recent in Brazil. Here we present an analysis of international literature on homeschooling, Brazilian literature on the right to education, and an appraisal of lawsuits against Brazilian…

Politically Correct Racism and the Geisha Novel: The Psychology of Sophisticated Racism Mirrors that of Ethnic Jokes

OpenAIRE

TANAKA, Tomoyuki

2006-01-01

In Section 1, politically correct racism (PC racism) is defined as an act with racist intent, justified by righteous appearance, with popularity or near-total acceptance because of its righteous appearance. In Section 2, after presenting a theory of jokes based on analyses by Sigmund Freud and Marvin Minsky, I show that the pleasure one derives from PC racism is similar to that derived from ethnic jokes. In Section 3, I point out the inaccuracies and prejudice contained in the novel Memoirs o...

The linguistic aspect of strategic framing in modern political campaigns

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Agnieszka Pluwak

2015-11-01

Full Text Available The linguistic aspect of strategic framing in modern political campaigns The following article describes the role of semantics in political marketing, emphasizing the mechanism of framing and perspectivising in discourse. The complexity of the framing process is discussed in the introduction, then the linguistic aspect of political framing is debated and the technique of wording formulation in political discourse analyzed. Finally, implications and conclusions for further research are presented. Examples of political framing provided within the paper are based on the analysis of contemporary public discourses.

Debate of Ethnic Identity in Nepali Politics: An Examination of the debate from the Kisan Community of Eastern Nepal

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Shambhu Prasad Kattel

2014-05-01

Full Text Available The Kisan is an ethnic group of Nepal lived in Jhapa district only. It is a Tarai origin group with 773 populations which is traditionally organized under its own political organization, the Mahato system. The Mahato is a hereditary community head which is supported by Wokil (minister and Sipahi (Police. These traditional authorities run a well functional community court which maintains peace and harmony in the community and works for the preservation of cultural practices. Along with the establishment of multiparty democracy, the community is exposed to external situations: political parties and economic organizations, advocacy groups, donor agencies and so on. A few literate Kisans seeking employment opportunities interfaced with the advocates of National Federations of Indigenous Nationalities and Action Aid Nepal after multiparty democracy. As a result, they had motivated and established a non-governmental organization for ethnic welfare. After establishment of the Kisan Community Development Academy (club in the Kisan language, the community is formally divided into two groups: the illiterate Kisans involved in community court under their traditional authorities and the literate Kisans involved in the newly established club. The club ran literacy and sanitation programs and constructed toilets and water taps. Mainly, it was involved in socio-cultural change and identity politics by the support of the above mentioned organizations. On the contrary, the traditional authorities involve in the preservation of community culture and maintain peace and harmony. The literate Kisans involved in identity politics are motivated for salaried jobs, not for cultural preservation for Kisan identity. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/dsaj.v7i0.10441 Dhaulagiri Journal of Sociology and Anthropology Vol. 7, 2013; 157-172

Religious Identification and Modes of Civic and Political Participation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rezaei, Shahamak; Goli, Marco; Møballe, Svend

are represented in public debate. It appears that the most politically active immigrants at the local and national levels and in the media are individuals who focus on issues related to Islam, or are considered to have Islamic affiliations. Danish policy of contradiction (that is formal openness and substantial....... For instance, not only was there a remarkable cut down in the number of immigrants entering the country, but there was also a decline in supporting immigrant population’s participation in civic areas. It seems that the scope, the content and the intensity of the debate, as well as the overall discursive...... and public debate, provide the religious and ethnic identification and participation with an attractive mode of civic and political participation among immigrants; whether these are newcomers or ‘old’ immigrants. There exists a rather substantial variation in the extent to which immigrant groups...

Westerplatte or Jedwabne?: Debates on history and "collective guilt" in Poland

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Stanislawski Wojciech

2003-01-01

Full Text Available The author analyzes recent Polish debates on researching silenced aspects of national history and the problem of the "collective guilt". One of the major questions arising in these debates is: does the study of "white spots" from the past (have to lead to a trauma of continuous collective self-blame? In Poland, a specialized institution, the Institute of National Memory, was founded in 1998, engaging in research, documentation and public education on events related to German and Soviet occupation during WWII and the activity of political police under communism. Polish debates on the past got particularly inflamed after the discovery made by the historian J.T.Gross on the participation of Poles in the massacre of Jewish inhabitants of the town of Jedwabne in 1941. His book published in 2000 provoked a heated debate in which methodological, political and moral arguments were used on both sides. This case also occasioned a polemic between two prominent historians, identifying two basic visions of national history: the "monumental" one, recognizing only the heroic deeds that the nation takes pride in, and the "skeptical" one, which looks for silenced and shameful facts. Though both participants in the polemic opt for the third vision, the "objective" history which dispassionately seeks the truth, one of them stresses the role of the monumental history in maintaining the cohesion of the national community, while the other emphasizes that the collective acknowledgement of the nation's crimes can be a basis for national pride. .

The structure of the climate debate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tol, Richard S.J.

2017-01-01

First-best climate policy is a uniform carbon tax which gradually rises over time. Civil servants have complicated climate policy to expand bureaucracies, politicians to create rents. Environmentalists have exaggerated climate change to gain influence, other activists have joined the climate bandwagon. Opponents to climate policy have attacked the weaknesses in climate research. The climate debate is convoluted and polarized as a result, and climate policy complex. Climate policy should become easier and more rational as the Paris Agreement has shifted climate policy back towards national governments. Changing political priorities, austerity, and a maturing bureaucracy should lead to a more constructive climate debate. - Highlights: • Strong discrepancy between ideal and actual climate policy explained by incentives of policy-makers. • Paris Agreement allows for greater emphasis on national climate policies. • Shifting priorities and maturing bureaucracies allows climate policies to focus on greenhouse gas emission reduction.

Beyond the 'Networked Public Sphere': Politics, Participation and Technics in Web 2.0

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Ben Roberts

2009-01-01

Full Text Available In some ways discussion of the political implications of Web 2.0 reinvigorates a debate about the democratising nature of the Internet that began in the 1990s. The concept of participation is at the heart of many current debates about politics and technology. There are two main reasons for saying this. On the one hand is an ongoing and increasing concern about public participation, or lack of it, in modern (predominantly Western democracies. This participatory deficit is to be seen in falling voter turnout at elections, public apathy on key political issues and scorn or indifference for elected political representatives. On the other hand, there is a wave of optimism concerning the potential of new technologies, particularly the web, to enable new forms of participation in economic and public life, to transform political debate and citizenship and to renew the ailing (or perceived to be ailing institutions of democracy. This optimism around participation and politics, while it has played a role in utopian visions of the internet more or less since its inception, has been reinvigorated recently by the discussion around the so-called Web 2.0. This article argues for a much more critical or sceptical approach to the political promise of Web 2.0. Focusing particularly on Yochai Benkler's The Wealth of Networks, it argues that current accounts of the participatory aspects of web culture tend to take a rather narrow view of what such participation might mean. However, aspects of the work of Bernard Stiegler, and that of others in the Ars Industrialis group co-founded by Stiegler, can help inform a more nuanced account of the relationship between politics and participation. It looks specifically at the arguments in Marc Crépon and Bernard Stiegler's book De la démocratie participative, written during the recent French presidential campaign, and will examine how the idea of participation articulates with key themes in Stiegler's philosophy of technics

How to develop debating skills from the class of Philosophy?

OpenAIRE

Lidia Cira Carbonell Izquierdo; Juan Alberto Blanco Rivera

2003-01-01

This article addresses the issue Learning Developer. Based on the use of a system of teaching methods, posed by a group of researchers from ICCP. It is the collaboration of professors of philosophy to respond from our modest experiences difficulties showing our students with the skills to develop political debates in our institution.

URBAN POLITICS: KEY APPROACHES

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Ledyaeva Ol'ga Mikhaylovna

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Several approaches that underlie urban politics are discussed in the paper. They include neo-liberalism, political economy discourse, elitist/pluralist debates, and postmodernism. The neoliberal approach focuses on the limited role of the state and individual responsibility. The legal framework protects both the rights and responsibilities of individuals and regulates the operation of the market. It is the market that fosters individual choices and provides goods and services by virtue of the processes which are flexible, efficient and transparent. The political economy approaches (regulation theory, public choice theory, neo-Marxism explain urban politics via the analysis of national and international economic processes and changes in contemporary capitalism. Changes in national and international economies determine what solutions are possible. The discourse has been influenced by the debate on globalization of capital and labour markets. Modern elitism and neopluralism are represented by theories of "growth machines" and "urban regimes". The former focuses on bargaining alliances between political and business leaders in order to manage the urban system and to promote its growth. The latter develops neopluralist explanations of power within local communities with an emphasis on the fragmented nature of the government where local authorities lack comprehensive governing powers. Postmodernism views the city as the site of the crisis of late capitalism which leads to segregation of neighbourhoods onto prosperous areas and ghettoes. In contrast to the modern city, the postmodern city is not defined by its industrial base; rather, it is determined by its consumerist environment of malls and museums, characterized by revivalist architecture. At the same time, the suburban shopping mall and a motorway network make nonsense of the idea of the city as a unique and well-defined space. These and other approaches encompass a wide spectrum of possibilities

The development of labour politics in Southampton 1890 - 1945

OpenAIRE

Heaney, G.P.

2000-01-01

The debate on the development of Labour politics has become more complex and it is accepted that local economic, social and political experiences are crucial to an understanding of the growth of Labour and the decline of the Liberals. The majority of regional and local studies have concentrated on the north or London. This study tries to redress the balance by looking at how and why Labour politics developed in Southampton. The economic background is considered including ...

Donald Trump as a Cultural Revolt Against Perceived Communication Restriction: Priming Political Correctness Norms Causes More Trump Support

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Lucian Gideon Conway

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Donald Trump has consistently performed better politically than his negative polling indicators suggested he would. Although there is a tendency to think of Trump support as reflecting ideological conservatism, we argue that part of his support during the election came from a non-ideological source: The preponderant salience of norms restricting communication (Political Correctness – or PC – norms. This perspective suggests that these norms, while successfully reducing the amount of negative communication in the short term, may produce more support for negative communication in the long term. In this framework, support for Donald Trump was in part the result of over-exposure to PC norms. Consistent with this, on a sample of largely politically moderate Americans taken during the General Election in the Fall of 2016, we show that temporarily priming PC norms significantly increased support for Donald Trump (but not Hillary Clinton. We further show that chronic emotional reactance towards restrictive communication norms positively predicted support for Trump (but not Clinton, and that this effect remains significant even when controlling for political ideology. In total, this work provides evidence that norms that are designed to increase the overall amount of positive communication can actually backfire by increasing support for a politician who uses extremely negative language that explicitly violates the norm.

The political debates on the veil in France and the Netherlands: reflecting national integration models?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Saharso, Sawitri; Lettinga, D.

2012-01-01

In this article we compare the politicization and framing of the Islamic veil in parliamentary debates in France and the Netherlands between 1989 and 2007. If stark national differences in the framing of the issue can be found in the 1990, later years show more convergence, when the debate shifted

Morality and politics: Comparing alternate theories.

Science.gov (United States)

Miles, Andrew; Vaisey, Stephen

2015-09-01

Debates about the American "culture wars" have led scholars to develop several theories relating morality to political attitudes and behaviors. However, researchers have not adequately compared these theories, nor have they examined the overall contribution of morality to explaining political variation. This study uses nationally representative data to compare the utility of 19 moral constructs from four research traditions - associated with the work of Hunter, Lakoff, Haidt, and Schwartz - for predicting political orientation (liberalism/conservatism). Results indicate that morality explains a third of the variation in political orientation - more than basic demographic and religious predictors - but that no one theory provides a fully adequate explanation of this phenomenon. Instead, political orientation is best predicted by selected moral constructs that are unique to each of the four traditions, and by two moral constructs that crosscut them. Future work should investigate how these moral constructs can be synthesized to create a more comprehensive theory of morality and politics. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Socio-political Turmoil in Mali: The Public Debate Following the Coup d’État on 22 March 2012 Sozio-politische Turbulenzen in Mali: Die öffentliche Debatte nach dem Staatsstreich vom 22. März 2012

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Sten Hagberg

2012-01-01

Full Text Available During the night between 21 and 22 March 2012, a group of young military officers overthrew Mali’s president, Amadou Toumani Touré. The group justified the coup by citing the inability of the regime to both deal with the crisis in the North and provide the army with the appropriate material and manpower to defend the national territory. The coup plunged Mali into violence, and caused a de facto partition of the country. The socio-political turmoil pitting different political and armed factions against each other has continued unabated and has been accompanied by intense mass media debates. In this report we focus on the Malian public debate. By looking at the political class, the international community, and the partition of the country, we analyse representations and stereotypes prevailing in this debate.In der Nacht vom 21. zum 22. März 2012 wurde der Präsident Malis, Amadou Toumani Touré, durch eine Gruppe junger Offiziere gestürzt. Die Gruppe rechtfertigte den Putsch, indem sie auf die Unfähigkeit des Regimes verwies, die Krise im Norden zu bewältigen und die Armee personell und materiell angemessen auszustatten, um die Grenzen das Landes verteidigen zu können. Der Staatsstreich stürzte Mali in eine gewaltsame Auseinandersetzung und führte zu einer faktischen Teilung des Landes. Die sozio-politischen Turbulenzen, in denen verschiedene politische und bewaffnete Gruppierungen gegeneinander antraten, haben seither unvermindert angehalten und wurden von intensiven Debatten in den Massenmedien begleitet. Der vorliegende Bericht konzentriert sich auf die öffentliche Debatte in Mali. Vor dem Hintergrund der politischen Entwicklung des Landes, der Positionen der internationalen Gemeinschaft und der Ursachen für die Teilung des Landes stellen die Autoren die Darstellungsweisen und Stereotypen dar, die in dieser Debatte Verwendung finden.

The nuclear power debate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Woerndl, B.

1992-01-01

This material-intensive analysis of the public dispute about nuclear power plants uses the fundamental thoughts of the conflict theory approach by Georg Simmel, linking them to results of recent value change research. Through the medium of a qualitative content analysis of arguments in favour of and against nuclear energy it is shown how values are expressed and move, how they differentiate and get modified, in conflicting argumentation patterns. The first part reconstructs the history of the nuclear power conflict under the aspect of its subject priorities changing from time to time. The second part shows, based on three debate priorities, how social value patterns recognized for the moment changed in and by the conflict: the argumentation is that the nuclear power controversy has led to a relativization of its scientific claim for recognition; it has created a problem awareness with regard to purely quantitatively oriented growth objectives and developed criteria of an ecologically controlled satisfaction of needs; the debate has paved the way, in the area of political regulation models, for the advancement of basic democratic elements within a representative democracy. (orig./HP) [de

Romanian Parliamentary Debate on the Decisions of the Congress of Berlin in the Years around 1878-1879

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Iulia Maria Onac

2012-07-01

Full Text Available The Romanian Parliamentary debate around the Congress of Berlin (1878-1879 offers a bird’s eye view of the evolution of antisemitic speech in Romania. Naturalization of the Jews - an issue raised by the Great European Powers during this Congress - came into conflict with the wishes of the Romania political class, which presently exploded into a violent antisemitic campaign in the political debates and public speeches. The “Jewish danger” presented by many intellectuals and politicians will be accompanied by the accusation that the Jews constitute a state within the state, a nation within the nation, both devoted to world conspiracy. Amidst this welter of accusations, antisemitic discourse grew heavy with racial arguments. But by far the main characteristic of the Romanian variant of antisemitic discourse was the rapidity of its adoption in the parliamentary debates.

The presidential politics of climate discourse: energy frames, policy, and political tactics from the 2016 Primaries in the United States

OpenAIRE

Brown, George; Sovacool, Benjamin K

2017-01-01

his study presents the results of an investigation into the frequency in which four candidates of the 2016 United States Presidential Primary season communicated their political positions on climate change, and how they subsequently framed these stances in numerous contextual drivers alongside energy policies. A systematic content analysis of political debates, campaign speeches, and press statements reveals how Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Donald Trump, and Ted Cruz undertook in vote-see...

The Habermas-Rorty 1966 debate: considerations on finitude and transcendence

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Frederico Graniço

2010-05-01

Full Text Available This article aims to summarize and comment on the 1996 debate between Jürgen Habermas and Richard Rorty. The paper discusses the possibility of having knowledge and democratic politics by rejecting the universal validity concept. Is it possible to make judgments (of truth or moral from a “relativist” perspective of knowledge?

Debated agronomy: public discourse and the future of biotechnology policy in Ghana

OpenAIRE

Braimah, Joseph A.; Atuoye, Kilian N.; Vercillo, Siera; Warring, Carrie; Luginaah, Isaac

2017-01-01

ABSTRACT This paper examines the highly contested and ongoing biotechnology (Bt) policy-making process in Ghana. We analyse media content on how Bt is viewed in the context of Ghana’s parliamentary debate on the Plant Breeders Bill and within the broader public policy-making literature. This paper does not seek to take a position on Bt or the Bill, but to understand how policy actors influence the debate with political and scientific rhetoric in Ghana. The study reveals that in the midst of s...

The nuclear debate: ethics versus effectiveness

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lambert, D.

2009-01-01

Following some political maneuvering, a new debate on the future of nuclear deterrence is about to resurface. And a first deadline has been set by the need to restore the strategic balance between the United States and Russia before the START Treaty ends on 5 December 2009, as well as by preparation for the next NPT Review Conference. Perception of the main threat has changed, but so have concepts of deterrence. Far from outmoded, deterrence forms part of a broader vision in which realism has the edge over idealism. (author)

Science, politics, and rationality in a partisan era

Science.gov (United States)

Kirchner, James W.

2017-05-01

Science plays an essential role in public policy by outlining the factual foundations of policy debates. As a result, science often becomes a political football, with partisans dismissing or misrepresenting scientific findings that conflict with their political views. Here I argue that scientists can most effectively speak out, not as activists supporting particular political causes, but instead as advocates for a fundamentally rational public discourse, one that starts from the facts—not from whatever one might choose to believe—and then explores how society should respond to the challenges that they pose.

From gun politics to self-defense politics: a feminist critique of the great gun debate.

Science.gov (United States)

Carlson, Jennifer D

2014-03-01

This article calls attention to a problematic binary produced by public debates surrounding gun rights and gun control-namely, that women must choose armed self-protection or no self-protection at all. I argue that both anti- and pro-gun discourses, drawing on and reproducing race and class privileges, use assumptions about women's physical inferiority to further their agendas. I highlight how both sides have used guns as the proxy for self-defense and conclude by calling for a shift in public discourse to focus on the broader question of the right to self-defense rather than the narrower question of gun rights.

Editorial: Transhumanist Politics, Education, and Design

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Jörgen Skågeby

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This special issue of Confero takes its start in an essay by John Mazarakis who presents an overarching perspective on the underpinning politics of transhumanism. Considering theoretical debates and differences in the transhumanist movement over the last two decades, Mazarakis proposes the emergence of two distinct political stances: the techno-progressive and the technolibertarian. Using Lyotardian concepts, Mazarakis questions the latent legacy of "the grand narratives of modernism" and their potential to function as a basis for theorizing a transhuman future.

Politeness Indicators in Nigeria Legislative Discourse

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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.

Competing discourses on REDD+: Global debates versus the first Indian REDD+ project

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vijge, M.J.

2015-01-01

This article analyzes three of themost contentious scholarly and political debates regarding REDD+, focusing on 1) what REDD+ should achieve; 2) who should monitor REDD+ outcomes; and 3) how REDD+ should be financed. In analyzing these, the article conceptualizes three sets of storylines and

How to develop debating skills from the class of Philosophy?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lidia Cira Carbonell Izquierdo

2003-09-01

Full Text Available This article addresses the issue Learning Developer. Based on the use of a system of teaching methods, posed by a group of researchers from ICCP. It is the collaboration of professors of philosophy to respond from our modest experiences difficulties showing our students with the skills to develop political debates in our institution.

PoliMedia - Improving Analyses of Radio, TV & Newspaper Coverage of Political Debates

NARCIS (Netherlands)

M.J. Kemman (Max); M. Kleppe (Martijn)

2013-01-01

textabstractAbstract. Analysing media coverage across several types of media-outlets is a challenging task for academic researchers. The PoliMedia project aimed to showcase the potential of cross-media analysis by linking the digitised transcriptions of the debates at the Dutch Parliament (Dutch

Macro- and Micro-Political Vernaculizations of Rights: Human Rights and Abortion Discourses in Northern Ireland.

Science.gov (United States)

Pierson, Claire; Bloomer, Fiona

2017-06-01

How abortion is dealt with in law and policy is shaped through the multiple political and societal discourses on the issue within a particular society. Debate on abortion is constantly in flux, with progressive and regressive movements witnessed globally. This paper examines the translation of human rights norms into discourses on abortion in Northern Ireland, a region where abortion is highly restricted, with extensive contemporary public debate into potential liberalization of abortion law. This paper emanates from research examining political debates on abortion in Northern Ireland and contrasts findings with recent civil society developments, identifying competing narratives of human rights with regard to abortion at the macro- and micro-political level. The paper identifies the complexities of using human rights as a lobbying tool, and questions the utility of rights-based arguments in furthering abortion law reform. The paper concludes that a legalistic rights-based approach may have limited efficacy in creating a more nuanced debate and perspective on abortion in Northern Ireland but that it has particular resonance in arguing for limited reform in extreme cases.

The nuclear debate - examination of the issues

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ellington, H.I.; Addinall, E.

1981-01-01

Issues examined in a package of educational exercises, written by the present authors, entitled The Nuclear Debate are discussed. The three sections are entitled: (1) Does Britain really need nuclear power. (2) What sort of nuclear power programme would be best suited to meeting Britain's future energy needs. (3) Is nuclear power socially and environmentally acceptable in an open society such as Britain (alleged dangers to workers, dangers to the general public, and genetic hazards, political freedom and proliferation issues). (U.K.)

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....

Nationalist political culture in the maelstrom of the Great War

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María Inés Tato

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Nationalist political culture is based on a transverse and versatile substratum of ideas, beliefs and attitudes that can be combined with different political traditions. During the First World War, some of its basic components burst into the Argentine public debate and were shared and, at the same time, disputed by diverse social and political sectors. Furthermore, they nourished the ideological and political polarizations of the wartime. Through the analysis of these issues, this article aims to contribute to the knowledge of a period scarcely explored in the study of nationalism in Argentina.

The Politics of Self-Esteem.

Science.gov (United States)

Kahne, Joseph

1996-01-01

Before analysts can assess self-esteem as a goal for policy and practice, they must consider the ideological orientations of those who use the term and the cultural norms that shape the debate. Explicit attention to the politics surrounding self-esteem is needed to evaluate the use of the term in policy contexts. (Author/SLD)

Religious freedom and political correctness in United Europe.

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Ks. Artur Aleksiejuk

2014-11-01

Full Text Available We live in times that are particularly sensitive to issues such as freedom and are differentiated by strong aspirations for personal and societal freedom. One speaks of political-societal freedom, freedom of religion, artistic freedom and freedom to choose one’s own lifestyle. It would be possible to make a long list of the various kinds or manifestations of freedom, which modern individuals indentify in their lives. My essay considers the ways the law functions in regards to religious freedom in the context of the currently prevailing and implemented political visions in United Europe. Strictly speaking, this paper concerns the definition of place, which was assigned for religious convictions of citizens of the European Union and their role in shaping their personal and societal lives.

Future Teachers Debate Charter Schools on Facebook: Analysing Their Political Subjectivities

Science.gov (United States)

Nairn, Karen; Anderson, Vivienne; Blanch, Keely

2018-01-01

We argue that Garrett and Segall's concepts of "doing school" and "pushing back" are valuable tools for analysing pre-service teachers' political views of neoliberal education reforms such as the introduction of charter schools. We extend Garrett and Segall's conceptualization by hybridizing "doing school" and…

Connecting political economies of energy in South Africa

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Buescher, Bram

2009-01-01

The South African energy debate is and will remain a heated one. Given South Africa's history of racial inequality and contemporary concerns around sustainability, much of it rightly focuses on the links between energy, poverty and the environment. Yet, many contributions to the (mainstream) debate seem to have a somewhat one-sided focus that might hamper rather than stimulate the understanding of these links. They either display a strong technical, quantitative bias and/or lean towards rather simplistic ideas about policy processes and dynamics. The article argues that many of these analyses could benefit greatly from a critical focus on the political economy of energy: the political-economic power structures that influence both many energy policies and the issues of energy equality and sustainability. Two major global developments emphasise the importance of this focus: the recent financial crisis and South Africa's role in the increasingly tense geopolitics of energy in Africa. The article concludes with some suggestions on how currently disparate political economies of energy could be better connected.

Connecting political economies of energy in South Africa

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Buescher, Bram [Institute of Social Studies, Kortenaerkade 12, 2518 AX The Hague (Netherlands); Department of Geography, Environmental Management and Energy Studies, University of Johannesburg (South Africa)

2009-10-15

The South African energy debate is and will remain a heated one. Given South Africa's history of racial inequality and contemporary concerns around sustainability, much of it rightly focuses on the links between energy, poverty and the environment. Yet, many contributions to the (mainstream) debate seem to have a somewhat one-sided focus that might hamper rather than stimulate the understanding of these links. They either display a strong technical, quantitative bias and/or lean towards rather simplistic ideas about policy processes and dynamics. The article argues that many of these analyses could benefit greatly from a critical focus on the political economy of energy: the political-economic power structures that influence both many energy policies and the issues of energy equality and sustainability. Two major global developments emphasise the importance of this focus: the recent financial crisis and South Africa's role in the increasingly tense geopolitics of energy in Africa. The article concludes with some suggestions on how currently disparate political economies of energy could be better connected. (author)

The Double Conditioning of Political Participation: Grassroots Politics on Facebook. Conjunctions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schou, Jannick; Farkas, Johan; Hjelholt, Morten

2015-01-01

Th e emergence of social network sites as a part of everyday life has given rise to a number of debates on the demo-cratic potential aff orded by these technologies. Th is paper addresses political participation facilitated through Facebook from a practice-oriented perspective and presents a case...... of Facebook to facilitate political participation. Th e study fi nds that user participation on the Facebook page is ‘ double conditioned’ by the material structure of the social network site on the one hand and by the discourses articulated by the organisation and users on the other. Finally, the paper...... discusses the fi ndings and raises a number of problems and obstacles facing participatory grassroots organisations, such as Fight For Th e Future, when using Facebook....

The cleavable matter: Discursive orders in Swedish nuclear power politics 1972-1980; Det klyvbara aemnet. Diskursiva ordningar i svensk kaernkraftspolitik 1972-1980

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lindquist, P.

1997-09-01

This study applies a qualitative discourse-theoretical method to analyse the central argumentation in the parliamentary debate on nuclear power in Sweden during 1972-1980, reconstructed from official documents such as governmental and parliamentary bills, committee reports, parliamentary debate protocols, and official commission reports. Particular concern is directed to the process in which various discursive orders emerging within the political debate tend to have a structuring influence on the political argumentation regarding what can be said, by whom this can be said, and how this can be said. It is argued that these discursive orders have a profound, and in a systems theoretical sense self-dynamic influence, going beyond the original intentions of the political actors, on how the energy policy issue is interpreted and constructed. It is argued, furthermore, that these discursive orders actively exploit the political context of meaning by deliberately instrumentalising and incorporating competing argumentative elements into their own cognitive structure. In other words, the dominant political system incorporates the arguments of the political opposition and of the environmental and anti nuclear movements in order to consolidate its political power. The discourse theoretical analysis of the Swedish nuclear power debate in that sense unveils a deep resistance against a true political discourse, in the sense of Habermas, as a rational and domination-free process of reaching mutual understanding. 152 refs.

Immigration in the United States 2016 Presidential Debates: A Functional Analysis

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Ahmed Hasani Yaseen

2018-05-01

Full Text Available This paper describes an analysis of the three U.S. 2016 presidential debates published in The New York Times using Benoit’s (2007a functional theory. The three presidential debates in the U.S., which occur every four years, remain as the most sensitive political rhetoric that lead to the election of the next U.S. President. These debates include discussion of different issues between the two presidential candidates. One of these issues is immigration. The U.S. presidential debates have been researched by many on various aspects but there has not been a study that focus primarily on the issue of immigration in the three 2016 U.S. presidential debates. All statements regarding this issue between the two presidential candidates, Trump and Clinton, were extracted from these debates and analyzed using Benoit's (2007a functional theory. Findings revealed that attack statements occurred more than acclaims, and defences were less used than acclaims. The statements included in these debates pertained to policy (30% and character (70%. As expected, general goals were employed more often using acclaim function rather than attack and defend. However, ideals were employed more often using defence than to acclaim and attack. Due to different contexts, situations, and participants, Benoit's (2007a functional theory may not be generalized for all debates. This study reveals certain inconsistencies regarding some of the hypotheses of Benoit's (2007a functional theory in relation to our knowledge of the presidential debates, specifically the issue of immigration.

Fair Biodiversity Politics With and Beyond Rawls

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John Bernhard Kleba

2013-09-01

Full Text Available The access and benefit-sharing regime (ABS of the Convention on Biological Diversity has been criticised for focusing on entitlements and asset exchanges. In this regard, the Nagoya Protocol provides little advance. This work introduces new paths of research and reasoning debating the tensions between the Rawlsian concept of justice and the realm of ABS. A new original position to debate fair biodiversity politics would include the concepts of justice of non-Western cultures. Taking the case of indigenous and traditional peoples, the issue of cultural minority rights is raised, challenging the institutionalisation of legal pluralism and political recognition. Against Bell, and with and beyond Rawls, arguments are provided favouring an environmental constitutionalism. The least advantaged concept shifts from an economical focus towards realising citizenship and applied to the ABS regime. Concerning the destination of benefits in ABS agreements, I advocate a complement between entitlements and the systemic aims of the Convention, prioritising the latter. Finally, controversies about the equity of benefit sharing are examined. Whereas the difference principle is helpful in tackling the economical and political asymmetries in ABS negotiations, it leaves core questions open. The Nagoya Protocol has advanced in providing legal tools to realise citizenship. However, political justice demands more. Concerns to benefit the least advantaged should be included in policy, bioprospecting project design and ABS contracts.

Idealism and realism in International Relations: an ontological debate

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Vitor Ramon Fernandes

2016-11-01

Full Text Available The debate between realism and idealism continues to mark the discipline of International Relations. On the one hand, realism argues that international politics is a struggle for power and a quest for survival, which results in a condition of permanent conflict between States without any possibility of evolution or progress. On the other hand, idealism considers it possible to build a world of peaceful coexistence, prosperity and well-being, achieved through cooperation and based on values and aspirations shared by humans. The object of this article is to analyse the debate between idealism and realism, considering it as an ontological debate and taking into account the controversy it has generated. The argument presented here is that both realism and idealism are two responses to the creation and maintenance of international order, that is, how States relate in international society; however these responses are not mutually exclusive and can coexist in constant tension with one another. An analysis of internationalist thought of two authors, Hans Morgenthau and Raymond Aron, is also presented, which relates to how they are positioned in this debate as well as International Relations as a whole.

A new approach to Franciscan political thought

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Roberto Lambertini

2010-06-01

Full Text Available This essay debates Paolo Evangelisti’s book, and emphasizes – in comparison with the opinions of Ovidio Capitani and Giacomo Todeschini – his political approach to the reasoning of the Franciscans about the State building in kingdom of Aragon.

Bangladesh pharmaceutical policy and politics.

Science.gov (United States)

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.

Personality, political skill, and job performance

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Blickle, G.; Meurs, J.A.; Zettler, Ingo

2008-01-01

constructs of agreeableness and conscientiousness with political skill predict job performance. Our results supported our hypothesis for the agreeableness-political skill interaction. Additionally, after correcting for the unreliability and restricted range of conscientiousness, we found that its interaction...... with political skill also significantly predicted job performance, although not precisely as hypothesized. Implications of the results and directions for future research are provided....

Context and scale: Distinctions for improving debates about physician "rationing".

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Tilburt, Jon C; Sulmasy, Daniel P

2017-08-29

Important discussions about limiting care based on professional judgment often devolve into heated debates over the place of physicians in bedside rationing. Politics, loaded rhetoric, and ideological caricature from both sides of the rationing debate obscure precise points of disagreement and consensus, and hinder critical dialogue around the obligations and boundaries of professional practice. We propose a way forward by reframing the rationing conversation, distinguishing between the scale of the decision (macro vs. micro) and its context (ordinary allocation vs. extraordinary re-allocation) avoiding the word "rationing." We propose to shift the terminology, using specific, descriptive words to defuse conflict and re-focus the debate towards substantive issues. These distinctions can clarify the real ethical differences at stake and facilitate a more constructive conversation about the clinical and social responsibilities of physicians to use resources ethically at the bedside and their role in allocating medical resources at a societal level.

From essentialism to another way of doing politics: resuming the transformative potential of the politics of difference

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Léa Tosold

2010-12-01

Full Text Available This article aims at resuming and critically scrutinizing the debate on the politics of difference taken among liberal feminist political theorists. Firstly, I shall provide an overview of theoretical attempts to legitimate the politicization of collective-based subjects taking into account the problem of essentialism. Then I will argue that an exclusive focus on the relationship between essentialism and the conceptualization of collective-based subjects tends to overshadow the relationship between the politicization of differences and a new way of doing politics. I will defend the view that the politicization of differences is transforming rather than undermining the functioning of the polity and the possibility of real social justice. I shall evaluate the works of Anne Phillips and Iris Marion Young as offering new ways of reshaping the political sphere in order to enable proper institutional action against structural inequalities.

The Types of Argument Structure Used by Hillary Clinton in the CNN Democratic Presidential Debate

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Anggie Angeline

2009-01-01

Full Text Available This qualitative research was conducted to examine the types of argument structure by Hillary Clinton in part one of the CNN Democratic Presidential Debate since Hillary, who had a great deal of experiences in political parties, was supposed to be able to construct convincing arguments that had good argument structures. The theories used to analyze were Bierman and Assali’s (1996, King’s (n.d. and Stanlick’s (2003. The findings showed that there were five types of argument structure used: serial, linked, convergent, divergent, and hybrid argument structures. The linked argument structure was the argument structure used the most frequently in Hillary’s utterances in the debate, while the divergent was the least one. Thus, it could be concluded that Hillary’s speech in the Presidential Debate was quite interesting since she could combine all the five types of argument structure, though the frequency of using them was not the same and it seems that linked argument structure was the most effective strategy for her in arguing about the politic, economy, and social issues.

Political Correctness—Between Fiction and Social Reality

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Valeri Lichev

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Nowadays political correctness (PC is blamed by its opponents because of a failed model of multiculturalism, an influx of migrants and the threat of terrorist acts. Obviously, a definition of tolerance given by UNESCO in 1995 has lost its meaning. In order to argue a possibility of a global ethos based on new understandings of PC, the authors refer to contemporary achievements of semiotics, hermeneutics and philosophical anthropology. We use a critical method developed in the hermeneutical tradition of P. Ricoeur, J. Kristeva, Tz. Todorov and others. Criticism is directed at (1 paradoxes of postmodern philosophical attempts for justification the idea of political correctness; (2 the way of introducing new terminology, as on a language level it leads, not to inclusion, but to exclusion, of disadvantaged people because as E. Benveniste states, the third person is rather the non-person. The conclusion is that politically correct speech should be grounded on a basis which takes into account the three persons of verb conjugation. Similar philosophical and ethical ideas can be found in works of J. Kristeva, Tz. Todorov, P. Ricoeur. An example is given for how these ideas can be implemented in the fields of film and art. This is one of the possible ways of overcoming the exclusion of disadvantaged people who are only named in politically correct terms, and not as participants, in social and political dialogue.

International Criminal Justice and the Politics of Compliance

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Lamont, Christopher

2010-01-01

International Criminal Justice and the Politics of Compliance provides a comprehensive study of compliance with legal obligations derived from the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia's (ICTY) Statute and integrates theoretical debates on compliance into international justice

Debating Modernity as Secular Religion: Hans Kelsen’s futile exchange with Eric Voegelin

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thomassen, Bjørn

2014-01-01

This article reviews the mysterious and recently published last book by Hans Kelsen, “Secular Religion. A Polemic Against the Misinterpretation of Modern Social Philosophy, Science and Politics as ‘New Religions’”, contextualizing it with reference to the little known dialogue between Hans Kelsen...... and Eric Voegelin. The confrontation between Kelsen and Voegelin, two of the most illustrious émigré scholars who found in America their new home, is important to revisit because it touches upon several axes of debate of crucial importance to postwar intellectual history: the religion/secularity debate......, the positivist/anti-positivist debates, and the controversy that also led to the famous Voegelin/Arendt debate: how to read the horrors of totalitarianism into a historical trajectory of modernity. Although the Kelsen/Voegelin exchange ended in failure and bitterness its substance matter goes to the heart...

Competing for the same value segments? Insight into the volatile Dutch political landscape.

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van Herk, Hester; Schoonees, Pieter C; Groenen, Patrick J F; van Rosmalen, Joost

2018-01-01

Values are central to public debates today. Human values convey broad goals that serve as guiding principles in a person's life and value priorities differ across people in society. Groups in society holding opposing values (e.g., universalism versus security) will make different choices when voting in an election. Whereas over time, values are relatively stable, the number and type of political parties as well as the political values they communicate and disseminate have been changing. Groups of people holding the same human values may therefore vote for another (new) party in a later election. We focus on analyzing the relationship between human values and voting in elections, introducing a new methodology to analyze how value profiles relate to political support over time. We investigate the Dutch multi-party political system over five waves of the European Social Survey, spanning 2002 until 2010. Whilst previous research has focused on individual values separately and focused on voters only, we (1) distinguish groups holding a similar set of opposing and compatible values (value profile) instead of focusing on single values in the the entire population; (2) incorporate a correction for differences in scale use in our model; (3) compare voting over time; (4) include non-voters, a growing group in Dutch society. We find evidence that specific value profiles are related to voting for a specific set of political parties. We also find that specific value profiles distinguish non-voters from voters and that voters for populist parties resemble non-voters.

Competing for the same value segments? Insight into the volatile Dutch political landscape

Science.gov (United States)

Groenen, Patrick J. F.; van Rosmalen, Joost

2018-01-01

Values are central to public debates today. Human values convey broad goals that serve as guiding principles in a person’s life and value priorities differ across people in society. Groups in society holding opposing values (e.g., universalism versus security) will make different choices when voting in an election. Whereas over time, values are relatively stable, the number and type of political parties as well as the political values they communicate and disseminate have been changing. Groups of people holding the same human values may therefore vote for another (new) party in a later election. We focus on analyzing the relationship between human values and voting in elections, introducing a new methodology to analyze how value profiles relate to political support over time. We investigate the Dutch multi-party political system over five waves of the European Social Survey, spanning 2002 until 2010. Whilst previous research has focused on individual values separately and focused on voters only, we (1) distinguish groups holding a similar set of opposing and compatible values (value profile) instead of focusing on single values in the the entire population; (2) incorporate a correction for differences in scale use in our model; (3) compare voting over time; (4) include non-voters, a growing group in Dutch society. We find evidence that specific value profiles are related to voting for a specific set of political parties. We also find that specific value profiles distinguish non-voters from voters and that voters for populist parties resemble non-voters. PMID:29324764

La cuestión sanitaria en el debate modernidad-posmodernidad The sanitary question in the modernity-postmodernity debate

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Celia Iriart

1994-12-01

Full Text Available Este trabajo situa a la cuestión sanitaria en el debate modernidad-posmodernidad. Tal análisis se realiza desde una posición filosófica que plantea la crisis de la modernidad y cuestiona la torsión ideológica que a la misma le propicía la posmodernidad obturando las visiones cuestionadoras. Propiciando una vision alternativa de lo político pensada desde el plano de la potencia, recuperando el rol del sujeto en la decisión de producir transformaciones.This work analyzes the sanitary question in the modernity-postmodernity debate. Such analyses are performed form a philosophical position that states the crisis of Modernity and questions the ideological twist that to itself propitiates postmodernity, shutting out questioning views or visions. It propitiates an alternative view of politics, thinking of it from the potency plane and giving a role to the subject in the decision of producing transformations.

How can research inform educational and political practice?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Jens

such as partnership models and networks with researchers and politicians, linkage-agents or knowledge brokers that are designed to play a facilitating role between researchers and political practitioners. The panel debate will revolve around questions such as: How can research inform policy about what makes good......Whilst it is accepted that teacher education research has the potential to contribute to educational policy making in the same way as education research, there is a question about how education research in general can become more influential in political decision making process. This issue is well...... debated through the use of such terms as knowledge transfer, knowledge exchange, knowledge utilization and knowledge mobilization. At the same time as we witness an increasing interest in making use of research to improve policy making, we also see many attempts and strategies suggested...

Values and DSM-5: looking at the debate on attenuated psychosis syndrome.

Science.gov (United States)

Gonçalves, Arthur Maciel Nunes; Dantas, Clarissa de Rosalmeida; Banzato, Claudio E M

2016-01-20

Although values have increasingly received attention in psychiatric literature over the last three decades, their role has been only partially acknowledged in psychiatric classification endeavors. The review process of the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) received harsh criticism, and was even considered secretive by some authors. Also, it lacked an official discussion of values at play. In this perspective paper we briefly discuss the interplay of some values in the scientific and non-scientific debate around one of the most debated DSM-5 category proposals, the Attenuated Psychosis Syndrome (APS). Then, we point out some ethical consequences of a facts-plus-values perspective in psychiatric classification. Different stakeholders participated in the APS-debate and for analytical purposes we divided them into four groups: (i) researchers in the field of high-risk mental states; (ii) the DSM-5 Psychotic Disorders Work Group; (iii) patient, carers and advocacy groups; and (iv) external stakeholders, not related to the previous groups, but which also publicly expressed their opinions about APS inclusion in DSM-5. We found that each group differently stressed the role of values we examined in the APS-debate. These values were ethical, but also epistemic, political, economic and ontological. The prominence given to some values, and the lack of discussion about others, generated divergent positions among stakeholders in the debate. As exemplified by the APS discussion, although medicine is primarily an ethical endeavor, values of different kinds that take part in it also shape to a large extent the profession. Thus, it may be strategic to openly discuss values at play in the elaboration of diagnostic tools and classificatory systems. This task, more than scientifically or politically significant, is ethically important.

Batir bandera: understanding emotions on gender and clientelism debates in Argentina

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Constanza TABBUSCH

2016-05-01

Full Text Available This article examines how emotions are understood, in deeply gendered ways, within gender and clientelism debates in Argentina. By looking at the case study of the voluntary network of neighborhood representatives of Plan Vida, which distributes food aid in the Province of Buenos Aires, I distinguish two ways of conceiving affects in grassroots women’s political participation. While the first one emphasizes the management of the external expression of emotions as part of doing politics, the second one considers affective labour in a given urban territory as fostering connections among actors, creating social capital and allowing the flow of relevant information. The conclusion suggests that the second approach gives greater relevance to the possibilities of agency and transforming relations of domination of these women doing politics at the local level. 

The Creation of Myth: Starting the First "Great Debate" in International Relations Theory

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Tatiana Aleksandrovna Alekseeva

2015-01-01

Full Text Available From one textbook to another wanders the story about three (sometimes - four Great debates, which formed the canonical history of the theory of international relations. In reality everything was much more complicated, and the theoretical richness much wider than many times repeated antinomic pairs - realism vs. idealism, traditionalism vs. modernism, rationalism vs. reflectivism The author regards the discussions between different trends of the political thought in the interwar period, which were later called the First "Great Debates", which, according to the author's view were pre-paradigmal.

Is political behavior a viable coping strategy to perceived organizational politics? Unveiling the underlying resource dynamics.

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Shuhua; Chen, Huaizhong

2017-10-01

[Correction Notice: An Erratum for this article was reported in Vol 102(10) of Journal of Applied Psychology (see record 2017-34254-001). In the article, Table 1 contained a formatting error. Correlation coefficient values in the last four cells of column 6 were misplaced with correlation coefficient values in the last four cells of column 7. All versions of this article have been corrected.] We conduct a theory-driven empirical investigation on whether political behavior, as a coping strategy to perceived organizational politics, creates resource trade-offs in moderating the relationship between perceived organizational politics and task performance. Drawing on conservation of resources theory, we hypothesize that political behavior mitigates the adverse effect of perceived organizational politics on task performance via psychological empowerment, yet exacerbates its adverse effect on task performance via emotional exhaustion. Three-wave multisource data from a sample of 222 employees and their 75 supervisors were collected for hypothesis testing. Findings supported our hypotheses. Our study enhances understandings of the complex resource dynamics of using political behavior to cope with perceived organizational politics and highlights the need to move stress-coping research from a focus on the stress-buffering effect of coping on outcomes to a focus on the underlying competing resource dynamics. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

The European politics of animal experimentation: From Victorian Britain to 'Stop Vivisection'.

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Germain, Pierre-Luc; Chiapperino, Luca; Testa, Giuseppe

2017-08-01

This paper identifies a common political struggle behind debates on the validity and permissibility of animal experimentation, through an analysis of two recent European case studies: the Italian implementation of the European Directive 2010/63/EC regulating the use of animals in science, and the recent European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) 'Stop Vivisection'. Drawing from a historical parallel with Victorian antivivisectionism, we highlight important threads in our case studies that mark the often neglected specificities of debates on animal experimentation. From the representation of the sadistic scientist in the XIX century, to his/her claimed capture by vested interests and evasion of public scrutiny in the contemporary cases, we show that animals are not simply the focus of the debate, but also a privileged locus at which much broader issues are being raised about science, its authority, accountability and potential misalignment with public interest. By highlighting this common socio-political conflict underlying public controversies around animal experimentation, our work prompts the exploration of modes of authority and argumentation that, in establishing the usefulness of animals in science, avoid reenacting the traditional divide between epistemic and political fora. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Huellas de lo políticamente correcto en libros de texto argentinos: la “modalización autonímica” / Traces of the politically correct in Argentinian textbooks: the “autonimic modalization”

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Tosi Carolina

2013-11-01

Full Text Available The ideological dimension in textbooks is evidenced at different levels and through different discursive mechanisms. Following this, the objective of this paper is to demonstrate that certain social representations and politically correct attitudes (Courtine, 2006 are evidenced on the discursive materiality of textbooks. In this sense, we propose that politically correct gestures are not only configured through themes and words, present or silenced ones, but also through polyphonic and argumentative strategies. Among them, we focus on the forms identified as “autominic modalization” (Authier-Revuz, 1995 and we characterize them as modes of ideological positioning, in general, and as traces of a politically correct poses, in particular. Having a group of French authors as the theoretical framework for this study (Pêcheux, 1975, 1982, 1983; Courtine, 1982, 2006; Authier-Revuz, 1984, 1995; Amossy, 1999, we analyze a corpus of social science textbooks for secondary education, edited in Argentina between 1983 and 2005. On one hand, we show that one of the functions related to the “autonimic modalization” is based on having the locutor-author exhibiting disagreement when using a given disciplinary terminology. On the other hand, we corroborate that such ideological disagreement often evidences a politically correct attitude that is not necessarily accompanied with a transformation of the representations. In this way, stereotypes and social imagings are maintained through time and discourse, something that the “autonimic modalization” tried to avoid.

ISLAMIC PARTIES AND THE POLITICS OF CONSTITUTIONALISM IN INDONESIA

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Mukrimin Mukrimin

2012-12-01

Full Text Available This article examines the relationship between religion and the state in Indonesia by exploring how Islam is used by political parties to shape the politics. The study shows that Islamic politics is a complementary in both nationhood and statehood in Indonesia. From the early days of the new-born nation-state, Muslims in Indonesia had played significant role in shaping the nation; nonetheless, they have never dominated the political power. Fragmentation among Muslims themselves and internal political parties is among the reason why religious (Islamic parties failed in bringing religious identity to the state arena. Political subordination-inclusion-ignorance-confrontation is the circular game that features Islamic politics in Indonesia. The debatable issue on shari‘ah law, which is frequently used by Islamic parties, always becomes the core problem of the relation between Islam and the state. Even though Islam has played an important role in colouring the Indonesian politics, its existence remains complementary.

It's no debate, debates are great.

Science.gov (United States)

Dy-Boarman, Eliza A; Nisly, Sarah A; Costello, Tracy J

A debate can be a pedagogical method used to instill essential functions in pharmacy students. This non-traditional teaching method may help to further develop a number of skills that are highlighted in the current Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education Standards 2016 and Center for the Advancement of Pharmacy Education Educational Outcomes 2013. Debates have also been used as an educational tool in other health disciplines. Current pharmacy literature does illustrate the use of debates in various areas within the pharmacy curriculum in both required and elective courses; however, the current body of literature would suggest that debates are an underutilized teaching tool in pharmacy experiential education. With all potential benefits of debates as a teaching tool, pharmacy experiential preceptors should further explore their use in the experiential setting. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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

Comprehensive Education: Lost in the Mi(d)st of a Debate. Dutch Politicians on Equal Opportunity in Secondary Schooling (1965-1979)

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Amsing, Hilda T. A.; Bakker, Nelleke

2014-01-01

This paper addresses the question of whether the political debate concerning comprehensive schooling in the Netherlands between 1965 and 1979 was obscured by incompatible meanings of the concept of "equal opportunity". On the basis of an analysis of ministerial plans and parliamentary debates the conclusion is drawn that Dutch…

Teacher's PAT? Multiple-Role Principal-Agent Theory, Education Politics, and Bureaucrat Power

Science.gov (United States)

Vanhuysse, Pieter; Sulitzeanu-Kenan, Raanan

2009-01-01

This article aims to contribute to current debates about political power and agency relationships in education and other public sectors. In a recent clarion call for a major redirection of political principal-agent theories (PAT), Terry Moe has argued that standard information asymmetries ought no longer to be regarded as the sole foundation of…

Room for climate debate : perspectives on the interaction between climate politics, science and the media

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Sluijs, J.P.; van Est, R.; Riphagen, M.

2010-01-01

The present study offers a picture of the complex interaction between climate politics, science and the media. During the 1970s and 1980s, politics and the sciences focused increasingly on the climate problem, at the time known as the greenhouse effect. Due to a lack of sufficient scientific

Political liberalism and religious claims: Four blind spots.

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Stoeckl, Kristina

2017-01-01

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.

Debated agronomy: public discourse and the future of biotechnology policy in Ghana.

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Braimah, Joseph A; Atuoye, Kilian N; Vercillo, Siera; Warring, Carrie; Luginaah, Isaac

2017-01-01

This paper examines the highly contested and ongoing biotechnology (Bt) policy-making process in Ghana. We analyse media content on how Bt is viewed in the context of Ghana's parliamentary debate on the Plant Breeders Bill and within the broader public policy-making literature. This paper does not seek to take a position on Bt or the Bill, but to understand how policy actors influence the debate with political and scientific rhetoric in Ghana. The study reveals that in the midst of scientific uncertainties of Bt's potential for sustainable agriculture production and food security, policy decisions that encourage its future adoption are heavily influenced by health, scientific, economic, environmental and political factors dictated by different ideologies, values and norms. While locally pioneered plant breeding is visible and common in the Ghanaian food chain, plant breeding/GMOs/Bt from international corporations is strongly resisted by anti-GMO coalitions. Understanding the complex and messy nature of Bt policy-making is critical for future development of agricultural technology in Ghana and elsewhere.

The political challenges of nuclear waste; Kaernavfallets politiska utmaningar

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Andren, Mats; Strandberg, Urban (eds.)

2005-07-01

This anthology is made up of nine essays on the nuclear waste issue, both its political, social and technical aspects, with the aim to create a platform for debate and planning of research. The contributions are titled: 'From clean energy to dangerous waste - the regulatory management of nuclear power in the Swedish welfare society. An economic-historic review{sup ,} 'The course of the high-level waste into the national political arena', 'The technical principles behind the Swedish repository for spent fuels', 'Waste, legitimacy and local citizenship', 'Nuclear issues in societal planning', 'Usefulness or riddance - transmutation or just disposal?', 'National nuclear fuel policy in an European Union?', 'Conclusion - the challenges of the nuclear waste issue', 'Final words - about the need for critical debate and multi-disciplinary research'.

Reconsidering School Politics: Educational Controversies in Sweden

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Fredholm, Axel

2017-01-01

School politics in Sweden has recently moved in a conservative direction, emphasising the importance of conventional school subjects, stronger teacher authority and more discipline in the classroom. At the same time, consensus on the utility of such measures is lacking in the school debate. The conservative approach is often criticised as…

Political ecology, mountain agriculture, and knowledge in Honduras

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jansen, K.

1998-01-01

The social and biophysical processes entailed in environmental deterioration are the subject of intense debate in Honduras, one of the poorest countries of Latin America. This book analyses the political ecology of precarious farming in mountainous areas. The author evaluates a rich array

Potential Effects of Disruptive Political Trends in International Tourism Market

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Ali Öztüren

2017-05-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to discuss the prospective effects of the latest political incidences on the international tourism market. In this context, the arguments are based on the implications of the USA elections and the Brexit. The methodology of this paper comprises the discussion of the debates related to the recent political experiences. International tourism activities cannot be isolated from the political environment. It is clear that the new political incidences will require novel insights and strategies in conducting international tourism business globally. This paper provides a viewpoint of the today’s political scenarios that will certainly affect the international tourism market. It can be used to comprehend insights that can be used to plan the tourism futures.

The Relevance of Second Language Acquisition Theory to the Written Error Correction Debate

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Polio, Charlene

2012-01-01

The controversies surrounding written error correction can be traced to Truscott (1996) in his polemic against written error correction. He claimed that empirical studies showed that error correction was ineffective and that this was to be expected "given the nature of the correction process and "the nature of language learning" (p. 328, emphasis…

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.

"(East) Asia" as a Platform for Debate: Grouping and Bioethics.

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Sleeboom-Faulkner, Margaret

This article examines the use of the notions of "Asian" and "East Asian" in definitions of bioethics. Using examples from East Asia, I argue that the verbal Asianization of bioethics is based on the notion of "Asia" as a family metaphor and serves as a platform of bioethical debate, networking, and political change. I maintain that the use of "Asia" and "East Asia" to shape bioethics is not so much a sign of inward-looking regionalism, but an attempt to build bridges among Asian countries, while putting up a common stance against what educated elites interpret as undesirable global trends of Westernization through bioethics. Using the notions of "grouping" and "segmentary systems" to show the performative nature of characterizations of (East) Asian bioethics, allowing users to mark regional identity, share meanings, take political positions, and network. Deploying Peter Haas's notion of "epistemic communities," I argue that academic and political elites translate "home" issues into "Asia speak," while at the same time, introducing and giving shape to "new" bioethical issues. Although the "Asianisms" and group-marking activities of Asian networks of bioethics are ideological, thereby engaging in the politics of in/exclusion, they succeed in putting politically sensitive topics on the agenda.

Extending the Concept of Ethnocracy: Exploring the Debate in the Baltic Context

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Timofey Agarin

2016-11-01

Full Text Available The advance of liberal understanding of democracy with its interest in and constrained ability to interfere with citizens’ identities made cases of ethnocracy rare over the past decades. Over the past 25 years, Baltic politics and societies have experienced considerable change, however, as I demonstrate, considerable debate persists around the issues central to the argument about ethnocracy in the region. In the context, when discussing the central role played by state institutions in negotiating conflicts between groups over access to scarce resources of the state, it is central to see minorities as being in both the inferior numerical position as well as in symbolically more disadvantageous place: If we see democratic politics for what they are as majoritarian politics, and if we see these as taking place in the context of state institutions designed to uphold the ethnic majority dominance, then any kind of liberal democratic politics would be a good candidate for ethnocracy.

The Intradisciplinary Affinities of Postmodern Anthropology Part I. The Consequences of Merging Ethics, Politics and Methodology in 1960s Critical Anthropology

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Miloš Milenković

2016-02-01

Full Text Available The paper offers an alternative interpretation of the genesis of the literary turn in anthropology, as an "interim solution" in the context of the ideological incorrectness of radical anti-colonial theories in a liberal democracy. Critical anthropology in the 1960s and 1970s drew considerable inspiration from reformational currents in neo-Marxist sociology and social philosophy, arousing ideological opposition among the numerous participants of methodological debates. This opposition would prove crucial for their subsequent modest development. This activistic ideological ballast actually slowed down the development of potent externalist analyses of the social determination of anthropology and academe in general, leaving room for studies of ethnographic writing. Anticipating, in terms of themes and trends, "nonmethodological" solutions to methodological problems, it had a direct effect on the substitution of poetics and contextual reflection for methodological regulation. Thus, paradoxically, extremely externalistically oriented analyses, which attempted to merge ethical, political and methodological debates, reduced the methodological focus of the disciplinary community from issues of research objectivity and the reliability of ethnographic records to issues concerning style and the writing of anthropology. In this context, debates on relativism, realism, representation, authority and reflexivity, typical of 1980s postmodern anthropology, have become a socially acceptable alternative to the critical and neo-Marxist anthropology of Afro-Americans, feminists or of the otherwise oppressed/studied when they in turn become nativistic anthropologists. The "literary turn" in postmodern anthropology is generally interpreted as an externalist critique of traditional ethnographic realism, offering an ethical and political interpretation of reflexivity as per se more correct than traditional positivist ethnography.

Gender-based political harassment and violence: effects on the political work and public roles of women.

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Valverde, María Eugenia Rojas

2010-01-01

This article shows the significance of the problems of political harassment and violence against women in positions of political responsibility in Bolivia. This phenomenon is seen in both rural and urban areas and transcends borders. It has been shown that these attacks constitute a violation of women's civil and political rights and a threat to the physical and mental health of women leaders in Bolivia. Furthermore, there is no punishment of guilty parties, reparation, or moral or material compensation for the women who are affected. In Bolivia, gender-based harassment and violence is a fundamental barrier to women's political participation. However, this phenomenon is still not addressed by government programs and is not part of the public discourse and debate. In spite of the measures taken to promote women's political participation, several different administrations have been unable to guarantee women the capacity to occupy positions of responsibility without being threatened or harassed. The results of our research led to a bill addressing this problem. Subsequently, Ecuador took this bill as an example and replicated it in a legislative initiative. These results show the importance of research by organizations that represent women in preventing unjust situations and health problems.

Islam, religiosity, and immigrant political action in Western Europe.

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Just, Aida; Sandovici, Maria Elena; Listhaug, Ola

2014-01-01

The issues of migration and immigrant political integration in western democracies have become increasingly intertwined with debates on religion, particularly Islam. To date, however, we have surprisingly little systematic research on how religious beliefs are related to immigrants' political engagement. In this study, we argue that religion has a capacity to mobilize immigrants politically but the strength of this relationship depends on immigrant generation, religiosity, and the type of religion. Using survey data collected as part of the European Social Survey (ESS) 2002-2010 in 18 West European democracies, our analyses reveal that religion is indeed linked to political engagement of immigrants in a complex way: while belonging to a religion is generally associated with less political participation, exposure to religious institutions appears to have the opposite effect. Moreover, we find that, compared to foreign-born Muslims, second-generation Muslim immigrants are not only more religious and more politically dissatisfied with their host countries, but also that religiosity is more strongly linked to their political engagement. This relationship, however, is limited to uninstitutionalized political action. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Debating the viability of ethnicity

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Vilna Bashi

2004-01-01

Full Text Available [First paragraph] Immigration and the Political Economy of Home: West Indian Brooklyn and American Indian Minneapolis, 1945-1992. RACHEL BUFF. Berkeley: University of Califomia Press, 2001. xv + 240 pp. (Paper US$ 18.95 Black Cuban, Black American: A Memoir. EVELIO GRILLO. Houston TX: Arte Püblico Press, 2000. xvi + 134 pp. (Paper US$ 13.95 West Indian in the West: Self Representations in an Immigrant Community. PERCY C. HINTZEN. New York: New York University Press, 2001. x + 200pp. (Paper US$ 18.50 Caribbean Families in Britain and the Transatlantic World. HARRY GOULBOURNE & MARY CHAMBERLAIN (eds.. Oxford UK: Macmillan, 2001. xvi + 270 pp. (Paper £15.50 Legacies: The Story of the Immigrant Second Generation. ALEJANDRO PORTES & RUBÉN G. RUMBAUT. Berkeley: University of Califomia Press/ New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 2001. xxiv + 406 pp. (Paper US$ 19.95 "Ethnicity" and its meaning, both as an identity and as a resilient cultural influence, has dominated late twentieth-century social scientific analyses of the process of immigrant incorporation. Perhaps we may mark the crowning of the term with the publication of Glazer and Moynihan's The Melting Pot, one famous tome that "explained" varying "assimilation" outcomes among the "new" (post-1965 newcomers by examining their ethnic culture for flaws or strengths that justified socioeconomic failure or success. Muddying the ensuing policy debate was the use of buzzwords, like mainstream, deviant, assimilated, minority, black matriarch, absent father, and underclass, that were themselves categorizing and hierarchical. The tautology of hierarchically labeling groups and then asking why groups with different labels have different outcomes seems to be perpetually invisible to the parties in the assimilation debate, but the debate itself rages on. Newer scholarship has added a different voice to that debate, arguing that variance in "assimilation" is instead explained by incorporation into

POLITICAL SCIENCES AND THE SECURITY AND DEFENSE STUDIES. PRECISIONS AND PROJECTIONS

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JUAN FUENTES VERA

2018-02-01

Full Text Available This article focus on political science as a matter of study in the programs of the National Academy for Political and Strategic Studies, in order to explain the reason of including this discipline, particularly in its relation with security and defense. It is focused on the object of study of political science, thus delivering precisions about the concept of politics among others related. It also emphasizes some aspects that have been important in this discipline, including some modern epistemological debates, and also open the scope of possibilities that today can be offered as matters of study in a world yielded to the dynamics of the globalization.

Risk perceptions and public debates on climate change: a conceptualisation based on the theory of a functionally-differentiated society

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Markus Rhomberg

2010-11-01

Full Text Available Mass media and its mechanisms of production and selection play a crucial role in the definition of climate change risks. Different form of logic in the political, scientific and media systems are vital aspects in the public debate on this issue. A theoretical analysis of these aspects needs a framework in terms of social theory: Luhmann’s concept of a functionally-differentiated society and the mechanisms of structural couplings could help to understand the relations and interplay of these systems in the climate-debate. Based on this framework and various empirical studies, this paper suggests: different logics lead to different climate-definitions in science, politics and mass media. Climate change became interesting, but not until it was located in the political decision-making process. Climate issues become publicly interesting, when they are clear, contentious and can be linked to Elite-Persons. In contrast to scientific communication, news media make great efforts to be clear and definite in their communications.

Individuals, institutions, and innovation in the debates of the French Revolution.

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Barron, Alexander T J; Huang, Jenny; Spang, Rebecca L; DeDeo, Simon

2018-05-01

The French Revolution brought principles of "liberty, equality, fraternity" to bear on the day-to-day challenges of governing what was then the largest country in Europe. Its experiments provided a model for future revolutions and democracies across the globe, but this first modern revolution had no model to follow. Using reconstructed transcripts of debates held in the Revolution's first parliament, we present a quantitative analysis of how this body managed innovation. We use information theory to track the creation, transmission, and destruction of word-use patterns across over 40,000 speeches and a thousand speakers. The parliament as a whole was biased toward the adoption of new patterns, but speakers' individual qualities could break these overall trends. Speakers on the left innovated at higher rates, while speakers on the right acted to preserve prior patterns. Key players such as Robespierre (on the left) and Abbé Maury (on the right) played information-processing roles emblematic of their politics. Newly created organizational functions-such as the Assembly president and committee chairs-had significant effects on debate outcomes, and a distinct transition appears midway through the parliament when committees, external to the debate process, gained new powers to "propose and dispose." Taken together, these quantitative results align with existing qualitative interpretations, but also reveal crucial information-processing dynamics that have hitherto been overlooked. Great orators had the public's attention, but deputies (mostly on the political left) who mastered the committee system gained new powers to shape revolutionary legislation. Copyright © 2018 the Author(s). Published by PNAS.

Cynical References to Political Correctness in Hungarian Media in the 2000s

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Erzsébet Barát

2011-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper I analyze the strategy in Hungarian public discourse for discrediting feminism in the media in the early 2000s. The strategy consists in the systematic conflation of feminism with the demand for “politically correct” language. My analysis will show that the motivation for the conflation occurs, on the one hand, in the name of tolerance or, on the other, to the determent of feminism. These apparently very different discourses, however, overlap and are effects of the same strategy of discreditation. They both rest on the assumption that feminism is an exclusionary ideology hence it is to be tolerated at best, or to be fought mercilessly. Despite the apparent opposition between the two approaches, their goals are the same. The reduction of feminism to political correctness and its representation as the manifestation of some general practice of ‘language cleansing’ “benignly” masks the real object of feminist language criticism, namely, sexist and homophobic exclusionary language use and their symbolic and material consequences. These are found everywhere in contemporary Hungary. I shall argue that the alarming similarity of the two perspectives is a recent phenomenon in Hungarian public discourse that emerged in the first decade of the millennium. It replaces the strategy of the 1990s that represented feminism as a matter of some individual and isolated efforts and as such eventually harmless on a social scale. The turn of the first decade re-imagines feminism as a social practice that is argued to be an intolerant or aggressive attempt at purging language use. This change in the meaning of the concept is caused in part, I shall argue, by the stereotypical conceptualization of language use itself. The concept is stereotypical in that it draws on (value judgments expected to be understood as self-evident hence able to preempt any need for reflexivity on the part of the reader.

Global and Domestic Politics in the Wake of the Financial and Economic Crisis

OpenAIRE

Pontusson, Harry Jonas

2013-01-01

The December 2012 issue of SPSR featured a collection of short essays that explored the domestic politics of the financial crisis, the ensuing international recession and the ongoing difficulties of managing the debt problems and trade imbalances of the Eurozone. The contributors to the first installment of our debate on crisis politics engaged in historical and comparative discussions of government responses to the crisis of 2007-10 and the political repercussions of the crisis. For this, th...

An Overview of Latin American Health Policies and Debates

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Asa Cristina Laurell

2010-04-01

Full Text Available It is now 15 years since the publication of Investing in Health (World Bank, 1993, a report which set the course for health care system reform in Latin America and around of the world. Since that time a great many studies about the reforms have been published and new reforms have been launched to “correct” the defects of the earlier ones. The objective of this paper is to call into question the entire current political debate over health care, as well as to clarify key concepts and practices. To this end I will analyze the current vogue of interrelated proposals for a second reform of the state. I will examine debates over insurance as a way of grant universal coverage; the separation between the regulation, financing and provision of health services; and the public private partnerships for the construction, financing, and management of hospitals. This paper will also examine the development of a new scientific discourse around “evidence-based policies” and academic referral networks. The goal of this paper is not to offer a comprehensive treatment of these issues, but rather to question some assumptions and contribute to the larger debate.

Between Democratic Security and Democratic Legality. Constitutional Politics and Presidential Re-election in Colombia

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Jan Boesten

2014-12-01

Full Text Available This paper presents an analysis of the political and legal debate of the declaration of unconstitutionality of the referendum that sought the re-election presidential second term in 2010. On the other hand, it exposes the debate between those who spoke of bias and political argument in the court ruling related to the idea of “democratic security”; while others speak of the persistence of “democratic legality” consisting of autonomy guaranteed legal reasoning from deliberative processes. Finally, it is noted that the degree of institutionalization of discourse of the Court is an important factor that speaks in favor of it’s independence.

Personal Autonomy, Psychological Sense of Community, and Political Ideology.

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Fox, Dennis R.

Political debates often mask underlying differences in people's assumptions about natural behaviors and appropriate values. Ten individuals who had written letters to newspapers from nonmainstream perspectives (from right-wing libertarian to left-wing revolutionary communist) participated in three or four intensive, open-ended, semistructured…

Debating poverty porn on Twitter:social media as a place for everyday socio-political talk

OpenAIRE

Brooker, Phil; Vines, John; Sutton, Selina; Barnett, Julie; Feltwell, Tom; Lawson, Shaun

2015-01-01

This paper presents an empirical investigation of how people appropriated Twitter for socio-political talk in response to a television (TV) portrayal of people supported by state welfare and benefits. Our findings reveal how online discussion during, and in-between, TV broadcasts was characterised by distinctly different qualities, topics and user behaviours. These findings offer design opportunities for social media services to (i) support more balanced real-time commentaries of politically-...

New discursive strategies within Political Communication. Case study: Parliamentary Parties in Romania

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Cristina Ariton-Gelan

2013-07-01

Full Text Available The development of new technologies, implicitely that of Internet contributed to the reconfiguration of the political communication field. In this respect, politicians report themselves to an electorate that is more detached from institutionalized politics and political ideologies, electorate that has the possibility to participate to debating alternative forms of the political, through some social movements and through online forums. Generally, new media created the possibility that journalists and media production agencies imagine more dynamic media formats from the point of view of interaction with citizens and visual strategies. Within the new context coming from the relation between politician, media and electorate, the Internet, through its functions, generates a special kind of „political communication management”.

Sex Education in Modern and Contemporary China: Interrupted Debates across the Last Century

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Aresu, Alessandra

2009-01-01

Since the late 1980s sex education has been widely promoted in the PRC, but this is not the first time in China's modern history that attempts to develop sex education have been made. The present essay traces the development of sex education debates over the last century, identifying the historical, political and social contexts in which they…

Broadening the debate on shale gas : guidelines for decision-making based on the Dutch experience

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Waes, van A.H.M.; Vries, de A.; Est, van Q.C.; Brom, F.

2014-01-01

This paper focuses on the debate on shale gas in the Netherlands. In the political decision-making process relating to shale gas, the national government has highlighted the importance of clarifying the opportunities and risks related to shale gas extraction, and the question of whether this is

Beyond Essentialist and Functionalist Analyses of the "Politicisation of Religion": The Evolution of Religious Parties in Political Catholicism and Political Islam

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Joerg Baudner

2014-03-01

Full Text Available The debate about “politics and religion” has already rejected essentialist claims of fundamental differences in the impact of religion on politics in different cultures. This article will argue that political Islam in Turkey and political Catholicism in Italy and Germany adopted remarkably similar patterns of cross-class coalitions and policies for a “reconciliation of capitalism and democracy”. First, religious parties developed as mass integration parties which already encompassed cross-class coalitions. Second, in the aftermath of political and economic crises these parties transformed into catch-all parties with a pronounced neo-liberal agenda which was given a religious justification. Third, at the same time these parties continued to sponsor policies and organizations which cushioned and supplemented an uneven economic development. Fourth, the parties kept traditional family policies which helped attracting a significant female electorate. “Organized religion” provided religious parties with a potential electorate, ancillary organizations and ideological concepts; however, their role in this political evolution changed. The conclusion will discuss whether these findings can be generalized.

The psychiatric profession and the Australian government: the debate over collective depression syndrome among asylum-seeking detainees

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William W Bostock

2009-11-01

Full Text Available William W BostockSchool of Government, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, AustraliaAbstract: Psychiatrists have long had involvement with the political process, both individually and as a profession. They have made valuable contributions to debate over such issues as war, conflict, terrorism, torture, human rights abuse, drug abuse, suicide and other public health issues. However, they have also been complicit in some gross atrocities. Over several years there has been debate over the Australian Government’s treatment of asylum seekers, and the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists took the unusual step of publicly criticizing the Australian Government’s policy on grounds of its toxicity leading to a diagnosis of collective depression syndrome, particularly among child detainees, but also adult detainees. The official Ministerial response was to deny that collective depression exists and to assert that the concept is meaningless. Can this intervention by psychiatrists be interpreted as a product of earlier political behaviors by psychiatrists? The willingness of psychiatrists to cooperate with other professions, notably psychologists, pediatricians, physicians and lawyers, is noted, as is presence of minority voices within the Australian psychiatric profession. The significance of the debate over the mental condition of asylum-seeking detainees is that its outcome has implications for how Australia sees itself and is seen by the rest of the world, that is, its national identity.Keywords: collective depression syndrome, psychiatric profession, political intervention, asylum seeker, Australian national identity

Evolving political science. Biological adaptation, rational action, and symbolism.

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Tingley, Dustin

2006-01-01

Political science, as a discipline, has been reluctant to adopt theories and methodologies developed in fields studying human behavior from an evolutionary standpoint. I ask whether evolutionary concepts are reconcilable with standard political-science theories and whether those concepts help solve puzzles to which these theories classically are applied. I find that evolutionary concepts readily and simultaneously accommodate theories of rational choice, symbolism, interpretation, and acculturation. Moreover, phenomena perennially hard to explain in standard political science become clearer when human interactions are understood in light of natural selection and evolutionary psychology. These phenomena include the political and economic effects of emotion, status, personal attractiveness, and variations in information-processing and decision-making under uncertainty; exemplary is the use of "focal points" in multiple-equilibrium games. I conclude with an overview of recent research by, and ongoing debates among, scholars analyzing politics in evolutionarily sophisticated terms.

Naturalization fosters the long-term political integration of immigrants

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Hainmueller, Jens; Hangartner, Dominik; Pietrantuono, Giuseppe

2015-01-01

Does naturalization cause better political integration of immigrants into the host society? Despite heated debates about citizenship policy, there exists almost no evidence that isolates the independent effect of naturalization from the nonrandom selection into naturalization. We provide new evidence from a natural experiment in Switzerland, where some municipalities used referendums as the mechanism to decide naturalization requests. Balance checks suggest that for close naturalization referendums, which are decided by just a few votes, the naturalization decision is as good as random, so that narrowly rejected and narrowly approved immigrant applicants are similar on all confounding characteristics. This allows us to remove selection effects and obtain unbiased estimates of the long-term impacts of citizenship. Our study shows that for the immigrants who faced close referendums, naturalization considerably improved their political integration, including increases in formal political participation, political knowledge, and political efficacy. PMID:26417099

A political science approach to the nuclear power debate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stott, M.A.

1981-01-01

World economic factors particularly since the OPEC oil price rises in 1973 have led governments, east and west, to invest heavily in nuclear power as a way of retaining energy and economic independence. A number of ideological and institutional factors have encouraged this development, which has nevertheless run into serious problems of a technical, economic and social nature. The result has been that large investments have been made in an energy source which is now widely acknowledged not to be the 'technical fix' that would keep the present economic system on the rails, with a resultant effect that is even more destabilising to the world economic system than the problem it was supposed to outflank. Technical and economic difficulties have combined to trigger off widespread political opposition which has used the nuclear power issue as a focus for other wider criticisms of the hierarchical, technocratic ruling elites on either side of the iron curtain. (author)

Teaching the Mantle Plumes Debate

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Foulger, G. R.

2010-12-01

There is an ongoing debate regarding whether or not mantle plumes exist. This debate has highlighted a number of issues regarding how Earth science is currently practised, and how this feeds into approaches toward teaching students. The plume model is an hypothesis, not a proven fact. And yet many researchers assume a priori that plumes exist. This assumption feeds into teaching. That the plume model is unproven, and that many practising researchers are skeptical, may be at best only mentioned in passing to students, with most teachers assuming that plumes are proven to exist. There is typically little emphasis, in particular in undergraduate teaching, that the origin of melting anomalies is currently uncertain and that scientists do not know all the answers. Little encouragement is given to students to become involved in the debate and to consider the pros and cons for themselves. Typically teachers take the approach that “an answer” (or even “the answer”) must be taught to students. Such a pedagogic approach misses an excellent opportunity to allow students to participate in an important ongoing debate in Earth sciences. It also misses the opportunity to illustrate to students several critical aspects regarding correct application of the scientific method. The scientific method involves attempting to disprove hypotheses, not to prove them. A priori assumptions should be kept uppermost in mind and reconsidered at all stages. Multiple working hypotheses should be entertained. The predictions of a hypothesis should be tested, and unpredicted observations taken as weakening the original hypothesis. Hypotheses should not be endlessly adapted to fit unexpected observations. The difficulty with pedagogic treatment of the mantle plumes debate highlights a general uncertainty about how to teach issues in Earth science that are not yet resolved with certainty. It also represents a missed opportunity to let students experience how scientific theories evolve, warts

Linguistic intergroup bias in political communication.

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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.

Authoritarianism without Dominant Ideology: Political Manifestations of Authoritarian attitudes in Hungary

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Todosijevic, B.; Enyedi, Zsolt

2008-01-01

Since the publication of Adorno, Frenkel-Brunswik, Levinson, and Sanford's (1950) classic study, considerable debate has developed concerning the political and ideological correlates of authoritarianism. This paper examines relationships between authoritarianism, on the one hand, and

The Politics of Local Tax Policy-Making in Poland

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Swianiewicz Paweł

2016-06-01

To what extent is tax policy an important item of the local political agenda in Polish municipalities ? Is it a subject of intense debates at city hall and local councils or is it accepted as a routine exercise ? The results suggest that the issues related to local taxes play a relatively marginal role compared to issues such as the location of major investments. However, the importance of taxes in local debates increases in those local communities in which the tax yields collected are larger and in the case of those taxes which are paid by a wider group of tax payers.Who governs in local tax-policy-making ? According to local provisions the proposal of tax resolution is submitted by the mayor, and the local council makes the final decision. But empirical findings suggest that the practice follows the “strong mayor” model, in which the local political leader, supporter by his staff of the financial department, is more influential than the councilors.

What Can Be Known and How People Grow: The Philosophical Stakes of the Assessment Debate

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Wahl, Rachel

2017-01-01

Fierce debates over standardized assessments in teacher preparation have revolved around flaws in implementation and the politics of privatization. While important, this focus obscures the philosophical divide between proponents and opponents of standardized assessments. This article examines how faculty in New York State argue for and against a…

Analyzing the positioning of political competitors on relevant policy conflict dimensions within the 2014 EU Europarliamentary elections

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Todor Arpad

2014-11-01

Full Text Available In this paper I analyze the positioning of Romanian political competitor for the European elections 2014 on most relevant dimensions of political conflict relevant to all European Union member countries. I analyze the political programs of the Romanian political parties realized within the euandi project. Even though not all dimensions are considered relevant in the context of political debate in Romania, the mapping provides a detailed picture of the current positioning of the main political competitors in the context of breaking USL and the creation of a new coalition government.

The Political Economy of State Governance in Global Production Networks:Change, Crisis and Contestation in the South African Fruit Sector

OpenAIRE

Phillips, Nicola Jane; Alford, Matthew

2017-01-01

Within the global value chain (GVC) and global production network (GPN) literatures, one of the most vibrant areas of debate focuses on dynamics of governance. However, the evolution of these debates has been underpinned by a persistent firm-centrism, with insufficient attention paid to states, public authority and politics. Building on a renewed interest in these themes in the recent literature, we contribute to a growing demand for a more robust political economy of governance in GVC/GPN de...

Great nuclear debate: German--American disagreements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaiser, K.

1978-01-01

The post-war international consensus on nuclear nonproliferation has been eroding because of the debate over actions taken by some countries and because of the U.S. response with a unilateral change in nuclear policy. The chronology of developments is traced, noting that the 1973--74 oil crisis, India's nuclear explosion in 1974, and the exchange of Brazilian uranium for German technology all had a major role in the policy controversy. New nonproliferation proposals by the Carter administration, by precipitating debate between those wanting tighter export controls and those with nuclear commercial interests, also introduced several foreign-relations problems because of the emphasis on international agreements and a technological approach. The U.S. is credited with taking a constructive step to correct the inadequacies of the present policies and exerting pressure for global involvement in reassessing the rules on armaments and proliferation. Significant U.S. leadership could also take the form of lower energy consumption

Interpreting Democracy: Ethnic Politics and Democracy in the eastern Himalaya

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chettri, Mona

2014-01-01

into ethnic grievances in order to facilitate political mobilization and deeper engagement with the state. In this process, discussions and debates are framed around ethnicity but are presented and deliberated within state approved democratic practices. In the eastern Himalaya, ethnic identity is one...

Political Science: Witchcraft or Craftsmanship? Standards for Good Research

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nørgaard, Asbjørn Sonne

2008-01-01

Scientific debate requires a common understanding of what constitutes good research. The purpose of this article is to establish such an understanding. The purpose of political science is to uncover, understand and explain the conformist aspect of social behavior, well aware that not all behavior...... is systematically determined by society. Good political science ought to be grounded in two questions: What do we know, and what are we going to learn? Research question and theory are decisive, while all discussion about methodology and design is about subjecting our prejudices and expectations to the most...

Political Communication, Citizen Journalism and Cyber-Societies: A Faster Way towards Democracy?

OpenAIRE

GEÇER, Ekmel

2017-01-01

Having a quick look at the literaturereview, it is possible to state that political communication, citizenjournalism, and democracy concepts have usually been used in collaboration witheach other especially after the long and sometimes complex new media theoriestake the core place in the debates. While some scholars, within the context ofcitizen journalism and political relation, highlights the role of social mediaand other new media courses in democratisation and more active politicalpartici...

#HashtagSolidarities: Twitter debates and networks in the MENA region

OpenAIRE

2016-01-01

During the course of the so-called Arab Spring, observers were quick to refer to the uprisings as »Facebook revolutions« or »Twitter revolutions«. Although the important role of social media in the 2011 upheavals in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is widely acknowledged, its impact on political processes in the region remains contested and contradictory. Rather than looking at social media through a transformation or security lens, the research presented here focused on how debates on...

Technical Veil, Hidden Politics: Interrogating the Power Linkages behind the Nexus

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jeremy Allouche

2015-02-01

Full Text Available The nexus is still very much an immature concept. Although it is difficult to disagree with a vision of integration between water, food and energy systems, there are fewer consensuses about what it means in reality. While some consider its framing to be too restrictive (excluding climate change and nature, particular actors see it as linked to green economy and poverty reduction, while others emphasise global scarcity and value chain management. The nexus debates, however, mask a bigger debate on resource inequality and access, contributing to social instability. Indeed, the market-technical framing of the nexus by the World Economic Forum, located in international business imperatives and global neoliberal policy hides political issues such as inequality, the manufacture of scarcity and international political economy and geopolitics. By addressing these, we then propose a new framing of the nexus.

Let's Put "Debate" into "Presidential Debates."

Science.gov (United States)

Benoit, William L.

Presidential debates come in all shapes and sizes. The presence and length of opening statements and closing remarks, the opportunity and length of rebuttal, the nature of the questioner, and other factors have created a bewildering variety of formats. However, most scholars agree that these confrontations are not "really" debates but merely…

River-Basin Politics and the Rise of Ecological and Transnational Democracy in Southeast Asia and Southern Africa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chris Sneddon

2008-06-01

Full Text Available In recent years, debates over 'deliberative', 'transnational' and 'ecological' democracy have proliferated, largely among scholars engaged in discussions of modernisation, globalisation and political identity. Within this broad context, scholars and practitioners of environmental governance have advanced the argument that a democratic society will produce a more environmentally conscious society. We want to make a volte-face of this argument and ask: to what extent does engagement with environmental politics and, specifically, water politics, contribute to processes of democratisation? After reviewing some of the contributions to debates over 'ecological' and 'transnational' democracy, we explore this question within the context of conflicts over river-basin development in Southeast Asia and southern Africa. We argue that there are multiple pathways to democratisation and that, in some cases, the environment as a political issue does constitute a significant element of democratisation. But notions of 'ecological' and 'transnational' democracy must embody how both 'environment' and 'the transnational', as mobilised by specific social movements in specific historical and geographical circumstances, are politically constructed.

Los orígenes del debate sobre la justicia global

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peña Echeverría, Javier

2010-12-01

Full Text Available The notion of global justice and the theory of justice attached to it are new in the current moral and political philosophy. However, this paper aims to show that the present debate on global justice is partially based upon problems and concepts that had previously been an issue of reflection and controversy in the history of the philosophical and juridical thinking. In particular, it tries to be a reflection on the following three ideas: first, on a universal human community conceived of as a framework that coexists with the fact of being a member of particular political societies; second, on the distinctions between perfect and imperfect rights and duties, as well as between requirements of justice and beneficence; and finally, on justification, conditions, and limits for communication, trade and property among members of different political societies.

La idea de una justicia global y el enfoque desde ese punto de vista de la teoría de la justicia son novedosos en la filosofía moral y política actual. Sin embargo, este artículo trata de mostrar que el debate actual sobre la justicia global se sustenta en parte sobre conceptos y problemas que fueron anteriormente objeto de reflexión y controversia en la historia del pensamiento filosófico y jurídico: la idea de una comunidad humana universal como marco de referencia que convive con la pertenencia a sociedades políticas particulares; la distinción entre derechos y deberes perfectos e imperfectos, así como entre exigencias de justicia y de beneficencia; y la justificación, condiciones y límites de la comunicación, el comercio y la propiedad entre miembros de distintas sociedades políticas.

Ruy Mauro Marini, un imprescindible para el debate latinoamericano

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ariel M. Slipak

2016-07-01

Full Text Available The militant and Brazilian academic, Ruy Mauro Marini, is generally recognized as one of the main references in what has become known as the Marxist perspective of "dependency theory", of great importance in the political and social debate in Latin America during the 1960s and 1970s. In this article we intend to revisit some of its major contributions to critical thinking in our region. Regardless of place them historically, we affirm that it is an author with full force for compression of specific legality of the laws of capitalism in dependent economies, the debate on the international insertion of the region and the role of social movements in the XXI Century. In addition to some unavoidable references to his personal life path, we will focus primarily to how Marini analyze the Dependency Cycle, which is inseparable from the concepts of Sub-imperialism, Super-exploitation of the labor force and Antagonic Cooperation

Speeches and political practices towards infancy in the province of Buenos Aires. Girls and boys in the early twentieth century

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yolanda de Paz Trueba

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Based on the concern that abandoned and vulnerable children represented for governmental and intellectual elites in Argentina in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, this paper analyses the vicissitudes around installation of a Patronato de Menores in the province of Buenos Aires. The article pays special attention to the relationship between budgetary issues and the political dimension, which colored parliamentary debate. I maintain that political centralization and the question of municipal autonomy crossed over into the debate surrounding children.

Energies: the real debate; Energies: Le Vrai Debat

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2003-07-01

Concurrently to the National Debate on the energies, a real debate has been proposed by seven associations of the environment protection and improvement. This debate, international, proposes: a panorama of the stakes, a presentation of the nuclear as an energy source not necessary dangerous, the relation between climate and employment and the conditions of existence and development of a local energy policy. (A.L.B.)

Political participation in European welfare states: Does social investment matter?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Marx, Paul; Nguyen, Christoph

2018-01-01

The role of the welfare state has expanded beyond passive assistance and decommodificaton. In many countries, social investment policies now actively encourage (re)integration into the labour market. While the effectiveness of these policies is debated, we know even less about their broader social...... and political effects. In this contribution, we explore the impact of social investment policies on one key aspect of social life: political participation. Combining insights from social psychology with institutional analysis, we investigate the impact of three social investment policies (early childhood...... education, secondary education, active labour market policies) on two disadvantaged groups: young individuals from low-skill backgrounds; and single parents. Combining the European Social Survey with data on social investment, we find that these risk groups have reduced political efficacy and political...

AFROPOLITANISM, CELEBRITY POLITICS, AND ICONIC IMAGINATIONS OF NORTH-SOUTH RELATIONS

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Richey, Lisa Ann; Christiansen, Lene Bull

2018-01-01

In discussions of African cultural politics, a new label of ‘Afropolitan’ refers to diverse engagements by Africans who are typically members of the cultural elite, and participate in diaspora politics, online activism, fashion and literature debates. Simultaneously, in discussions of development...... aid, celebrity has become a way of mediating between proximity and distance in imagining relationships between South and North. Afropolitanism can be usefully considered as an Africa-specific, post-colonial form of cosmopolitanism that spans discourses of elite pan-African culture to theories of elite...

[The Danish debate on priority setting in medicine - characteristics and results].

Science.gov (United States)

Pornak, S; Meyer, T; Raspe, H

2011-10-01

Priority setting in medicine helps to achieve a fair and transparent distribution of health-care resources. The German discussion about priority setting is still in its infancy and may benefit from other countries' experiences. This paper aims to analyse the Danish priority setting debate in order to stimulate the German discussion. The methods used are a literature analysis and a document analysis as well as expert interviews. The Danish debate about priority setting in medicine began in the 1970s, when a government committee was constituted to evaluate health-care priorities at the national level. In the 1980s a broader debate arose in politics, ethics, medicine and health economy. The discussions reached a climax in the 1990s, when many local activities - always involving the public - were initiated. Some Danish counties tried to implement priority setting in the daily routine of health care. The Council of Ethics was a major player in the debate of the 1990s and published a detailed statement on priority setting in 1996. With the new century the debate about priority setting seemed to have come to an end, but in 2006 the Technology Council and the Danish Regions resumed the discussion. In 2009 the Medical Association called for a broad debate in order to achieve equity among all patients. The long lasting Danish debate on priority setting has entailed only very little practical consequences on health care. The main problems seem to have been the missing effort to bundle the various local initiatives on a national level and the lack of powerful players to put results of the discussion into practice. Nevertheless, today the attitude towards priority setting is predominantly positive and even politicians talk freely about it. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Fracking in the UK press: Threat dynamics in an unfolding debate

OpenAIRE

Jaspal, Rusi; Nerlich, Brigitte

2014-01-01

Shale gas is a novel source of fossil fuel which is extracted by induced hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking.” This article examines the the socio-political dimension of fracking as manifested in the UK press at three key temporal points in the debate on the practice. Three newspaper corpora were analysed qualitatively using Thematic Analysis and Social Representations Theory. Three overarching themes are discussed: “April-May 2011: From Optimism to Scepticism”; “November 2011: ...

On Populist Pop Culture: Ethno as the Contemporary Political Ideology in Serbia

OpenAIRE

Irena Šentevska

2016-01-01

This study attempts to shift the debate of the contemporary facets of populist ideologies from the realm of institutional politics to the realm of everyday life, popular culture, media and “invented traditions”. My intention is to demonstrate how these realms generate new sources and voices of populism, often downplayed in the academic debates on the subject. The paper stems from comprehensive research on discourses of identity (re)construction in post-Yugoslav Serbia as communicated in pop-c...

Engaging nuns: Exiled english convents and the politics of exclusion, 1590-1829

OpenAIRE

Watkinson, C.

2016-01-01

This thesis addresses the communities of English women religious founded after the Reformation on the other side of the Channel from a new perspective. In echoes of contemporary Protestant propaganda, debates about nuns remain too often framed by a discourse around themes such as passivity or the idea of forced vocations. The mere fact that women religious played a role in such propaganda suggests, however, that they also figured in debates about identity and political order. These were, more...

Debating the Conduct and Nature of Malaysian Politics: Communalism and New Media Post-March 2008

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joseph Chinyong Liow

2010-01-01

Full Text Available The results of Malaysia’s general election held on 8 March 2008 was nothing short of monumental. By winning five state legislatures and denying the incumbent governing coalition its hitherto routine two-thirds parliamentary majority, the performance of the opposition, swayed by the contribution of the new media, raised hopes that Malaysian politics had turned a corner. Following the elections, the popular discursive terrain in Malaysia was awash with talk of a “new politics” that had emerged, and that transcended the traditional narratives of race, religion, and communalism. The purpose of this paper is to examine the veracity of these claims in relation to the nature and conduct of politics in Malaysia. It argues that, three years after the 2008 elections, the communal narrative remains as forceful a factor in Malaysian politics despite the presence of a multi-ethnic opposition coalition and the hope engendered by the emergence of the new media as an equalizing factor that has eroded the incumbent’s traditional hegemonic control over information.

The Politics and Anti-Politics of Social Movements

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

This book explores the nature, significance and consequences of the religious activism surrounding AIDS in Africa. While African religion was relatively marginal in inspiring or contributing to AIDS activism during the early days of the epidemic, this situation has changed dramatically. In order...... to account for these changes, contributors provide answers to pressing questions. How does the entrance of religion into public debates about AIDS affect policymaking and implementation, church-state relations, and religion itself? How do religious actors draw on and reconfigure forms of transnational...... connectivity? How do resource flows from development and humanitarian aid that religious actors may access then affect relationships of power and authority in African societies? How does religious mobilization on AIDS reflect contestation over identity, cultural membership, theology, political participation...

Gender, Power and Political Leadership in Nigeria: Lessons from ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The gender problematic is profoundly central to the leadership debate and one of the main elements of positive leadership in gender studies is that of significant inclusion of all gender types especially women in political contests. Unfortunately because of their lack of needed skills that can ensure a high degree of ...

The class politics of prejudice: Brexit and the land of no-hope and glory.

Science.gov (United States)

Mckenzie, Lisa

2017-11-01

The debates relating to social class and whether it is still a useful concept in describing a lived reality of the British population has never been far away from media, political and academic dispute. Thatcher's Britain throughout the 1980s attempted to dilute class meaning with what was called 'a home owning democracy' and thus end class collective politics through easily available credit for the working class while simultaneously attacking trade union organization, recruitment and political action. During the late 1990s and into the noughties a 'New Labour' administration attempted to exacerbate the end of class politics through an agenda of a 'cultural distinction' to class identity. Class struggle, class politics and class identity is embedded deep within the cultural norms practices, and history of British democracy. Consequently it is difficult if not impossible to prise class inequality in the UK away from and out of national, local and personal politics (Savage et al. 2015: 393-8). This paper focuses upon the sense that class politics, and cultural class distinction, within the UK had the biggest influence in determining a working-class 'Leave Vote' in the 2016 referendum within the UK. This paper explores accounts and narratives from working-class 'leave' voters though an ethnographic study of the political and social viewpoints of working-class communities of East London, and of ex-mining towns of Nottinghamshire. Framing into fuller context the anger and apathy of being 'left out', arguing that being 'left out' has been part of working-class political narratives for over 30 years. Going beyond frustration and apathy, a significant part of the narrative of working people was of 'not existing', suggesting certain important linkages with ongoing debates about new ways of conceptualizing class differences and class structures. © London School of Economics and Political Science 2017.

Feyerabend on politics, education, and scientific culture.

Science.gov (United States)

Kidd, Ian James

2016-06-01

The purpose of this paper is to offer a sympathetic reconstruction of the political thought of Paul Feyerabend. Using a critical discussion of the idea of the 'free society' it is suggested that his political thought is best understood in terms of three thematic concerns-liberation, hegemony, and the authority of science-and that the political significance of those claims become clear when they are considered in the context of his educational views. It emerges that Feyerabend is best understood as calling for the grounding of cognitive and cultural authorities-like the sciences-in informed deliberation, rather than the uncritical embrace of prevailing convictions. It therefore emerges that a free society is best understood as one of epistemically responsible citizenship rather than epistemically anarchistic relativism of the 'anything goes' sort-a striking anticipation of current debates about philosophy of science in society. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Political relevance in the eye of the beholder: Determining the substantiveness of TV shows and political debates with Twitter data

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boukes, M.; Trilling, D.

Addressing the call to move beyond a simple genre classification of TV shows as either substantive (hard) news or non-substantive (soft) infotainment, we propose using social media reactions to determine a program’s political relevance. Such an approach provides information that goes beyond genre or

The file of the national debate on energy transition. Knowledge base, Current status, Commitments, Stakes, The debate. Let us imagine together our tomorrow's energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Batho, Delphine

2013-02-01

Within the perspective of the French national debate on energy transition, four main issues are to be addressed: how to move towards energy efficiency and sobriety, which trajectory to reach the defined energy mix in 2025 and which types of possible scenarios by 2030 and 2050 while complying with climate-related commitments of France, which choices in terms of renewable energies and new energy technologies with which strategy of industry and land development, which costs, benefits and financing for energy transition. Within this context, this publication aims at providing all those who want to be informed or participate with information on the current situation of energy in France, in Europe and in the World. It also aims at presenting the main social, economic and ecologic challenges of energy transition. It proposes contributions and opinions of organisations which belong to the Debate National Council. Thus, after a presentation of the energy situation, the report recalls and comments the various commitments: European and international commitments, French legal frameworks and existing laws, additional political commitments. The main challenges are then discussed as the main debate issues: energy consumption management, energy mix equilibrium, development of the renewable energy sector and of new energy technologies, costs, benefits and financing. Transverse challenges are discussed, such as: energy safety, economic, social, environmental, international, and governance stakes. Finally, debate objectives, its mains steps, its locations and bodies are presented

Rationality and religion in the public debate on embryo stem cell research and prenatal diagnostics.

Science.gov (United States)

Myskja, Bjørn K

2009-06-01

Jürgen Habermas has argued that religious views form a legitimate background for contributions to an open public debate, and that religion plays a particular role in formulating moral intuitions. Translating religious arguments into "generally accessible language" (Habermas, Eur J Philos 14(1):1-25, 2006) to enable them to play a role in political decisions is a common task for religious and non-religious citizens. The article discusses Habermas' view, questioning the particular role of religion, but accepting the significance of including such counter-voices to the predominant views. Furthermore it is pointed out that not only religious but also numerous secular views stand in need of translation to be able to bear on policy matters. Accepting Habermas' general framework, I raise the question whether experts (such as clinicians working in relevant specialised areas of care) participating in political debates on biomedical issues have a duty to state their religious worldview, and to what extent the American government decision to restrict embryo stem cell research is an illegitimate transgression of the State-Church divide.

Three Papers on the Political Consequences of Oil Prices

Science.gov (United States)

Crespo Tenorio, Adriana

Given the importance of oil in any country's energy needs, it should not be surprising that the increasing volatility of oil prices in the past decades is a challenge for most political systems. While the political and economic impact of natural resource wealth in general is strongly debated, the political consequences of these sudden shifts have gone understudied. This dissertation examines the relationship between politics and oil from a new perspective. First, I implement a Bayesian meta-regression model to assess the state of research on the natural resource curse, finding that the measurement of resources is one of the most important sources of the debate. In the second part of the dissertation, I turn to discussing the impact of fuel prices on politics. I argue that at the domestic level, rational leaders feel pressured to compensate for oil price shocks because they are held accountable for these shifts by their constituents. This hypothesis is tested using Bayesian multilevel models that allow state and time-varying information to be matched to individual survey responses for a sample of voters in nine American states between 2008 and 2009. This chapter shows that fuel prices are related to appraisals of the economy only during electoral periods. The results also provide evidence that the degree to which voters use fuel prices to evaluate the president's performance varies greatly across party lines. At the global level, I posit in the final chapter that cross-country cooperation in other issue areas is pursued to mitigate the economic impact of oil price volatility. By developing a Bayesian bivariate Poisson change-point model and implementing it using MCMC methods, I find that fuel price shifts are related to increased trade networks, especially for oil-exporting countries.

Climate stories: Why do climate scientists and sceptical voices participate in the climate debate?

Science.gov (United States)

Sharman, Amelia; Howarth, Candice

2017-10-01

Public perceptions of the climate debate predominantly frame the key actors as climate scientists versus sceptical voices; however, it is unclear why climate scientists and sceptical voices choose to participate in this antagonistic and polarised public battle. A narrative interview approach is used to better understand the underlying rationales behind 22 climate scientists' and sceptical voices' engagement in the climate debate, potential commonalities, as well as each actor's ability to be critically self-reflexive. Several overlapping rationales are identified including a sense of duty to publicly engage, agreement that complete certainty about the complex assemblage of climate change is unattainable and that political factors are central to the climate debate. We argue that a focus on potential overlaps in perceptions and rationales as well as the ability to be critically self-reflexive may encourage constructive discussion among actors previously engaged in purposefully antagonistic exchange on climate change.

The politics of mining in the Northern Territory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heatley, A.

1983-01-01

Of the three issues which have dominated the politics of mining in the Northern Territory, Australia, only the question of mineral royalties has in any way been resolved. The debate on uranium has been conducted on two levels, the first relating to the establishment of the policy and administrative framework and the application of land rights procedures, and the second concerning the inter-party dispute on uranium mining. Some consideration is given to Commonwealth policy and actions as responsibility for mining policy in the Territory is divided. Attitudes of the political parties, trade unions, the mining industry, Aborigines and the general community are noted

The psychiatric profession and the Australian government: the debate over collective depression syndrome among asylum-seeking detainees.

Science.gov (United States)

Bostock, William W

2009-01-01

Psychiatrists have long had involvement with the political process, both individually and as a profession. They have made valuable contributions to debate over such issues as war, conflict, terrorism, torture, human rights abuse, drug abuse, suicide and other public health issues. However, they have also been complicit in some gross atrocities. Over several years there has been debate over the Australian Government's treatment of asylum seekers, and the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists took the unusual step of publicly criticizing the Australian Government's policy on grounds of its toxicity leading to a diagnosis of collective depression syndrome, particularly among child detainees, but also adult detainees. The official Ministerial response was to deny that collective depression exists and to assert that the concept is meaningless. Can this intervention by psychiatrists be interpreted as a product of earlier political behaviors by psychiatrists? The willingness of psychiatrists to cooperate with other professions, notably psychologists, pediatricians, physicians and lawyers, is noted, as is presence of minority voices within the Australian psychiatric profession. The significance of the debate over the mental condition of asylum-seeking detainees is that its outcome has implications for how Australia sees itself and is seen by the rest of the world, that is, its national identity.

On the Paradox of the Political/Transcendence and Eschatology: Transimmanence and the Promise of Love in Jean-Luc Nancy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Schalk Hendrik Gerber

2017-02-01

Full Text Available The debate on the possibility of re-thinking transcendence at the so-called end or closure of the metaphysical tradition and its relation to the political is situated at the heart of contemporary continental philosophy of religion. This article engages the debate by reviewing what is to be thought or anticipated at the closure. Firstly, the problem of engaging with transcendence at the closure of metaphysics is outlined as a discussion on what is possibly meant by the end of transcendence and onto-theology. Subsequently, the question concerning the political and its inseparable relation to transcendence is sketched and denoted by the phrase “the political/transcendence”. Secondly, Levinas’ and Nancy’s respective attempts at addressing the problem are explored in the form of a debate, with the outcome suggesting a possible gesture towards Nancy’s reconception of transcendence as transimmanence, found in his notion of “the promise of love”, on “how” to anticipate rather than “what” to anticipate in these end times.

EXPERTISE OF POLITICAL ANALYSIS IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. D. Bogaturov

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The article is devoted to a problem of political analysis in the fi eld of international relations. The author discusses the key rules, standards and requirements of correct political research as well as basic criteria of analytical correctness. The author formulates typology of analytical papers, assesses the state of environment and working conditions for today’s experts, analysis key problems and diffi culties at the stage of empirical data selection (including verifi cation of information sources, while choosing analytical methods and formulating conclusions. The article gives advice for experts, how to organize research, deal with diffi culties and fi nd non-standard solutions.

Information Communication Technology and Politics: A Synthesized Analysis of the Impacts of Information Technology on Voter Participation in Kenya

Science.gov (United States)

Tsuma, Clive Katiba

2011-01-01

The availability of political information throughout society made possible by the evolution of contemporary information communication technology has precipitated conflicting debate regarding the effects of technology use on real life political participation. Proponents of technology argue that the use of new information technology stimulates…

A debate about the merits of debate in nurse education.

Science.gov (United States)

Hartin, Peter; Birks, Melanie; Bodak, Marie; Woods, Cindy; Hitchins, Marnie

2017-09-01

In this 'Issues for Debate' paper, the issue is debate. Today's nurses must be able to advocate, lead, and grow 'big ideas', as well as knowing their way around a patient's body and mind. This paper reports, partly, on a research study into the use of debate to develop clinical reasoning and thinking skills in nursing students. The study was conducted with first and third-year nursing students enrolled at an Australian regional university. Students were asked to comment on the effectiveness of debate as an educational strategy. We combine the results of this research study with literature and discussion into the educational uses of debate to put the argument that using debate in nursing education can be an effective way to foster the type of creative, intelligent, thoughtful and forward-thinking nurses needed in the modern healthcare system. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Soviet debate on missile defense

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Parrott, B.

1987-04-01

Although the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) is meant to cope with the danger of a Soviet nuclear attack, the recent US debate over SDI has paid surprisingly little attention to Soviet views of ballistic missile defense. Despite the existence of a substantial body of pertinent scholarship, the debate has failed to take adequate account of major changes in Soviet ballistic missile defense policy since the mid-1960s. It has also neglected the links between current Soviet military policy and broader Soviet political and economic choices. The Soviets regard SDI not as a novel undertaking to reduce the risks of nuclear war but as an extension of the geopolitical competition between the superpowers. This competition has been dominated in the 1980s, in the Soviet view, by sharply increased US assertiveness and the decline of detente. Viewing SDI as a manifestation of these general trends, Soviet decision makers find the prospect of an unregulated race in ballistic missile defenses and military space technologies deeply unsettling. The deterioration of superpower relations has raised serious doubts in Moscow about the wisdom of Soviet external policy during the 1970s and has provoked sharp internal differences over policy toward the US. Already highly suspicious of the Reagan administration, the elite is united by a general conviction that SDI is an American gambit that may ultimately undercut past Soviet strategic gains and pose a grave new threat to Soviet security. 14 references.

Revitalizing Traditional Chinese Concepts in the Modern Ecological Civilization Debate

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Arler, Finn

2018-01-01

The subject of this paper is the question of China’s contribution to the establishment of an association of ecological civilizations—as seen from the perspective of a European—given the growing economic, political, and ecological influence that China has in the world today. The question is which...... worldviews? The paper discusses a number of modern interpretations that have argued that some basic concepts in the Chinese tradition are not only congenial with, but even provide fruitful additions to the modern debate about the establishment of cooperative ecological civilizations. In the final part...

Drug consumption rooms: Comparing times, spaces and actors in issues of social acceptability in French public debate.

Science.gov (United States)

Jauffret-Roustide, Marie; Cailbault, Isabelle

2018-06-01

In October 2016, the first French drug consumption room (DCR) opened in Paris. We propose to examine the process through which this issue has been framed as a matter of public concern, after being ignored for almost 20 years. Our analysis of the controversy on DCRs investigates how public conversations on harm reduction evolve according to the time period (from the 1990s to the present), scale of discourse (local vs. national), and involved actors (politicians, professionals, local residents, and drug users). Our methodology includes analyses of media content: we reviewed 1735 articles published between 1990 and 2017. Our theoretical approach is in line with the sociology "des épreuves" derived from pragmatic sociology and controversy analysis. This approach goes beyond interactionism by attempting to place situations back into broader sociological realities. We also pay special attention to governance, a political lens that focuses on local aspects of negotiations and on the implication of a variety of actors. While the current debate on DCRs in France draws on constraints and resources already present in the harm reduction debate of the 1980s, it also repositions itself by avoiding moral argumentation and featuring less confrontation in the professional sphere. Today, we can see that the center of this tense debate has shifted from the professional sphere to the political and residential spheres. Most often, residents advance concerns that are not directly related to drug users themselves, but that derive from their apprehension of living in a displaced and stranded neighborhood. The public conversation leaves little room for drug users, even though they are the primary stakeholders of harm reduction and play a crucial role in DCR advocacy. Our work reveals that the controversy about DCR is the product of complex interactions between different kinds of actors harm reduction professionals, political actors at the local and national levels, local residents, and

Political power beyond the State: problematics of government. 1992.

Science.gov (United States)

Rose, Nikolas; Miller, Peter

2010-01-01

This paper sets out an approach to the analysis of political power in terms of problematics of government. It argues against an overvaluation of the 'problem of the State' in political debate and social theory. A number of conceptual tools are suggested for the analysis of the many and varied alliances between political and other authorities that seek to govern economic activity, social life and individual conduct. Modern political rationalities and governmental technologies are shown to be intrinsically linked to developments in knowledge and to the powers of expertise. The characteristics of liberal problematics of government are investigated, and it is argued that they are dependent upon technologies for 'governing at a distance', seeking to create locales, entities and persons able to operate a regulated autonomy. The analysis is exemplified through an investigation of welfarism as a mode of 'social' government. The paper concludes with a brief consideration of neo-liberalism which demonstrates that the analytical language structured by the philosophical opposition of state and civil society is unable to comprehend contemporary transformations in modes of exercise of political power.(1).

What’s Political about Solar Electric Technology? The User’s Perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chelsea Schelly

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Scholars in science and technology studies have debated the various ways in which technologies are (or are not political. Here, I examine how users themselves understand and articulate the politics of a specific technology—residential solar electric technology—and how understandings of politics interact with motivations to adopt. Based on interviews with 48 individuals in 36 households across the state of Wisconsin who have adopted residential solar electric technology, I consider the user’s perspective on the question: “What’s political about residential solar electric technology use?” These users were asked about the politics of this technology and how their understanding of the technology’s politics shaped their own motivation for adoption. These solar electric technology adopters saw solar electric technology as both imbued with political character based on the current national political scene and as inherently, innately political. They described how solar electric technology interacts with the politics of environmentalism, challenges “politics-as-usual” and can bring about decentralization and redistribution of wealth. In short, to the users of solar electric technology, this technological artifact is, indeed, political; it both interacts with, and offers an alternative to, current American political structures. Further, their perspectives on the politics of solar technology shaped their understandings of motivations for and limitations to adoption of this alternative technology.

On the Paradox of the Political/Transcendence and Eschatology: Transimmanence and the Promise of Love in Jean-Luc Nancy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gerber, Schalk; van der Merwe, W.L.

2017-01-01

The debate on the possibility of re-thinking transcendence at the so-called end or closure of the metaphysical tradition, and its relation to the political, is situated at the heart of contemporary continental philosophy of religion. This article engages the debate by reviewing what is to be thought

Global health governance - the next political revolution.

Science.gov (United States)

Kickbusch, I; Reddy, K S

2015-07-01

The recent Ebola crisis has re-opened the debate on global health governance and the role of the World Health Organization. In order to analyze what is at stake, we apply two conceptual approaches from the social sciences - the work on gridlock and the concept of cosmopolitan moments - to assess the ability of the multilateral governance system to reform. We find that gridlock can be broken open by a health crisis which in turn generates a political drive for change. We show that a set of cosmopolitan moments have led to the introduction of the imperative of health in a range of policy arenas and moved health into 'high politics' - this has been called a political revolution. We contend that this revolution has entered a second phase with increasing interest of heads of state in global health issues. Here lies the window of opportunity to reform global health governance. Copyright © 2015 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Climate: science, ideology and politics. An emblematic controversy; Climat: science, ideologie et politique. Une controverse emblematique

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lebeau, A. [Conservatoire National des Arts et Metiers - CNAM, 75 - Paris (France); Societe Meteorologique de France SMF, 75 - Paris (France)

2010-11-15

Climate change is now a familiar subject for most of the individuals living in the industrialized countries, and no doubt a subject of growing interest in the emergent countries such as China. How has this theme lodged itself in public debate? Who are the actors in that debate and how much of a part do they play? Andre Lebeau has examined these questions, attempting to determine how this initially highly scientific subject has, over time, found a foothold in economic, political and media debate. (author)

Irony and Politically Incorrect Humanitarianism

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Olwig, Mette Fog; Christiansen, Lene Bull

2016-01-01

trends, it can, in a local national setting, develop in ways that are contrary to the political correctness characteristic of global celebrity humanitarianism. In the Danish cultural context we found that anti-elitist cultural norms and social codes, rooted in local understandings of democratic inclusion...... and equality, must be inscribed into celebrity performances. This form of performativity is often achieved through ostensibly politically incorrect, unassuming and underplayed, irony. It is, however, an unenlightened democracy, unaware of those it excludes - i.e. the Other who is kept invisible through...

Debates about assisted suicide in Switzerland.

Science.gov (United States)

Burkhardt, Sandra; La Harpe, Romano

2012-12-01

Assisted suicide is allowed in 3 states of the United States (Oregon, Washington, Montana) but only if performed by a physician.On the opposite, in Switzerland, at the beginning of the 20th century, the Swiss Penal Code referred to assisted suicide in the context of honor or an unhappy love affair. It was only in 1985 that Exit Deutsche Schweiz (Exit for German-speaking Switzerland) "medically" assisted the first patient to end his life.Even if authorized by the Swiss law upon certain conditions, assisted suicide is subject to debates for ethical reasons. The Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences described directives to guide physicians on this difficult subject.Different studies showed an increase in the number of medical-assisted suicide in Switzerland since the 1990s. Now, this number seems to be quite stable. Assisted suicide is authorized in a few hospitals under strict conditions (especially when returning home is impossible).Thus, according to the Swiss law, any person could perform assisted suicide; this is essentially performed by 3 main associations, using pentobarbital on medical prescription as lethal substance.Generally speaking, the Swiss population is rather in favor of assisted suicide. Among politics, the debate has been tough until 2010, when the Federal Council decided not to modify the Swiss Penal Code concerning assisted suicide.

American Political Discourse: Irony in Pre-Election Campaign 2016

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Анна Александровна Горностаева

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This article represents the analysis of American modern political discourse, mainly the field connected with the pre-election campaign 2016. It explores primary genres of political discourse (speeches, announcements, debates, party programmes, as well as secondary genres (commentaries, discussions, interpretation, political interviews. Owing to the fact that political communication embraces the whole range of informal political processes in society, the field of research includes the so-called informal political socializing. The aim of the paper is to study the use of irony and its functions in political discourse. The data used for the study were taken from candidates’ speeches, interviews with political and public figures, and recent witty sayings/comments. The study is based on the theory of critical discourse analysis (M. Bilig 2007, Teun A. van Dijk 2009, N. Fairclough 1996, P. Graham 2007, J. Lemke 2007, S. Scollon 2007, political discourse analysis (A. Beard 2001, D. Ponton 2011 etc. and theory of irony (L. Alba-Juez 2014, S. Attardo 2007, R. Giora 2001, 2003, L. Hutcheon 2005, B. Komlosi 2010 etc.. The analysis showed that irony is a frequent communicative strategy used by politicians in pre-election campaigns, it performs different functions, such as aggression, defense, entertainment and some others and plays a positive role in commucation with the audience. When used expertly, irony contributes to making political discourse more expressive and convincing. An ironic politician is a better manipulator of public opinion than one unable to use irony.

Politics, Etiquette, and the Fight against HIV/AIDS in Kenya ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Today, there are efforts from various stakeholders to slow down the spread of the epidemic. Some of these efforts have caused much debate and controversy, sometimes taking a political angle. Hardly any agreed steps are accepted by national institutions and even individuals on how to tackle the epidemic. This diversity of ...

The political abuse of international health system comparisons.

Science.gov (United States)

Ehlke, Daniel

2011-07-01

Though the science of medicine subscribes to learning from best practices and the transmission of superior treatment regimens across national boundaries, the same ethos does not inform political debates surrounding health system reform. The Canadian and English health systems have been used - and, more frequently - abused by American politicians in their quest to support their own model of reform, or preserve the status quo.

Bureaucratic Dilemmas: Civil servants between political responsiveness and normative constraints

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Jørgen Grønnegård; Opstrup, Niels

2017-01-01

The interaction between political executives and civil servants rests on a delicate balance between political responsiveness and the duty of civil servants and ministers to respect legal and other normative constraints on executive authority. In Danish central government, this balance is stressed...... by norms that define the correct behavior when the civil service provides ministers with political advice and assistance. Organizational factors strongly influence civil servants’ behavior when they have to balance responsiveness against constraints on their role as political advisers. Moreover, civil...

Becoming independent: political participation and youth transitions in the Scottish referendum.

Science.gov (United States)

Breeze, Maddie; Gorringe, Hugo; Jamieson, Lynn; Rosie, Michael

2017-12-01

Sociological debates on youth engagement with electoral politics play out against a backdrop of supposed 'decline' in civic participation (e.g. Putnam , Norris, ), in turn contextualized by theories of individualization in 'late' or 'reflexive' modernity (Beck, Giddens). However, the enfranchisement of 16 and 17 year olds in the 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum catalysed remarkably high levels of voter turnout among this youngest group, and was accompanied by apparently ongoing political engagement. We explored this engagement among a strategic sample of young 'Yes' voters, in the immediate aftermath of this exceptional political event. Analysis of qualitative interview data generated an unanticipated finding; that interviewees narrated their political engagement biographically, articulated their referendum participation reflexively, and located their new political ideas, allegiances and actions in the context of their own transitions to 'independent' adulthood. This inspired us to rethink young people's political engagement in relation to youth transitions. Doing so enables a synthesis of divergent strands in the sociology of youth, and offers new insights into the combinations of 'personal' agentic and 'political' structural factors involved in young people's politicization. © London School of Economics and Political Science 2017.

Chernobyl: the political fall-out

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Edwards, R.

1986-01-01

The attitude to nuclear power of the major political parties in the United Kingdom is examined following the reactor accident at Chernobyl. In particular the Government policy, which is to reaffirm its commitment to nuclear energy, and that of the Labour opposition policy, which may be not to build any more nuclear power stations, are discussed. However, the Labour party policy is still open to debate and may be changed before the next general election. The Scottish and Welsh Nationalist parties and the Greens are all anti-nuclear. (U.K.)

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.

Rationality and the environment: decision-making in environmental politics and assessment

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Elling, Bo

2008-01-01

... question in public debate The institutionalization of the environmental question in the political apparatus The environmental question's accentuation of the value problematic of the modern The environmental question's transcending modernity Environment, subject and society 15 22 25 26 43 63 Chapter 3 Modernity and Reflexivity How the concept of ...

Hybrid regimes of knowledge? Challenges for constructing scientific evidence in the context of the GMO-debate.

Science.gov (United States)

Böschen, Stefan

2009-07-01

Over the last two decades, there has been a remarkable shift of attention to the scientific and political fundamentals of the precautionary principle. The application of this principle has become a main strategy of coping with the different forms and problems related to non-knowledge. Thus, societies are increasingly confronted with the challenging and hitherto unresolved problem of political and technological decision-making under conditions of diverging framings of non-knowledge. At present, there seems to be no generally accepted scientific or institutional approach. This is why the fundamental question of how different scientific actors define and construct evidence is not answered yet. Hence, this paper is based on the consideration that the conflicts in risk policy concerning genetically modified organisms (GMO) depend on the unresolved conflicts about the diverging scientific strategies and structures of evidence-making between the epistemic cultures involved. Thus, this study investigates two questions: (1) do the epistemic strategies of evidence-making differ systematically with the scientific actors involved in the GMO-debate? (2) What consequences emerge considering institutionalized procedures of decision-making? This article is based on a secondary analysis of findings and perspectives reported in the literature and on the methods of qualitative social empirical research, i.e., interviews with experts. A total number of 34 interviews were conducted to explore the different strategies of handling non-knowledge and constructing evidence. Actors from science, administration, business and NGOs were interviewed. In this way, typical epistemic cultures can be described. An epistemic culture is the constellation of methodological strategies, theoretical assumptions and practical-experimental settings which define in every speciality the ways how we know what we know. There are two main results. Firstly, it was worked out that the epistemic cultures involved

Prospects for Political Transition in the Islamic Republic of Iran

Science.gov (United States)

1999-12-01

the elements and agents of political socialization within the regime of the Islamic Republic have not been successful in correctly conveying the...101 101 "Youth Political Socialization Process Seen," Tehran: Tehran Iran (18 August 1999), FBIS Daily Report-Near East/South Asia, 15 November 1999

Debat

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brodersen, John

2017-01-01

DEBAT: Det er glædeligt, at flere debattører anerkender, at der sker overbehandling og overdiagnostik i sundhedsvæsnet. Næste skridt er, at branchen erkender medicinens mangler, skriver John Brodersen.......DEBAT: Det er glædeligt, at flere debattører anerkender, at der sker overbehandling og overdiagnostik i sundhedsvæsnet. Næste skridt er, at branchen erkender medicinens mangler, skriver John Brodersen....

The debate on nuclear power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bethe, H.A.

1977-01-01

The need for nuclear power is pointed out. The Study Group on Nuclear Fuel Cycles of the American Physical Society has studied the problem of waste disposal in detail and has found that geological emplacement leads to safe waste disposal. The relation between nuclear power and weapons proliferation is discussed. The problem of preventing proliferation is primarily a political problem, and the availability of nuclear power will contribute little to the potential for proliferation. However, to further reduce this contribution, it may be desirable to keep fast-breeder reactors under international control and to use only converters for national reactors. The desirable converter is one which has a high conversion ratio, probably one using the thorium cycle, 233 U, and heavy water as the moderator. The nuclear debate in the United States of America is discussed. Work on physical and technical safeguards in the USA against diversion of fissile materials is mentioned. (author)

The politics of federal environmental education policy

Science.gov (United States)

Crouch, Richard Craig

Both environmental governance1 and education governance 2 occupy contested territory in contemporary US political discourse. Environmental education (EE) policy has emerged at this intersection and taken on aspects of both controversies. Central to debates surrounding environmental education are still unresolved issues concerning the role of the federal government in education, the role of education in citizen-making, and the role of the public in environmental governance. As a case study of the politics of environmental education policy, I explore these issues as they relate to the National Environmental Education Act of 1990,3 attempts at its reauthorization, its continued appropriations, and its current state of policy stasis. The political controversy over the federal role in environmental education is an appropriate case study of environmental education politics insofar as it reflects the different positions held by actor groups with regard to the definition, efficacy, and legitimacy of environmental education. At the core of these debates, as we will see, is a definitional crisis---that is, there is no common understanding across the relevant actor groups as to what environmental education is, or should be. I suggest here that this definitional issue can be best understood as having technical, ideological, and structural components4---all of which are mutually reinforcing and thus perpetuate the stasis in federal environmental education policy. 1I rely on Durant, Fiorino and O'leary's definition of environmental governance in Environmental Governance Reconsidered ; "In the term environmental governance, we refer to the increasingly collaborative nature of [environmental and natural resource] policy formulation and implementation. In this vein, a wide array of third parties (for example, actors in the profit sector, the nonprofit sector, and civic society), in addition to government agencies, comprise non hierarchical networks of actors wielding a variety of

Coaching, Not Correcting: An Alternative Model for Minority Students

Science.gov (United States)

Dresser, Rocío; Asato, Jolynn

2014-01-01

The debate on the role of oral corrective feedback or "repair" in English instruction settings has been going on for over 30 years. Some educators believe that oral grammar correction is effective because they have noticed that students who learned a set of grammar rules were more likely to use them in real life communication (Krashen,…

Between Politics and Religion – In Search of the Golden Mean

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pawel Tarasiewicz

2012-12-01

Full Text Available The author undertakes the problem of the identity of Western civilization in the light of a correlation between politics and religion. First, he traces the theoretical debates about the mutual correspondence of politics and religion in ancient Greece. Following two extreme errors depicted by Sophocles in his “Antigone,” and by Plato in his “Apology of Socrates,” he infers that the “Golden Mean” is necessary in resolving the problem of politics and religion. Then, he examines the underlying errors put forward in the history. His investigations show the erroneousness of endowing either politics or religion with sovereign status in culture. There is always a conflict between politics and religion unless man regains his own sovereignty from them. Ultimately the author arrives at the conclusion that the “Golden Mean” correlating politics and religion distinctly strengthens the identity of the Western Civilization, and consists in respecting all real and universal parameters of human person life, such as cognition, freedom (and responsibility, love, agency in law, ontological sovereignty, and religious dignity.

Political electricity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Price, Terence.

1990-01-01

This book is a non-technical exploration of the political and policy issues that have influenced the development of nuclear power. Part One describes the successes, failures, horse-trading, and infighting that make up nuclear power's history, taking nine counties as examples. Part Two reviews the main problems that now confront us, as seen in mid-June 1990; like all contemporary accounts, the book is unavoidably incomplete. However, by then it was possible to make provisional judgements about two very important recent influences: the political consequences of Chernobyl, and concerns about the greenhouse effect. The story that emerges is of a nuclear industry that has rarely been guilty of dereliction of duty, though it was undeniably complacent in not addressing sooner the causes of the public's entirely reasonable anxieties. The anti-nuclear lobby has been skilled in debate, and sometimes extraordinarily percipient; but less than fair in failing to acknowledge the industry's achievements and its willingness to learn from past mistakes. As for the politicians, the book contains many examples that show how the flames of controversy can be deliberately fanned when there are votes to be gained. The story has few heroes, but within the industry fewer villains than the public has been led to believe. (author)

The elephant in the prayer room. Exploring the non/ephemeral effects of racialized atmospheres and mood politics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Staunæs, Dorthe; Hvenegaard-Lassen, Kirsten

The elephant in the prayer-room. Exploring the non/ephemeral effects of racialized atmospheres and mood politics by Kirsten Hvenegård-Lassen, kirs@ruc.dk and Dorthe Staunæs dost@edu.au.dk In this paper, we zoom in on atmosphere and mood politics in order to discuss the dismissal of race and racism...... in a Danish context. We use the recent debate in the Danish Parliament concerning a state ban on “prayer-rooms” or multifaith-rooms in educational institutions as our point of departure. The now retired Vice-chancellor of Copenhagen University, declared that banning prayer-rooms was an example of what he...... in these debates. The naming of the prayer-room ban as ‘mood politics’ is worth pursuing: how is it that race matters become ephemeral and perhaps atmospheric? (Ahmed, 2014). We read the debate diffractively through the metaphor The elephant in the room (Barad, 2007; Haraway, 1997). This metaphor hints towards...

Public opinion and the politics of the killer robots debate

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael C Horowitz

2016-02-01

Full Text Available The possibility that today’s drones could become tomorrow’s killer robots has attracted the attention of people around the world. Scientists and business leaders, from Stephen Hawking to Elon Musk, recently signed a letter urging the world to ban autonomous weapons. Part of the argument against these systems is that they violate the public conscience provision of the Martens Clause due to public opposition, making them illegal under international law. What, however, does the US public think of these systems? Existing research suggests widespread US public opposition, but focused on support for autonomous weapons in a vacuum. This paper uses two survey experiments to test the conditions in which public opposition rises and falls. The results demonstrate that public opposition to autonomous weapons is contextual. Fear of other countries or non-state actors developing these weapons makes the public significantly more supportive of developing them. The public also becomes much more willing to actually use autonomous weapons when their use would protect US forces. Beyond contributing to ongoing academic debates about casualty aversion, the microfoundations of foreign policy, and weapon systems, these results suggest the need for modesty when making claims about how the public views new, unknown technologies such as autonomous weapons.

Nord stream: not just a pipeline. An analysis of the political debates in the Baltic Sea region regarding the planned gas pipeline from Russia to Germany

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Whist, Bendik Solum

2008-11-15

This report is an analysis of the planned gas pipeline from Russia to Germany through the Baltic Sea known as Nord Stream. Although not yet realised, the project has, since its birth, been the subject of harsh criticism and opposition by a significant number of states that consider themselves affected by the pipeline. Whereas the Baltic States and Poland have interpreted the pipeline as a politically motivated strategy that will increase Russia's leverage on them and threaten their energy security, the debate in Sweden was at first mostly concerned with the prospect of increased Russian military presence in the Swedish Exclusive Economic Zone. The potential environmental impact of the pipeline has been, and continues to be, an overarching concern shared by all the littoral states of the Baltic Sea. Proponents of Nord Stream, most notably Germany, Russia and the Nord Stream consortium, have largely dismissed the concerns as unwarranted and argue that the pipeline is a common European project that all EU-members should embrace, as it will provide much-needed gas to an increasingly energy-thirsty union. This report is an extensive study of the divergent attitudes and debates that have surged in the region regarding Nord Stream, and the aim is to provide plausible explanations as to why the interpretations of the project have been so different in the various states. The report is based on a variety of sources, including several first-hand interviews with researchers and government officials in the Baltic Sea region. (author). refs.,fig.,tabs

Nord stream: not just a pipeline. An analysis of the political debates in the Baltic Sea region regarding the planned gas pipeline from Russia to Germany

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Whist, Bendik Solum

2008-11-15

This report is an analysis of the planned gas pipeline from Russia to Germany through the Baltic Sea known as Nord Stream. Although not yet realised, the project has, since its birth, been the subject of harsh criticism and opposition by a significant number of states that consider themselves affected by the pipeline. Whereas the Baltic States and Poland have interpreted the pipeline as a politically motivated strategy that will increase Russia's leverage on them and threaten their energy security, the debate in Sweden was at first mostly concerned with the prospect of increased Russian military presence in the Swedish Exclusive Economic Zone. The potential environmental impact of the pipeline has been, and continues to be, an overarching concern shared by all the littoral states of the Baltic Sea. Proponents of Nord Stream, most notably Germany, Russia and the Nord Stream consortium, have largely dismissed the concerns as unwarranted and argue that the pipeline is a common European project that all EU-members should embrace, as it will provide much-needed gas to an increasingly energy-thirsty union. This report is an extensive study of the divergent attitudes and debates that have surged in the region regarding Nord Stream, and the aim is to provide plausible explanations as to why the interpretations of the project have been so different in the various states. The report is based on a variety of sources, including several first-hand interviews with researchers and government officials in the Baltic Sea region. (author). refs.,fig.,tabs

POLITICAL COMMUNICATION DURING THE 2014 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN: ONLINE MEDIA COVERAGE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cristina Cîrtiţă-Buzoianu

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The election campaign has lately become a real challenge where all the political actors display their skills, the communication ones, but also those related to the electoral marketing and public relations which play a vital role in creating the image of a particular candidate. The interest that the public manifest towards the presidential debates, as well as towards all the means of political communication used by the actors involved represents a reference point in the construction of an election campaign. Our paper aims to achieve a quantitative analysis of the communicational messages sent during the 2014 presidential campaign in the online media. In this respect, we are going to conduct a media monitoring on two central newspapers, namely “Evenimentul Zilei” (“Daily Event” and “Jurnalul Național” (“National Journal”, to track the online media visibility of the political communication starting from several indicators predefined in order to measure the efficiency of the political communication. Thus, our approach considers the influence of political communication in the election campaign as it appears in the online press in Romania.

Antinomies of Ideologies and Situationality of Education Language Politics in Multilingual Contexts

Science.gov (United States)

Odugu, Desmond Ikenna

2015-01-01

Widespread scholarly and political attention to language-related inequities in the 20th century precipitated a spate of orientations to language planning in multilingual societies. While various orientations indicate a shift from earlier deficit to affirmative views of multilingualism, vigorous debates persist about the logical and pragmatic…

The Political Economy of Crisis and the Crisis of Political Economy: The Challenge of Sustainability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Graham Murdock

2015-10-01

Recent developments in the organisation of capitalism have given renewed urgency to critical political economy’s core concern with the shifting relations between capital, state and civil society and placed issues around communications and culture at the centre of debate. Successive responses to the crisis of capitalism in the 1970s and the 2008 financial crisis have extended marketization, consolidated corporate control over public culture, displaced and casualised labour, escalated product promotion, placed consumption fuelled by personal debt at the centre of models of growth, and generated rapidly widening inequalities in access and agency. At the same time, the political instabilities following the end of the Cold War have licenced a move from selective to saturation surveillance that has given the major capitalist states unprecedented entry into intimate life. The critical political economy culture and communications has seized the moment and produced powerful accounts and critiques of these shifts and their implications for democratic life. The first part of the paper offers a critical overview of this work. With some notable exceptions however, critical political economies of communications have not fully incorporated the climate crisis into their analyses. Yet communication systems, particularly digital systems, are central to the unfolding climate crisis, not simply as central spaces of public information (and misinformation and debate, but as arrays of infrastructures and machines that consume resources and power and foster patterns of use and disposal that exacerbate problems of waste and pollution and reinforce patterns of inequality, with those least able to cope likely to be the most affected. The second part of the paper expands on this argument The third and final part follows the implications of this analysis through arguing that critical communications policy not only needs to address the problem of curbing corporate and state abuses of control

Managing for Political Corporate Social Responsibility

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Scherer, Andreas Georg; Rasche, Andreas; Palazzo, Guido

2016-01-01

in previous works on PCSR, including the influence of nationalism and fundamentalism, the role of various types of business organisations, the return of government regulation, the complexity of institutional contexts, the efficiency of private governance, the financialization and digitalization of the economy...... to the debate and outline the original economic and political context. The following section explores emerging changes in the institutional context relevant to PCSR and reconsiders some of the assumptions underlying Habermas’ thesis of the postnational constellation. This highlights some neglected issues...

John Rawls: The Political Education

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elnora Gondim

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Rawls defines education as the training and development of abilities and aptitudes, a civic, constitutional teaching, as a means for making a living and developing a cooperation sense. To understand the role of education in Rawls’ work we need to understand the concept of a well-ordered society. It is related to primary goods. In them political freedoms are given priority; and through them citizens —in developing their expression and meeting abilities, in enjoying freedom of thought— may get to enhance their self-esteem; guaranteeing citizens’ personal and social life enrichment. From this perspective, education plays a central role in society, as it helps to develop autonomy, allowing for individuals’ actions to be reflected by the principles they would accept as rational, reasonable, equal and free beings. As a consequence, education enables citizens for public debate. According to the theory of justice as fairness, differently from utilitarianism, citizenship development is a fundamental element; politics and education are intertwined aspects.

Broad supernatural punishment but not moralizing high gods precede the evolution of political complexity in Austronesia.

Science.gov (United States)

Watts, Joseph; Greenhill, Simon J; Atkinson, Quentin D; Currie, Thomas E; Bulbulia, Joseph; Gray, Russell D

2015-04-07

Supernatural belief presents an explanatory challenge to evolutionary theorists-it is both costly and prevalent. One influential functional explanation claims that the imagined threat of supernatural punishment can suppress selfishness and enhance cooperation. Specifically, morally concerned supreme deities or 'moralizing high gods' have been argued to reduce free-riding in large social groups, enabling believers to build the kind of complex societies that define modern humanity. Previous cross-cultural studies claiming to support the MHG hypothesis rely on correlational analyses only and do not correct for the statistical non-independence of sampled cultures. Here we use a Bayesian phylogenetic approach with a sample of 96 Austronesian cultures to test the MHG hypothesis as well as an alternative supernatural punishment hypothesis that allows punishment by a broad range of moralizing agents. We find evidence that broad supernatural punishment drives political complexity, whereas MHGs follow political complexity. We suggest that the concept of MHGs diffused as part of a suite of traits arising from cultural exchange between complex societies. Our results show the power of phylogenetic methods to address long-standing debates about the origins and functions of religion in human society. © 2015 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

Social Media Is the New Player in the Politics of Education

Science.gov (United States)

Supovitz, Jonathan

2017-01-01

Political debate about the Common Core State Standards (the first major education policy initiative in the social media age) ramped up quickly on social media, particularly on Twitter. However, while the increased and intense conversation influenced many states to disavow Common Core in name, those states ended up adopting standards that were…

Urban Discourse in Castilian Late Middle Ages: Defining Discourse Markers and Identifying Correct Political Behaviour. Fiscality as a Means of Political Legitimation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José Antonio JARA FUENTE

2016-12-01

Full Text Available By and large the world of business and money in the Middle Ages (and beyond the Middle Ages is linked to a perception of the «economic fact» that absorbs everything or, at least, places it on a basic socio-political perspective. These approaches being correct, nevertheless, dealing that is participating in some manner in the broad field of economic management had, on occasion, a social dimension that transcended by far the possible economic profit any businessman could naturally aspire to, even casting a shadow over the economic profit, reducing that aspect of his activity to the persecution of a purely social and ideological benefit. This profit did not derive straight from the specific economic activity but from the perception by the community of the reasons underlying the agent’s «extra-economic behaviour». This perception and the evaluation of these conducts, and the actors’ persecution of a behavioural model that positively fixed into that perception frame, explain a whole set of economical attitudes linked to the referential frameworks «service» and «common good». These attitudes were pursued by these individuals, were promoted by urban governments, and were positively perceived by the entire community.

Is the Truth Down There?: Cultural Heritage Conflict and the Politics of Archaeological Authority

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ian Barber

2006-06-01

Full Text Available The selective pressures and processes of cultural heritage management effectively disinherit some interest groups. Where this occurs in the context of postcolonial or nationalist conflict, the material archaeological record may be referenced to support or reject particular views. The disciplinary assumptions behind the archaeological evidence so produced are not usually contested in judicial contexts. A review of archaeology’s theoretical foundations suggests that this naivety itself may be problematic. A descriptive culture history approach dominated archaeology over the first half of the twentieth century with a strong political appeal to nationalist politics. Subsequently archaeology became concerned with processual explanation and the scientific identification of universal laws of culture, consistent with postwar technological optimism and conformity. A postprocessual archaeology movement from the 1970s has promoted relativism and challenged the singular authority of scientific explanation. Archaeologists caught within this debate disagree over the use of the archaeological record in situations of political conflict. Furthermore, the use of archaeology in the sectarian debate over the Ayodhya birthplace of Rama suggests that the material record of the past can become highly politicized and seemingly irresolvable. Archaeological research is also subject to other blatant and subtle political pressures throughout the world, affecting the nature and interpretation of the record. A system that privileges archaeological information values may be irrelevant also to communities who value and manage their ancestral heritage for customary purposes. Collectively this review of theory and applied knowledge suggests that it is unrealistic to expect that archaeology can authoritatively resolve strident claims and debates about the past. Instead, an important contemporary contribution of archaeology may be its potential to document cultural and

The politics of home birth in the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Declercq, Eugene

2012-12-01

Home birth has emerged as a political issue in several states in the United States, and this essay examines two aspects of home births politics. First, legislative battles over home birth policy do not conform to our typical models of partisan (i.e., Democratic vs Republican) politics, and attempts at advocacy cannot rely on classical strategies of alignment with a dominant party in a state. Second, the debates over home birth have increasingly begun to parallel current partisan battles in their emotion and intensity with the related gridlock and reluctance to consider compromises that are often necessary to achieve policy goals. This essay calls for a greater willingness for all sides to approach home birth less as an ideological mission and more as a health policy challenge to support consumers interested in an integrated system of care. © 2012, Copyright the Authors Journal compilation © 2012, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The Political Economy of Open-Source Software in the United Kingdom

Science.gov (United States)

Kettell, Steven

2008-01-01

The debate about the impact of information and communication technology has tended to focus on either its economic or its political aspects. The growing centrality of this technology to life in the 21st century, however, raises important questions about social ownership and control that necessitate a broader and more holistic analysis. Central to…

„FRAMES OF TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE: SOME APPLICATION IN INTERGENERATIONAL JUSTICE AND RETROACTIVITY”

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GABRIEL RADU

2011-04-01

Full Text Available The article attempts to evaluate the concept of transitional justice in the sphere of public and academical debates, in different social environments during the transition period in the recent history. The approach will include an overflight over some definitions and interpretation of that concept and an assessment of possible applications of this concept in the reparative (corrective theories during the political transition. The evaluation of operational dimension of transitional justice will focus primarily the moral grounds invoked in political and juridical debates, and will pursue some applications of the transitional justice in intergenerational justice realm and at the level of the institution of retroactivity. Also, the assessment will focus the moral core of the motivation of judicial decisions in the space of positive law debates, concerning the constitutional and normative dimension.Examination of particular aspects of the transition has raised particular interest in the public agenda of romanian political change. Reparation issues in dealing with the past had always occupied a privileged role in public debate, in social and political problems. Justification for corrective measures during transition period were presented on various occasions in different points of view, but tools and proper institutions in generating legitimate formal-political obligations were absent, threatening the strength of the the political stability. Requirements for application of a corrective, reparative justice, appeared as a consequence of subjective awareness of rights and liberties that positive law of the communist system ignored or assign them like law infrigement. An approach of such rights, with their features should be evaluated in the context of both totalitarian and democratic state. A dialogue with the past becomes more necesary and will contribute to the success of any public policy designed for any possible reparation in the future

Remediating politics: brand(ed) new sexualities and real bodies online.

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Fotopoulou, Aristea

2013-01-01

This article suggests that, in a world emerging in and through mediation, branded sex bloggers and portals become (re)mediators of queer and feminist politics. It examines the websites of two porn production companies, Nofauxxx and Furry Girl, and analyses how they respond to older media forms, re-articulate long-standing debates about pornography in new mediated environments, and re-signify the pornographic object. Key in this process is the circulation of "authenticity," "real bodies," and "diversity" discourses. Through this circulation, sex blogger/brand portals mediate models of queer and feminist political engagement entrenched with notions of digital networks and free markets more generally.

The Greatest Right of Them All: The Debate on the Right to Petition in the Netherlands from the Dutch Republic to the Kingdom (c. 1750-1830).

Science.gov (United States)

Oddens, Joris

2017-10-01

Between 1750 and 1830 the Dutch state developed from an oligarchic republic into an enlightened autocratic monarchy via a brief experiment with representative democracy. During this period, there was an ongoing debate about the right to petition. Political actors and opinion-makers addressed the questions to what and to whom this right extended, and what it meant to have such a right. While theorists of the different types of government had sharply contrasting views on the place of the people in the political process, ideas about petitioning, which throughout the period under discussion remained the principal instrument for popular involvement in politics, stayed remarkably stable. Through an investigation of the debate on the right to petition in the crucial transitional phase from the Dutch Republic to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, this article contributes to bridging the divide between petition research of the early modern period and that of the modern era.

Políticas feministas do aborto The gender politics of abortion

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Lucila Scavone

2008-08-01

Full Text Available Os debates e as ações feministas em prol da liberalização do aborto no Brasil foram marcados por avanços, recuos e, sobretudo, por inúmeras negociações políticas. Da omissão da palavra "aborto", em meados dos anos 70, à opção política pela descriminalização e pela realização dos casos previstos por lei, observa-se uma vocação política do feminismo brasileiro para a negociação. Conclui-se que essas negociações tiveram mais êxito em nível político do que social, pois não lograram alcançar e sensibilizar camadas mais amplas da população.The debates and feminist actions in favor of the legalization of abortion in Brazil were characterized by progresses and regressions, and above all by countless political negotiations. From the omission of the word "abortion", in the mid-seventies, to the political choice of decriminalization and application of the cases foreseen by law, Brazilian feminism has been marked by the choice of negotiation. The article concludes that these negotiations have succeeded politically but failed to reach society and heighten public awareness at a large scale.

Literature and the Sarau: Political Implications

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Rejane Pivetta de Oliveira

2017-06-01

Full Text Available This paper discusses the phenomenon of the cultural gatherings that currently take place in the urban peripheries of Brazil’s larger cities, such as, for example, Sarau da Cooperifa, organized by Sérgio Vaz, and Sarau Suburbano, managed by Alessandro Buzo, both in São Paulo. We attempt to understand how they are organized and the cultural functions they perform in the context of a debate on literature as a cultural practice (Williams 1977; 2015 with aesthetic and political implications (Rancière 1996; 2009.

Politics, religion and gender equality in contemporary Mexico: women's sexuality and reproductive rights in a contested secular state.

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Amuchástegui, Ana; Cruz, Guadalupe; Aldaz, Evelyn; Mejía, María Consuelo

2010-01-01

This article explores the complexities of the interaction between politics, religion and gender equality in contemporary Mexico, by analysing recent developments in public debate, legal changes and implementation of government policies in two areas: 1) the inclusion of emergency contraception in public health services in 2004; and 2) the decriminalisation of abortion in Mexico City in 2008, which was followed by a massive campaign to re-criminalise abortion in the federal states. Three main findings emerge from our analysis: first, that women's sexual and reproductive autonomy has become an issue of intense public debate that is being addressed by both state-public policy and society; second, that the gradual democratisation of the Mexican political system and society is forcing the Catholic Church to play by the rules of democracy; and third, that the character and nature of the Mexican (secular) state has become an arena of intense struggle within which traditional political boundaries and ideologies are being reconfigured.

The politics of harm reduction in federal prisons.

Science.gov (United States)

Watson, Tara Marie

2014-09-01

We need to understand better the political barriers to prison-based harm reduction programs. In this paper, I examine the situation in the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC), a federal prison agency with a zero-tolerance drug policy and general opposition to prison needle and syringe programs (PNSPs) and safer tattooing initiatives. This study draws on 16 interviews with former CSC senior officials, former frontline staff, and external stakeholders; CSC policy and practice documents; and testimony from a House of Commons Standing Committee public study. Thematic coding and comparison of texts were used to examine emergent themes of interest. Four interrelated issues were central for understanding the political barriers: a narrower definition of harm reduction used in corrections, both in principle and practice; the Conservative government's tough-on-crime agenda; strong union opposition; and stakeholder perceptions that political constraints will likely persist, including the view that litigation may offer the only way to introduce PNSPs. The system is at an impasse and key questions remain about the importability of harm reduction services into federal prisons. Despite a highly challenging policy environment, moving forward will demand asking new, critical questions and devising more strategic ways of entering the political-operational dialogue that opposes evidence-based programs. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

El "care", un debate abierto: de las políticas de tiempos al "social care"

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María Teresa Martín Palomo

2009-12-01

Confronting the conciliation policies that have produced, paradoxically, the adoption of the double work turn for women, the social care model re-examines the way in which the social provision of care will be organised, involving the different social actors, thus connecting with the proposals made since the 80‟s about time policies. All this implies to rethink the moral and political responsibility of care. The debate is open.

Public debate - radioactive wastes management; Debat public - gestion des dechets radioactifs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2005-07-01

Between September 2005 and January 2006 a national debate has been organized on the radioactive wastes management. This debate aimed to inform the public and to allow him to give his opinion. This document presents, the reasons of this debate, the operating, the synthesis of the results and technical documents to bring information in the domain of radioactive wastes management. (A.L.B.)

Dimension Health: Ignored in Alcohol Fuel Politics (PAC in Colombia?

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Héctor García-Lozada

2009-07-01

Full Text Available The worldwide debate about global warming of the atmosphere, and the recognition of the decisive contribution of fossil fuels to gas emissions that intensify this phenomenon, have allowed the resurgence of energy options such as biomass, with the goal of reducing carbon emissions and provide benefits to farmers. These suppositions, currently quite controversial, leave out considerations about potential impacts on ecosystems and public health, due to the emission of high-risk substances, such is the case when ethanol mixed with gasoline is burned. This article examines how Alcohol Fuel politics are surging in the country and the way that the public health dimension is contemplated in those politics; through the use of the “multiple streams” model proposed by Kingdon and a narrative method to understand the process as well as the context of political decisions.

MUSLIM-CHRISTIAN DEBATES IN THEEARLY ‘ABBASID PERIOD: The Cases of Timothy I and Theodore Abu Qurra

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Hans Abdiel Harmakaputra

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The era of the early ‘Abbasid caliphate made an important mark on the history of the world by the event of the Greek translation movement, i.e. the translation of Greek thoughts into the Arabic language. In addition to this development, the era also saw the flourishing of interreligious discourse, in both polemical literatures and religious debates, especially between Christians and Muslims. This article tries to describe how those two historical remarks are correlated under the light of other factors such as politics and religious identity. The earliest debate was happened between caliph al-Mahdi (r. 755-785 CE and a Nestorian Catholicos, Timothy I (728- 823 CE, as the first sample of religious discourses. The second one is the debate between the caliph al-Ma’mun (r. 813-833CE, who arranged many religious debates in his court, with Theodore Abu Qurra (755 – 830 CE, Bishop of Harran. By knowing the motives of the two caliphs who sponsored those events, readers would catch a better picture of the historical contexts of that time.

Climate in debates: to get rid of received ideas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Malet de, C.

2008-01-01

Debates about the global warming question are still opened: denying or rejecting any argued scientific discussion makes the game of ideologists, ecologists or skeptics, who are ready to impose their received ideas under the influence of lobbies. The topic of this book is to make a statement of what we really know and what makes the debate between scientists about the two, strongly linked, questions of tomorrow's climate and energy. It deals with a series or questions, in general eluded, like: what do we really know about global warming and its causes? What are the skeptics' arguments? Is global warming definitely a catastrophe? What can be its effects and at what term? Should we fight against or simply adapt to? Is it really the end of petroleum? What are the clean energy technological solutions?. The book analyses the game played by lobbies and politics, generally quick with fostering our fears and fantasies, and the one played by media, always looking for impressive topics. The conclusion should be that the only action good for climate is the one made with full knowledge of the facts. (J.S.)

Debating Organ Procurement Policy Without Illusions.

Science.gov (United States)

Hippen, Benjamin

2015-10-01

In this perspective, I review and critique claims that the transplant waiting list overstates the demand for kidneys and correct a few mischaracterizations of some structural barriers to increasing rates of transplantation. The solutions to the shortage of organs proffered by opponents of financial incentives fail to account for a panoply of clinical, regulatory, and financial realities of transplantation centers in the United States in ways that undermine the thesis that a trial of financial incentives for organ procurement is not warranted at this time. I conclude with some personal pessimistic reflections on the progress of this debate. Copyright © 2015 National Kidney Foundation, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Just do it: flipped lecture, determinants and debate

Science.gov (United States)

Kensington-Miller, Barbara; Novak, Julia; Evans, Tanya

2016-08-01

This paper describes a case study of two pure mathematicians who flipped their lecture to teach matrix determinants in two large mathematics service courses (one at Stage I and the other at Stage II). The purpose of the study was to transform the passive lecture into an active learning opportunity and to introduce valuable mathematical skills, such as debate, argument and disagreement. The students were told in advance to use the online material to prepare, which had a short handout on matrix determinants posted, as the lesson would be interactive and would rely on them having studied this. At the beginning of the lesson, the two mathematicians worked together to model the skill of professional disagreement, one arguing for the cofactor expansion method and the other for the row reduction method. After voting for their preferred method, the students worked in small groups on examples to defend their choice. Each group elected a spokesperson and a political style debate followed as the students argued the pros and cons of each technique. Although one lecture does not establish whether the flipped lecture model is preferable for student instruction, the paper presents a case study for pursuing this approach and for further research on incorporating this style of teaching in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics subjects.

Streetcar Desires: The Death of the Arlington Streetcar and the Cultural Politics of Smart Growth Development

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Timothy A. Gibson

2017-09-01

Full Text Available In 2014, Arlington County—an affluent suburb of Washington, DC—became embroiled in a bitter political debate over a proposed streetcar line on Columbia Pike, a street that traverses some of the County’s last remaining working-class and new immigrant neighborhoods. Viewed alternatively as vanguard for gentrification, a symbol of sustainable development, and a big government boondoggle, the proposed streetcar brought to the surface ideological and class antagonisms which are typically muted in Arlington’s broadly liberal-progressive political culture. Drawing on comments posted on a local news blog as well as interviews with advocates, this paper examines the streetcar debate through the lens of Stuart Hall’s theory of articulation and Janice Radway’s metaphor of “ideological seams.” In particular, the paper explores how streetcar opponents wove together an unlikely rhetorical fabric, intertwining fears of gentrification, a critique of “big government,” and a rearguard defense of suburban automobility. A concluding section discusses what the death of the Arlington Streetcar can reveal about the cultural politics of smart growth development and sustainable urban planning.

Doctrinal Debates in the Fourth Mexican Provincial Council (1771

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Elisa Luque Alcaide

2005-07-01

Full Text Available Based on  the  most  important sources  of The  Fourth Mexican Provincial  Council  (1771 —specifically its decrees, dairies and catechism for the use of priests— the author reviews the main topics debated along the sessions. The article stresses the discussion over  the  main currents  of theological  and political  thought by “modern” ecclesiastics  who  favoured catholic  Enlightenment, and  those  favourable  to  “traditional” perspectives.  This  paper deals with  regalism,  conciliarist  v.s. episcopalist  views, certain traces of the auxiliis controversy as well as antijesuit policies.

El eclipse de los conceptos. Sobre el debate de la violencia rebelde/franquista

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Jorge Marco

2015-10-01

Full Text Available El artículo analiza dos debates cen-trales en los estudios sobre la violencia rebel-de/franquista durante la Guerra Civil española y el franquismo: las tensiones conceptuales entre el exterminio y el programa de conversión forzosa en el marco de la intención aniquiladora de los perpetradores; y el debate sobre los efectos de la eugenesia franquista en la cons-trucción del “enemigo interno” y en la planifica-ción de la violencia. El autor reflexiona sobre diferentes marcos teóricos aplicados en España: genocidio, exterminio, limpieza política, etc.; y advierte de los peligros de ciertos excesos conceptuales.Palabras clave: genocidio, eugenesia, exterminio, Guerra Civil española, franquismo, violencia.________________Abstract: The article analyzes two central deba-tes in studies of rebel/francoist violence during the Spanish Civil War and the Franco dictator-ship: the conceptual tensions between extermi-nation and the forced conversion program within the framework of the perpetrators’ annihilating intentions; and the debate regar-ding the effects of Francoist eugenics in cons-tructing the "enemy" and planning violence. The author reflects on different theoretical fra-meworks applied in Spain: genocide, extermina-tion, political cleansing, etc.; and warns of the dangers of certain conceptual excesses.Keywords: Genocide, Eugenics, Extermi-nation, Spanish Civil War, Francoist Dictatorship, Violence.

INTELECTUAIS E CONSTRUÇÃO HISTÓRICA DO DEBATE EDUCACIONAL: a perspectiva do sujeito mulher professora

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Diomar das Graças Motta

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Events that address research and experiments have recently multiplied.. A few have shown their actors, among them, intellectuals, present in the construction of the educational debate. When shown, the absence of the female teacher is felt. This absence has led our studies. In the opportunity, we highlight elements that exclude her from this contingent, presenting her voice, in unusual sources, in historical research. Bourdieu’s (1993 and Boudon’s (1993 studies help us to give the female teacher subject, as an intellectual, space in the educational debate in Maranhão from as of the 19th century. Her incursion in this debate, although often as an adjunct, stems from scientific, social and political factors. Possible factors, thanks to libertarian movements, which emphasized the freedom, independence and equality of women, allowing their intellectual participation in the historiographic construction of educational issues. Whether as an intellectual by qualification, or by attributes that give them a minimum of consciousness and identity.

Competing Perspectives on the Gurkhas and Identity Politics in Nepal

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Seeberg, Jens

2015-01-01

Associated with the unification of Nepal under the ‘Gorkha’ kingdom, and popularly projected in both national myth and globalized tourist imagery, the ‘Gurkhas’ in the British army have been an important national symbol. The history of the ‘Gurkhas’ is multifaceted and also includes chapters abou...... of the ‘Gurkhas’ are discussed in relation to post-conflict identity politics in Nepal......., the ‘symbolic value’ of the ‘Gurkha’ tradition being loaded with notions of bravery and pride has been challenged by competing notions of (post)colonialism and mercenary practice. Hence, the discussion about the ‘Gurkha’ tradition is also a debate about national identities in the changing Nepal. This debate...

Political Challenges in Times of the Maria da Penha Law

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Lilia Guimarães Pougy

2010-06-01

Full Text Available This article offers support to the debate about national policies to confront violence against women and strengthen feminine citizenship. The route adopted in treating political challenges will follow the analysis of the principal responses to the phenomena of gender violence and analyze the trends identified since the enactment of the Maria da Penha Law, including increased emphasis on the “courts,” “psychology” and “social work.” The first part of the article analyzes the conceptual and normative factors of policy concerning women. An analysis is then conducted of “judicialization” and its consequences for the theoretical debate. The article concludes by presenting current perspectives on care for women at Reference Centers.

Political Legitimacy of Vietnam’s One Party-State: Challenges and Responses

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Carlyle A. Thayer

Full Text Available This article focuses on the challenges to the authority of Vietnam’s one-party state that emerged in 2009 and state responses. Three separate challenges are discussed: opposition to bauxite mining in the Central Highlands; mass protests by the Catholic Church over land ownership issues; and revived political dissent by pro-democracy activists and bloggers. The Vietnam Communist Party bases its claims to political legitimacy on multiple sources. The bauxite mining controversy challenged the state’s claim to political legitimacy on the basis of performance. The Catholic land dispute challenged the state’s claim to legitimacy on rational-legal grounds. Revived political dissent, including the linkage of demands for democracy with concerns over environmental issues and relations with China, challenged the state’s claim to legitimacy based on nationalism. Vietnam responded in a “soft authoritarian” manner. Future challenges and state responses will be debated as Vietnam moves to convene its eleventh national party congress in 2010.

The cultural politics of eating in Shenzhen.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Donnell, Mary Ann

2010-01-01

Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, construction in Shenzhen symbolized both the transformation of Chinese socialism and the concomitant integration of Chinese society into global capitalist networks. This article tells the story of Shenzhen from the perspective of this first generation of immigrants, the so-called Old Shenzheners, who use nostalgia about food to define, debate, and ultimately retreat from conversations about what Shenzhen culture was and what it ought to be. Their food nostalgia is part of a larger cultural tradition of Chinese alimentary politics and has allowed Shenzheners to indigenize capitalist globalization to make the city their own. Old Shenzheners' food nostalgia represents an important moment in the Chinese transition to a post socialist political economy, redefining what it means to be both Chinese and global in a post–cold war world order.

The global politics of science and technology

CERN Document Server

Carpes, Mariana; Knoblich, Ruth

2014-01-01

An increasing number of scholars have begun to see science and technology as relevant issues in International Relations (IR), acknowledging the impact of material elements, technical instruments, and scientific practices on international security, statehood, and global governance. This two-volume collection brings the debate about science and technology to the center of International Relations. It shows how integrating science and technology translates into novel analytical frameworks, conceptual approaches and empirical puzzles, and thereby offers a state-of-the-art review of various methodological and theoretical ways in which sciences and technologies matter for the study of international affairs and world politics. The authors not only offer a set of practical examples of research frameworks for experts and students alike, but also propose a conceptual space for interdisciplinary learning in order to improve our understanding of the global politics of science and technology.

Large-scale immigration and political response: popular reaction in California.

Science.gov (United States)

Clark, W A

1998-03-01

Over the past 3 years, the level of political debate has grown over the nature and extent of the recent large-scale immigration to the US in general, and to California in particular. California's Proposition 187 to deny welfare benefits to illegal immigrants brought national attention to the immigration debate, and no doubt influenced recent decisions to significantly change the US's welfare program. The author studied the vote on Proposition 187 in the November 1994 California election to better understand the nature of reaction to large-scale immigration and recent arguments about anti-immigrant sentiment and nativism. The only counties which voted against the proposition were Sonoma, Marin, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, Yolo, Alameda, and Santa Clara, as well as the population of San Francisco. The vote generated political responses from across the border as well as within California. Statements from Mexican and other Central American governments reflected their concern over the possibility of returning populations, for whom there are neither jobs nor public services in their countries of origin. Findings are presented from a spatial analysis of the vote by census tracts in Los Angeles County.

Migrant female domestic workers: debating the economic, social and political impacts in Singapore.

Science.gov (United States)

Yeoh, B S; Huang, S; Gonzalez, J

1999-01-01

This article analyzes the impact of migrant female domestic workers on the socioeconomic and political context in Singapore. Although Singapore state policy opposes long-term immigration, there is a labor shortage which permits a transient work force of low-skilled foreign workers. In the late 1990s, Singapore had over 100,000 foreign maids, of whom 75% were from the Philippines, 20% were from Indonesia, and the rest were from Sri Lanka. Legislation ensures their short-term migrant status, restricts their numbers, and governs their employment. Migrant workers are also regulated through a stringent allocation system based on household income of employers and the need for caregivers for children. Work permits are conditioned on non-marriage to citizens of Singapore or pregnancy. Terms and conditions of migrant employment are not specified, which permits long hours of work and potential for inhumane treatment. Migrant women fulfill jobs not desired by natives and accept these jobs at lower wages. There is disagreement about the motivation for the maid levy and its need, fairness, and effectiveness in reducing demand for foreign maids. Most public discussion focuses on social values and morality of foreign maids. Politically, tensions arise over the legality of migration, which results from tourist worker migration to Singapore and circumvents Filipino labor controls. Most of the adjustment cases that come to the attention of OWWA are tourist workers. Policies should be gender sensitive.

Two sides to every story : Causes and consequences of selective exposure to balanced political information

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Brenes Peralta, C.M.

2017-01-01

Although the current information environment offers citizens an unprecedented opportunity to engage in selective exposure behavior, namely to seek mostly pro-attitudinal information about politics and public affairs, the debate about the prevalence and consequences of selective exposure in a

Post-Truth Politics, Bullshit and Bad Ideas: ‘Deficit Fetishism’ in the UK

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hopkin, Jonathan; Rosamond, Ben

2017-01-01

falsehoods: in other words, as speech acts that are indifferent to the truth and proceed without effective concern for the veracity of the claim in question. In this paper, we examine the characteristics of political bullshit applied to economic policy debates since the financial crisis, and seek to explain...

Askesis and Politics: A Preliminary Look at the Impact of Christian Spiritual Practices on One’s Political Outlook

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Amir Azarvan

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Is Christian spirituality systematically associated with patterns in people’s political attitudes and worldview? Are spiritually active Christians predominantly conservative or liberal? If so, does this imply anything about the correctness of their political views? Is greater spiritual involvement associated with a friendlier disposition towards those with whom one otherwise strongly disagrees on social and political matters? In my review of the Orthodox spiritual literature, as well as my survey analysis of Orthodox Christians throughout the United States, I make a preliminary effort to address these and other questions. I point to the importance of transcending the liberal-conservative ideological dichotomy when studying Christians’ political outlooks. Communitarians, in particular, merit greater attention, given their apparently large size and high level of spiritual commitment. I also presents findings that suggest that spiritual commitment can result in friendlier attitudes towards those viewed as sociopolitical threats.

He votes or she votes? Female and male discursive strategies in Twitter political hashtags

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Landulfo, Teixeira P Cunha E.; Magno, G.; Gonçalves, M.A.; Cambraia, C.; Almeida, V.

2014-01-01

In this paper, we conduct a study about differences between female and male discursive strategies when posting in the microblogging service Twitter, with a particular focus on the hashtag designation process during political debate. The fact that men and women use language in distinct ways,

Stepping back to advance: Why IGD needs an intensified debate instead of a consensus.

Science.gov (United States)

Quandt, Thorsten

2017-06-01

Based on their analysis of Internet gaming disorder (IGD) criteria, Kuss, Griffiths, and Pontes (2017) come to the conclusion that the current situation can be described as "chaos and confusion." Their assessment is not an exaggeration. It can be argued that there are even more issues, on logical/definitional and political/social levels: (a) the IGD diagnosis is lacking a well-defined object, (b) the cause and effect cannot be differentiated outside lab conditions, (c) the social and political effects of declaring a social behavior as a disease are worrying, and (d) a rushed diagnosis may construct an addiction with potentially harmful effects on (formerly) healthy populations. Instead of closing the debate by declaring a consensus and codifying IGD in the DSM, an undogmatic, intensified, and broader discussion is needed.

The politics of health sector reform in developing countries: three cases of pharmaceutical policy.

Science.gov (United States)

Reich, M R

1995-01-01

This paper examines the political dynamics of health sector reform in poor countries, through a comparative study of pharmaceutical policy reform in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and the Philippines. The paper first reviews five reasons why policy reform is political. It then presents three political economic models of the policy reform process: the political will, political factions, and political survival models. Next, the paper describes the three cases of national pharmaceutical policy reform, and identifies common conditions that made these reforms politically feasible. The paper's analysis suggests that health sector reform is feasible at certain definable, and perhaps predictable, political moments, especially in the early periods of new regimes. The most important and manipulable political factors are: political timing, which provides opportunities for policy entrepreneurs to introduce their ideas into public debate, and political management of group competition, which allows leaders to control the political effects of distributional consequences and protect the regime's stability. A strong and narrow political coalition improves the capacity of political leaders to resist the pressures of concentrated economic costs (both inside and outside national boundaries). The paper argues that for reform to succeed, policy-makers need effective methods to analyze relevant political conditions and shape key political factors in favor of policy reform. The method of Political Mapping is briefly introduced as a technique that can help policy-makers in analyzing and managing the political dimensions of policy reform and in improving the political feasibility of reform.

Assessing the Influence of Political Parties on Public Opinion: The Challenge from Pretreatment Effects

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Slothuus, Rune

2016-01-01

Despite generations of research, political scientists have trouble pinpointing the influence of political parties on public opinion. Recently, scholars have made headway in exploring whether parties in fact shape policy preferences by relying on experimental designs. Yet, the evidence from...... this work is mixed. I argue that the typical experiment faces a design problem that likely minimizes the extent to which parties apparently matter. Because parties have policy reputations, experimental participants may already know from real-world exposure to political debate where the parties stand before...... they are told in the experiment—they are “pretreated.” This study investigates how real-world political context interferes with party cue stimulus in experiments. In two experiments I show that two types of “pretreatment” from outside the experiment—exposure-based and reputation-based—dramatically moderate...

'It's got so politically correct now': parents' talk about empowering individuals with learning disabilities.

Science.gov (United States)

Jingree, Treena; Finlay, W M L

2012-03-01

Over the last decade the UK Government has made proposals to empower individuals with learning disabilities. Strategies have been implemented to reduce institutionalisation and social segregation. Consequently, some learning disability services are being phased out and the focus of care has moved away from institutions and into the community and family domain. Focusing on discourse as a site for social action and identity construction, we used critical discursive psychology to examine focus group discussions between family carers about facilitating the independence of adult family members with learning disabilities. Unlike official UK Government and learning disability services' constructions of empowerment policy, we found that parents invoked empowerment talk: (1) as a resource to construct the facilitation of independence as an abstract, irresponsible, politically correct professional trend; (2) dilemmatically with meritocratic or practical arguments to undermine notions of facilitating choices; and (3) as a resource to construct new service developments as contrary to the preferences of people with learning disabilities. Parents also described individuals with learning disabilities as unable to cope, and drew stark contrasts between their practice and those of service-professionals when expressing concerns about empowerment. We discuss possible implications of such discourses and contrasts on opportunities for empowering individuals with learning disabilities. © 2011 The Authors. Sociology of Health & Illness © 2011 Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness/Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Towards Effective Educational Politics through Improving the Performance Measurement System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tuuli Reisberg

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Educational field is impelled to increase performance and quality, financial discipline, strategic behaviour and its goals in order to enhance “effectiveness”. As a result the incorporation of private sector management practices into the educational field is taking place. But it is important to notice that a proliferation of private managerial practices into the educational field goes along with a conflict-laden and contradictory process. Education provides an important area of implementation for techniques of performance evaluation aimed at improving the performance of public services. One of the most common conceptual frameworks in measuring organisational performance takes the form of a production function where the educational institution is seen as analogous to a company transforming inputs into outputs and outcomes through a production process. But the problems and the vagueness in determining educational system’s inputs, outputs and outcomes cause difficulties in making political decisions and that is why clear policy prescriptions have been difficult to derive. The purpose of this article is to create a discussion whether performance measurement should be a part of decision-making in educational politics. The authors debate about incorporating private sector management practices into the educational field. The debate is based on the example of evaluating the social impact in the educational field and the performance of teachers’ work in the educational system. The article consists of three parts. Firstly, the theoretical background of the performance measurement in educational field is discussed. Secondly, the important criteria for performance measurement design and political issues are argued. Thirdly, the evaluated shortcomings in Estonian educational organisations, which restrict them to be effective, are brought out. Relieving some of these shortcomings could be in authority of Estonian educational politics.

A public debate on nuclear? A first assessment of the two EPR and wastes debates organised by the Public Debate National Commission

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2006-01-01

After a presentation of the organisation, the background and the participants of both debates (about the EPR and about nuclear wastes), this publication reports the conclusions published by those who organized these debates, extracts of interventions, work-group reports. These interventions, debates and work-groups were dealing with the industrial policy and the maintaining of abilities, the EPR safety. Other contributions are discussing the content of this kind of debates

Exemelification of parliamentary debates

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gielissen, T.; Marx, M.

2009-01-01

Parliamentary debates are an interesting domain to apply state-of-the-art information retrieval technology. Parliamentary debates are highly structured transcripts of meetings of politicians in parliament. These debates are an important part of the cultural heritage of countries; they are often free

Virtues, Vices, and Political Influence in the U.S. Senate.

Science.gov (United States)

ten Brinke, Leanne; Liu, Christopher C; Keltner, Dacher; Srivastava, Sameer B

2016-01-01

What qualities make a political leader more influential or less influential? Philosophers, political scientists, and psychologists have puzzled over this question, positing two opposing routes to political power--one driven by human virtues, such as courage and wisdom, and the other driven by vices, such as Machiavellianism and psychopathy. By coding nonverbal behaviors displayed in political speeches, we assessed the virtues and vices of 151 U.S. senators. We found that virtuous senators became more influential after they assumed leadership roles, whereas senators who displayed behaviors consistent with vices--particularly psychopathy--became no more influential or even less influential after they assumed leadership roles. Our results inform a long-standing debate about the role of morality and ethics in leadership and have important implications for electing effective government officials. Citizens would be wise to consider a candidate's virtue in casting their votes, which might increase the likelihood that elected officials will have genuine concern for their constituents and simultaneously promote cooperation and progress in government. © The Author(s) 2015.

Pathologizing dissent: identity politics, Zionism and the 'self-hating Jew'.

Science.gov (United States)

Finlay, W M L

2005-06-01

This article discusses problems with Kurt Lewin's notion of self-hatred among Jews (Lewin, 1941/1948), and illustrates the ways in which the concept is used in identity politics. It argues that the way the notion of self-hatred is often used makes it problematic as a psychological concept because it requires that we accept particular definitions of group identities and particular political positions as central to those identities. Often, however, such issues are disputed by group members. Examination of the literature illustrates that it is rarely a straightforward decision whether those behaviours or attitudes identified as manifestations of self-hatred are best explained in this way. The function of the self-hatred concept in current debate over Israeli policy is described as an example of how arguments over identity are part of political conflict. In the case of current Middle Eastern politics, the concept of self-hatred is used by rightwing Zionists to label those who criticize policies of the current Israeli government as disloyal and pathological.

The policy debate over public investment in comparative effectiveness research.

Science.gov (United States)

Rich, Eugene C

2009-06-01

Policy makers across the political spectrum, as well as many clinicians and physician professional associations, have proposed that better information on comparative clinical effectiveness should be a key element of any solution to the US health-care cost crisis. This superficial consensus hides intense disagreements over critical issues essential to any new public effort to promote more comparative effectiveness research (CER). This article reviews the background for these disputes, summarizes the different perspectives represented by policy makers and advocates, and offers a framework to aid both practicing and academic internists in understanding the key elements of the emerging debate. Regarding the fundamental question of "what is CER," disagreements rage over whether value or cost effectiveness should be a consideration, and how specific patient perspectives should be reflected in the development and the use of such research. The question of how to pay for CER invokes controversies over the role of the market in producing such information and the private (e.g., insurers and employers) versus public responsibility for its production. The financing debate further highlights the high stakes of comparative effectiveness research, and the risks of stakeholder interests subverting any public process. Accordingly there are a range of proposals for the federal government's role in prioritization, development, and dissemination of CER. The internal medicine community, with its long history of commitment to scientific medical practice and its leadership in evidence-based medicine, should have a strong interest and play an active role in this debate.

The radioactive waste debate in the United States and nuclear technology for peaceful purposes

Science.gov (United States)

Tehan, Terrence Norbert

Many ethical, cultural, and economic concerns have accompanied the rapid growth of Western technology. Nuclear technology in particular has experienced considerable opposition because of its perceived dangers, especially disposal of atomic waste. While this field of science remains in its infancy, many legal, political and ecological groups oppose any further application of nuclear technology--including the significant medical, environmental, and economic benefits possible from a safe and responsible application of nuclear energy. Complete and objective knowledge of this technology is needed to balance a healthy respect for the danger of atomic power with its many advantages. This study focuses on one aspect of nuclear technology that has particularly aroused political and social controversy: nuclear waste. Finding ways of disposing safely of nuclear waste has become an extremely volatile issue because of the popular misconception that there is no permanent solution to this problem. This investigation will demonstrate that the supposedly enduring waste problem has been resolved in several industrial countries that now outstrip the United States in safe commercial applications of nuclear science. This dissertation offers a reasoned and objective contribution to the continuing national debate on the peaceful uses of nuclear technology. This debate becomes more crucial as the nation seeks a dependable substitute for the non-renewable sources of energy now rapidly being exhausted.

Asylum Seekers Crisis in Europe 2015: Debating Spaces of Fear and Security in Latvia

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Lulle Aija

2015-12-01

Full Text Available In this paper we analyse emerging discourses of fear on the one hand and safety and security on the other. In the context of rupture - sudden, unprecedented asylum flows as well as the historical context of the fear and experience of losing the state’s freedom, we pose the following research question: Where do insecurities and fear come from and how are spaces of security and safety carved out through public discourses? We argue that, instead of singling out political discourses in Eastern European as filled with hatred towards other ethnicities and races or an inability to show solidarity with human suffering, we have to open up a far more deep reaching debate on the interplay of fear and the willingness to create safer, more secure futures. We illustrate this with examples from media debates in Latvia, in late 2015.

Private Political Activists and the International Law Definition of Piracy: Acting for ‘Private Ends’

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Honniball, A.N.

2015-01-01

Piracy under international law grants states the right to exercise universal jurisdiction, provided that all conditions of its definition are cumulatively met. Yet academic debate continues as to whether the requirement that piratical acts be committed ‘for private ends’ excludes politically

THE POLITICS OF BENEVOLENCE: Political Patronage of Party-based Charitable Organizations in Contemporary Indonesian Islam

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Hilman Latief

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The rise of party-based Islamic charities has had a profound impact on the nature of philanthropic activities in contemporary Indonesia, and stimulated a new debate over the issue of the politics of benevolent acts. Over the past few years, in line with the increase of the influence of the Islamic factor in Indonesian politics, there have been a number of political parties which actively engaged with social welfare activities through the newly-established Islamic charitable organizations. The close ties between charitable organizations and political parties may lead to the new patterns of Muslim social and political activism, and to the new forms of political clientelism. This article analyzes the vibrant effort of political parties in sponsoring the inception and operation of Islamic charitable organizations in the post New Order era, and investigates how political clientelism has been established through charity practices. This paper compares the roles of charitable organizations set up by the nationalist and Islamist parties in formulating strategies to promote their political interest. Based on three political parties studied in this article, which are the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS, Golkar Party, and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P, this paper argues that the practice of charity has become a popular way used by politicians to patronize their constituents, but at the same time, this practice has weakened the Muslim perspective of development and social change.[Munculnya lembaga-lembaga amal yang dikelola oleh partai politik berpengaruh luas terhadap aktifitas filantropi di Indonesia dan memicu perdebatan seputar politik-kedermawanan. Dalam beberapa tahun terakhir, selaras dengan semakin meningkatnya pengaruh Islam dalam lanskap politik Indonesia, partai-partai politik juga berlomba-lomba untuk terlibat aktif dalam aktifitas filantropi dengan mendirikan lembaga amal. Ikatan kuat antara partai politik dan lembaga amal

Cultural and Normative Imaginaries in Parliamentary and Public Debates on Social Egg Freezing in Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Herrmann, Janne Rothmar; Kroløkke, Charlotte

Widely known as a global exporter of cryopreserved sperm, Danish women’s eggs follow very different trajectories. This paper identifies the cultural and normative imaginaries, which are expressed in parliamentary and public debates on social egg freezing in Denmark. We use the concept of sociotec......Widely known as a global exporter of cryopreserved sperm, Danish women’s eggs follow very different trajectories. This paper identifies the cultural and normative imaginaries, which are expressed in parliamentary and public debates on social egg freezing in Denmark. We use the concept...... of sociotechnical imaginaries (Jasanoff, 2015) to demonstrate how imaginaries are not merely hoped-for-futures but also embedded within the nexus of cultural, legal, and political milieus. To expound on what imaginaries has shaped the Danish regulation on the cryopreservation of eggs, we trace the bills...... differ or are consistent with the general perception in law, parliamentary, and public debate. Relying on welfare state theory, we discuss why reproduction in the Danish context is seen as a legitimate and appropriate sphere to regulate, while we turn to feminist theorizing to discuss their gendered...

Nuclear waste: the political realities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arnott, D.

1983-01-01

The land dumping of nuclear waste has again come to the attention of anti-nuclear groups, environmentalists and the media, following the announcement of the proposed sites for intermediate-level nuclear waste at Billingham and Bedford. Opposition has already surfaced on a large scale, with public meetings in both areas and a revitalisation of the waste dumping network. This article explains some of the political realities in the nuclear debate, and suggests how we can tackle the issue of waste dumping, remembering that, even if the industry closes tomorrow, there are vast quantities of waste which must be safely and democratically dealt with. (author)

Who is the Troll?: The Construction of Political Identities on Social Media in the Peruvian Context

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Diego Cerna Aragón

2017-12-01

Full Text Available One can easily find discrediting accusations between users with different political affiliations or ideological orientations on social media. The objective of this article is to affirm that these practices are neither superfluous nor secondary, but rather fundamental in the formation and consolidation of political identities of those who participate in these discussions. This article reviews up-to-date academic literature about three recent trends in the dynamics of political discussion on social media (the polarization of the political debate, the focus on personalities and figures, and the trolls’ practices and, using tools taken from Netnography, it explores and applies these concepts to the Peruvian context. Consequently, the article offers an outline about the daily political dynamics on social media, how users take sides and disputes happen, and how this serves to the (reproduction of political identities. The results of this investigation show a scenario where two characteristics prevail: the polarization between different political stances and the uncertainty about the information and identities in circulation.

Welcoming Diversity? Symbolic Boundaries and the Politics of Normativity in Kansas City's LGBTQ Communities.

Science.gov (United States)

Vogler, Stefan

2016-01-01

Using document analysis and ethnographic field work, this article examines the debate within the LGBTQ community of Kansas City over the decision to hold its Pride festival in the Power and Light District (P&L), a renewed downtown area with a controversial dress code. Despite the developers' and city's goals of creating a cosmopolitan urban space that welcomed diverse populations, the P&L acquired a reputation as an anti-Black, anti-queer space due to its dress code and redevelopment history. I argue that the debate surrounding this controversy reveals limits to notions of diversity and diverging approaches to sexual politics within the LGBTQ community that are normally obscured by political actors within the movement but that work to create symbolic boundaries that exclude "non-respectable" members of the LGBTQ population. Recovering queer perspectives allows us to imagine a more capacious definition of diversity and inclusion, both within the LGBTQ movement and in urban space.

APPROPRIATIZING POLITENESS THEORY FOR INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION IN ELT

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Rahmat Yusny

2013-08-01

Full Text Available The theory of politeness suggests strategies in social interaction by which a person can use to save the hearer’s face upon the effect of face-threatening acts or FTAs. Face threatening acts are described by Brown and Levinson as the acts that infringe the hearer’s need of maintaining his/her self-esteem and be respected. Brown and Levinson accepted that the notion of face is respected as universal norms or values subscribed to by the members of the society. In that regard, this article provides a discussion about various viewpoints on the debate of universality of politeness theory and criticisms addressed by eastern-pragmaticists that this theory should not be seen as universally applicable. Cultural differences, as suggested by non-western pragmaticists, accord what is accepted in the context of face in western culture to be not accepted in other cultures. Therefeore, although we accept that Brown & Levinson’s theory has made a significant breakthrough in elaborating politeness, appropriation of this theory should be accounted in intercultural communication instead to accept it as universal.

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

Making Women the Subjects of the Abortion Debate: A Class Exercise that Moves beyond "Pro-Choice" and "Pro-Life"

Science.gov (United States)

Crawley, Sara L.; Willman, Rebecca K.; Clark, Leisa; Walsh, Clare

2009-01-01

In this article, the authors describe a classroom exercise designed to put women (and children and men) back at the center of the abortion debate, avoiding the standard rhetoric and engaging reflection on how everyone might find common political goals among the so-called pro-life and pro-choice sides. The exercise the authors offer in this article…

Educational Effects of Practical Education Using a Debate Exercise on Engineering Ethics

Science.gov (United States)

Takanokura, Masato; Hayashi, Shigeo

The educational effects of practical education using a debate exercise are investigated using questionnaires. For the group-work composed of discussion and debate, students understand thoroughly various engineering ethical topics, such as factors preventing ethical decision-making. Students enhance their abilities to make a rational and logical decision by themselves such as a judgment based on correct information. Mutual evaluation by students through group interaction elevates positive educational effects. However, students answer fewer questions related to the understanding of professional duties and cooperate social responsibility because of the group-work using failure cases. Students also show less progress in their abilities to communicate with others and to express their opinions to audiences. A more suitable number of group members solves the latter problem.

The public debate on CIGEO

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2014-01-01

This document first indicates the two laws which govern the public debate on the storage of high activity and long life wastes. It reports the progress of this public debate which started with a statement of 45 associations committed in the protection of environment saying they will not participate to this debate. A first debate in Bures had to be very quickly stopped as these opponents irrupted into the room. The vision of these opponents is very briefly presented. The reaction of public debate organizers is indicated. The results of the debate are briefly discussed. It appears that the ethical aspect is often raised by the opponents and this document outlines that their reactions were mostly irrational. The major issues of the debate have been: risks related to water, hydrogen and earthquake, costs and financing, transport safety, the loss of geological resources, job creation, and governance. The various aspects of this public debate are commented and discussed

Social Media Use & Political engagement in Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mahnke, Martina; Schwartz, Sander Andreas; Rossi, Luca

2016-01-01

. » Younger Danes are more active and present on social media platforms than older generations. The generation between 20 and 39 years is most likely to use Facebook in order to discuss politics with strangers. » When specifically looking at how users understand their communication on Facebook, it turns out...... that many of them view their communication as private. Especially the social network Facebook is used for private communication, e.g. exchanging messages with close friends and family. » In general, it is not very common for Danish citizens to actively engage in political debates online with strangers......Main findings of the survey » Social media use is a daily practice in Denmark, however, frequency and type of use differ greatly. » Danes use social media primarily to read content; it is less frequently used for producing original content or for interacting with content produced by others...

Radioisotopes as Political Instruments, 1946-1953.

Science.gov (United States)

Creager, Angela N H

2009-01-01

The development of nuclear "piles," soon called reactors, in the Manhattan Project provided a new technology for manufacturing radioactive isotopes. Radioisotopes, unstable variants of chemical elements that give off detectable radiation upon decay, were available in small amounts for use in research and therapy before World War II. In 1946, the U.S. government began utilizing one of its first reactors, dubbed X-10 at Oak Ridge, as a production facility for radioisotopes available for purchase to civilian institutions. This program of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission was meant to exemplify the peacetime dividends of atomic energy. The numerous requests from scientists outside the United States, however, sparked a political debate about whether the Commission should or even could export radioisotopes. This controversy manifested the tension in U.S. politics between scientific internationalism as a tool of diplomacy, associated with the aims of the Marshall Plan, and the desire to safeguard the country's atomic monopoly at all costs, linked to American anti-Communism. This essay examines the various ways in which radioisotopes were used as political instruments-both by the U.S. federal government in world affairs, and by critics of the civilian control of atomic energy-in the early Cold War.

The Contribution of the Ontological Turn in Education: Some Methodological and Political Implications

Science.gov (United States)

Zembylas, Michalinos

2017-01-01

This paper follows recent debates on the ontological turn in the social sciences and humanities to exemplify how this turn creates important openings of methodological and political potential in education. In particular, the paper makes an attempt to show two things: first, the new questions and possibilities that are opened from explicitly…

Modernization and gender regimes, life histories of the wives of Turkish political leaders

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Yelsali Parmaksiz, Pinar Melis

2009-01-01

This work is a close look at the life histories of the top Turkish political leaders with the aim of analyzing changes in gender role and gender identity and tensions between the two in the history of Turkish modernization vis-à-vis with contemporaneous debates on gender. The main objective is to

Signs of political economy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bernard Lamizet

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Like any political system, economy is a system of signs and representations. The Semiotics of economy elaborates its analytical methods to interpret such signs, which give meaning to the economy by representing its performances in public debate and in the media. Four major features distinguish the Semiotics of political economy from other semiotic forms or other systems of information and political representation. First of all, the relationship between the signification of the economy and the real or the imaginary phenomena to which they refer always pertains to the order of values. The second characteristic of economic signs is the significance of the state of lack they express. The third characteristic of signs of the economy is the form of sign production, which can be designated by the concept of emission of signs and their diffusion. Finally, as all signs, the economic sign is arbitrary. In the field of Economics, such arbitrariness does not imply that the Subject is free to superimpose whatever value to the signs themselves, but refers to the rupture between the world and its possible transformation. The very meaning of the word economy is here at stake. Oikos, in Greek (the term from which the word economy is derived refers to a known, familiar space. Economy transforms the real, natural world into a symbolic social world, into a world of relations with others whom we recognise and whose actions are relatively predictable. It might be useful to consider the contemporary issue of debt, its implications and its multiple meanings, which includes both the ethical and moral dimension of the condemnation of debt as well as the imaginary political dimension based on the expression of an idea of independence.

Russian Climate Politics. Light at the end of the tunnel? Briefing Paper

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Korppoo, A.; Moe, A.

2007-04-01

Russian climate politics were certainly a talking point a few years ago due to the country's decisive role in the entry into force of the Kyoto Protocol. The views of various potentially influential officials were reported by the world media almost on a daily basis. Since the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol by Russia in 2004, and its entry into force, Russian climate politics have received less attention. In this paper we update our previous analyses of Russian climate politics and policies, and report the latest developments, including material from the discussions in the 'JI in Russia' workshop 26 March 2007 organised by Oxford Climate Policy in co-operation with Climate Strategies. The main tasks of this paper are to review: the readiness of Russia to implement the Kyoto mechanisms; the fulfilment of the compliance requirements of the Kyoto Protocol; the current political debate about climate policy by various key players; the emerging discussion on the post-2012 positions of Russia

"Being a Therapist Doesn't Exclude You From Real Life": Family Therapists' Beliefs and Barriers to Political Action.

Science.gov (United States)

Jordan, Lorien S; Seponski, Desiree M

2018-01-01

A crucial and overlooked facet of social justice in family therapy is political and policy advocacy. Family therapists have unique insight into how social policies and political discourse shapes clients' lives and the life of our profession. Such knowledge can inform policymakers and political debate, yet few family therapists are trained to engage in political action. In this randomized, national survey of licensed family therapists' (N = 174), we explore beliefs about and barriers to engagement in political and policy processes. The findings suggest that there are significant barriers and uncertainties surrounding family therapists' engagement, including time, feelings of efficacy, and interest. Given these barriers we discuss practical suggestions for clinicians and family therapy training programs. © 2017 American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy.

Debates in Religious Education. The Debates in Subject Teaching Series

Science.gov (United States)

Barnes, L. Philip, Ed.

2011-01-01

What are the key debates in Religious Education teaching today? "Debates in Religious Education" explores the major issues all RE teachers encounter in their daily professional lives. It encourages critical reflection and aims to stimulate both novice and experienced teachers to think more deeply about their practice, and link research…

The Politics of US Feminist Internationalism and Cuba: Solidarities and Fractures on the Venceremos Brigades, 1969-89

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Karen W. Tice

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Despite US travel bans to Cuba, a wide spectrum of US feminist and radical activists defied and crossed geo-political borders to participate in unique modes of solidarity activism and alliances with Cuba revolutionaries. Based on the narratives of US feminist political travellers who joined the Venceremos Brigades, an anti-imperialist radical education project, this article analyses the difficult conversations about feminism, gender politics, homophobia, racism, cultural imperialism, revolutionary priorities, social change strategies, and intersectionality as well as the productive organisational linkages that were generated by this political travel. This article highlights how political differences were both managed and/or silenced within transnational activist encounters, and concludes by suggesting the import of these debates for building and sustaining multi-issue and coalitional affinities within contemporary transnational feminist organising and solidarity delegations.

Disentangling the Importance of Psychological Predispositions and Social Constructions in the Organization of American Political Ideology.

Science.gov (United States)

Verhulst, Brad; Hatemi, Peter K; Eaves, Lindon J

2012-06-01

Ideological preferences within the American electorate are contingent on both the environmental conditions that provide the content of the contemporary political debate and internal predispositions that motivate people to hold liberal or conservative policy preferences. In this article we apply Jost, Federico, and Napier's (2009) top-down/bottom-up theory of political attitude formation to a genetically informative population sample. In doing so, we further develop the theory by operationalizing the top-down pathway to be a function of the social environment and the bottom-up pathway as a latent set of genetic factors. By merging insights from psychology, behavioral genetics, and political science, we find strong support for the top-down/bottom-up framework that segregates the two independent pathways in the formation of political attitudes and identifies a different pattern of relationships between political attitudes at each level of analysis.

Rethinking Prefigurative Politics: Introduction to the Special Thematic Section

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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

Vitalism and the Darwin Debate

Science.gov (United States)

Henderson, James

2012-01-01

There are currently both scientific and public debates surrounding Darwinism. In the scientific debate, the details of evolution are in dispute, but not the central thesis of Darwin's theory; in the public debate, Darwinism itself is questioned. I concentrate on the public debate because of its direct impact on education in the United States. Some…

[Anarchists, Assassins and Revolutionaries. The Psychopathologization of "Political Criminals" between 1880 and 1920].

Science.gov (United States)

Hahn, Judith

2016-01-01

"Political criminals" of the early 20th century were adjudged to be psychopaths, a term which was generally accompanied by a negative moral judgement. However, other more positive appraisals were also made at this time. These contradictory moral judgements by psychiatrists expose the need for an examination of the historical development of concepts, traditions and moral debates associated with political criminals (anarchists, assassins, revolutionaries). This will be undertaken in the context of psychiatry/ criminology, security (and surveillance) policy as well as culture and the arts in German-speaking countries from 1880 to the early 1920s.

Politically Conservative Preservice Teachers and the Spiral of Silence: Implications for Teacher Education

Science.gov (United States)

Journell, Wayne

2017-01-01

A common perception within politically conservative circles is that American colleges and universities are bastions of liberal thought led by left-leaning faculty who seek to indoctrinate their students into adopting progressive views of the world. The purpose of this study is not to debate or justify a progressive vision of teacher education.…

Politics and the World Archaeological Congress [-3

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rao, Nandini

1995-06-01

Full Text Available The recognition in the West that every discipline is influenced by its socio-political context led to the demand for reflexive archaeology and to the formation in 1986, by the 'politically aware', of the World Archaeological Congress (WAC. WAC explicitly recognises the socio-political context of archaeological practice, and archaelogy's political, social and academic responsibilities. The Congress, which meets every four years, met in India in December 1994. Indian archaeologists have largely denied the influence of socio-political contexts on academics. But this has not prevented some from (misusing archaeological evidence to further political ends with catastrophic results. No discussion on the issue was permitted at the Congress so that eight years after it was formed. the WAC compromised and suppressed free debate on a vital matter. This essay outlines the genesis of WAC and the reasons why it was formed, before analysing the Indian context of the third meeting of the Congress. It also examines the response of Indian archaeologists at WAC to the protest against such political abuse of archaeology and calls for a reflection on whether WAC has achieved its objective of becoming a relevant world organisation.

El reconocimiento en Occidente de que cada disciplina está influida por su contexto socio-político llevó a la reivindicación de una arqueología reflexiva y a la formación en 1986, por los arqueólogos ”políticamente conscientes”, del Congreso Arqueológico Mundial (WAC. El WAC reconoce explícitamente el contexto sociopolítico de la práctica arqueológica y las responsabilidades políticas, sociales y académicas de la arqueología. El Congreso, que se celebra cada cuatro años, tuvo lugar en India en diciembre de 1994. Los arqueólogos indios han negado durante mucho tiempo la influencia de los contextos socio-políticos sobre los investigadores. Pero ello no ha impedido que algunos de ellos hayan utilizado de

Social media analysis during political turbulence.

Science.gov (United States)

Antonakaki, Despoina; Spiliotopoulos, Dimitris; V Samaras, Christos; Pratikakis, Polyvios; Ioannidis, Sotiris; Fragopoulou, Paraskevi

2017-01-01

Today, a considerable proportion of the public political discourse on nationwide elections proceeds in Online Social Networks. Through analyzing this content, we can discover the major themes that prevailed during the discussion, investigate the temporal variation of positive and negative sentiment and examine the semantic proximity of these themes. According to existing studies, the results of similar tasks are heavily dependent on the quality and completeness of dictionaries for linguistic preprocessing, entity discovery and sentiment analysis. Additionally, noise reduction is achieved with methods for sarcasm detection and correction. Here we report on the application of these methods on the complete corpus of tweets regarding two local electoral events of worldwide impact: the Greek referendum of 2015 and the subsequent legislative elections. To this end, we compiled novel dictionaries for sentiment and entity detection for the Greek language tailored to these events. We subsequently performed volume analysis, sentiment analysis, sarcasm correction and topic modeling. Results showed that there was a strong anti-austerity sentiment accompanied with a critical view on European and Greek political actions.

The history of a movement: Saúde em Debate magazine and Brazilian health reform.

Science.gov (United States)

Amarante, Paulo; Rizzotto, Maria Lucia Frizon; Costa, Ana Maria

2015-07-01

This article traces significant moments in the history of the magazine Saúde em Debate - sourcing references and information from documents, historical studies, editions of the magazine, academic work and interviews with physicians and writers who contributed to its creation. In its 39 years of existence, although there may have been variations in the magazine's editorial policy, its role as a means for exchange of ideas and debate on critical health thinking, and making a contribution by in some way intervening in the Brazilian political process, has not changed. The magazine established itself with a firm reputation as a vehicle of scientific communication especially in the areas of health policy and management, expanding the scope of subjects over time. Among the challenges it has faced, as well as that of financial sustenance, has been its role as an instrument for dissemination of Latin American thinking in the field of health.

Cultural and Normative Imaginaries in Parliamentary and Public Debates on Social Egg Freezing in Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Herrmann, Janne Rothmar; Kroløkke, Charlotte

Widely known as a global exporter of cryopreserved sperm, Danish women’s eggs follow very different trajectories. This paper identifies the cultural and normative imaginaries, which are expressed in parliamentary and public debates on social egg freezing in Denmark. We use the concept...... of sociotechnical imaginaries (Jasanoff, 2015) to demonstrate how imaginaries are not merely hoped-for-futures but also embedded within the nexus of cultural, legal, and political milieus. To expound on what imaginaries has shaped the Danish regulation on the cryopreservation of eggs, we trace the bills......, their three readings in Parliament and the concurrent public and ethical debates that in time relaxed the legal limit for the cryopreservation of eggs from the initial proposed 1 year limit to the current 5 years and today ignite discussions on elective egg freezing. We then discuss how those imaginaries...

The Micro- and Macro-Politics of the Classroom and of Classroom Research

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Buchardt, Mette

2018-01-01

understanding of classroom research is at stake in such discussions. The essay takes its point of departure in a reading of this situation, and it suggests a broader curriculum- and sociologically based concept for how to understand the classroom on a societal macro-level and on a daily life practice micro......-level among teachers and pupils. Based on this concept, inspired by the curriculum historian and sociologist Ulf P. Lundgren, the state of the art of Danish RE research with education practice at the center is discussed, as well as possible future directions.......The political and public demand for classroom research as evidence for policy plays an increasing role in debates about Danish educational politics and policy implementation with regard to general school reform as well as with regard to the politics of religious education. The question is what...

Political and Territorial Construction of Regional and National Identities in Spain since 1978

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Humlebæk, Carsten

2016-01-01

This study focuses on the Statute-related parliamentary debates of the Catalan and Valencian autonomous regions and analyses the conceptions of the political communities defended by the political parties, both of Spain, Valencia and Catalonia and the relationship between them. The goal...... is to analyse the differences over time and across ideologies of the identification patterns and the preferences with regards to the territorial organisation of the Spanish state and the arguments used to legitimise these positions. Unsurprising, the investigation shows that the secessionist crisis in Catalonia...... is reflected in many ways, but it also shows indications of conflict or of highly sensitive areas with conflict potential as early as 1979. Furthermore there are significant differences in the ways the political parties act in Valencia and Catalonia, respectively. The results suggest that the decentralisation...

Debates en torno al liberalismo: representación e instituciones en el Congreso Constituyente mexicano, 1824

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Galante, Mirian

2008-04-01

Full Text Available By analysing the Mexican Constitutional debates that took place in 1824, this article points at what was considered at the time the main foundations of the liberal system of government politicians wanted to establish. It shows that the congressmen identified Liberalism with representative systems, but not with democracy. It analyses the different ways to understand the nature and aims of political representation, as well as the diverse constitutional reflections derived therefrom. It is finally proposed that in order to better understand representation and political participation, it is necessary to pay attention not only to electoral processes but also to other instances and mechanisms involved in decision making that affect the political community.

Analizando los debates constituyentes mexicanos de 1824 este artículo señala los principales aspectos que, a juicio de los políticos del momento, constituían los fundamentos del sistema liberal de gobierno que pretendían instaurar. Así, muestra cómo los diputados identificaban al liberalismo con los sistemas representativos, pero nunca con la democracia. Recompone las diferentes comprensiones de la naturaleza y función del principio de representación política, tal y como se expresaron en las sesiones parlamentarias, así como las distintas reflexiones constitucionales que de ellas se derivaron. En definitiva, este texto propone que para comprender mejor los sistemas representativos y, en concreto, la participación política es necesario atender no sólo a los procesos electorales sino también a otras instancias y mecanismos implicados en la toma de decisiones que afectan a la comunidad política.

Partisan heart and/or rational mind? Party identification, political knowledge and electoral turnout

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Pavlović Zoran

2018-01-01

Full Text Available This paper aims at analysing the relationship between positive and negative party identification and political knowledge, as well as their interplay in regard to electoral turnout. The data from the Serbian 2012 post-election public opinion survey on the nationally representative probability-based sample of voting age citizens were used (N = 1568. The data show that political knowledge is significantly and positively correlated both with positive and negative party identification. Citizens who are more knowledgeable and positively identified are also more likely to vote. However, it is shown that the influence of political knowledge on electoral turnout is moderated only by positive party identification. Political knowledge significantly predicts turnout only in the group of citizens without positive party identification. Being negatively identified with a political party does not modify the relationship between political knowledge and turnout. The results are discussed in terms of the Michigan model of party identification and cognitive mobilisation thesis. The roles of affective and cognitive motivation in electoral participation are additionally stressed and debated. [Project of the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Grant no. 47010

From Pripyat to Paris, from grassroots memories to globalized knowledge production : the Politics of Chernobyl Fallout

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kalmbach, K.; Bauer, S.; Kasperski, T.; MacDowell, Laurel

In order to understand the politics of Chernobyl fallout, we need to approach these debates on different levels. Therefore, this chapter reflects on the following questions: In what ways has Chernobyl “materialized” for different people with different experiences? What role do individual and

The politics of entrapment : the World Bank, the integrated development model & citizenship at a crossroad

NARCIS (Netherlands)

P. Hatcher (Pascale)

2009-01-01

textabstractThe thesis is about the World Bank and the political dimensions of the new aid architecture. The new aid agenda, which emerged out of the post-Washington Consensus (PWC), has led to debates over its real significance. While Joseph Stiglitz has argued that the new consensus actually

Transformative politics: dimensions of women's participation in Panchayati Raj.

Science.gov (United States)

Sharma, K

1998-01-01

This article explores how affirmative actions to increase the political representation of women in India have been translated into actual practice. The introduction defines the issue and notes that the struggle of Indian women involves a wide spectrum of issues and that, while there was scant controversy over the enactment of the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments that reserved a third of seats for women in local governing bodies, the 81st Constitutional Amendment, which attempted to do the same for the national governing bodies, has stalled. Next, the article reviews the debate on reservation that has occupied the women's movement for more than 70 years and notes that the 73rd Amendment led to increased debate on the possibilities, problems, and efficacy of quotas for women. The article continues by tracing the history of India's "little republics," or "panchayats," and by describing 1) women's participation in panchayats, 2) special problems encountered in the tribal areas, and 3) women's experiences after passage of the 73rd amendment. It is concluded that, since political power will remain meaningless until inequalities are resolved, the important question is whether affirmative action will bring about the required redistribution of power and resources. This article argues that the 73rd Amendment has precipitated important changes in the democratic process but that women must exceed the "numbers game" to achieve larger goals.

Politics, citizenship and disobedience in the city of crisis: a critical analysis of contemporary housing struggles in Madrid

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Janoschka, Michael

2015-09-01

Full Text Available The city region of Madrid can be considered as an exponent of the striking contradictions associated with the contemporary market-oriented production of housing. Given the increasing economic constraints of many ­middle- and working-class households because of the crisis, property values have been declining for practically seven years now, and tens of thousands of households have been evicted from their homes because they were unable to pay back their mortgages. Simultaneously, since the outbreak of the indignados movement in May 2011, a contestation of the structural forces ruling the real estate sector has been taking place, and questions about the right of housing became a prominent part of the public debate in an increasingly politicised society. Alongside the background of literature about the post-political city and subversive citizenship, this article pursues three key aims: It analyses the consequences of the persistent crisis with a special focus on the residential housing market in Madrid. Secondly, an analysis of the new social and political dynamics that have been emerging during the crisis is developed. Finally, it pinpoints to the way how the emergence of new actors within contemporary housing struggles has been shifting the social and political discourses in this political arena. Such an approach brings together discussions from the field of Political Science with the new geographies of contested crisis urbanism that relate to debates about the social construction of the city, citizenship and disobedience.

[Food in the contemporary context: consumption, political action and sustainability].

Science.gov (United States)

Portilho, Fátima; Castañeda, Marcelo; de Castro, Inês Rugani Ribeiro

2011-01-01

The interdisciplinary field of reflections on food as politics goes through a process of expansion and overflow to the private sphere, and routine daily food consumption. This process seems to be a reflection of transformations in the global agrifood markets, the wide publicity and awareness of food hazards and the politicization of consumption. To the extent that individuals are to assume responsibility for the environmental and social consequences of their everyday choices, the specificity of political power in contemporary societies goes beyond the institutional level (food security and nutrition, social inequalities in access to food, agricultural policies and regulations advertising of food) to meet the private sphere. This paper shows, initially, some of the recent debates about the process of politicization of consumption and then explores a theoretical reflection on the ethical, political and ideological habits that relate to food consumption, including the locations and ways of acquiring and food preparation, the values of environmental preservation, solidarity with local producers and reflexive caution against food risks. Finally, points to a research agenda capable of capturing the processes of politicization of food and consumer practices in the field of political power.

The Emergence of Political Opposition in Mexico, 1949-1952. Two Proposals for Electoral

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José Fernando Ayala López

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Using methodological elements from political and institutional history, the present article analyzes, the first proposal for the implementation of an electoral system of proportional representation in Mexico and its primary repercussions in the formulation of subsequent electoral laws. This initiative was presented by Vicente Lombardo Toledano and the Popular Party (PP in 1951, during the XLI Legislature (1949-1952. This event is correlated with the emergence of political opposition in the Chamber of Deputies. In the same year as the PP proposes reform, the National Action Party (PAN proposes another initiative of electoral reform. Both proposals propitiate a legislative debate that identifies the importance of elections as an instrument of State political control and proposed its reformulation. In this sense, the principal contribution of this study is to visibilize the proreform discourses of political opposition in a period which is often through of as being characterized by authoritarianism and censorship.

The politics of atmospheric sciences: "nuclear winter" and global climate change.

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Dörries, Matthias

2011-01-01

This article, by exploring the individual and collective trajectories that led to the "nuclear winter" debate, examines what originally drew scientists on both sides of the controversy to this research. Stepping back from the day-to-day action and looking at the larger cultural and political context of nuclear winter reveals sometimes surprising commonalities among actors who found themselves on opposing sides, as well as differences within the apparently coherent TTAPS group (the theory's originators: Richard P. Turco, Owen Brian Toon, Thomas P. Ackerman, James B. Pollack, and Carl Sagan). This story foreshadows that of recent research on anthropogenic climate change, which was substantially shaped during this--apparently tangential--cold war debate of the 1980s about research on the global effects of nuclear weapons.

Present day public space through the prism of resistance forms to participative injunction. The case of public debates on the electronuclear program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chambru, Mikael

2011-10-01

This paper proposes to analyze the types of commitments used in the public sphere by the anti-nuclear movements to resist the injunction of participatory public debates. These debates, related to the nuclear power policy, are implemented under the aegis of the National Commission of Public Debate (CNDP). Using a socio-historical approach, we contextualize the implementation of participative tools and the forms of resistance against them in a longer perspective and beyond these institutional participative mechanisms. Analyzing this form of communication and the information issues at stake, the social processes and the political strategies of actors constitute the next step in our work. Doing so enables us to improve the common understanding, through the prism of activist commitment, of the modern transformations of the public sphere. (author)

Genetically modified food in the news: media representations of the GM debate in the UK.

Science.gov (United States)

Augoustinos, Martha; Crabb, Shona; Shepherd, Richard

2010-01-01

This paper analyses a corpus of articles on GM crops and food which appeared in six UK newspapers in the first three months of 2004, the year following the GM Nation? debate (2003). Using the methods of critical discourse analysis we focus on how specific and pervasive representations of the major stakeholders in the national debate on GM--the British public, the British government, the science of GM, and biotechnology companies--served significant rhetorical functions in the controversy. Of particular significance was the pervasive representation of the British public as uniformly opposed to GM crops and food which served rhetorically to position the British government as undemocratic and as being beholden to powerful political and economic interests. Of significance also in our analysis, is how the science of GM farming itself became a highly contested arena. In short, our analysis demonstrates how the GM debate was represented in the newsprint media as a "battleground" of competing interests. We conclude by considering the possible implications of this representation given the increasing emphasis placed on the importance of deliberative and inclusive forms of science policy decision-making.

Enhancing Political Will for Universal Health Coverage in Nigeria.

Science.gov (United States)

Aregbeshola, Bolaji S

2017-01-01

Universal health coverage aims to increase equity in access to quality health care services and to reduce financial risk due to health care costs. It is a key component of international health agenda and has been a subject of worldwide debate. Despite differing views on its scope and pathways to reach it, there is a global consensus that all countries should work toward universal health coverage. The goal remains distant for many African countries, including Nigeria. This is mostly due to lack of political will and commitment among political actors and policymakers. Evidence from countries such as Ghana, Chile, Mexico, China, Thailand, Turkey, Rwanda, Vietnam and Indonesia, which have introduced at least some form of universal health coverage scheme, shows that political will and commitment are key to the adoption of new laws and regulations for reforming coverage. For Nigeria to improve people's health, reduce poverty and achieve prosperity, universal health coverage must be vigorously pursued at all levels. Political will and commitment to these goals must be expressed in legal mandates and be translated into policies that ensure increased public health care financing for the benefit of all Nigerians. Nigeria, as part of a global system, cannot afford to lag behind in striving for this overarching health goal.

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.

Social medicine, feminism and the politics of population: From transnational knowledge networks to national social movements in Brazil and Mexico.

Science.gov (United States)

de la Dehesa, Rafael

2018-02-28

This article examines the role of national actors articulated with an explicitly counter-hegemonic transnational knowledge network (TKN) mobilising around social medicine in policy debates on population control and family planning. It focuses primarily on Brazil, using Mexico as a shadow case to highlight salient points of contrast. In doing so, it makes two contributions to larger debates about TKNs. First, it highlights the plural and contested nature of the knowledge production they enact, underscoring contestation around a global reproductive regime that consolidated around family planning. Second, it underscores how the position and relative influence of actors articulated with TKNs is shaped by political and institutional contexts at the national level, producing variable opportunities for the mobilisation of applied knowledge. Reflecting its advocates' embeddedness in larger opposition movements to authoritarian states, social medicine had a greater influence on these debates in Brazil, where synergies with a resurgent feminist movement reinforced a shared insistence on comprehensive women's healthcare and increased the salience of sterilisation abuse on the political agenda.

Cultural, Social and Political Perspectives in Science Education

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

conditions and contexts in science education. The different chapters review debates and research in teacher education, school teaching and learning including when external stakeholders are involved. Even though the chapters are contextualized in Nordic settings there will be similarities and parallels...... that will be informative to the international science education research community.......This book presents a collection of critical thinking that concern cultural, social and political issues for science education in the Nordic countries. The chapter authors describe specific scenarios to challenge persisting views, interrogate frameworks and trouble contemporary approaches...

RACIALISING RELIGION IN THE DEBATE ON RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN MALAYSIA

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Saskia Louise Shafer

2009-02-01

Full Text Available This article summarises the results of a media analysis conducted by the example of one of the country’s biggest daily newspapers, the New Straits Times. With regard to the controversial religious freedom debate, it summarises what actors are involved in the discussion and how their positions are presented in the mainstream media. Several examples from articles show what strategies are employed in the discourse, such as the rhetoric of fear and crisis and the constant emphasis of racial and other supposedly separating categories. The close linkage of the categories ‘ethnicity’ and ‘religion’, which is manifested legally as well as politically, is perpetuated linguistically. Especially important in this context is the construction of a Muslim-Malay identity. 

Debate on redistribution and recognition: towards an oposition posmodern feminism

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María del Pilar Rodríguez

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Marxist tradition has strongly criticized Derrida’s deconstruction approach as well as the postmodern positions, considering them as only concerned with differences but with no regards for socioeconomic inequality. Nevertheless, an important part of feminism has nursed in such theories to support its own arguments. We analyze the pertinence of such criticism as well as the particular effects of deconstruction and postmodernism in the theory and praxis of feminism in the light of two current debates. The first one regarding the political potential of deconstruction and postmodernism positions; the second one, referred to the so-called contradiction between socioeconomic redistribution and cultural acknowledgement of the differences. This will lead us to a broader and more comprehensive analysis horizon.

[Development, science, and politics: the debate surrounding creation of the Instituto Internacional da Hiléia Amazônica].

Science.gov (United States)

Magalhães, Rodrigo Cesar da Silva; Maio, Marcos Chor

2007-12-01

The article uses the debate surrounding creation of the Instituto Internacional da Hiléia Amazônica (International Institute of the Hylean Amazon--IIHA) as a point of departure for analyzing the topic of development. We first address post-World War II relations between science and development. Next, we examine the Brazilian government's initiatives in the Amazon during the 1940s and how the IIHA project was received. Lastly, we analyze the controversies ignited in Brazil by Unesco's plan. The IIHA project was a catalyst of the development debate in post-World War II Brazil. The discussions then sparked in Brazil and the project's denouement solidified a development model for the Amazon that even today underpins initiatives taken in the region.

Radioisotopes as Political Instruments, 1946–1953

Science.gov (United States)

Creager, Angela N. H.

2009-01-01

The development of nuclear “piles,” soon called reactors, in the Manhattan Project provided a new technology for manufacturing radioactive isotopes. Radioisotopes, unstable variants of chemical elements that give off detectable radiation upon decay, were available in small amounts for use in research and therapy before World War II. In 1946, the U.S. government began utilizing one of its first reactors, dubbed X-10 at Oak Ridge, as a production facility for radioisotopes available for purchase to civilian institutions. This program of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission was meant to exemplify the peacetime dividends of atomic energy. The numerous requests from scientists outside the United States, however, sparked a political debate about whether the Commission should or even could export radioisotopes. This controversy manifested the tension in U.S. politics between scientific internationalism as a tool of diplomacy, associated with the aims of the Marshall Plan, and the desire to safeguard the country’s atomic monopoly at all costs, linked to American anti-Communism. This essay examines the various ways in which radioisotopes were used as political instruments—both by the U.S. federal government in world affairs, and by critics of the civilian control of atomic energy—in the early Cold War. PMID:20725612

Karl Marx, Civil Society And Political Community in the Context Of The Jewish Problem

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Yunus ENTERİLİ

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Today, debates and discourses developed over the concepts of civil society and political society are usually made through religious discourses or religious identities, and the individual emerges as a problem of emancipation. In his “Jewish Question”, which Marx wrote during his youthful period with Bauer’s thoughts, it is thought that the religious identities and rhetoric accompanied the present debate about the emergence of the emancipation of individuals in social and political contexts. It is thought that this problem, which emerged as the problem of individual liberation or citizenship, and which is regarded as a Jewish problem and emerged in different forms in different geographies, is the result of the fact that the religious identities can not be torn from the religious part of the world. Another reason for the lack of emancipation of the individual is the understanding of colonialism that is at the core of the capitalist system. In today’s society, it wants to keep up with the existence of religions or to keep up with the capitalist system and wants to influence the capitalist system with state policies by making itself active in the political arena. Judaism and Christianity in this context religion, the effects of the formation of capitalist society, will be discussed from the rhetoric of Marx and Bauer. The issue of the citizenship identity of the individual in this study will be addressed through the relationship between civil society and political society. There will also be mentioned here some other thinkers (Hegel, Feuerbach etc. that affect Marx’s ideas about civil society and political society, besides Marx and Bauer. Civil society, citizenship, liberation of religion, political emancipation, the effects of emancipation of individuals such as the state will be handled through the Jewish example. Prior to this assessment, a better understanding of the subject will be addressed to the civil society and state relationship

Polarizing Political Participation Frames in a Nordic Gay Community

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Jakob Svensson

2014-11-01

Full Text Available This article is based on a research project studying political discussions in the Swedish LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bi-, Transsexual community Qruiser. These discussions were very antagonistic and rude. The aim is therefore to understand what motivated participation in these heated discussions. The focus is on Qruiser political forum threads. The research is nethnographic through online interviews, participant observations in, and content analyses of, political discussions threads during the month of November 2012. By using framing theory as an analytical tool, the paper seeks to answer which frames attracted and mobilized participation and how this was done. In the article I find that polarizing frames of the left vs the right, the xenophobic vs the political correct, together with a truth and a game frame was used to motivated participation in the Qruiser forum threads.

Globalizing queer? AIDS, homophobia and the politics of sexual identity in India.

Science.gov (United States)

Kole, Subir K

2007-07-11

Queerness is now global. Many emerging economies of the global South are experiencing queer mobilization and sexual identity politics raising fundamental questions of citizenship and human rights on the one hand; and discourses of nationalism, cultural identity, imperialism, tradition and family-values on the other. While some researchers argue that with economic globalization in the developing world, a Western, hegemonic notion of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) identity has been exported to traditional societies thereby destroying indigenous sexual cultures and diversities, other scholars do not consider globalization as a significant factor in global queer mobilization and sexual identity politics. This paper aims at exploring the debate around globalization and contemporary queer politics in developing world with special reference to India. After briefly tracing the history of sexual identity politics, this paper examines the process of queer mobilization in relation to emergence of HIV/AIDS epidemic and forces of neoliberal globalization. I argue that the twin-process of globalization and AIDS epidemic has significantly influenced the mobilization of queer communities, while simultaneously strengthening right wing "homophobic" discourses of heterosexist nationalism in India.

Competing Victimizations or Multidirectional Soli-daties? Politics of Collective Memory and Solidarity in the Post-National Socialist and Post-Colonial Austrian Left

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Julia Edthofer

2014-03-01

Full Text Available In this article I illustrate “competing victimizations” and propose possible “multidirectional solidarities” regarding inner-left debates about the Middle East conflict, anti-Semitism and racism in Viennese left-wing contexts. The illustrated conflict is specific for radical left-wing politics in a post-National Socialist and post-colonial setting. Debates initially revolve around Israel versus Palestine solidarity. In the wake of the Second Intifada and the September 11 attacks they partly divide anti-fascist and anti-racist political stances. While the pro-Israeli camp focuses on the Holocaust, Austrian guilt-deflection and current anti-Semitism, the pro-Palestinian side condemns the Israeli occupation and fights growing anti-Muslim racism. In this context, opposing perspectives on the relation of new anti-Semitism and anti-Muslim racism are articulated. Such competing dynamics and their interrelation with Austrian memory politics and global politics are illustrated.  Subsequently, they are discussed as being related to conflicting memories and interrelated competing victimizations in migrant societies with a National Socialist history, such as in Austria and Germany. Concluding, the concept of “multidirectional solidarity” is proposed as an alternative approach, transcending competitive views on past and current victimizations.

Re-thinking the politics of migration. On the uses and challenges of regime perspectives for migration research

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Horvath, Kenneth; Amelinaz, Anna; Peters, Karin

2017-01-01

The aim of this special issue is to critically assess the potential of regime theory for migration research. Against the background of contemporary political dynamics, regime terminology has become rather popular in migration studies. There has, however, been little debate on the foundations and

The Crisis in Policy Debate.

Science.gov (United States)

Rowland, Robert C.; Deatherage, Scott

1988-01-01

Asserts that policy debate is declining, mainly because of incomprehensible argumentation and speaking. Claims that judges should intervene in the debate process to demand certain minimums of effective argument. Advocates the creation of a debate coach organization that would establish general norms for judging behavior. (MM)

Differences in negativity bias underlie variations in political ideology.

Science.gov (United States)

Hibbing, John R; Smith, Kevin B; Alford, John R

2014-06-01

Disputes between those holding differing political views are ubiquitous and deep-seated, and they often follow common, recognizable lines. The supporters of tradition and stability, sometimes referred to as conservatives, do battle with the supporters of innovation and reform, sometimes referred to as liberals. Understanding the correlates of those distinct political orientations is probably a prerequisite for managing political disputes, which are a source of social conflict that can lead to frustration and even bloodshed. A rapidly growing body of empirical evidence documents a multitude of ways in which liberals and conservatives differ from each other in purviews of life with little direct connection to politics, from tastes in art to desire for closure and from disgust sensitivity to the tendency to pursue new information, but the central theme of the differences is a matter of debate. In this article, we argue that one organizing element of the many differences between liberals and conservatives is the nature of their physiological and psychological responses to features of the environment that are negative. Compared with liberals, conservatives tend to register greater physiological responses to such stimuli and also to devote more psychological resources to them. Operating from this point of departure, we suggest approaches for refining understanding of the broad relationship between political views and response to the negative. We conclude with a discussion of normative implications, stressing that identifying differences across ideological groups is not tantamount to declaring one ideology superior to another.

Political topic-communities and their framing practices in the Dutch Twittersphere

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Maranke Wieringa

2018-05-01

Full Text Available In light of the need for political plurality and informed debate this study questions information distribution and curation on Twitter. We contribute to the understanding of ideological homophily by exploring the notion of the ‘echo chamber’. Using a sample of two weeks of Dutch Twitter data, we combine network analysis of retweet networks, with qualitative reading and categorisation of engagement with media content in tweets within political topic communities. We found that media references were predominantly framed in affirmative ways in relation to the referenced medium content. Our findings show that users consciously select media messages that correspond with the general sentiment within their topic community, or frame them accordingly. We see this as a willful ‘echo chamber’, or a ‘repillarisation’.

New social movements and political process: The politics of hydroelectric power in Switzerland

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Lehmann, Luzia M.

This dissertation analyzes the mobilization and impact of the ecology movement mobilizing against and challenging hydroelectric power plants in the Alps. It argues that the political process model is the most fruitful framework for such a study, linking a political system's structural constraints and opportunities to movement action via organizational resources. The mobilization process resulting in movement impact is conceived as an interactive process among social movements, authorities, other opponents, and potential counter movements. The case study method is then used to analyze three action campaigns launched against hydro power plants in Graubunden since the 1970s: Ilanz I and II, Greina, and Curciusa. In terms of the movement's narrow goal of preventing a plant, Ilanz I and II is a failure, Greina a success, and Curciusa ambiguous. Yet the author defines movement impact more broadly, including procedural, reactive and proactive substantive impact, and structural impact, changes in the alliance/conflict system, and social learning. Based on the evidence from the case studies, these factors affect movement outcome positively: visibility in the media and framing the debate, adjusting the target level and movement repertoire to the opportunity structure and the spatial concentration of the issue, proactivity, and organizational resources with a well developed division of labor, internal communication, and a non-partisan alliance system at all levels. There are two main conceptual contributions. First, the author analyzes the political opportunity structure at all levels of the federal polity--the national, cantonal, and communal--as well as the interplay among the levels. The fact that the cantonal and communal levels exhibit more elements of closure than the national level helps explain differences in movements' organizational resources, movement repertoire, targeting of movement action, and thus movement impact. Second, the author develops the spatial

[Religion and health: the public intervention of Catholic religious agents trained in bioethics in the parliamentary debate on death with dignity in Argentina].

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Irrazábal, Gabriela

2015-09-01

This paper discusses from a sociological perspective one of Catholicism's fronts of public intervention in the development and enactment of health legislation. In particular we analyze the debate in parliamentary committees on the so-called "death with dignity" law (No. 26742), for which a group of bioethics experts was convened to counsel senators regarding the scope and limits of the law. The majority of the invited experts advocated a personalist bioethics perspective, which is a theological bioethics development of contemporary Catholicism. In the debate no representatives of other faiths were present, reinforcing the widely studied overlap between Catholicism and politics in Argentina.

Rise and fall of political complexity in island South-East Asia and the Pacific.

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Currie, Thomas E; Greenhill, Simon J; Gray, Russell D; Hasegawa, Toshikazu; Mace, Ruth

2010-10-14

There is disagreement about whether human political evolution has proceeded through a sequence of incremental increases in complexity, or whether larger, non-sequential increases have occurred. The extent to which societies have decreased in complexity is also unclear. These debates have continued largely in the absence of rigorous, quantitative tests. We evaluated six competing models of political evolution in Austronesian-speaking societies using phylogenetic methods. Here we show that in the best-fitting model political complexity rises and falls in a sequence of small steps. This is closely followed by another model in which increases are sequential but decreases can be either sequential or in bigger drops. The results indicate that large, non-sequential jumps in political complexity have not occurred during the evolutionary history of these societies. This suggests that, despite the numerous contingent pathways of human history, there are regularities in cultural evolution that can be detected using computational phylogenetic methods.

“Political Correctness” from a “Border Reason”: Between Dignity and the Shadow of Exclusion

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Ivón Cepeda-Mayorga

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The concept of political correctness highlights a set of principles and structures that should (or, in other cases, must be followed to pursue a specific social behavior that characterizes a society and endorses an ideal identity. Nevertheless, even when this behavior implies a sense of social recognition and acceptance by a specific group, it also encompasses a risk of imposing a particular model of life, halting the emergence of criticisms and differences as far as it could be misguided to promote discrimination and exclusion. All of these raise the question of whether it is possible to conceive political correctness from a perspective of inclusion that transcends this layer of exclusion. If this is the case, following Eugenio Trías’ philosophy about the limit, the concept needs to be reconsidered through a “border reason” that enables one to conceive the benefits it brings as well as the criticisms that come from the analysis of the “shadowy” practice of the concept. This approach will lead to accepting that political correctness fulfills a function for society but that it requires a reflexive attitude along with its practices as part of a border relation between its benefits and the risks that it also has to tackle. Finally, a concept that could serve as a hinge to reinforce the perspective of a border limit is dignity, which could lead to an ethical reflection that underpins politically correct actions.

Democracy as a Contested Concept in Postwar Western Europe: A Comparative Study of Political Debates in France, West Germany and Italy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Corduwener, P.

2016-01-01

This article explores how political parties in France, West Germany, and Italy conceptualized democracy and challenged the conceptions of democracy of their political adversaries between the end of the 1940s and the early 1960s. It studies from a comparative perspective the different conceptions of

11 CFR 110.13 - Candidate debates.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... debates include at least two candidates; and (2) The staging organization(s) does not structure the... PROHIBITIONS § 110.13 Candidate debates. (a) Staging organizations. (1) Nonprofit organizations described in 26..., subparts D and E. (b) Debate structure. The structure of debates staged in accordance with this section and...

Mischaracterizing social psychology to support the laudable goal of increasing its political diversity.

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Eagly, Alice H

2015-01-01

Duarte et al.'s arguments for increasing political diversity in social psychology are based on mischaracterizations of social psychology as fundamentally flawed in understanding stereotype accuracy and the effects of attitudes on information processing. I correct their misunderstandings while agreeing with their view that political diversity, along with other forms of diversity, stands to benefit social psychology.

Elaboración de la imagen de Miguel Primo de Rivera en "El Debate" y "Arriba"

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Ángel M. Varas Carrasco

1998-01-01

Full Text Available El estudio de la prensa escrita constituye una herramienta esencial para las investigaciones sobre la opinión pública en la Historia Contemporánea. Dentro de tan vasto territorio resulta de suma importancia conocer los mecanismos de fabricación de las imágenes políticas entendidas como hitos básicos en la configuración de la memoria histórica. El análisis de tales mecanismos, sometidos al devenir histórico, como consecuencia y causa del mismo, permite arrojar luz tanto sobre las señas de identidad de los grupos políticos como sobre sus comportamientos tácticos en circunstancias históricas concretas. De esta forma, analizar la imagen política de tiñiguel Primo de Rivera elaborada por "El Debate» y "Arriba», respectivamente, abre sugerentes vías de investigación sobre el catolicismo social y el fascismo en España.The study of the written press constitutes an essential tool for investigations inte public opinión in Contemporary History. With such a vast territory, it is of principal importance to understand the mechanisms of production of political images as basic criteria in the creation of historical memory. The analysis of such mechanisms, which becomes historical as a consequences and cause of itself, allows us to shed light on the sense of identity of the political groups as well as their tactical behaviour in concrete historical circumstances. In this way, the political image of Miguel Primo de Rivera as seen by «El Debate» y "Arriba», respectively, can be analized and lead to paths of investigation on Social Catholicism and Fascism in Spain.

The Politics of Obesity: A Current Assessment and Look Ahead

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Kersh, Rogan

2009-01-01

Context: The continuing rise in obesity rates across the United States has proved impervious to clinical treatment or public health exhortation, necessitating policy responses. Nearly a decade's worth of political debates may be hardening into an obesity issue regime, comprising established sets of cognitive frames, stakeholders, and policy options. Methods: This article is a survey of reports on recently published studies. Findings: Much of the political discussion regarding obesity is centered on two “frames,” personal-responsibility and environmental, yielding very different sets of policy responses. While policy efforts at the federal level have resulted in little action to date, state and/or local solutions such as calorie menu labeling and the expansion of regulations to reduce unhealthy foods at school may have more impact. Conclusions: Obesity politics is evolving toward a relatively stable state of equilibrium, which could make comprehensive reforms to limit rising obesity rates less feasible. Therefore, to achieve meaningful change, rapid-response research identifying a set of promising reforms, combined with concerted lobbying action, will be necessary. PMID:19298424

For Argument's Sake: the shadow side of argumentation and debate in the science classroom (Invited)

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Berbeco, M.; McCaffrey, M.

2013-12-01

Though the science on climate change is clear, those dismissive of current findings and future projections continue to influence the public sphere. This is never more problematic than in an educational setting, where a concern for fairness has driven the push for unscientific material to be used to balance the science. The introduction of the Next Generation Science Standards in many states across the country, which emphasizes the use of argumentation as a theme for engaging students in critical thinking, and the appeal of having students 'debate' politically controversial concepts such as climate change could unintentionally undermine the science by casting doubt and manufacturing 'controversy' where scientifically there is none. How can scientists help support teachers to use appropriate material for educating about climate change? Where is the line between supporting good science and activism? How can teachers separate the science from the politics without undermining its value in informing policy decisions? In this presentation, we will address how teachers can manage these challenges to engage students about politically and socially controversial topics while maintaining a clear, current and robust scientific basis for instruction.

Cultural, Social and Political Perspectives in Science Education

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

This book presents a collection of critical thinking that concern cultural, social and political issues for science education in the Nordic countries. The chapter authors describe specific scenarios to challenge persisting views, interrogate frameworks and trouble contemporary approaches to resea......This book presents a collection of critical thinking that concern cultural, social and political issues for science education in the Nordic countries. The chapter authors describe specific scenarios to challenge persisting views, interrogate frameworks and trouble contemporary approaches...... to researching teaching and learning in science. Taking a point of departure in empirical examples from the Nordic countries the collection of work is taking a critical sideways glance at the Nordic education principles. Critical examinations target specifically those who are researching in the fields of science...... conditions and contexts in science education. The different chapters review debates and research in teacher education, school teaching and learning including when external stakeholders are involved. Even though the chapters are contextualized in Nordic settings there will be similarities and parallels...

Multinational repositories: Ethical, legal and political/public aspects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boutellier, C.; McCombie, C.; Mele, I.

2006-01-01

Concepts for shared multinational repositories face a great challenge in achieving acceptance, despite the fact that they promise advantages in safety, security, environmental protection and costs. When considering advantages of shared multinational repositories, it is instructive to examine which are the ethical, legal and political issues that mostly affect the feasibility of implementing such facilities. This paper addresses the key questions from two opposite sides. The early part takes a 'top-down' view, looking at the international debate on ethical issues, summarising a wide range of national political attitudes and identifying relevant international legislation and treaties. The latter looks 'bottom-up' at the problem, by discussing the situation of a small country, Slovenia. Slovenia has limited financial resources for implementing disposal - but it has a firm commitment to fulfilling its responsibilities for safely managing all Radioactive Wastes (RAW) arising in the country. Strategies considered to do so are laid out in this paper. (author)

De la normatividad queer en la construcción de la nación a la resistencia política queer: un debate en la relación Israel-Palestina

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Lucía Seguer

2014-06-01

Full Text Available From Queer Normativity in the Nation Building to the Queer Political Resistance: a Debate on the Israeli-Palestinian Relation Abstract In the following text I address the gap between the construction of acceptable queer subjects for the national narrative and, on the other hand, the theoretical approach of queer political resistance/ LGBT in Arab societies. To do this, I present contemporary debates on the impact of the war on terrorism on the American academic community. At the same time, this work intend to address the link between the LGBT hegemonic discourse and the American and Israeli civilizing projectsa and, due to this, the text accounts for the future of the LGBT element within the Palestinian-Israeli relation. Furthermore, the text questions the theoretical approach of the LGBT arab subjects who are commonly absent in academic reflection as possible political subjects. Doing this, I hope to problematize the ambivalence and the epistemological implications entailed in the use of Orientalism as a category, and the operations through which the academy builds truth about the subject.

Poor program's progress: the unanticipated politics of Medicaid policy.

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Brown, Lawrence D; Sparer, Michael S

2003-01-01

Advocates of U.S. national health insurance tend to share an image that highlights universal standards of coverage, social insurance financing, and national administration--in short, the basic features of Medicare. Such an approach is said to be good (equitable and efficient) policy and equally good politics. Medicaid, by contrast, is often taken to exemplify poor policy and poorer politics: means-tested eligibility, general revenue financing, and federal/state administration, which encourage inequities and disparities of care. This stark juxtaposition fails, however, to address important counterintuitive elements in the political evolution of these programs. Medicare's benefits and beneficiaries have stayed disturbingly stable, but Medicaid's relatively broad benefits have held firm, and its categories of beneficiaries have expanded. Repeated alarms about "bankruptcy" have undermined confidence in Medicare's trust funding, while Medicaid's claims on the taxpayer's dollar have worn well. Medicare's national administration has avoided disparities, but at the price of sacrificing state and local flexibility that can ease such "reforms" as the introduction of managed care. That Medicaid has fared better than a "poor people's program" supposedly could has provocative implications for health reform debates.

First a hero of science and now a martyr to science: the James Watson Affair - political correctness crushes free scientific communication.

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Charlton, Bruce G

2008-01-01

In 2007 James D. Watson, perhaps the most famous living scientist, was forced to retire from his position and retreat from public life in the face of international mass media condemnation following remarks concerning genetically-caused racial differences in intelligence. Watson was punished for stating forthright views on topics that elite opinion has determined should be discussed only with elaborate caution, frequent disclaimers, and solemn deference to the currently-prevailing pieties. James Watson has always struck many people as brash; however this blunt, truth-telling quality was intrinsic to his role in one of the greatest scientific discoveries. Much more importantly than 'good manners', Watson has consistently exemplified the cardinal scientific virtue: he speaks what he understands to be the truth without regard for the opinion of others. The most chilling aspect of the Watson Affair was the way in which so many influential members of the scientific research community joined the media condemnation directed against Watson. Perhaps the most egregious betrayal of science was an article by editorialists of the premier UK scientific journal Nature. Instead of defending the freedom of discourse in pursuit of scientific truth, Nature instead blamed Watson for being 'crass' and lacking 'sensitivity' in discussing human genetic differences. But if asked to choose between the 'sensitive' editors of Nature or the 'crass' genius of James D. Watson, all serious scientists must take the side of Watson. Because when a premier researcher such as Watson is hounded from office by a vicious, arbitrary and untruthful mob; all lesser scientists are made vulnerable to analogous treatment at the whim of the media. A zealous and coercive brand of 'political correctness' is now making the biological truth of human genetic differences intolerably difficult to discover and discuss in US and UK. This needs to change. My hope is that truth will prevail over political correctness and

Public debate - radioactive wastes management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2005-01-01

Between September 2005 and January 2006 a national debate has been organized on the radioactive wastes management. This debate aimed to inform the public and to allow him to give his opinion. This document presents, the reasons of this debate, the operating, the synthesis of the results and technical documents to bring information in the domain of radioactive wastes management. (A.L.B.)

Competing Victimizations or Multidirectional Soli-daties? Politics of Collective Memory and Solidarity in the Post-National Socialist and Post-Colonial Austrian Left

OpenAIRE

Julia Edthofer

2014-01-01

In this article I illustrate “competing victimizations” and propose possible “multidirectional solidarities” regarding inner-left debates about the Middle East conflict, anti-Semitism and racism in Viennese left-wing contexts. The illustrated conflict is specific for radical left-wing politics in a post-National Socialist and post-colonial setting. Debates initially revolve around Israel versus Palestine solidarity. In the wake of the Second Intifada and the September 11 attacks they partly d...

Genetics against race: Science, politics and affirmative action in Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Kent, Michael; Wade, Peter

2015-12-01

This article analyses interrelations between genetic ancestry research, political conflict and social identity. It focuses on the debate on race-based affirmative action policies, which have been implemented in Brazil since the turn of the century. Genetic evidence of high levels of admixture in the Brazilian population has become a key element of arguments that question the validity of the category of race for the development of public policies. In response, members of Brazil's black movement have dismissed the relevance of genetics by arguing, first, that in Brazil race functions as a social--rather than a biological--category, and, second, that racial classification and discrimination in this country are based on appearance, rather than on genotype. This article highlights the importance of power relations and political interests in shaping public engagements with genetic research and their social consequences.

Individualism, conservatism, and radicalism as criteria for processing political beliefs: a parametric fMRI study.

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Zamboni, Giovanna; Gozzi, Marta; Krueger, Frank; Duhamel, Jean-René; Sirigu, Angela; Grafman, Jordan

2009-01-01

Politics is a manifestation of the uniquely human ability to debate, decide, and reach consensus on decisions affecting large groups over long durations of time. Recent neuroimaging studies on politics have focused on the association between brain regions and specific political behaviors by adopting party or ideological affiliation as a criterion to classify either experimental stimuli or subjects. However, it is unlikely that complex political beliefs (i.e., "the government should protect freedom of speech") are evaluated only on a liberal-to-conservative criterion. Here we used multidimensional scaling and parametric functional magnetic resonance imaging to identify which criteria/dimensions people use to structure complex political beliefs and which brain regions are concurrently activated. We found that three independent dimensions explained the variability of a set of statements expressing political beliefs and that each dimension was reflected in a distinctive pattern of neural activation: individualism (medial prefrontal cortex and temporoparietal junction), conservatism (dorsolateral prefrontal cortex), and radicalism (ventral striatum and posterior cingulate). The structures we identified are also known to be important in self-other processing, social decision-making in ambivalent situations, and reward prediction. Our results extend current knowledge on the neural correlates of the structure of political beliefs, a fundamental aspect of the human ability to coalesce into social entities.

Territory and place : Potential for analysis of political subjects' constitution: The case of an unemployed movement in Argentina

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Fernanda Torres

2011-01-01

Full Text Available This paper aims at introducing the debate about the concepts of "space", "territory", "territoriality", "place" and their possible responsibility in the analysis of political subjects, especially in connection with an Argentine unemployment movement: the CTD Aníbal Verón. First of all, we deal with the debate about whether the space can be thought of as a political constituting dimensión or whether it is enough for it to be considered a conflict manifestation, limit demarcation and access control; the space built being understood as territory. Secondly, we also carry out an analysis of the relation between subjects and space, their appropriation and the meaning they give it, involving identity relations which are often analyzed through the category of place. Attention will be paid to two of the various practices which construct places [in terms of identity] in the territories built/appropriated by the organization: the neighborhood and the picket

Reflections on the Evolution of the Debate: From Drakht-i Asurig to Nima Poems

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Narges Mohammadi badr

2016-06-01

up. In this type of debate each side tries to show his merits to another. At the end of the debate none of the parties are able to defeat each other, so both sides go to the judge and referee ruled that both of them have benefits and peace is better for them.  Most of royal poets and writers have taken advantage of this way to entertain the King and Prince. That's why in many of these debates, the king or minister is the judge of debate which is written for him. Also In contemporary literature many examples of debates are detectable as a means to promote education and moral ideas. Among them, Bahar and Parvin can be noted as able poets in this field. Bahar's Specific initiatives in finding the examples of the debate, demonstrates his power, talent and ability in this way. Parvin's attention is directed to methods of Bahar- like other forms of her poetry. His beautiful and informative debates from language of objects, birds and elements of nature, are so strong that most parts of them are used in her Masnavis. Following the old pattern of debate continued by poets in modern poetry. Mohammad Reza Shafiee Kadkani is one of those poets who has pictured inside and outside of the society of Iranian by debate genre.    As a founder of the new era in modern Persian poetry, Nima has paid attention to this method in poems such as the Morgh-e -Amen and Rang-parideh. Debate has also considered in prose. A large part of our prose debates has been made with regard to social conditions. Obviously the social conditions of dialogue are directly linked with the political system. Saadi's conflict with the pretender represents the pinnacle of the intellectual system. Among Persian debates which are written in prose, parts of the book Hamidi's Maghamat or debate of "SHatranj va Nard[2]" by Sarrafe Khwarizmi, which are written in musical prose can be pointed. The debate in "Anasur[3]" from Khand mir that was written in simple prose and easy is another example. Debates in either poetry

Autobiographical Authority and the Politics of Narrative

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Renée Larrier

1991-01-01

Full Text Available Autobiographical narratives, which include autobiography, autobiographical novel, memoir, and chronicle, constitute a major genre in African francophone literature. Informed by history, they do not celebrate personal accomplishment, but rather accentuate the group experience. These self-stories rely on realistic representation in order to document events for future generations and function to correct stereotypical misconceptions—therein lies their political consciousness.

Political and economic conjuncture in Brazil (1950-1964: a fertile land for the 1964 coup d'État

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FABIANO FARIAS DE SOUZA

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The years preceding the 1964 coup d’état in Brazil were marked by turbulent political moments that contributed to the accomplishment of joints and conspiracies that were plotting the overthrow of President João Goulart, seen as a solution to the end of the economic, political and social crises taking place successively in the country. In this period, society was divided between the proposals of the left and right of the political debate in effect at that time. Thus, we analyze the circumstances that forged an enabling environment for identified civil and military that communed common interest in replacing the ruling power by taking control of the Brazilian State.

Public sphere as assemblage: the cultural politics of roadside memorialization.

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Campbell, Elaine

2013-09-01

This paper investigates contemporary academic accounts of the public sphere. In particular, it takes stock of post-Habermasian public sphere scholarship, and acknowledges a lively and variegated debate concerning the multiple ways in which individuals engage in contemporary political affairs. A critical eye is cast over a range of key insights which have come to establish the parameters of what 'counts' as a/the public sphere, who can be involved, and where and how communicative networks are established. This opens up the conceptual space for re-imagining a/the public sphere as an assemblage. Making use of recent developments in Deleuzian-inspired assemblage theory - most especially drawn from DeLanda's (2006) 'new philosophy of society' - the paper sets out an alternative perspective on the notion of the public sphere, and regards it as a space of connectivity brought into being through a contingent and heterogeneous assemblage of discursive, visual and performative practices. This is mapped out with reference to the cultural politics of roadside memorialization. However, a/the public sphere as an assemblage is not simply a 'social construction' brought into being through a logic of connectivity, but is an emergent and ephemeral space which reflexively nurtures and assembles the cultural politics (and political cultures) of which it is an integral part. The discussion concludes, then, with a consideration of the contribution of assemblage theory to public sphere studies. (Also see Campbell 2009a). © London School of Economics and Political Science 2013.

Paths of Research in Religion and Politics: An Introduction

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Alberta Giorgi

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Religion plays an important role in contemporary politics, both as a public and political actor, and as set of values. As a public actor, religion widely participates in the political spheres of European countries. At the same time, both European and non-European societies are experiencing a profound reshaping of their political landscapes. In these contexts, it has become clear that new modes of governance redraw the boundaries between institutional actors and citizens, and create space for horizontal and/or transnational networks. Today, the separation between religion and politics is being questioned more or less radically, and the meaning and the substance of democracy likewise. This special issue aims to offer a wide range of examples of studies focusing on the interactions between religion and politics from different disciplinary perspectives and scientific traditions. Ranging from single case studies to transnational comparative analyses, from sociology of religion to political science, and from the analysis of specific religious traditions to comparative studies, the articles presented offer a useful insight of topics and debates. This heterogeneity allows the readers to have an overview on some of the most important religious actors (movements, associations, groups and, parties in contemporary democracies, such as Christian traditional parties in Europe and the US, Islamist groups in Turkey and in Pakistan. At the same time, this collection of article shows different approaches through which is possible to analyse these movements, such as cross-country comparative approaches, comparison between different cases of religious groups’ collective action within the same national contexts or in the same urban area, or in-depth case studies of the specific role of religious groups in a broader national mobilization. The common element of these different contributions is the objective of looking at the complex relationships between religious

El Socialista versus El debate (Enero-Septiembre 1933

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Arbeloa, Víctor Manuel

2014-06-01

Full Text Available The author analyzes the first nine months of 1933 breakthrough year, and leave the judgment to the reader, the opinions and attitudes of two principal Spanish media-The Debate-Socialist and service, respectively, of the PSOE and the CEDA, concerning the Left and the Right, Socialism and political Catholicism, Fascism and Nazism, the socialist revolution, which is prepared in Spain, Orders and religious Congregations, whose law is discussed in Parliament, the “eternal issues” of the Spanish anticlericalism-antieclesialism: God, Jesus, the Church, the Pope, the bishops, clergy, Catholics...La lectura de El Socialista y de El Debate permite conocer mejor y interpretar las posiciones de la izquierda y de la derecha, del socialismo y del catolicismo político, entre enero y septiembre de 1933. En esos meses, se produce el ascenso del fascismo y del nazismo y un giro en la estrategia de la izquierda. La posición de la Santa Sede ante el Gobierno de México, reforzó la opción legalista de los católicos que dieron su sufragio a la CEDA. La línea de cada uno de los dos diarios, la confrontación entre ellos, enmarca y da fondo al bloque de los trabajos legislativos, a la solución de la crisis de junio, con la salida del Partido Radical, a la dimisión de Manuel Azaña en septiembre y a la convocatoria de elecciones legislativas, que dan paso a una nueva situación política.

Autarky and Material Contingencies in Italian Architectural Debate (1936-1954

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Pep Avilés

2014-07-01

Full Text Available On 3 October 1935, Mussolini’s fascist regime invaded Ethiopia with undesired but foreseeable consequences for its imperialist aims: four days after the conquest, the Society of Nations imposed economic sanctions, promoting an international economic blockade. This soon translated in both a control of foreign currencies in order to purchase iron and steel on the international markets, and a vociferous campaign discouraging the use of materials that were demanded by the military endeavour. Architecture as a discipline and all the industrial activity around it suffered from government directions as well as the scarcity and control of commodities. Hence, its discourse accommodated to the new material situation. National and autochthonous values came to the fore, promoting local materials like wood or stone for construction as well as artificial and newly created ones.By the end of the 1930s and beginning of the 1940s the dispute about available materials became one of the main concerns in Italian architecture. If during the immediate past the defence of modern materials was traditionally articulated around technical and social values, the battle in interwar Italy was understood in political and economic terms. After stigmatising modern materials such as iron and steel as ‘antinational’, the dispute between those who recognised in modern techniques a threat to traditional Italian architecture, and those embracing the formal and intellectual basis of the modern movement, became predominantly ideological and represented both sides of the political spectrum. This paper examines the way these interwar debates were shaped by economic policy, political ideology, and material scarcity, and in turn affected architectural production during Italy’s postwar reconstruction.

Globalizing queer? AIDS, homophobia and the politics of sexual identity in India

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Kole Subir K

2007-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Queerness is now global. Many emerging economies of the global South are experiencing queer mobilization and sexual identity politics raising fundamental questions of citizenship and human rights on the one hand; and discourses of nationalism, cultural identity, imperialism, tradition and family-values on the other. While some researchers argue that with economic globalization in the developing world, a Western, hegemonic notion of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT identity has been exported to traditional societies thereby destroying indigenous sexual cultures and diversities, other scholars do not consider globalization as a significant factor in global queer mobilization and sexual identity politics. This paper aims at exploring the debate around globalization and contemporary queer politics in developing world with special reference to India. After briefly tracing the history of sexual identity politics, this paper examines the process of queer mobilization in relation to emergence of HIV/AIDS epidemic and forces of neoliberal globalization. I argue that the twin-process of globalization and AIDS epidemic has significantly influenced the mobilization of queer communities, while simultaneously strengthening right wing "homophobic" discourses of heterosexist nationalism in India.

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 ...

Manual Labour, Intellectual Labour and Digital (Academic Labour. The Practice/Theory Debate in the Digital Humanities

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Christophe Magis

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Although it hasn’t much been considered as such, the Digital Humanities movements (or at least the most theoretically informed parts of it offers a critique “from within” of the recent mutation of the higher education and research systems. This paper offers an analysis, from a Critical Theory perspective, of a key element of this critique: the theory vs. practice debate, which, in the Digital Humanities, is translated into the famous “hack” versus “yack” motto, where DHers usually call for the pre-eminence of the former over the latter. I show how this debate aims to criticize the social situation of employment in academia in the digital age and can further be interpreted with the Cultural industry theoretical concept, as a continuance of the domination of the intellectual labour (ie. yack in this case over the manual labour (hack. Nevertheless, I argue that, pushing this debate to its very dialectical limit in the post-industrial academic labour situation, one realizes that the two terms aren’t in opposition anymore: the actual theory as well as the actual practice are below their very critical concepts in the academic labour. Therefore, I call for a reconfiguration of this debate, aiming at the rediscovering of an actual theory in the academic production, as well as a rediscovering of a praxis, the latter being outside of the scientific realm and rules: it is political.

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

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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…

The Great Mini-Debate

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Benucci, Heather

2017-01-01

Debates remain popular in English language courses, and this activity gives students a low-stress opportunity to develop their speaking debating skills. This lesson plan is appropriate for upper intermediate or advanced students. Goals of the activity are to present an oral argument using evidence and use functional language related to agreeing,…

ETHICS AND POLITICAL ACTION IN MARXISM: ELEMENTS FOR A CONTEMPORARY DISCUSSION

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Igor Fernandes Oliveira

2010-08-01

Full Text Available The present article attempts to discussions around the relationship between ethics and political activism within Marxism. Thus, we have chosen to discuss the theme from the classic texts of Marx and Gramsci. Despite the clear limitation of the number of authors discussed, it can be argued that the problems and solutions raised by Marx and Gramsci cross the Marxist debate in general, allowing therefore to glimpse some dilemmas and opportunities related to the central issue in the field.

Moving beyond the GM debate.

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Ottoline Leyser

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Once again, there are calls to reopen the debate on genetically modified (GM crops. I find these calls frustrating and unnecessarily decisive. In my opinion the GM debate, on both sides, continues to hamper the urgent need to address the diverse and pressing challenges of global food security and environmental sustainability. The destructive power of the debate comes from its conflation of unrelated issues, coupled with deeply rooted misconceptions of the nature of agriculture.

Op eieren lopen. Canonvorming met een slecht geweten. De Arena. Debat over de zin of onzin van een nationale canon

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E. Jonker

2006-01-01

Full Text Available Ed Jonker, Treading carefully. Writing official history with an uneasy conscience The recent debate on cultural and political identity has placed historians in an awkward position. On the one hand they are aware that the track record of  official histories, expressed in historical canons, is upsetting. Historical canons, especially nationalist icones, have obviously done a lot of damage. On the otherhand, many historians understand the current need for historical identity. Confronted with this dilemma they try to solve it by setting themselves standards for writing decent canons. Ideally, these combine critical enquiry, political utility and moral principles. How have Dutch historians fared in trying to square this circle? A first inspection of recently published literature on Dutch identity yields mixed results.  

Hindu Students and Their Missionary Teachers: Debating the Relevance of Rebirth in the Colonial Indian Academy

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Nalini Bhushan

2017-09-01

Full Text Available This essay provides a meta-narrative for the philosophical dialogues that took place in colonial India between Scottish missionary philosophers and philosophers of Vedānta on the topic of karma and rebirth. In particular, it offers a reconstruction and analysis of the context and strategy that shaped the content of discussions that were initiated in the pages of the Madras Christian College Magazine in 1909 between Subrahmanya Sastri and AG Hogg and that inspired Radhakrishnan’s response in his dissertation entitled “The Ethics of Vedanta and its Metaphysical Suppositions”. The broad context is provided by a history of missionary presence in India. The context is further circumscribed by the ‘hybrid’ character of the position of the missionaries as teachers in departments of philosophy, teaching students of “upper-caste Hindus” in the English medium universities set up by the British in the late nineteenth century. The hermeneutics of form and context is essential to understanding the content of these debates about the ethics and metaphysics of Christianity and Hinduism, where the meaning and significance of the notion of rebirth took center stage. Importantly, these debates in turn shed light on the broader social and political context in which these debates took place.

Affective Learning and the Classroom Debate

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Jagger, Suzy

2013-01-01

A commonly used teaching method to promote student engagement is the classroom debate. This study evaluates how affective characteristics, as defined in Bloom's taxonomy, were stimulated during debates that took place on a professional ethics module for first year computing undergraduates. The debates led to lively interactive group discussions…

Is evolutionary biology becoming too politically correct? A reflection on the scala naturae, phylogenetically basal clades, anatomically plesiomorphic taxa, and 'lower' animals.

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Diogo, Rui; Ziermann, Janine M; Linde-Medina, Marta

2015-05-01

The notion of scala naturae dates back to thinkers such as Aristotle, who placed plants below animals and ranked the latter along a graded scale of complexity from 'lower' to 'higher' animals, such as humans. In the last decades, evolutionary biologists have tended to move from one extreme (i.e. the idea of scala naturae or the existence of a general evolutionary trend in complexity from 'lower' to "higher" taxa, with Homo sapiens as the end stage) to the other, opposite, extreme (i.e. to avoid using terms such as 'phylogenetically basal' and 'anatomically plesiomorphic' taxa, which are seen as the undesired vestige of old teleological theories). The latter view tries to avoid any possible connotations with the original anthropocentric idea of a scala naturae crowned by man and, in that sense, it can be regarded as a more politically correct view. In the past years and months there has been renewed interest in these topics, which have been discussed in various papers and monographs that tend to subscribe, in general, to the points defended in the more politically correct view. Importantly, most evolutionary and phylogenetic studies of tetrapods and other vertebrates, and therefore most discussions on the scala naturae and related issues have been based on hard tissue and, more recently, on molecular data. Here we provide the first discussion of these topics based on a comparative myological study of all the major vertebrate clades and of myological cladistic and Bayesian phylogenetic analyses of bony fish and tetrapods, including Primates. We specifically (i) contradict the notions of a scala naturae or evolutionary progressive trends leading to more complexity in 'higher' animals and culminating in Homo sapiens, and (ii) stress that the refutation of these old notions does not necessarily mean that one should not keep using the terms 'phylogenetically basal' and particularly 'anatomically plesiomorphic' to refer to groups such as the urodeles within the Tetrapoda

History, Politics and Ideology in the Centennial Celebration of Mexico’s Independence

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Tomás Pérez Vejo

2010-07-01

Full Text Available In Mexico, the celebration of the independence’s hundredth anniversary was accompanied  by a complex historical-political-ideological  debate on the nature  of the nation,  the balance of a hundred years of independent life, and the problems and challenges for the future. This work analyzes, mainly through journalistic sources, this debate’s characteristics,  as well as its interpretative keys and its relevance within the process of Mexican national construction.

11 CFR 100.154 - Candidate debates.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 11 Federal Elections 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Candidate debates. 100.154 Section 100.154 Federal Elections FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION GENERAL SCOPE AND DEFINITIONS (2 U.S.C. 431) Exceptions to Expenditures § 100.154 Candidate debates. Funds used to defray costs incurred in staging candidate debates in...

11 CFR 100.92 - Candidate debates.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 11 Federal Elections 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Candidate debates. 100.92 Section 100.92 Federal Elections FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION GENERAL SCOPE AND DEFINITIONS (2 U.S.C. 431) Exceptions to Contributions § 100.92 Candidate debates. Funds provided to defray costs incurred in staging candidate debates...

ANCLI: white papers. Major contribution to public debate in France on nuclear waste policy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sene, M.

2006-01-01

Local Information Commissions (CLI) were first set up in autumn 1981 following the 'Mauroy circular' sent out by then Prime Minister, Pierre Mauroy. To date (2006), 30 CLIs have been set up. The status and funding for these CLIs have lacked consistency, subject to the good will of the political authorities. However, since being set up, the value of these commissions has become more and more apparent: the French now have somewhere where they can express their opinions. It is for this reason that, for almost ten years, the CLIs have called for a legislative framework in recognition of their existence: this has now been achieved, under the provisions of the Nuclear Transparency and Safety Act passed on 13 June 2006. It is a shame, however, that this Act does not explicitly recognize the existence of the National Association of Local Information Commissions (ANCLI), set up in 2000 and grouping together 20 CLIs (2006). When two public debates were announced, one on waste management and the other on the European Pressurized Reactor (EPR), ANCLI set up a working group to investigate the subject of 'Local Governance of nuclear sites' and which published its findings in May 2005. Thanks to the extremely positive reaction this Paper received, both on the part of the CLIs and within political circles, ANCLI initiated a study focused more directly on nuclear waste management. This working group's research has resulted in the publication of the 'Livre Blanc de l'ANCLI - Matieres et dechets radioactifs/territoires' - ANCLI's White Paper on radioactive materials and waste and local communities (June 2006).This Paper was published after the Act of 28 June 2006 relative to 'National policy on sustainable management of radioactive materials and waste' was passed. Members of the French parliament were informed of the key ideas it contains. This 'White Book' is a contribution to public debate on nuclear waste and on EPR. In a first approach, the ANCLI is not considered as a partner

Book review: The Wilderness Debate Rages On: Continuing the Great New Wilderness Debate

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Peter Landres

2009-01-01

The Wilderness Debate Rages On is a collection of mostly previously published papers about the meaning, value, and role of wilderness and continues the discussion that was propelled by the editors' previous book The Great New Wilderness Debate (also a collection of papers) published in 1998. The editors state that this sequel to their previous book is mandated...

Can we close the Bohr-Einstein quantum debate?

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Kupczynski, Marian

2017-11-13

Recent experiments allow one to conclude that Bell-type inequalities are indeed violated; thus, it is important to understand what this means and how we can explain the existence of strong correlations between outcomes of distant measurements. Do we have to announce that Einstein was wrong, Nature is non-local and non-local correlations are produced due to quantum magic and emerge, somehow, from outside space-time? Fortunately, such conclusions are unfounded because, if supplementary parameters describing measuring instruments are correctly incorporated in a theoretical model, then Bell-type inequalities may not be proved. We construct a simple probabilistic model allowing these correlations to be explained in a locally causal way. In our model, measurement outcomes are neither predetermined nor produced in an irreducibly random way. We explain why, contrary to the general belief, the introduction of setting-dependent parameters does not restrict experimenters' freedom of choice. Since the violation of Bell-type inequalities does not allow the conclusion that Nature is non-local and that quantum theory is complete, the Bohr-Einstein quantum debate may not be closed. The continuation of this debate is important not only for a better understanding of Nature but also for various practical applications of quantum phenomena.This article is part of the themed issue 'Second quantum revolution: foundational questions'. © 2017 The Author(s).

Can we close the Bohr-Einstein quantum debate?

Science.gov (United States)

Kupczynski, Marian

2017-10-01

Recent experiments allow one to conclude that Bell-type inequalities are indeed violated; thus, it is important to understand what this means and how we can explain the existence of strong correlations between outcomes of distant measurements. Do we have to announce that Einstein was wrong, Nature is non-local and non-local correlations are produced due to quantum magic and emerge, somehow, from outside space-time? Fortunately, such conclusions are unfounded because, if supplementary parameters describing measuring instruments are correctly incorporated in a theoretical model, then Bell-type inequalities may not be proved. We construct a simple probabilistic model allowing these correlations to be explained in a locally causal way. In our model, measurement outcomes are neither predetermined nor produced in an irreducibly random way. We explain why, contrary to the general belief, the introduction of setting-dependent parameters does not restrict experimenters' freedom of choice. Since the violation of Bell-type inequalities does not allow the conclusion that Nature is non-local and that quantum theory is complete, the Bohr-Einstein quantum debate may not be closed. The continuation of this debate is important not only for a better understanding of Nature but also for various practical applications of quantum phenomena. This article is part of the themed issue `Second quantum revolution: foundational questions'.

SELF CORRECTION WORKS BETTER THAN TEACHER CORRECTION IN EFL SETTING

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Azizollah Dabaghi

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Learning a foreign language takes place step by step, during which mistakes are to be expected in all stages of learning. EFL learners are usually afraid of making mistakes which prevents them from being receptive and responsive. Overcoming fear of mistakes depends on the way mistakes are rectified. It is believed that autonomy and learner-centeredness suggest that in some settings learner's self-correction of mistakes might be more beneficial for language learning than teacher's correction. This assumption has been the subject of debates for some time. Some researchers believe that correction whether that of teacher's or on behalf of learners is effective in showing them how their current interlanguage differs from the target (Long &Robinson, 1998. Others suggest that correcting the students whether directly or through recasts are ambiguous and may be perceived by the learner as confirmation of meaning rather than feedback on form (Lyster, 1998a. This study is intended to investigate the effects of correction on Iranian intermediate EFL learners' writing composition in Payam Noor University. For this purpose, 90 English majoring students, studying at Isfahan Payam Noor University were invited to participate at the experiment. They all received a sample of TOFEL test and a total number of 60 participants whose scores were within the range of one standard deviation below and above the mean were divided into two equal groups; experimental and control. The experimental group went through some correction during the experiment while the control group remained intact and the ordinary processes of teaching went on. Each group received twelve sessions of two hour classes every week on advanced writing course in which some activities of Modern English (II were selected. Then after the treatment both groups received an immediate test as post-test and the experimental group took the second post-test as the delayed recall test with the same design as the

Politics, proximity and the pipeline: Mapping public attitudes toward Keystone XL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gravelle, Timothy B.; Lachapelle, Erick

2015-01-01

The politics of oil pipelines have become increasingly salient in American politics in recent years. In particular, debates about economic benefits, energy security and environmental impact have been provoked by the proposed Keystone XL pipeline expansion intended to take bitumen from northern Alberta in Canada to refineries on the Gulf Coast in Texas. Drawing on data from recent surveys conducted by the Pew Research Center, this article asks a series of questions. What levels of support for (and opposition to) the pipeline exist among the American public? What are the roles of political factors (such as party identification and ideology), economic attitudes, environmental attitudes and proximity to the proposed pipeline route in shaping attitudes toward the pipeline? And how do political factors and proximity to the pipeline interact? We find that partisanship and ideology drive attitudes toward the Keystone XL pipeline, and that the effect of ideology is attenuated by proximity to the proposed route. The policy implications of these findings for energy infrastructure siting controversies are discussed. -- Highlights: •Americans are divided on the Keystone XL energy pipeline. •Attitudes toward Keystone XL are driven by political party identification and ideology. •Attitudes toward the pipeline are also shaped by attitudes toward the economy and global warming. •The effect of proximity on attitudes toward Keystone XL is non-linear. •Spatial proximity to the pipeline attenuates the effect of ideology

War as a continuation of politics by other means... unmanned

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João Paulo Vicente

2014-11-01

Full Text Available The growth of US combat capability due to the operational introduction of drones is the most significant of any weapon system in recent decades. Under this new operating model, the drones are proliferating a myriad of essential activities in the battle space, while relieving the pilot of the risk of monotonous or dangerous missions, who operates thousands of miles away in an air-conditioned cubicle, executing the attack on a high-definition monitor. By analyzing the current situation, from the standpoint of the conduct the United States of America (USA, indications reveal change in the nature of the political debate influenced by the widespread employment of drones. Namely, judging specifically how drones affect the strategic culture of states by the use of coercive force to achieve political objectives and, in particular, the almost irresistible political temptation to employ air power as a principal military response. In this context, the issue at stake is whether Remote Control Air War strengthens the capacity of deterrence and compulsion of future opponents, or if, on the other hand, lowers the bar for the use of force, making hostile conflict more likely. The focus of this discussion is on the argument that drones provide the ability to employ military capabilities in a conflict, without the need to build a broad political or public consensus. Likewise, while making the political decision-making process easier and spontaneous in order to use force, the planning and execution of military strategy is made more difficult, the result of the complexity and uncertainty of “boomerang” effects.

Political Crowdfunding as concept of political technologies

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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.

Speech and Debate as Civic Education