Democratic design experiments

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ehn, Pelle; Brandt, Eva; Halse, Joachim

2016-01-01

Designers and design researchers are increasingly exploring societal challenges through engagements with issues that call forward new publics and new modes of democratic citizenship. Whatever this is called design activism, social design, adversarial design, participatory design or something else...

The Arab Media: Localizing Its Democratic Potential

Science.gov (United States)

2010-09-01

of others’” and therefore could be viewed as a legitimate function of the state. 32 Noam Chomsky , Necessary Illusions: Thought Control in Democratic...Social Movements.” Canadian Journal of Sociology 24, no. 1 (Winter 1999): 1–34. Chomsky , Noam. Necessary Illusions: Thought Control in Democratic

From to the Liberal State into the Social and Democratic State of Law: Analysis of the Emergence of Judicial Activism

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexandre Luna da Cunha

2016-10-01

Full Text Available This article will examine the relationship between the judiciary and the effectiveness of social rights and, consequently, the vaunted judicial activism. More specifically, the article will answer the following question: the role of the judiciary has changed with the development of state models? Article develop their problem by analyzing the function of the judiciary in each of these rule of law models: the Liberal, Social (in spite of that State have not been fully implemented in Brazil and the Democratic. To do so, take into account the relationship between the established powers republish, social movement for the conquest of rights and assertiveness of a new generation of rights. The "Judicial activism" is analyzed as the practical consequence of a new constitutionalism, more guided in the realization of social rights outlined in the constitutions of democratic character.

State Democratic Rights as Current Political Power Limit and a New Culture for Social Promotion of Development and Sustainability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cátia Rejane Liczbinski Sarreta

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The proposed study relates to the democracy and political power considering the implementation of sustainability. Presented as theoretical basis the democratic principle itself, as well as the realization of human and fundamental rights. Exploring the possibility of re (construction of the state and own power and political and social culture of democracy through the promotion of development and sustainability. In a democratic state the appropriate political power embodies the rights of the citizen. A key element that should be considered is education for training social actors capable of promoting the transformation of dominant practices and that take important roles in politics and influence the state and society. The method used is deductive.

Brazilian foreign affairs: social capital and the democratic discourse in South America

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Rafael Duarte Villa

2007-01-01

Full Text Available Brazilian elites as well as foreign policy-makers have long shared a common belief that the ideas of democracy and democratization should serve as some "road map" to foreign policy-making. In areas such as security, regional integration, and disarmament, the goal has been to generate a positive social capital as well as to build trusting relations with Brazilian neighbors in South America. Therefore, under the impact of ideas brought about by new world visions, Brazilian foreign policy has changed a domestic policy feature - the democratic rearrangement of the political system - into a condition and resource for foreign policy-making towards South America. The result has been a fine improvement of Brazilian image and credibility in the regional South American scenario. In other words, there has been a significant increment in "trust" towards Brazil. This argument has been developed based on extracts and transcripts from official diplomatic speeches from Brazilian foreign policy-makers as well as a historical reconstruction of Brazil's diplomatic relations with two South American countries. Our study was based on two cases: Brazilian-Venezuelan and Brazilian-Argentine relations in the 80's and the 90's.

Bio-Social Variables as Predictors of Teacher Union Leaders' Adherence to Democratic Principles in Ogun State, Nigeria

Science.gov (United States)

Fejoh, Johnson

2016-01-01

This study investigated the influence of bio-social variables - educational status, age and family socio-economic background on teacher union leaders' adherence to democratic principles in Ogun State of Nigeria. The study employed the ex-post-facto research design. Five hypotheses were generated and tested using an instrument titled "union…

School education and democratic management of teaching: perspectives

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Máximo Augusto Campos Masson

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The article discusses the management of education from the debate on the democratic management of social institutions, in particular, the school. It reflects on the changes that have occurred in the school due to the presence of new students belonging to the subaltern classes and the possibility of the democratic management of teaching being an important instrument for overcoming school failure. It discusses aspects of Brazilian legislation on the theme and the possibilities arising from the growth of political conservatism oppose initiatives to democratic management of education.

The Social Democrats and the issue of civil nuclear

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Escalona, Fabien

2011-01-01

As the Fukushima accident had a noticeable impact on energy policies of some European countries, notably Germany, Switzerland and Italy, the author reports an analysis of the position of social-democrats at the European level (with the example of the European socialist party) and at national levels (in the different parties of countries possession a significant nuclear fleet). The author discusses the factors which are the background of 'pro-' and 'anti-' nuclear positions. He comments the evolution of positions (initial choice of the nuclear program or opposition to it) since the 1970's, and comments the present positions. He notices that the PSE has not a well defined position due to the absence of a consensus within its members. He comments the position of the German SPD, of the Swedish SAP, of the British Labour Party, and of the French PS, and discusses the rationale of these positions

Twitter Language Use Reflects Psychological Differences between Democrats and Republicans.

Science.gov (United States)

Sylwester, Karolina; Purver, Matthew

2015-01-01

Previous research has shown that political leanings correlate with various psychological factors. While surveys and experiments provide a rich source of information for political psychology, data from social networks can offer more naturalistic and robust material for analysis. This research investigates psychological differences between individuals of different political orientations on a social networking platform, Twitter. Based on previous findings, we hypothesized that the language used by liberals emphasizes their perception of uniqueness, contains more swear words, more anxiety-related words and more feeling-related words than conservatives' language. Conversely, we predicted that the language of conservatives emphasizes group membership and contains more references to achievement and religion than liberals' language. We analysed Twitter timelines of 5,373 followers of three Twitter accounts of the American Democratic and 5,386 followers of three accounts of the Republican parties' Congressional Organizations. The results support most of the predictions and previous findings, confirming that Twitter behaviour offers valid insights to offline behaviour.

Twitter Language Use Reflects Psychological Differences between Democrats and Republicans.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karolina Sylwester

Full Text Available Previous research has shown that political leanings correlate with various psychological factors. While surveys and experiments provide a rich source of information for political psychology, data from social networks can offer more naturalistic and robust material for analysis. This research investigates psychological differences between individuals of different political orientations on a social networking platform, Twitter. Based on previous findings, we hypothesized that the language used by liberals emphasizes their perception of uniqueness, contains more swear words, more anxiety-related words and more feeling-related words than conservatives' language. Conversely, we predicted that the language of conservatives emphasizes group membership and contains more references to achievement and religion than liberals' language. We analysed Twitter timelines of 5,373 followers of three Twitter accounts of the American Democratic and 5,386 followers of three accounts of the Republican parties' Congressional Organizations. The results support most of the predictions and previous findings, confirming that Twitter behaviour offers valid insights to offline behaviour.

Securitization against Democratization

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Juego, Bonn

2008-01-01

paved the way either to the strengthening or resurgence of the hegemony, both in policy and discourse, of:   [a] “global war on terrorism” over historically sensitive conflict resolution mechanisms; [b] “authoritarian liberalism” over democratization; and [c] neo-liberalism over developmental statism.......   Each of these phenomena is inherently unstable and conflict-ridden. Hence, the securitization of social life in the region is not resulting in the reproduction of security-development agenda patterned after the US, but in the reproduction of social antagonisms that spring from the very contradictions...

Democratic resistance and state power in the age of social networks : the role of Facebook in Iran's green movement

OpenAIRE

Azizi Ari, Sharareh

2014-01-01

The internet and social networks have contributed extensively to democratic political uprisings in the Middle East in recent years. We cannot think of the Iranian Green Movement in 2009 and the Arab Spring in 2010-2011 without thinking, at the same time, of Facebook, Twitter and You Tube. The roles played by the internet and social networks in these two significant political events in this region led me to ask and discuss the question: Have internet and social networks constituted an alternat...

Brazilian pharmaceutical diplomacy: social democratic principles versus soft power interests.

Science.gov (United States)

Flynn, Matthew

2013-01-01

Current debates concerning the rise of health diplomacy are polarized between competing international relations theories of realism, based on power politics, and constructivist approaches, which emphasize the norms, values, and identities shaping foreign policies. A case study of Brazil's health diplomacy over the past 10 years, focusing on issues related to pharmaceuticals, seeks to provide data to assess these theories. The country's intellectual property disputes, multilateral lobbying efforts, and foreign assistance programs are contrasted with those of the United States, Mexico, and other countries. Instead of viewing Brazilian efforts as a form of soft power, the evidence suggests that the origins of Brazil's involvement and continued efforts in this arena stem more from values based on human rights and social democratic principles. A close examination of domestic political considerations leads to a more nuanced understanding of the drivers behind a country's health diplomacy.

The Democratic Citizen. A Rational Utopia of Post-Modern Education

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Miguel de la Torre Gamboa

2000-11-01

Full Text Available The article states that Mexico is currently undergoing a profound social crisis which sprang from the fact that public affairs are managed not taking into account the people's interests. That makes us think about the possibility of a more democratic society. To suggest an alternative to antidemocratic practice implies an effort to design an educational project, a sensible utopia, which is viable because it is not a hopeless criticism, but it gathers those elements from reality aiming to social transformation. A democratic society would be one which keeps a true symmetry among individual's interaction, and whose starting point is the universal principle of mutual respect and personal autonomy. Educators should work towards that sort of society through the image of the democratic citizen.

Democratic Capitalism and Philanthropy in a Global Economy

OpenAIRE

Zoltan J. Acs; Sameeksha Desai

2007-01-01

Democratic capitalism has become the popular paradigm in the modern world, and it is spreading further through globalization. It is a model based on growth, expansion and constant innovation. However, it is accompanied by social problems which may worsen despite overall gains in wealth. In this paper, we suggest that democratic capitalist societies may benefit from the application of what has been a primarily American institution: Philanthropy. We present the Entrepreneurship-Philanthropy Cyc...

Scientific literacy for democratic decision-making

Science.gov (United States)

Yacoubian, Hagop A.

2018-02-01

Scientifically literate citizens must be able to engage in making decisions on science-based social issues. In this paper, I start by showing examples of science curricula and policy documents that capitalise the importance of engaging future citizens in decision-making processes whether at the personal or at the societal levels. I elucidate the ideological underpinnings behind a number of the statements within those documents that have defined the trajectory of scientific literacy and have shaped what ought to be considered as personal and societal benefits. I argue that science curricula and policy documents can truly endorse scientific literacy when they embed principles of democratic education at their core. The latter entails fostering learning experiences where some of the underlying assumptions and political ideologies are brought to the conscious level and future citizens encouraged to reflect upon them critically and explicitly. Such a proposal empowers the future citizens to engage in critical deliberation on science-based social issues without taking the underlying status quo for granted. I end up the paper by situating the preparation of scientifically literate citizens within a framework of democratic education, discuss conditions through which a curriculum for scientific literacy can serve democratic decision-making processes, and provide modest recommendations.

Democratic Learning Processes: Conceptual and Historical Challenges

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Ann-Dorte; Rasmussen, Palle

2009-01-01

In this article democratic learning is conceptualised with inspiration from two academic traditions, one being the conceptions of citizenship, political identities and deliberative democracy in political sociology; the other theories and research on social and lifelong learning. The first part......'s empowerment and inclusion in the Danish democratic model. On the background of these two analyses the authors finally discuss some current democratic problems with integrating the diversity represented by ethnic minority groups. The discussion emphasizes the learning theory perspective on the initiative...... of the article outlines the authors' understanding of the core concepts involved. In the second part these conceptual discussions are related to two themes: the question of public adaptation of historical experiences in connection with the German reunification and the learning perspectives related to women...

Democracy under siege: Democratic solidarity between global crisis and cosmopolitan hope

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Brunkhorst Hauke

2017-01-01

Full Text Available For almost half a century (between 1940 and 1990 the democratic and social state has solved the twofold problem of growth and social exclusion through social inclusion within the borders of the national state. This solution since the 1970s came under threat of multiple crises of the environment, secular stagnation, under-consumption, legitimization and constitutionalization. There might be a social solution of present crisis possible through massive redistribution plus decent basic income (on the level of tuition-costs plus green growth. However, after globalization of capital there are no longer national social alternatives available. Therefore, there is no alternative to transnational democratic state-formation. But are there actors relevant, strong and motivated enough to do that?

Democratic values, emotions and emotivism

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vranić Bojan

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to explore the relation between democratic values and emotions. The author argues that democratic values and emotional judgments are inter-reducible: political agents use emotional judgments to reflexively evaluate normative paradigms of political life. In the first part of the paper, the author describes the state of emotions in contemporary political philosophy and identifies Charles Stevenson’s ethical conception of emotivism as the first comprehensive attempt to neutrally conceptualize emotions in moral and political thinking. The second part of the paper explores the shortcomings of emotivism and finds an adequate alternative in Martha Nussbaum’s concept of emotional judgment as the one that contains beliefs and values about social objects. In the final part of the paper, the author identifies that moral and political disagreements emerge in democracies from ranking of the importance of political objects. The evaluation criteria for this type of ranking is derived from democratic values which are reducible to agents’ emotional judgments. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 179076

Freed to Learn: Five Fundamental Concepts of Democratic Education

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Leo J. FAHEY

2008-07-01

Full Text Available Children are natural learners each with distinct interests, abilities and rates of cognitive, emotional and social growth. Democratic Education institutionalizes five key concepts to free these natural instincts and individual differences to drive community self-governance and individual self-directed learning within a formal schooling environment. This paper summarizes the five concepts fundamental to Democratic Education and suggests how they can be applied within a school setting.

Leading Democratically

Science.gov (United States)

Brookfield, Stephen

2010-01-01

Democracy is the most venerated of American ideas, the one for which wars are fought and people die. So most people would probably agree that leaders should be able to lead well in a democratic society. Yet, genuinely democratic leadership is a relative rarity. Leading democratically means viewing leadership as a function or process, rather than…

The Scientific & Democratic Revolution in Education

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Ramón Flecha

2011-10-01

Full Text Available The main issue dealt with in this theoretical paper is the explanation of the starting scientific and democratic revolution both in the educative field and in the educative research. In addition, evidence-based arguments are included to provide validity of some affirmations. The first section argues that the social sciences are the daughters and an essential part of democracy. A few historical arguments about the way in which the dominant classes have slowed down the scientific progress and the development of people that make it possible. In the second section, it is analyzed the opposition of feudal universities to this unstoppable beginning of what could be called the scientific and democratic revolution. At the same time, we deal with its ambivalent character requiring to be supported and to be criticized so that it can be improved. In the third section, we expound the way in which this progress has provide some conditions that makes it possible to overcome the strong gender-based violence happening in our institutions of higher education and makes it also possible that women who were persecuted are now transforming our universities. Influences and criticism to our university feudalism, made by social movements such as the named 'Spanish Revolution', appear in the fourth section. In the fifth and last section, we offer a proposal to promote the scientific, democratic, and revolutionary approach of the university.

Do digital social networks foster civilian participation among millennials? Kitchenware Revolution and 15M democratic regeneration cases

OpenAIRE

Calzada, IC

2018-01-01

Nowadays ‘education for citizenship’ is presented as a solution for many of the political, social, and co-existential issues in Western democratic societies in order to tackle dysfunctionalities produced by globalization, populism, migration, information and communication technologies (ICTs), and violence. At the same time, particularly among ‘millennials’ or ‘digital natives’, lack of civil commitment and apathy toward politics as a whole contrasts with their intensive usage of digital socia...

Democratization and Transitional Justice in Brazil

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Maria Paula NASCIMENTO ARAUJO

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Brazil experienced a long process of political transition featured by an intense game of political and social forces, in which different actors with different democratization projects clashed. Despite the leadership of the transition process have been in the hands of conservative elites linked to the military dictatorship, broad sectors of the oposition and of the lefts, as well as representants of social movements, disputed the transitional space and expanded the initial design of the regime. This long transition —marked by negotiations, frustrations and resilience— reflected on the transitional justice model adopted by the country. Almost 30 years after the end of military dictatorship, the Truth Commission established by President Dilma Rousseff in 2012, drew attention to issues related to memory, justice and reparation and showed that the democratization process, in some respects, is still incloncluded. This article aims to restore this historical process highlighting some of its characteristics and specificities.

Cultivating Practitioners of Democratic Civic Engagement

Science.gov (United States)

Keith, Novella Zett

2016-01-01

How can we support campus-based practitioners of civic and community engagement in moving from normalized engagement toward practices that engage others democratically and respectfully across borders created by social race, class, gender, status, and other markers of difference? The article presents a framework derived from practice theory, a…

The Complicated Pursuit of Democratic Teaching

Science.gov (United States)

Gibbs, Brian

2018-01-01

This article describes one secondary social studies teacher's attempts to build a pedagogically democratic classroom. The teacher designs curriculum around large essential questions, connects content to the present lives of students, and creates space for students to make their own decisions and choices. The teacher is convinced that she has…

Unconsciously Indigenous Leadership: The Role of Cognitive Disequilibrium in Preparing Democratic Educational Leaders

Science.gov (United States)

Farmer, Tod Allen

2008-01-01

This paper focuses on the role of cognitive disequilibrium in preparing democratic educational leaders. Followers emerge into leaders with what are many times unconsciously socialized norms and values indigenous to their local culture. One of the roles of a democratic leadership preparation program is to challenge these unconsciously accepted…

Democratic parenting: paradoxical messages in democratic parent education theories

Science.gov (United States)

Oryan, Shlomit; Gastil, John

2013-06-01

Some prominent parent education theories in the United States and other Western countries base their educational viewpoint explicitly on democratic values, such as mutual respect, equality and personal freedom. These democratic parenting theories advocate sharing power with children and including them in family decision making. This study presents a textual analysis of two such theories, the Adlerian model of parent education and the Parent Effectiveness Training (PET) model, as they are embodied in two original bestselling textbooks. Through content and argumentation analysis of these influential texts, this study examines the paradoxes inherent in these two theories when they articulate how to implement fully democratic principles within the parent-child relationship. We discover that in spite of their democratic rationale, both books offer communication practices that guide the child to modify misbehaviour, enforce parental power, and manipulate the child to make decisions that follow parental judgment, and thus do not endorse the use of a truly democratic parenting style. We suggest, as an alternative to the democratic parenting style, that parents be introduced to a guardianship management style, in which they do not share authority with children, but seek opportunities for enabling children to make more autonomous decisions and participate in more family decision making.

Democratization of philosophy of technologies

OpenAIRE

Arun Kumar Tripathi

2015-01-01

Technology is a form of culture. Technology is shaping the theoretical framework of our social existence. The technological form of life is part and parcel of culture, just as culture in the human sense inescapably implies technologies. There are unfathomable effects of technology on human culture and society. This paper presents the background and the editorial introduction to the special issue: symposium on Education, Technology, & Democracy: Democratization of Technologies.

Critical Race Theory, Democratization, and the Public Good: Deploying Postmodern Understandings of Racial Identity in the Social Justice Classroom to Contest Academic Capitalism

Science.gov (United States)

Ross, Sabrina N.

2009-01-01

This essay discusses an academic capitalist knowledge regime (i.e. the increasing engagement of public institutions of higher education in market-based ventures) and the alterations to teacher and student behavior and the learning environment that result. Social justice-oriented university courses are positioned as sites where democratization and…

Nigeria and Democratic Progress by Elections in Africa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Giovanni Carbone

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Elections do not always advance democratisation, yet they can. We outline a democratisation-by-elections model according to which the opportunities for political change opened up by each electoral round build on previous election-related democratic progress. We focus on Nigeria, interpret the recent executive turnover in light of previous elections, and set the country within the comparative context of Africa’s democratisation. Using a new Africa Leadership Change dataset, we use election-related events to examine the diverse routes that African regimes have taken since 1990. The analysis highlights two major syndromes: democratic stagnation and recession. In a sizeable group, however, the institutionalisation of democracy has been making gradual progress. While there is no predetermined way to advance democracy, the reiteration of elections can be instrumental in such advancement.

Is evidence-based medicine about democratizing medical practice?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thorgård, Keld

2014-01-01

The authoritarian standpoint in medicine has been under challenge by various groups and researchers since the 1980s. The challenges have been ethical, political and medical, with patient movements at the forefront. Over the past decade, however, a deep challenge has been posed by evidence......-based medicine (EBM), which has challenged the entire strategy of medical treatment from the point of view of a self-critical, anti-authoritarian and hereby also (it has been claimed) a more democratic medical practice. Previously, the challenges arose out of the patient rights perspective. EBM, by contrast......, was taken to challenge the way doctors consider their medical practice as a whole. The present paper puts this claim of democratization into a historical context. Two dimensions of the democratization hypothesis are discussed and it is argued that they are insufficient to capture the substantial changes...

Influencing Republicans' and Democrats' attitudes toward Obamacare: Effects of imagined vicarious cognitive dissonance on political attitudes.

Science.gov (United States)

Cooper, Joel; Feldman, Lauren A; Blackman, Shane F

2018-04-16

The field of experimental social psychology is appropriately interested in using novel theoretical approaches to implement change in the social world. In the current study, we extended cognitive dissonance theory by creating a new framework of social influence: imagined vicarious dissonance. We used the framework to influence attitudes on an important and controversial political attitude: U.S. citizens' support for the Affordable Care Act (ACA). 36 Republicans and 84 Democrats were asked to imagine fellow Republicans and Democrats, respectively, making attitude discrepant statements under high and low choice conditions about support for the ACA. The data showed that vicarious dissonance, established by imagining a group member make a counterattitudinal speech under high-choice conditions (as compared to low-choice conditions), resulted in greater support for the Act by Republicans and marginally diminished support by Democrats. The results suggest a promising role for the application of vicarious dissonance theory to relevant societal issues and for further understanding the relationship of dissonance and people's identification with their social groups.

Administrative Leadership and the Democratic Community as a Social Ideal.

Science.gov (United States)

Rizvi, Fazal

Democratic participation in education suggests that communities will be served best when decision-making is decentralized and when people--teachers, parents, and students alike--are encouraged to participate directly in making decisions that affect them. In contrast, the notion of administrative leadership implies hierarchical elevation of chief…

Social cues and ideology.

Science.gov (United States)

Mansell, Jordan

2018-01-01

Research shows that individuals with liberal and conservative ideological orientations display different value positions concerning the acceptance of social change and inequality. Research also links the expression of different values to a number of biological factors, including heredity. In light of these biological influences, I investigate whether differences in social values associated with liberal and conservative ideologies reflect alternative strategies to maximize returns from social interactions. Using an American sample of Democrats and Republicans, I test whether information about shared and unshared social values in the form of implicit social attitudes have a disproportionate effect on the willingness of Democrats and Republicans to trust an anonymous social partner. I find evidence that knowledge of shared values significantly increases levels of trust among Democrats but not Republicans. I further find that knowledge of unshared values significantly decreases trust among Republicans but not Democrats. These findings are consistent with studies indicating that differences in ideological orientation are linked to differences in cognition and decision-making.

Meaning and impact of the notion of social contract in Rousseau and Kant. Scope and limitations in the democratic theory

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Jefferson Jaramillo Marín

2012-12-01

Full Text Available This article reviews some of the similarities and differences about the political and legal foundation given to the notion of social contract by two modern thinkers: Jean Jacques Rousseau and Immanuel Kant. In the text, it is pointed the revolutionary part of the notion, from showing its principal meanings and impacts. Also, reflection is made on the scope and difficulties of the contractual proposal on the contemporary democratic theory.

An Examination of Democratic Attitudes of Primary School Teachers

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S. Gulec

2009-12-01

Full Text Available As democracy can develop better in a society of democratic people, democracy education can also get its intended goals better in a democratic school environment. As the most influential people in a school environment were teachers, this study, too, aimed to determine their levels of democratic attitudes. In the present study, 60 primary school teachers working in the schools attached to the Bursa Metropolitan Municipality were surveyed. The relationships between their attitudes and some variables were studied. These variables included school they work, age, gender, marital status, number of children they have, education level, teaching experience and number of broth-ers or sisters. The questionnaire used for this study was validated by Aydogan & Kukul (2003 based on previous studies made by Gomleksiz (1988, Yildirim (1994 and Atasoy (1997. For the validity of the questionnaire, Cronbach Alpha coefficient (0.829 was calculated. The results suggest that teachers show very positive attitude with a score of 103. When the items were examined individually, some significant relationships were found with the variables. Teachers should have positive democratic attitudes in order to give lessons of democracy to their students. An appropriate and encouraging environment should be prepared in order for students to gain desired democratic outcomes. In a democratic environment, teachers’ positive attitudes will help their students to gain critical thinking skills, effective discussion skills, capability for fighting against inequity, cooperation and collaboration skills, and showing empathy and respect for diversity.

Laying the Foundations for Democratic Behavior - A Comparison of Two Different Approaches to Democratic Education

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Viola HUANG

2014-07-01

Full Text Available A democracy is a society in which everyone has equal rights and is able to participate in decision-making processes. Consequently, in a democratic society, democratic behavior is essential. This work investigates the question: In what ways and to what extent can alternative models of education support the development of democratic skills in children? To explore this question, the author analyzes and compares two different approaches to democratic education: The Sudbury approach and the democratic free school approach. The study is based on qualitative research participant observation and open-ended interviews conducted at different Sudbury and democratic free schools in the US.

Comparing the democratic value of Facebook discussions across the profiles of Spanish political candidates during the 2011 General Election

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lidia Valera Ordaz

2017-03-01

Full Text Available This article examines the democratic value of user-generated comments on the Facebook profiles of three Spanish candidates during the Spanish General Election campaign of 2011 through a content analysis that operationalizes deliberative democracy. The findings show that these online spaces do not meet deliberative standards, but that they still serve democratic functions, such as citizen self-expression, democratic socialization and reinforcement of social cohesion among party activists and sympathizers. Moreover, results indicate that democratic value might vary depending on the size of the party where talk takes place. Political conversation on the walls of hegemonic candidates who belong to big consolidated political parties is mostly oriented towards self-expression and features some ideological diversity, so that individuals are sporadically confronted with diversity. For its part, talk on the Facebook profile of the minor candidate lacks fundamental disagreement but includes more in-group interaction, allowing minority ideological spheres for the cultivation of social cohesion and the construction of collective narratives in favorable discursive conditions.

Institutions and Cultural Diversity: Effects of Democratic and Propaganda Processes on Local Convergence and Global Diversity.

Science.gov (United States)

Ulloa, Roberto; Kacperski, Celina; Sancho, Fernando

2016-01-01

In a connected world where people influence each other, what can cause a globalized monoculture, and which measures help to preserve the coexistence of cultures? Previous research has shown that factors such as homophily, population size, geography, mass media, and type of social influence play important roles. In the present paper, we investigate for the first time the impact that institutions have on cultural diversity. In our first three studies, we extend existing agent-based models and explore the effects of institutional influence and agent loyalty. We find that higher institutional influence increases cultural diversity, while individuals' loyalty to their institutions has a small, preserving effect. In three further studies, we test how bottom-up and top-down processes of institutional influence impact our model. We find that bottom-up democratic practices, such as referenda, tend to produce convergence towards homogeneity, while top-down information dissemination practices, such as propaganda, further increase diversity. In our last model--an integration of bottom-up and top-down processes into a feedback loop of information--we find that when democratic processes are rare, the effects of propaganda are amplified, i.e., more diversity emerges; however, when democratic processes are common, they are able to neutralize or reverse this propaganda effect. Importantly, our models allow for control over the full spectrum of diversity, so that a manipulation of our parameters can result in preferred levels of diversity, which will be useful for the study of other factors in the future. We discuss possible mechanisms behind our results, applications, and implications for political and social sciences.

Social Mobilization and Reaffirmation of Democratic Participation : The Brotherhood as Expression of a New Relational Culture

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Helen Crystine Corrêa Sanches

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Democracy represents a fundamental right for citizens. Democracy and citizen par- ticipation are developing and they complement each other, given that there is no demo- cracy without the active and conscious participation of citizens in the political process. This democratic participation occurs through tools that enable the practice of citizenship, and, among them, the social movements stand out. There is a direct relationship between the social movements and democracy: whilst the social movements exist only in demo- cratic systems, democracy requires the participation of civil society with the state. The social movements consist on a structured organization that has the purpose of uniting people to defend and promote rights, containing social identity and a particular way of thinking and acting collectively to achieve the common good and a new sort of life. The particularities of the social movements let one glimpse that the major expression of civic participation contributes to a cultural change in society, given that, with common goals, the differences are overcome, encouraging a relatedness which looks for ethics, sharing and fraternity. The understanding of fraternity in its various forms – historical, political, legal and ethical – contributes to a development in respect among people, acceptance of socio-economic and cultural differences, emphasizing the feeling of a group belonging. This way, this article aims to analyse social movements and its cooperation in building a new relational culture, more Humane, Fair And Fraternal.

Counter-Democratic Surveillance: The Watchful Eye of a Local Institution

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hjelholt, Morten

2014-01-01

mechanisms similar to those described by Foucault, but in the service of society. From this perspective democracy is seen as a composite of two realms – a sphere of electoral representation and a constellation of counter-democratic organizations – in constant tension with each other (Rosanvallon 2008......). The watchful eyes of counter-democratic organizations are particularly made powerful by the rise of the Internet with its spontaneous adaption of watchful functions. However increased awareness and mistrust have led not to broader participation in traditional liberal institutions but to a greater social...... in the interest of the national overseers but correspondingly given as responds to fulfill legal requirements or more loosely defined public concerns. Consequently the watchful eye of a local institution form a counter-democratic sight aimed at the strategic intentions of the Government. The paper introduces...

Understanding the local context and its possible influences on shaping, implementing and running social accountability initiatives for maternal health services in rural Democratic Republic of the Congo : a contextual factor analysis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mafuta, E.M.; Hogema, L.M.; Mambu, T.N.M.; de Cock Buning, J.T.; Dieleman, M.A.

2016-01-01

Background Social accountability has to be configured according to the context in which it operates. This paper aimed to identify local contextual factors in two health zones in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and discuss their possible influences on shaping, implementing and running social

Democratic cultural policy : democratic forms and policy consequences

OpenAIRE

Gray, Clive

2012-01-01

The forms that are adopted to give practical meaning to democracy are assessed to identify what their implications are for the production of public policies in general and cultural policies in particular. A comparison of direct, representative, democratic elitist and deliberative versions of democracy identifies clear differences between them in terms of policy form and democratic practice. Further elaboration of these differences and their consequences are identified as areas for further res...

Micro-social and Contextual Sources of Democratic Attitudes in Latin America Las fuentes microsociales y contextuales de las actitudes democráticas en América Latina

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eduardo Salinas

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Many Latin American countries democratized between 1975 and 2000, and research has confirmed that contemporary Latin Americans hold democratic political attitudes. Using AmericasBarometer surveys of 18 countries from 2008, we examine the commitment of Latin Americans to three democratic attitudes – preference for democracy over other forms of government, support for general participation rights, and tolerance for participation by system critics. We also explore the impact of personal resources, crime and corruption, evaluation of system performance, social capital, and the sociopolitical context on democratic attitudes. A preference for democracy and support for citizens’ participation rights are strong, but tolerance is lower than the other attitudes. Evidence is found for acculturation – that Latin Americans acquire democratic attitudes by living in democratic regimes and through education.Muchos países latinoamericanos se convirtieron en democracias entre 1975 y 2000 y diversos estudios han comprobado que los latino-americanos tienen actitudes democráticas. Utilizando datos de encuestas del Barómetro de las Américas para 18 países, estudiamos el compromiso de los latino-americanos con tres actitudes democráticas – la preferencia por la democracia sobre otros estilos de gobierno, el apoyo a los derechos generales de participación política, y tolerancia a la participación de personas críticas del sistema político. También investigamos el impacto que ejercen sobre las actitudes democráticas los recursos personales, la percepción y la experiencia de victimización por la criminalidad y la corrupción, la evalua-ción del desempeño del sistema, el capital social y el contexto sociopolítico. Pudimos comprobar que la preferencia por la democracia y el apoyo a los derechos de participación ciudadana son elevados, pero, al mismo tiempo, la tolerancia se encuentra a niveles menores. Asimismo, encontramos evidencia de aculturaci

Unalienated Recognition as a Feature of Democratic Schooling

Science.gov (United States)

Rheingold, Alison

2012-01-01

The current era of standards and accountability in U.S. public schooling narrows recognition and assessment to an almost exclusive focus on the production of test scores as legitimate markers of student achievement. This climate prevents rather than encourages democratic forms of exchange within and across social worlds. Via a case study of one…

Laying the Foundations for Democratic Behavior - A Comparison of Two Different Approaches to Democratic Education

OpenAIRE

Viola HUANG

2014-01-01

A democracy is a society in which everyone has equal rights and is able to participate in decision-making processes. Consequently, in a democratic society, democratic behavior is essential. This work investigates the question: In what ways and to what extent can alternative models of education support the development of democratic skills in children? To explore this question, the author analyzes and compares two different approaches to democratic education: The Sudbury approach and the democr...

Beating Social Democracy on Its Own Turf

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Arndt, Christoph

2014-01-01

-right parties to flourish in contexts where welfare issues have a natural salience as in the case of universal welfare states. In contrast, Scandinavian universal welfare states ought to benefit social democracy when it comes to issue voting on welfare issues. It is argued in this article that centre......-right parties can beat social democrats by credibly converging to its social democratic opponent on issues of universal welfare. Issue ownership voting to the benefit of centre-right parties will then be strongest among voters perceiving the centre-right to have converged to social democracy and perceiving...... the centre-right as issue-owner. Using Danish National Election Studies, 1998–2007, the article shows that the Danish Liberal Party outperformed the Social Democrats on traditional welfare issues among those voters perceiving the Liberals to be ideologically close to the social democrats. The findings help...

The democratic role orientation by journalists

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Svith, Flemming

This paper investigates the democratic role orientation in news media and the perception and preference in the population towards the democratic practice of these news media.......This paper investigates the democratic role orientation in news media and the perception and preference in the population towards the democratic practice of these news media....

DEMOCRATIZING JOURNALISM? Realizing the Citizen's Agenda for Local News Media

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Costera Meijer, I.

2010-01-01

Media scholars and journalists expect local media to function as vital institutions for the creation and maintenance of a democratic political and public arena and a general sense of social cohesion and public connection (Aldridge, 2007; Couldry et al., 2007; Franklin, 2006; Rosenstiel et al.,

Religious Networks in Post-conflict Democratic Republic of the ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

With reference to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), religious groups wield enormous influence in the public space as providers of social services in a polity that has been characterised by years of misrule, declining state capacity and protracted conflict. The conflict in the DRC has deepened the imperative for ...

Whose Canon? Culturalization versus Democratization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Erling Bjurström

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Current accounts – and particularly the critique – of canon formation are primarily based on some form of identity politics. In the 20th century a representational model of social identities replaced cultivation as the primary means to democratize the canons of the fine arts. In a parallel development, the discourse on canons has shifted its focus from processes of inclusion to those of exclusion. This shift corresponds, on the one hand, to the construction of so-called alternative canons or counter-canons, and, on the other hand, to attempts to restore the authority of canons considered to be in a state of crisis or decaying. Regardless of the democratic stance of these efforts, the construction of alternatives or the reestablishment of decaying canons does not seem to achieve their aims, since they break with the explicit and implicit rules of canon formation. Politically motivated attempts to revise or restore a specific canon make the workings of canon formation too visible, transparent and calculated, thereby breaking the spell of its imaginary character. Retracing the history of the canonization of the fine arts reveals that it was originally tied to the disembedding of artists and artworks from social and worldly affairs, whereas debates about canons of the fine arts since the end of the 20th century are heavily dependent on their social, cultural and historical reembedding. The latter has the character of disenchantment, but has also fettered the canon debate in notions of “our” versus “their” culture. However, by emphasizing the dedifferentiation of contemporary processes of culturalization, the advancing canonization of popular culture seems to be able to break with identity politics that foster notions of “our” culture in the present thinking on canons, and push it in a more transgressive, syncretic or hybrid direction.

The Revival of democratic values and the governance of the Catholic Church.

OpenAIRE

Vignon, Jerome; Discern

2013-01-01

A lecture organised by Discern entitled: The revival of democratic values and the governance of the Catholic Church. This talk is being delivered by Mr Jerome Vignon, President of the Semaines Sociales in France.

Lives and Political Field. An Analysis of the Power Structure of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD

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Max Reinhardt

2011-05-01

Full Text Available This article discusses methods and results of an explorative study of two generations of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD: the two generations comprise, on the one hand, older and younger members of the postwar generation who witnessed the Second World War as young soldiers or as children, and on the other hand, the generation that was born in the 1950s and has mainly been responsible for shaping policy for some years. The aim of my dissertation was to analyze the ability of the social democratic leadership to represent the full range of party members and (base voters by comparing two generations, using a sample of political leaders and the habitus/field-analysis inspired by Pierre BOURDIEU. The basis of the analysis were partly biographical, partly theme-focused interviews, as well as a range of sources and already published literature regarding the biographies of these political leaders. The following article is based on my dissertation and is focused on a description of selected theoretical implications, on the description of the essential criteria for selecting the sample and on some of the methods used. These are an analysis of the life, life and field effects, the factions and the development of types of political leaders. I will present some results to exemplify the methods used. They show that the ability of the SPD to represent the full range of party members and (base voters and the power structure of the SPD have changed, thus threatening the party’s status as a "Volkspartei." URN: http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs1102197

Leadership in a Democratic School

Science.gov (United States)

McCormick, Paul R.

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study is to examine the experiences of a democratic school leader and understand how his conception of leadership is congruent or incongruent with notions of democracy and democratic leadership. This small, participant-observer case study follows a democratic school leader and his staff for a year and examines those challenges…

Social Networking and Democratic Practices as Spheres for Innovative Musical Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Thorgersen, Cecilia Ferm; Georgii-Hemming, Eva

2012-01-01

This chapter takes into account and discusses innovative learning in the 21st digital and communicative century based on life-world-phenomenology and Hannah Arendt's view of democracy. From this point of view, the authors address and discuss how democratic practices can offer innovative musical learning in relation to what is taking place in…

Internet Revolutions, Democratic Globalization and Elections Outcome in the Twenty-First Century: Echoes from Nigeria

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Abdullahi Muhammad Maigari

2018-02-01

Full Text Available This paper examines the social contexts of the development and innovation of the science of global communication technology. It shows the significant roles the internet has played in the democratic process, and in particular, how it has influenced the outcomes of elections across developed and developing societies in an increasingly globalised community. This paper argues that Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, blogs and LinkedIn etc. serve as the mediums through which civil rights and democratic activism are expressed. It also argues that during the 2011 and 2015 General Elections in Nigeria, many electronic devices and online programs were developed and used on social media. Revoda enabled a parallel vote count, access to polling unit results, transmission of collated results and information about the entire electoral process. The paper stresses that the use of social media networks by both political candidates and electorates has greatly promoted civic engagement, credible elections and democratic activism in pre-election and post-election periods. This paper concludes that internet technology may soon assume the position of an effective and critically vital para-human actor in most global election outcomes in the near future.

How democratic are Networks?- A framework for Assessing the Democratic Effects of Networks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Agger, Annika; Löfgren, Karl

: How can we assess the democratic effects of formal network mobilisation?  The article will present a tentative framework deriving criteria from both traditional democratic theory, as well as new theories on democratic governance and collaborative planning, which can be deployed for empirical studies......There has, since the end of the 1980s, been a growing interest in western democracies for formally involving citizens in various local planning activities through network governance. The overarching goal has been to increase efficiency in local planning. Equally, it has also been accompanied...... by an underlying idea of enhancing public participation and mobilising the citizens, thereby strengthening local democracy. Even though much is written about these initiatives, the actual democratic effects of these activities have been notably overlooked in the literature. Both among scholars, as well...

How Welfare Regimes Generate and Erode Social Capital

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsen, Christian Albrekt

2007-01-01

in the USA and other liberal welfare regimes, while social capital is stable in the so-called social democratic and conservative welfare regimes. The second puzzle is why the group of social democratic regimes have extremely high levels of social trust. It is argued that both puzzles have to do......Comparative studies of social capital, operationalised as social trust between citizens, have revealed two major puzzles. The first puzzle has to do with the decline in social trust in the USA, which fuelled considerable debate about social capital. The question is why social capital erodes...... with the presence or absence of a poor and culturally distinct underclass. The social democratic welfare regimes hinder – while the liberal welfare regime generate – such underclass phenomena....

The Blunt Tool: Inappropriateness of the Concept of Transition for the Analyses of Democratic Consolidation

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Dražen Lalić

2010-01-01

Full Text Available The article is analyzing the inappropriateness of the “classical” theories of transition for the analyses of democratic consolidation in the contemporary post-communist societies, including the Croatian one. The authors are claiming that the aforementioned theories are insufficient for a subtle explanation of the recent ongoing major political and social changes in the post-communist societies. The article is stressing the most characteristic examples of the “bluntness”, i.e. of the inappropriateness of the transition theory basic concepts for the analyses of democratic consolidation, as well as of the socio-cultural and socio-structural assumptions and other important concepts related to the post-communist transition phenomenon. Furthermore, the article is exposing the problems connected with various interpretations of the phases of the transition period in relation to the cleavage between the institutional constitution of the democratic system and the democratic deficit characteristic of the post-communist states. Finally, the article is bolding the necessity of re-conceptualization of the basic concepts of the theory of transition; however, not towards the construction of a new theory, but rather towards the adaptation of the existing theory to the recent social and political processes in the contemporaneous post-communist societies.

Revisiting Liberal Democratic Universalism: A Critical Rhetoric of the Liberal Democratic World Order

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Rose Joy E. Smith

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Liberal democracy has become the predominant political regime in the 21st century even in countries that have little or no history of ‘democratic structures and practices’. However, it seems as though setting up a functional, stable, and viable democratic state is harder than overthrowing autocratic rulers. This rhetorical criticism explores gridlocks that hamper the development of universal liberal democratic values by emphasizing the Western hegemonic status of defining what liberal democracy is. It is pertinent to look into this dominant role considering that it is through these values that actions, policies, and other values are to be construed and judged. This paper aims to (1 highlight the role of moral cosmopolitanism as the initial step of Western hegemony, (2 identify the paradox of defining liberal democracy as universal but treating it as a particular, and (3 discuss the ironies of democratic imperialism and its hindrance to self-determination. This paper hopes to shed some light in the importance of various interpretations, definitions, and adaptations of liberal democratic values depending on the context of the society incorporating, its culture, its values, and its identity, in order to find a more comprehensive definition of democracy.

Teacher Leadership Capacity-Building: Developing Democratically Accountable Leaders in Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Mullen, Carol A.; Jones, Rahim J.

2008-01-01

Using a qualitative case study approach, the authors explore social justice implications of inservice principals' practices that affect attitudes and empower teachers. If a primary educational goal of progressive schooling is to create and sustain more democratic schools by enabling the growth of teachers as leaders who are responsible for their…

Fields of Tension in a Boundary-Crossing World: Towards a Democratic Organization of the Self.

Science.gov (United States)

Hermans, Hubert J M; Konopka, Agnieszka; Oosterwegel, Annerieke; Zomer, Peter

2017-12-01

In their study of the relationship between self and society, scientists have proposed taking society as a metaphor for understanding the dynamics of the self, such as the analogy between the self and the functioning of a totalitarian state or the analogy between the self and the functioning of a bureaucratic organization. In addition to these models, the present article proposes a democratic society as a metaphor for understanding the workings of a dialogical self in a globalizing, boundary-crossing world. The article follows four steps. In the first step the self is depicted as extended to the social and societal environment and made up of fields of tension in which a multiplicity of self-positions are involved in processes of positioning and counter-positioning and in relationships of social power. In the second step, the fertility of the democratic metaphor is demonstrated by referring to theory and research from three identity perspectives: multicultural, multiracial, and transgender. In the fields of tension emerging between the multiplicity of self-positions, new, hybrid, and mixed identities have a chance to emerge as adaptive responses to the limitations of existing societal structures. In the third step, we place the democratic self in a broader societal context by linking three levels of inclusiveness, proposed by Self-Categorization Theory (personal, social, and human) to recent conceptions of a cosmopolitan democracy. In the fourth and final step, a model is presented which allows the formulation of a series of specific research questions for future studies of a democratically organized self.

Democratic Life Skill 1: Guiding Children to Find a Place

Science.gov (United States)

Gartrell, Dan

2012-01-01

"Democratic life skills" are social-emotional capacities that children need to be productive citizens and healthy individuals in a modern, diverse society. The construct for these skills comes from many sources. One helpful source is Maslow's concept of two coexisting sets of motivational needs in each individual: one set for security, belonging,…

Value driven classroom management-the congruence between the preferred and the democratic values

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Fatma Özmen

2013-11-01

Full Text Available The rapid changes in all areas of communities have raised the level of concerns about weakening of the societal values. And many academics and researchers have begun to become interested in the issues for placing especially the democratic values in education more than ever before, in order to constitute more livable social environments. The goal of this study is, on the basis of gender variable, to determine what values have driven the teachers in their classroom management practices, and to find out if these values are congruent with the democratic principles. The research group comprises 68 teachers working in Regional Public Boarding Schools. The teachers were asked to list the most and the least preferred values in classroom management from a predetermined value list. The analysis of the data revealed that the most desired 10 values used by teachers in classroom management practices were generally common between female and male gender groups and both groups’ preferences indicated similar results. ‘Honesty’ and ‘responsibility’ take at the top of the most preferred value list. However, the value of ‘equality’ which is indispensible for maintaining democracyin classroom, was preferred by less than half of the teachers. And the values such as peace, freedom, social recognition and the like were not given place in the most preferred value list. The least preferred ten values were generally the ones which were not directly related to democracy. These results indicate that some essential values related to democracy are not given much importance. It is recommended that teachers should be trained well about creating democratic classroom settings especially in pre-service education. And, school leaders should give utmost importance to constitute a democratic school environment; and school wide practices should be congruent with democratic principles so as to form it as a life style.

Democratization in the Arab World: Prospects and Lessons from Around the Globe

Science.gov (United States)

2012-01-01

making, and transitional justice (holding former regime members to account for abuses); (4) state and social cohesion, including social cleavages, insur ...Encarnacion (2009), p. 5. 15 Pinto (2010), pp. 348–350. 118 Democratization in the Arab World gave Western governments, especially West Germany ...based on liberalization, privatization, and deregulation of the economy similar to the program that Carlos Menem implemented in Argentina. The

Decision-making in pigeon flocks: a democratic view of leadership.

Science.gov (United States)

Jorge, Paulo E; Marques, Paulo A M

2012-07-15

When travelling in groups, animals frequently have to make decisions on the direction of travel. These decisions can be based on consensus, when all individuals take part in the decision (i.e. democratic decision; social information), or leadership, when one member or a minority of members make the decision (i.e. despotic decision; personal information). Here we investigated whether decision-making on the navigation of small flocks is based on democratic or despotic decisions. Using individual and flock releases as the experimental approach, we compared the homing performances of homing pigeons that fly singly and in groups of three. Our findings show that although small groups were either governed (i.e. when individuals in the flock had age differences) or not (i.e. when individuals in the flock had the same age) by leaders, with concern to decision-making they were all ruled by democratic decisions. Moreover, the individual homing performances were not associated with leadership. Because true leaders did not assume right away the front position in the flock, we suggest that as in human groups, starting from a central position is more effective as it allows leaders to not only transmit their own information but also to average the tendencies of the other group members. Together, the results highlight the importance of democratic decisions in group decision-making.

Degrees of democraticity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lars Bergström

2011-05-01

Full Text Available People have tended to load their different conceptions of democracy with their own political ideals; in this paper it is argued that normative and definitional questions should rather be separated, so that political philosophers and political scientists may adopt the same concept of democracy, even if they disagree normatively or politically. Moreover, it is argued that we should replace an absolute notion of democracy by a relativized notion, which allows for different degrees of democraticity. This facilitates the separation of normative and conceptual issues and it is convenient in contexts in which “democratic deficits” are discussed – as e.g. when democracy is to be implemented on a supranational level. Moreover, it has the consequence that democratic deficits are not necessarily bad. DOWNLOAD THIS PAPER FROM SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1837342

‘All I know is that I know nothing’: (Some) Danish adolescents and democratic self-consciousness

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stald, Gitte Bang

2017-01-01

, but also if they have the opportunities to feel competent and included? Are traditional definitions of what political debate, participation and engaged citizenship discouraging for young citizens? Is distrust in social media as platforms for news and debate influenced more by normative values and less......, insights, and influence, which again leads to negative democratic self-confidence. These adolescents often express negative awareness about getting a major proportion of their information through multiple fragmented sources such as social media. Additionally, especially Facebook is rarely used for opinion...... on actual opportunities and qualities? Finally, do discourses about the uninformed and individualistic adolescents potentially add to a lack of what I call democratic self-consciousness in the young citizens? The paper is based on findings from two DECIDIS surveys (2015 and 2016) on Danes, social media...

Democratic Leadership in Education

Science.gov (United States)

Woods, Philip A.

2005-01-01

In this book Philip Woods turns his attention to issues of democracy and leadership. He has provided an eloquent, intellectually compelling and sophisticated account of a new leadership label--democratic leadership. He argues that the purpose of "democratic" leadership is to create and help sustain an environment that enables everyone…

Democratic Public Discourse in the Coming Autarchic Communities

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Gheorghe-Ilie Farte

2010-12-01

Full Text Available The main purpose of this article is to tackle the problem of living together – as dignified human beings – in a certain territory in the field of social philosophy, on the theoretical grounding ensured by some remarkable exponents of the Austrian School − and by means of the praxeologic method. Because political tools diminish the human nature not only of those who use them, but also of those who undergo their effects, people can live a life worthy of a human being only as members of some autarchic or self-governing communities. As a spontaneous order, every autarchic community is inherently democratic, inasmuch as it makes possible free involvement, peaceful coordination, free expression and the free reproduction of ideas. The members of autarchic communities are moral individuals who avoid aggression, practice self-control, seek a dynamical efficiency and establish (together with their fellow human beings a democratic public discourse.

Beyond Democratic Tolerance: Witch Killings in Timor-Leste

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rebecca Strating

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Newly democratising states experience challenges in reconciling “traditional” or “customary” dispute resolution practices with newly established state-based legal systems based on the rule of law. For Timor-Leste, these tensions are pronounced in continuing debates concerning the killing or injuring of women accused of witchcraft. Defences of extrajudicial punishments tend to conflate democracy with local support and fail to deal with the key institutions of democratic systems, including the rule of law, political equality, and civil rights. In Timor-Leste’s case, where equality and social rights were incorporated into the Constitution as fundamental governmental obligations, localised extrajudicial punishments threaten internal and external state legitimacy and highlight the difficulties of ensuring the primacy of state-based institutions. Extrajudicial punishments challenge Timor-Leste’s capacity to consolidate new liberal democratic political institutions.

Technology, Human Agency and Dewey's Constructivism: Opening Democratic Spaces in Virtual Classrooms

Science.gov (United States)

Hyslop-Margison, Emery J.

2004-01-01

This article examines whether the ubiquitous presence of technology in schools negatively affects democratic learning by promoting instrumental rationality and, hence, reifying social reality. The author suggests that structural critiques of educational technology ignore the considerable impact of human agency on shaping related learning outcomes.…

The democratic question in Florestan Fernandes

OpenAIRE

Tótora, Silvana

1999-01-01

O papel da questão democrática na análise da revolução burguesa na obra de Florestan Fernandes é reconstruído a partir da ênfase no caráter radical que ela assume numa obra que se recusa a separar o problema substantivo da democracia do problema da revolução social.The role played by the democratic question in the analysis of the bourgeois revolution in Brazil by Florestan Fernandes is reconstructed on the basis of the emphasis on the radical character it takes in a work in which no distincti...

Social support under siege: An analysis of forced migration among women from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Science.gov (United States)

Wachter, Karin; Gulbas, Lauren E

2018-05-03

In 2016, researchers conducted a qualitative study in a mid-sized town in the United States to address gaps in research and practice related to psychosocial consequences of forced migration among women. The loss of social support and its impacts on the well-being of women are rarely addressed in refugee resettlement policy or practice overwhelmingly concerned with economic self-sufficiency. The study sought to develop theory to explain how women (n = 27) who migrated from the Democratic Republic of the Congo recreate social support post-resettlement in the United States. An interpretive approach informed by postcolonial feminist perspectives guided the grounded theory methodology. A theoretical model emerged explaining pivots in the internal and relational lives of women as social support systematically constricted over time as a result of war, displacement, and resettlement. Upon arrival to the United States, women experienced partitioned lives through changing relationships to space and time, which contributed to women being alone and impacted well-being. Converging processes propelled women towards learning to stand alone, through which women could develop a sense self-reliance, but not without internal and relational consequences. The analysis contributes to the empirical literature knowledge of how resettlement is a life altering event that sets into motion psychosocial processes with implications for well-being and health. Implications for practice and future research are discussed. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

democratic approaches to environmental education: dream or ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

processes of democratic pedagogy are often antithetical to the processes of contemporary schooling. Based on a case study of an attempt at democratic pedagogy in an Australian primary school, this paper explores some of the factors that may ... individual citizens for participation in and commit- ment to democratic ...

The social practice of psychology and the social sciences in a liberal ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This paper explores the relevance of psychology and the social and human sciences in a changing South Africa. The new South Africa embraces a liberal democratic approach to government. The Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) is a policy document that articulates the goals of this liberal democratic ...

Political Differences in Past, Present, and Future Life Satisfaction: Republicans Are More Sensitive than Democrats to Political Climate

Science.gov (United States)

Mandel, David R.; Omorogbe, Philip

2014-01-01

Previous research finds that Republicans report being happier or more satisfied with their lives than Democrats. Using representative American samples from 2002, 2005, 2007, 2009, and 2010, we tested a Person × Situation interactionist account in which political affiliation (Democrat, Republican) and political climate (favorable when the president in office is of the same party) are proposed to affect past, present, and anticipated future life satisfaction. Meta-analyses of related tests of key hypotheses confirmed that (a) life satisfaction was greater when the political climate was favorable rather than unfavorable and (b) Republicans were more sensitive to political climate than Democrats. As predicted, Republicans also were more politically polarized than Democrats. Taken together, the findings indicate that, compared to Democrats, Republicans are more apt to self-identify in political terms, and core aspects of their subjective well-being are more easily affected by the outcome of political events. PMID:24901253

Making the energy transition a European success. Tackling the democratic, innovation, financing and social challenges of the energy union

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pellerin-Carlin, Thomas; Vinois, Jean-Arnold; Rubio, Eulalia; Fernandes, Sofia; Delors, Jacques; Letta, Enrico

2017-09-01

If there is one project today which carries a positive vision for Europe, it is definitely the energy transition. Energy is the foundation of our nations' power and is a key element in our daily lives. If Europe's architects are preparing a democratic, innovative, economically viable and socially fair Energy Union, it will contribute to a Europe that serves its citizens and paves the way for the rest of the world. If we fail in this project, the architects will have to give way to the fire-fighters, who will exhaust themselves putting out the fires caused by our past mistakes: climate refugees, dependence on Russia and Saudi Arabia, worsened energy poverty, the bankruptcy of energy suppliers who failed to adapt their strategy. The Energy Union, which we have been championing since 2010 and which is currently fully supported by President Juncker, is an ambitious project which can already be bolstered by the successes achieved by the European Union. The USA's withdrawal from the Paris Agreement further strengthens European leadership and enables us to attract innovators and investors who understand the opportunity created by the energy transition. This Report clearly sets out four objectives which could contribute to the success of the Energy Union, and in turn restore trust between Europe and Europeans. - Firstly, democracy must be at the heart of the Energy Union's governance. This involves mechanisms for more direct participation of citizens, local elected representatives and civil society in the major choices which shape national and European energy strategies. - Secondly, Europe must implement a genuine innovation-driven industrial policy to make our companies the world leaders in clean energy. - Thirdly, public and private investment arbitrations must fully integrate the energy transition's objectives. - Fourthly, the Energy Union must serve a just and fair energy transition via a 'Social Pact for the Energy Transition' which strives to create jobs for our

NETWORKS AND DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE: THE CASE OF A PUBLIC INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION OF MINAS GERAIS – BRAZIL

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Edimilson Eduardo da Silva

2013-06-01

Full Text Available This paper is about the presentation of the social network of partnerships in 2010 around a Federal Institution of Higher Education – IFES, located at Minas Gerais State. The aim of this paper is to show how the practices of formal partnerships can contribute to the formation of democratic governance. The approach was quantitative, using as tool of the collecting data, a documental research. We analyzed the database of a body responsible for the management of the instruments of partnerships agreements and we classified the partner institutions in public, private, third sector, individuals and foreign institutions. The results were the construction of sociograms as a graphic representation showing the main elements of democratic governance. The survey revealed that partnerships as institutional practices can contribute for the establishment of a network of democratic governance, guided by a leading organization. Thereby, it can form partnerships of following types: public-public and public-private, permeated by the dimensions of governance (rules of governance defined, management (the practice of technology management, autonomy (respect to institutional abilities, mutuality (mutual responsibility, confidence and reciprocity (strengthening of teaching, research and extension activities. In this sense, the social network formed by partnerships can be categorized as a “network of democratic governance”.

The democratizing impact of governance networks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, Eva; Torfing, Jacob

2018-01-01

impact of governance networks. It claims that the initial celebration of the pluralization of public governance and the subsequent call for a democratic anchorage of governance networks should give way to a new concern for how governance networks can strengthen and democratize political leadership. Tying......Initially, governance networks were intended as tools for making public governance more effective. Yet, scholars have argued that governance networks also have the potential to democratize public governance. This article provides an overview of theoretical arguments pertaining to the democratizing...... political leadership to networked processes of collaborative governance fosters ‘interactive political leadership’. The article presents theoretical arguments in support of interactive political leadership, and provides an illustrative case study of a recent attempt to strengthen political leadership...

Sport in the German Democratic Republic and the People's Republic of China. A Sociopolitical Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

McIntyre, Thomas D.

1985-01-01

The use of sports in the German Democratic Republic and the People's Republic of China is both propagandist and ideological. International sports competition can enhance the country's image and domestic sport is a means of political socialization. (DF)

The Social Democrats of Scholarship: Austrian Imperial Peripheries and the Making of a Progressive Science of Nationality, 1885–1903

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thomas R. Prendergast

2015-10-01

Full Text Available To what extent and in what ways did the intellectual climate of Austria’s often ethnolinguistically heterogeneous borderlands contribute to the formation, institutionalization and diffusion of emerging social scientific discourses during the final decades of the 19th century? Investigating the intellectual exchange between two early proponents of folklore studies (Volkskunde—the Slavonian-German-Jewish Friedrich Salomon Krauss (1859–1938 and Bukovinian-German Raimund Friedrich Kaindl (1866–1930—this paper argues that imperial peripheries, while traditionally overlooked as sites of knowledge production, in fact played a pivotal role in the development of an important brand of “progressive” social scientific research, one defined by a critical stance toward the prevailing historicist paradigms of the time. These self-described “social democrats of scholarship” collaborated, both formally and informally, on a number of related theoretical projects aimed at disrupting the exclusionary narratives of the academic establishment and re-focusing scholarly attention on the sociological, rather than historical, character of ethnonational difference. In this way, the nationalities question spurred, both in the center and at the margins of the monarchy, the development of new sciences of nationality intended to sustain Austria’s imperial structure.

Social Studies Teachers’ Perceptions and Experiences of Social Justice

OpenAIRE

BURSA, Sercan; ERSOY, Arife Figen

2016-01-01

Problem Statement: Social justice addresses inequality in society, including economic inequality, global migration, racism, xenophobia, prejudice against disabled people, and class discrimination. In Turkey, social studies curriculum aims to cultivate active, democratically minded citizens who value justice, independence, peace, solidarity, tolerance, freedom, and respect and demonstrate critical thinking skills, problem solving skills, social participation, and empathy. Purpose: Since social...

DEMOCRATIC ATTITUDES OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHERS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Müge TAÇMAN

2006-06-01

Full Text Available The primary aim of this study was to determine the democratic attitudes of the classroomteachers. This study is a descriptive research. In this research, democratic attitude scala which was developed by“published for the attitude research labaratory” and adapted to Turkish educational system by Gözütok (1995 wasused. Research group consisted fifty teachers from four private primary schools in Ankara. The data were analyzed byone way ANOVA. According of the results of the research, democratic attitudes of teachers have been discriminated onteachers’ sexuality, seniority and graduate level

Social Studies Teachers' Perceptions and Experiences of Social Justice

Science.gov (United States)

Bursa, Sercan; Ersoy, Arife Figen

2016-01-01

Problem Statement: Social justice addresses inequality in society, including economic inequality, global migration, racism, xenophobia, prejudice against disabled people, and class discrimination. In Turkey, social studies curriculum aims to cultivate active, democratically minded citizens who value justice, independence, peace, solidarity,…

Advancing Democratic Leadership through Critical Theory.

Science.gov (United States)

Lees, Kimberly A.

1995-01-01

Examines how the concepts advanced by critical theorists exemplify democratic leadership. The concept of democratic leadership is explored as a moral imperative of human issues, and the implications of leadership behavior that emulate the principles of democracy are discussed. (SLD)

Democracy, ethics and social justice: Implications for secondary ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

... were interviewed to explore their perspectives on democratic school leadership and establish the ... Inclusion of democratic school leadership principles in teacher training ... Keywords: democracy; ethics; leadership practices; social justice ...

Democratization of Justice and Governance: some notes from Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José Querino Tavares Neto

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Social rights have a collective dimension that arises especially when they become object of public policies, so their efficacy depends on the enlargement of deliberative spaces within the civil society. Although the legitimacy of the adjucation process depends on the juridical order providing spaces to guarantee that divergent interests will be represented, this is still difficult in the judiciary. Public hearings and amicus curiae can bring together “new actors”, such as NGO’s and social movements to the judicial field, so they could become more able to resist to the domination process denounced by Bourdieu, leading to democratization of the judiciary

Improving democratic governance through institutional design

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Torfing, Jacob; Skelcher, Chris

2010-01-01

the democratic governance of regulatory policies in Europe, and highlight the way in which civic participation and democratic ownership is given equal weight to economic competitiveness. We then discuss the potential for institutionalized participatory governance to develop and its prospects for improving...

Democratic management and architecture school

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Silvana Aparecida de Souza

2011-10-01

Full Text Available It is a conceptual and theoretical research on school organization and its democratization, focusing on one aspect of an objective nature: its architecture. The study was based on the academic literature on democratization and theoretical contribution of Michel Foucault, with regard to the analysis of space as a resourcecontrol, surveillance and training, going through a historical review of the modelconstruction of school buildings in Brazil. It is therefore a sociological analysis of the school environment, in relation to the democratization process of basic education, understood as ensuring that the conditions of access and permanence to a universalquality education, and conceived and gestated from collective interests of its users.We conclude that the architecture of public schools in Brazil do not provides democratic management, either by format controller of buildings constructed in the republican period, either by the current economic priority for the construction of public school buildings, which includes little or no space for collective activities. The character of the buildings remains controller, no more for its architecture, but made possible by technological development, which allows monitoring by video cameras, which is made with the permission and support of community.

The Democratic Vision of Carl Schmitt

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Søren Hviid

2013-01-01

The main purpose of this paper is to justify two propositions. One, that Schmitt’s political vision is indeed democratic and second, that Schmitt’s democratic vision, plebiscitary or leadership democracy, is better adapted to our modern political condition and the challenges confronting modern...

Democratic Legitimacy and the European Union

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Holzhacker, Ronald

2007-01-01

This is an introduction to a Special Issue that first considers representative and deliberative conceptions of democratic legitimacy in the EU, and then presents empirical research on how the institutions of the EU are attempting to increase the democratic legitimacy of the multi-level political

Social Security.

Science.gov (United States)

Social and Labour Bulletin, 1983

1983-01-01

This group of articles discusses a variety of studies related to social security and retirement benefits. These studies are related to both developing and developed nations and are also concerned with studying work conditions and government role in administering a democratic social security system. (SSH)

The Digital Editions of Revista Estudos Feministas (and the Democratization of the Access to the Scientific and Scademic Production

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sônia Weidner Maluf

2008-01-01

Full Text Available In this article we describe the electronic editions of Revista Estudos Feministas and our contribution towards a politics of democratization of the access to scientific and academic production. After a brief description of the three spaces of electronic editions of REF (the Electronic Library Scielo, the Scielo Social Science Portal and the Feminist Portal, we discuss the contribution of gender and feminist studies for the democratization of the access to the scientific and academic production.

South Africa's abortion values clarification workshops — an opportunity to deepen democratic communication missed.

Science.gov (United States)

Vincent, Louise

2011-01-01

A rich literature exists on local democracy and participation in South Africa. While the importance of participation is routinely built into the rhetoric of government, debate has increasingly focused on the dysfunctionality of participatory mechanisms and institutions in post-apartheid South Africa. Processes aimed ostensibly at empowering citizens, act in practice as instruments of social control, disempowerment and cooptation. The present article contributes to these debates by way of a critique of the approach used by the South African state, in partnership with the non-governmental sector, in what are called abortion "values clarification" (VC) workshops. This article examines the workshop materials, methodology and pedagogical tools employed in South African abortion VC workshops which emanate from the organization Ipas — a global body working to enhance women's sexual and reproductive rights and to reduce abortion-related deaths and injuries. VC workshops represent an instance of a more general trend in which participation is seen as a tool for generating legitimacy and "buy-in" for central state directives rather than as a means for genuinely deepening democratic communication. The manipulation of participation by elites may serve as a means to achieve socially desirable goals in the short term but the long-term outlook for a vibrant democracy invigorated by a knowledgeable, active and engaged citizenry that is accustomed to being required to exercise careful reflection and to its views being respected, is undermined. Alternative models of democratic communication, because they are based on the important democratic principles of inclusivity and equality, have the potential both to be more legitimate and more effective in overcoming difficult social challenges in ways that promote justice.

Democracy and social justice: Implications for school leadership in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Jwan

Inclusion of democratic school leadership principles in teacher training programmes and an inculcation of .... appreciate the social, cultural and political role of schooling as follows: ...... democratic organizational landscape. Educational.

Preservice Teachers' Attitudes and Beliefs about Democratic Classroom Practice: Influences on Intentions for Pedagogical Integration

Science.gov (United States)

Pryor, Caroline R.; Pryor, Brandt W.

2005-01-01

This study investigated preservice teachers' intentions to integrate democratic practice into their teaching and the influence of attitudes and beliefs on intentions. Participants were 76 undergraduates from 3 social studies methods classes. A theory of reasoned action (Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975) guided instrument development. Intention was…

Conceptualizing Education Policy in Democratic Societies

Science.gov (United States)

Perry, Laura B.

2009-01-01

Although theorists and policy makers agree that schooling should be democratic, what this exactly means often varies. This article establishes a conceptual model for analyzing education policy in democratic societies, based on the key concepts of equality, diversity, participation, choice, and cohesion. The model facilitates the design,…

Neoliberal Ideology and Democratic Learning. A Response to "Challenging Freedom: Neoliberalism and the Erosion of Democratic Education"

Science.gov (United States)

Hyslop-Margison, Emery James; Ramirez, Andres

2016-01-01

In "Challenging Freedom: Neoliberalism and the Erosion of Democratic Education," the author suggests that the presumed decline of democratic learning in public schooling follows from two primary forces: (a) the metaphysical implications of Cartesian psychophysical dualism that support an ontological understanding of the self as distinct…

BRICS Countries and Democratic Contagion

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Anna Bruno

2015-05-01

Full Text Available The article explores whether the interstate dynamics of the BRICS can activate those processes of convergence of politicalregimes and practices known as “democratic contagion.” As this contagion was experienced during the “third wave” ofdemocratization, mainly because of homogeneity among states and structural conditions for democratic attraction, theBRICS are not likely to repeat these dynamics. On the contrary, the only real constitutional homogeneity among the BRICScountries is the standard of non-interference in the internal affairs of each member. Non-interference also means abstainingfrom any initiative to condition the transformation of political regimes in consideration of the same interstate cooperation. Thedynamics of the BRICS shows that different political regimes can promote institutionalized forms of interstate cooperationwithout any mutual contamination at the constitutional level. The theories of “transition” and “democratic contagion” areinsufficient to understand these dynamics in the context of the BRICS; for this reason, the theory of democratic transitioncannot provide an adequate analysis of BRICS. With its members “split in unity,” as an institution the BRICS suggests anevolution toward a model of “not eurocentric dependence” that can overcome the “peripheral realism” of the role of eachstate in its own foreign policy.

DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE AND THE POOR: ADJUSTING TO ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

CIU

what actually constitute the fundamental challenges of the Nigerian democratic ... Democratic governance has inherent checks and balance principles that ..... billion on less than $2 a day globally (WDI, 2012), with Africa accounting for a large.

The Democratic Process: Promises and Challenges.

Science.gov (United States)

Bragaw, Donald, Ed.

When the Berlin Wall (East Germany) came down, it symbolically foretold the end of the Soviet Union domination of Eastern Europe and Central Asia. This resource guide examines the process toward democratization occurring in those regions. The guide updates the available classroom material on the democratic process. It is divided into three…

Local Election Campaign in Social Media

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bock Segaard, Signe; Agger Nielsen, Jeppe

candidates, content registration of local blogs, and log file data of local blogs through Google Analytics). In contrast to the democratic vision for social media the analysis demonstrates that the election blogs primarily are used by those who are most politically active in advance. The analysis also shows...... and their actual behavior in social media. The experiences from the Norwegian local elections indicate that the usage of social media has not yet constituted a vital democratic frontier. The myth that the “tone" in online debates always is hard, concise and person fixed has also been disproved....

Enhanced democratic learning within the Aalborg Model

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Qvist, Palle

2010-01-01

The Aalborg PBL Model [Kjersdam & Enemark, 1997; Kolmos et al., 2004] is an example of a democratic learning system [Qvist, 2008]. Writing one project each semester in teams is an important element in the model. Medicine with Industrial Specialisation - a study at the Faculties of Engineering......, Science and Medicine at Aalborg University - has combined the Aalborg Model with solving cases as used by other models. A questionnaire survey related to democratic learning indicates that the democratic learning has been enhanced. This paper presents the results....

Democratic Citizenship: European referents

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

María PUIG GUTIÉRREZ

2011-09-01

Full Text Available Let’s sense beforehand in this article a tour concerning the educational European policies that favors the development of a democratic citizenship. The aim that we chase is to understand the way in which nowadays it is being interpreted and stimulated the Citizenship education from European Union. for it we offer a conceptual delimiting of «Citizenship education» and later, we show an analysis of the principal documents and materials elaborated principally by the Council of Europe that mark the way followed by European Union as for education for Democratic Citizenship (EDC.

Measuring the democratic anchorage of governance networks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fotel, Trine; Sørensen, Eva; Torfing, Jacob

There has been a growing debate about the democratic problems and potentials of governance networks among political scientists and public managers. While some claim that governance networks tend to undermine democracy, others argue that they have the potential to improve and strengthen democracy....... This debate is found wanting in two respects. First of all, there has been far too little discussion about what democracy means in relation to pluricentric governance networks. Second, the current debate builds on the assumption that it is possible to give a clear-cut answer to the question of the democratic...... problems and merits of governance networks. This assumption is highly questionable, and prevents a more nuanced assessment of the democratic performance of governance networks. As such, it diverts the focus of attention away from the fact that governance networks may be democratic in some respects...

Energy technology and American democratic values

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Thompson, G.M.

1988-01-01

Today, the benefits of liberal democracy have increasingly been cast into doubt. The debate over alternative energy policies illustrates the problems associated with liberal democracy. For many, it is the realization that energy choices and the selection of social and political values amount to much the same thing. Simply put, energy policy decisions, and the concomitant energy technologies, carry implications of an ethical, social and political nature. The argument of the social and political effects of energy technology flows from the more general thesis that all forms of technological practice condition social and political relations. That is, technological systems, beyond performing the specific functions for which they were designed, act upon and influence social and political arrangements. Seen in this light, energy technologies are as important to the promotion and preservation of this country's political values as are its institutions and laws. Further, there is evidence to suggest that this country's cherished democratic value of freedom is slowly being eclipsed by the values attendant to corporate capitalism and its singular pursuit of growth. It is this dominance of economic values over political values which provides the environment within which the technological debate is waged. Ultimately, tracing the historic linkage between property and liberty, it is concluded that the preservation of our freedom require new thinking regarding the present configuration of ownership patterns. The questions surrounding energy policy serve to illuminate these concerns.

The conservation and dissemination of information - A democratic issue

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Torbacke, J.

1996-01-01

The societal function of the historians are pointed out, to describe and explain, in cooperation with the archives, the chain of political, economic, social and cultural events that has shaped the country's history. The lessons of the past, whether pleasant or unpleasant, should be passed on to the posterity. Open information is an important element in a democratic society and is normally one of the criteria that distinguishes democracy from autocracy. In the closed and controlled information society all that is hushed up and covered up leads to bitterness and rage among the citizens

The conservation and dissemination of information - A democratic issue

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Torbacke, J [Stockholm Univ. (Sweden). Dept. of History

1996-12-01

The societal function of the historians are pointed out, to describe and explain, in cooperation with the archives, the chain of political, economic, social and cultural events that has shaped the country`s history. The lessons of the past, whether pleasant or unpleasant, should be passed on to the posterity. Open information is an important element in a democratic society and is normally one of the criteria that distinguishes democracy from autocracy. In the closed and controlled information society all that is hushed up and covered up leads to bitterness and rage among the citizens.

Is John Locke a democrat?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Svensson, Palle

  Over recent years there has been a tendency to present John Locke as an equalitarian democrat (Ashcraft) and being close to the political views of the levellers (Waldron). This is not a completely new interpretation (Kendall, 1941), but contrasts with the prevalent view presented in textbooks (......, criteria for a democratic process, and the institutions of polyarchy. The conclusion has implications for the relationship between political liberalism and constitutionalism on the one hand and democracy on the other....

Democratic Schools.

Science.gov (United States)

Apple, Michael W., Ed.; Beane, James A., Ed.

This book illustrates how educators in four U.S. communities committed themselves to preparing students for the democratic way of life. In four narratives, educators directly involved in four different school-reform efforts describe how they initiated demographic practices in their educational settings. The four schools serve as reminders that…

Saving Democratic Education from Itself: Why We Need Homeschooling

Science.gov (United States)

Glanzer, Perry L.

2013-01-01

We need homeschooling to save education in a liberal democracy from taking a religious form--what I call Democratic Education. Democratic Education emerges when the democratic identity and narrative become elevated to the highest priority when thinking about educating human beings. This elevation becomes particularly dangerous when other…

Meritocratic administration and democratic stability

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cornell, Agnes; Lapuente, Victor

2014-01-01

, in democracies with meritocratic administrations, incumbents are credibly constrained from undertaking partial policies because their hands are tied in terms of managing the staff policy of the state apparatus. Consequently, countries with meritocratic bureaucracies have greater prospects for democratic...... stability. Empirically, we illustrate the mechanisms with two well-documented cases of democratic transitions that enshrined a politicized administration – Spain (1876–1936) and Venezuela (1958–1998) – and one transition that kept a meritocratic bureaucracy, Spain (1975–)....

Democratic learning in the Aalborg Model

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Qvist, Palle

A democratic learning system can be defined as a system where decisions, processes and behaviour related to learning are established through argumentation (discussion) or negotiation (dialog), voting or consensus (alone or in combination) between those affected by the decision simultaneously...... reaching the learning outcomes, the technical and professional knowledge and insight. In principle the participants must be equal with equal rights and feel committed to the values of rationality and impartiality. The Aalborg Model is an example of a democratic learning system although not 100% democratic......, processes and behaviour related to learning can be established through argumentation (discussion) or negotiation (dialog), voting or consensus (alone or in combination) within the group simultaneously reaching the learning outcomes, the technical and professional knowledge and insight. This article...

Technological Determinism and Permissionless Innovation as Technocratic Governing Mentalities: Psychocultural Barriers to the Democratization of Technology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Taylor Dotson

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Despite no shortage of thoughtful analysis concerning how to more democratically develop and assess new technologies, practical progress toward democratized innovation has been paltry. This state of affairs suggests that the barriers to such democratic ends merit more attention. Building upon calls to more seriously examine citizens’ understandings of technology as autonomous or deterministic, this paper characterizes the assumptions, beliefs, and patterns of thought undergirding technological determinism and permissionless innovation as technocratic governing mentalities. That is, they contribute to the biasing of political discourses, practices, and organizations toward non-decision making and adaptation with regards to technological change. Indeed, permissionless innovation is quickly becoming the motto of those aiming to legitimate a “hands-off” approach to the sociotechnical “disruptions” sought by Silicon Valley entrepreneurs. Moreover, this paper explores how STS, as both an academic and political endeavor, might better respond to the challenges these modes of thinking present. Drawing upon relevant work within social psychology and communications, several fruitful avenues for engaged research regarding undermining technocratic governing mentalities become apparent. Not only is there a pressing need for accessible and parsimonious counternarratives to technological determinism and permissionless innovation but also rhetorical strategies for making the democratization of technological appear continuous with aspects of status quo systems. Finally, given that technocratic governing mentalities are likely to have practical and material roots, inquiry should be directed toward understanding how different sociotechnical arrangements impact citizens’ perception of the desirability and feasibility of democratizing technology.

International Struggles for Critical Democratic Education. Counterpoints: Studies in the Postmodern Theory of Education. Volume 427

Science.gov (United States)

Knoester, Matthew, Ed.

2012-01-01

Drawing from rich data, "International Struggles for Critical Democratic Education" profiles teachers, students, and schools struggling to interrupt the reproduction of social inequalities from one generation to the next. International in its nature, the work collected here illustrates how forces of globalization create greater inequalities, and…

Social education politics in a Europe of inequalities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Javier Bascuñan Cortés

2013-07-01

Full Text Available The aim of this research is to analyse some indicators which allow us to understand the current state of social education politics in Europe, with special reference to Spain. Some European and Spanish social and educational policies which try to confront the challenges of the current financial crisis are also explained. Some deficiencies, failures and contradictions attached to the process of the construction of European citizenship are pointed out. Some key topics which seem to foresee a deeper social and democratic crisis apart from the economic one are tackled. It is explained how the new forms of inequality evidence the failure of some of the important declarations of intent and objectives of the European Union. The subjection of social and democratic aspects to neoliberal economy —i.e. the negation of ideologies— is questioned. To conclude, some key topics are proposed as the central axis through which it could be possible to redefine the content of social education politics in Europe and Spain and to set the bases of a new democratic European citizenship

Illegibility as a state effect : The limits of governing teacher identification in the Democratic Republic of Congo

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Brandt, C.O.

2018-01-01

State administrations rely on knowledge about its employees in order to ensure transparent payroll management. This thesis investigates the political economy and social dynamics around such knowledge by focusing on public school teachers in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). After a calamitous

Democracy as a social technology on schools

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kofod, Kasper

2009-01-01

" democracy. The democratic influence in schools thus spans from "big" parliamentary democracy to small participatoruy democracy - a dichotomy schooll leadership must maneuvre within using democratic procedures and leadership as social technologies. This article argues that a positive coinnectiion exists...... between strong leadership and having wello-functioning democratic processes in schools and the introduction of tests, quality reports and these approaches does not weaken democratic processes in schools. This connection is nonetheless changing the logics of the state, market, and the civil society vectors.......On a formal level, the influence og "big" parlamentary democracy is enhanced because parliamentary control in individual schools has become stronger; and the formal democratic influence of parents has been strengthned by their membership on school boards, the latter being an example of "small...

Democratic survival in Latin America (1945-2005

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aníbal PÉREZ-LIÑÁN

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Why do democracies survive or break down? In this paper, it returns to this classic question with an empirical focus on Latin America from 1945 to 2005. The argument deviates from the quantitative literature and a good part of the qualitative literature on democratic survival and breakdown. It is argued that structural variables such as the level of development and inequalities have not shaped prospects for democratic survival in Latin America. Nor, contrary to findings in some of the literature, has economic performance affected the survival of competitive regimes. Instead, it is focused on the regional political environment and on actors’ normative preferences about democracy and dictatorship and their policy radicalism or moderation. It is argued that 1 a higher level of development did not increase the likelihood of democratic survival in Latin America over this long time; 2 if actors have a normative preference for democracy, it is more likely to survive; and 3 policy moderation facilitates democratic survival.

Towards a democratic and intercultural citizenship. Notes for teacher training

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Eduardo Sierra Nieto

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Nowadays, the building of democratic citizenship cannot be understood apart from the considerations of respect and measures aimed at encourage cultural diversity; especially with the aggravation in racist discourses and manifestations, and the successive humanitarian crisis with respect to immigration. In light of this situation, in this paper we propose to combine civic education from the intercultural paradigm. For this, we reclaim, for the one hand, the role of the school as a cultural mediation place and encou- raging of intercultural coexistence; on the other hand, we emphasize the importance role that teachers play as social agents with broad involvement in the formation of democratic citizenship; both aspects as complementary. From this, we investigate different studies that stand out some deficiencies in many of the proposals for service teaching [of the teachers] that are developed from an intercultural perspective. Finally, we insist on the urgency to reinforce a type of service teaching in intercultural key; so, it is necessary to encourage the “self knowledge” as an important element of the relationship with “the other”.

Freedom and psychological proximity as preconditions of nonviolence: the social psychology of democratic peace

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Feierabend, I. K.; Klicperová-Baker, Martina

2015-01-01

Roč. 45, č. 4 (2015), s. 564-577 ISSN 0081-2463 Grant - others:Nadace Pangea(CZ) Pangea 12014 Fenomén slušnosti ve světovém kontextu, vztahu k demokratičnosti, prosperitě a životní spokojenosti Institutional support: RVO:68081740 Keywords : civility * democracy * democratic peace * freedom * nonviolence * proximity Subject RIV: AN - Psychology Impact factor: 0.532, year: 2015

Democratizing Education: A Case Study of Inclusive Schooling for Students with Special Needs in Poland

Science.gov (United States)

Baran, Jolanta; Winzer, Margaret

2017-01-01

This paper focuses on the democratization of education in the post-socialist space through an examination of inclusive schooling for students with special needs in Poland. It embeds the inclusive education reform and its attendant policies and practices within the political and social transitions that essentially dated from 1989 and saw Poland…

Democratic Citizenship and the “Crisis in Humanities”

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vicki A. Spencer

2014-08-01

Full Text Available As a consequence of the recent global recession, a new “crisis in the humanities” has been declared, and ideas of how best to defend the humanities have been vigorously debated. Placing this “crisis” in the context of neoliberal reforms to higher education since the 1980s, I examine the argument expounded by Martha Nussbaum that the very foundation of democratic citizenship is at stake. I indicate a number of problems with Nussbaum’s case. First, to resist the neoliberal agenda that pits disciplines against one another, I maintain that we need to understand the humanities broadly to include the social sciences. Second, I indicate that the humanities are not just important to democracies, but are a vital aspect of any society because they form a crucial part of human existence. Third, I argue that the humanities are important to democratic societies not merely because they promote critical thinking about our political processes and sympathetic understanding as Nussbaum argues. More fundamentally, the diversity of the humanities in both their content and approaches to knowledge is central to freedom. Finally, I warn against framing the challenges facing the humanities in terms of a crisis discourse that deprecates freedom in accord with the neoliberal agenda.

A Renormalization Group Like Model for a Democratic Dictatorship

Science.gov (United States)

Galam, Serge

2015-03-01

We review a model of sociophysics which deals with democratic voting in bottom up hierarchical systems. The connection to the original physical model and technics are outlined underlining both the similarities and the differences. Emphasis is put on the numerous novel and counterintuitive results obtained with respect to the associated social and political framework. Using this model a real political event was successfully predicted with the victory of the French extreme right party in the 2000 first round of French presidential elections. The perspectives and the challenges to make sociophysics a predictive solid field of science are discussed.

The Democratic Surplus that Constitutionalised the European Union

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Harste, Gorm

2015-01-01

This article questions the very foundation of the doctrine of a so-called “democratic deficit” in the EU. Yet in order to argue beyond nationalist myths, clear-cut concepts are necessary. Speaking about democracy in the EU, the article exposes four dimensions that constitute a “democratic surplus...... nation-state, the EU, secondly, is not build by nobles and monarchs, nor by war. Third, a separation of powers is obvious. And fourth, this article demonstrates how the EU rescued the democratic nation-state....

Stigma modifies the association between social support and mental health among sexual violence survivors in the Democratic Republic of Congo: implications for practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Wachter, Karin; Murray, Sarah M; Hall, Brian J; Annan, Jeannie; Bolton, Paul; Bass, Judy

2018-07-01

The aim of this study was to further understanding of the relationship between social support, internalized and perceived stigma, and mental health among women who experienced sexual violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Drawing from baseline survey data collected in eastern DRC, researchers conducted a secondary cross-sectional analysis using data from 744 participants. Regression and moderation analyses were conducted to examine associations between social support variables, felt stigma, and depression, anxiety and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Emotional support seeking and felt stigma were positively associated with increased symptom severity across all three mental health variables. Stigma modified associations between emotional support seeking and depression (t = -2.49, p = .013), anxiety (t = -3.08, p = .002), and PTSD (t = -2.94, p = .003). Increased frequency of emotional support seeking was associated with higher mental health symptoms of anxiety and PTSD among women experiencing all levels of stigma. Enhancing understanding of social support and stigma may inform research and intervention among Congolese forced migrant populations across circumstances and geographic locations. Implications for practice and research are discussed.

Political model of social evolution.

Science.gov (United States)

Acemoglu, Daron; Egorov, Georgy; Sonin, Konstantin

2011-12-27

Almost all democratic societies evolved socially and politically out of authoritarian and nondemocratic regimes. These changes not only altered the allocation of economic resources in society but also the structure of political power. In this paper, we develop a framework for studying the dynamics of political and social change. The society consists of agents that care about current and future social arrangements and economic allocations; allocation of political power determines who has the capacity to implement changes in economic allocations and future allocations of power. The set of available social rules and allocations at any point in time is stochastic. We show that political and social change may happen without any stochastic shocks or as a result of a shock destabilizing an otherwise stable social arrangement. Crucially, the process of social change is contingent (and history-dependent): the timing and sequence of stochastic events determine the long-run equilibrium social arrangements. For example, the extent of democratization may depend on how early uncertainty about the set of feasible reforms in the future is resolved.

Do democratic institutions and foreign direct investment affect ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Do democratic institutions and foreign direct investment affect economic growth? Evidence from ... International Journal of Development and Management Review ... The importance of sound democratic institutional structures and foreign direct investment for enhancing economic growth is well documentedin literature.

Democratizing the world health organization.

Science.gov (United States)

van de Pas, R; van Schaik, L G

2014-02-01

A progressive erosion of the democratic space appears as one of the emerging challenges in global health today. Such delimitation of the political interplay has a particularly evident impact on the unique public interest function of the World Health Organization (WHO). This paper aims to identify some obstacles for a truly democratic functioning of the UN specialized agency for health. The development of civil society's engagement with the WHO, including in the current reform proposals, is described. The paper also analyses how today's financing of the WHO--primarily through multi-bi financing mechanisms--risks to choke the agency's role in global health. Democratizing the public debate on global health, and therefore the role of the WHO, requires a debate on its future role and engagement at the country level. This desirable process can only be linked to national debates on public health, and the re-definition of health as a primary political and societal concern. Copyright © 2013 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Democratic Leadership by Managing Meetings for Effective Group Decision-Making.

Science.gov (United States)

Stephens, Mary; Forest, Robert

Instrumental to successful democratic leadership is the use of committees to solve management problems. In democratic leadership, a leader encourages participation and uses a guidance approach to direct a group toward consensus. This document offers leaders guidelines in effective democratic management of meetings. The authors first discuss the…

The Art of Democracy—Art as a Tool for Developing Democratic Citizenship and Stimulating Public Debate: A Rortyan-Deweyan Account

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael I. Raeber

2013-05-01

Full Text Available Richard Rorty holds that the novel is the characteristic genre of democracy, because it helps people to develop and to stabilize two crucial capabilities the ideal inhabitants of democratic societies should possess: a keen sense for anti-foundationalism and a disposition for solidarity. He believes that novels help develop these capabilities by educating our capacity for criticism and our capacity for attentive-empathetic perception. This article argues in favor of this Rortyan idea, showing how anti-foundationalism and solidarity can be seen as important instances of what I will call 'dispositions for democratic citizenship' and that art (and not only novels and its reception, are valuable tools for advancing these dispositions. However, as the Rortyan public-private dichotomy assigns art’s function of criticism only to the private sphere, Rorty ignores its potential for stimulating democratic public deliberation and he misses the fact that art’s functions of criticism and of attentive-empathetic perception partially depend on each other if they are effectively to lead to increased solidarity and change social realities. Thus this article argues—taking these objections into account—to slightly modify, but nevertheless value Rorty’s idea that art and its reception are crucial resources for democratic citizenship and for the process of democratic deliberation.

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.

The Media Protest of Neighbouring Associations, Promoter of Citizen Democratic Culture during Transition in Southern Spain

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Sandra Méndez-Muros

2018-02-01

Full Text Available In the current context of placing value on the neighbouring movement within the Spanish democratic Transition, we set out to confirm that the press actively participates in the growing conjunction of neighbouring issues with political content and contributes to the idea that this movement becomes a parameter of the democratic culture for the citizen during Transition. Since the conflict is newsworthy, we conduct a micro-social study of the neighbouring protest in the newspaper El Correo de Andalucía, published in the southern Spanish city of Seville. Through analysis of content, we study the informative flow and the repertoire of protest following a typology that distinguishes four formats (demonstrations, strikes, speeches and associations divided into two levels of conflict. The analysis sample consists of 33 texts published between November 1975 (Franco’s death and the accession to the throne of Juan Carlos I and June 1977 (the first democratic general elections. The main conclusion reveals that the newspaper becomes a platform that gives visibility to the neighbouring movement, normalising behaviours and procedure rules through the protest.

Perspectives on Role Socialization of Nurses.

Science.gov (United States)

Christman, Luther

1991-01-01

The low status of nursing is traced from the days of Florence Nightingale, and concepts of role socialization are applied to nurses. A highly automated, democratized workplace is envisioned that will change socialization practices. (SK)

Democratization in Malawi

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Emmanuel, Nikolas G.

2013-01-01

a political conditionality approach. Few countries have felt the weight of conditionality as much as Malawi did in the 1990s. Here, donors were able to use aid sanctions to successfully encourage democratization, while strengthening the demands of domestic opposition forces. This paper argues that three...

The Need for Popular Participation Effectiveness and Social Control in Public Administration for the Brazilian Democratic Process Consolidation

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Flávia Couto de Oliveira Contigli

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The current article aims to seek the correlation between popular participation and social control in public administration in the consolidation of the Brazilian democratic process, from the perspective of participatory democracy, as well as conditions for increasing this participation. In participatory democracy, having as the theoretical framework Bobbio (2006, p.30 and Santos (2002, p.62 and 63, it emphasizes public participation as one of the forms of management, where it plays an important role, as legitimating the decisions. This article discusses the ways of popular participation in government, with no claim to exhaust the subject, and was based on Perez settings (2004, Enterría (1998 and Di Pietro (1993, plus other institutes of participation popular. Search thus contribute including other popular participation instruments besides those already mentioned by these authors, emphasize the difficulties and to suggest some measures to minimize them. The methodology used to develop the work, dogmatic and legal, was developed through bibliographic research, done through a literature review and analytical reading on the subject.

¿Cómo hacer escuelas democráticas? How to make democratic schools?

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Josep Ma Puig Rovira

2000-12-01

Full Text Available Para responder a la pregunta que titula el presente artículo, "¿Cómo hacer escuelas democráticas?", se ha llevado a cabo un rodeo que nos ha conducido, en primer lugar, a definir qué se entiende por escuela democrática, a ver cuáles son sus principales limitaciones y errores, y qué posibilidades le quedan todavía como instrumento educativo de transformación social. La escuela democrática se ha caracterizado como un espacio de participación que, sin embargo, muy a menudo ha producido desigualdad y discriminación. Pese a todo, las escuelas democráticas deben ser espacios de controversia y lucha en favor de la democracia. En segundo lugar, el artículo realiza un rápido recorrido por algunos de las principales tendencias y momentos de desarrollo de las escuelas democráticas. Luego, en su tramo final, el escrito propone un conjunto de dinamismos pedagógicos que han de ayudar a construir escuelas entendidas como comunidades democráticas. Dinamismos como los encuentros, la formación de pequeños grupos, la definición de espacios de diálogo y participación, y el diseño de prácticas de valor. Finalmente, el texto concluye con la presentación de una de las prácticas esenciales de las escuelas democráticas: las asambleas de clase. Además de presentar qué son las asambleas y cómo deben funcionar, se analiza su papel en tanto que instrumento de educación en valores y preparación para la ciudadanía.In order to answer the question in the title of this article, a journey was carried out, what made us, in first place, to define what is understood by democratic school, what are its main limitations and errors, and what are its possibilities as an instrument of social changes. The democratic school has distinguished itself as a locus of participation that has, however, frequently produced inequality and discrimination. In spite of that, democratic schools must be spaces for controversy and fight for democracy. In second place, the

Building a Society of Solidarity through Critical Pedagogy: Group Teaching as a Social and Democratic Tool

Science.gov (United States)

Nikolakaki, Maria

2012-01-01

Against the menacing shadow of neoliberalism, which promotes individualism and competition, the author illustrates in this paper the need for group teaching. Group teaching as a method of instruction and learning fosters community bonds, solidarity, and is more effective teaching. Group teaching is a democratic tool necessary for society to…

Democratic contract law

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hesselink, M.W.

2015-01-01

This article discusses the normative relationship between contract law and democracy. In particular, it argues that in order to be legitimate contract law needs to have a democratic basis. Private law is not different in this respect from public law. Thus, the first claim made in this article will

Consensual Character of Democratic Constitutional Principles and Human Rights

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Blahož, Josef

2013-01-01

Roč. 3, č. 1 (2013), s. 15-28 ISSN 1805-8396 Institutional support: RVO:68378122 Keywords : democratic consensus * fundamental democratic principle * legitimacy of state power Subject RIV: AG - Legal Sciences

THE PLACE OF POLITICAL PARTIES IN A DEMOCRATIC STATE, THROUGH THE GLASS OF CONSTITUTIONAL REVIEW

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Valentina BĂRBĂȚEANU

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Political parties are nowadays key actors in democratic societies, shaping social mentalities, creating and following ideologies, inducing common vision, establishing targets and ideals. Their main goal is gaining the political power by conquering the access to the highest levels of decision in the State. They are based on the freedom of association and, unlike other associations, they have a specific constitutional and legal position because they are defining and giving expression to the citizens' political will, in respect of the principles of democracy. Romanian Basic Law provides that political pluralism represents one of the supreme values of the Romanian State governed by the rule of law. In this context, the Constitutional Court has solved, over the years, various issues regarding the political parties. Authorities of constitutional jurisdiction in European countries have also been asked to express, one way or another, their opinion in connection with the activity of the political parties. Taking into consideration their importance for a healthy democratic system, the European Commission for Democracy through Law -Venice Commission has paid special attention to the complexity of aspects involved by the protection of democratic values.

Healthcare providers' perspectives on the social reintegration of patients after surgical fistula repair in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Science.gov (United States)

Young-Lin, Nichole; Namugunga, Esperance N; Lussy, Justin P; Benfield, Nerys

2015-08-01

To understand perspectives of local health providers on the social reintegration of patients who have undergone fistula repair in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. In a qualitative study, semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with patient-care professionals working with women with fistula at HEAL Africa Hospital (Goma) and Panzi Hospital (Bukavu) between June and August 2011. The interviews were transcribed and themes elicited through manual coding. Overall, 41 interviews were conducted. Successful surgical repair was reported to be the most important factor contributing to patients' ability to lead a normal life by all providers. Family acceptance-especially from the husband-was deemed crucial for reintegration by 39 (95%) providers, and 29 (71%) believed this acceptance was more important than the ability to work. Forty (98%) providers felt that, on the basis of African values, future childbearing was key for family acceptance. Because of poor access and the high cost of cesarean deliveries, 28 (68%) providers were concerned about fistula recurrence. Providers view postsurgical childbearing as crucial for social reintegration after fistula repair. However, cesarean deliveries are costly and often inaccessible. More work is needed to improve reproductive health access for women after fistula repair. Copyright © 2015 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

«…And still there are lights in front of us»: the reformatory demo-cratism of V. Korolenko

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Владимир Владимирович Блохин

2010-12-01

Full Text Available The article gives a seaway of the social political views of a well known Russian writer V. Korolenko. The author of the article proves that the political doctrine of Korolenko is very close to reformatory democratism of N.K. Mikhailovsky.

"Of, By, and For Are Not Merely Prepositions": Teaching and Learning Conflict Resolution for a Democratic, Global Citizenry

Science.gov (United States)

Wisler, Andria K.

2009-01-01

Universities that promote a liberal education through creative, cross-cultural curriculum nurture the goals of democracy and assist students in becoming "citizens of the world." Democratic education for social justice and global consciousness are necessary tools in the peaceful transformation of today's violent conflicts, which now…

Ethiopia: A Democratic Developmental State?

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Fesseha Mulu Gebremariam

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The ruling Ethiopia People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF in its notable second reform appraisal held in the aftermath of the 2005 national election concluded that the utmost priority of the government should be realizing fastest and sustainable economic growth that fairly benefits its citizens’ unless the very existence of the country wouldn’t be guaranteed. Given the history of poverty reduction in developing countries, particularly in Africa, EPRDF realized that it is unthinkable to eradicate poverty from Ethiopia adopting neo-liberalism. Above all, the miraculous economic transformation of the South East Asian countries like South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong has proved that there is another way to development, not just neo-liberalism. Accordingly, EPRDF, after examining South Korea’s and Taiwan’s history of economic development in particular where both countries have had a large section of rural population unlike Hong Kong and Singapore where both are urban, found ‘developmental state’ relevant to Ethiopia. However, unlike these countries which were originally under non-democratic regimes where their leaders fear the rural peasant and external aggression from their communist rivals, EPRDF has had a great support of rural and urban population with no imminent foreign threat(s, and decided to execute the ideology rather under the umbrella of democracy. Therefore, employing secondary sources, this desk study aims to analyze whether Ethiopia is a ‘democratic developmental state?’ And, concludes that given the practices of the government vis-a-vis the principles of democracy and developmental state, Ethiopia couldn’t be taken as best model for democratic developmental state, rather emerging developmental state.

The influence of democratic racism in nursing inquiry.

Science.gov (United States)

Hilario, Carla T; Browne, Annette J; McFadden, Alysha

2018-01-01

Neoliberal ideology and exclusionary policies based on racialized identities characterize the current contexts in North America and Western Europe. Nursing knowledge cannot be abstracted from social, political and historical contexts; the task of examining the influence of race and racial ideologies on disciplinary knowledge and inquiry therefore remains an important task. Contemporary analyses of the role and responsibility of the discipline in addressing race-based health and social inequities as a focus of nursing inquiry remain underdeveloped. In this article, we examine nursing's engagement with ideas about race and racism and explore the ways in which nursing knowledge and inquiry have been influenced by race-based ideological discourses. Drawing on Henry and Tator's framework of democratic racism, we consider how strategic discursive responses-the discourses of individualism, multiculturalism, colour-blindness, political correctness and denial-have been deployed within nursing knowledge and inquiry to reinforce the belief in an essentially fair and just society while avoiding the need to acknowledge the persistence of racist discourses and ideologies. Greater theoretical, conceptual and methodological clarity regarding race, racialization and related concepts in nursing inquiry is needed to address health and social inequities. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Democrats and republicans can be differentiated from their faces.

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Nicholas O Rule

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Individuals' faces communicate a great deal of information about them. Although some of this information tends to be perceptually obvious (such as race and sex, much of it is perceptually ambiguous, without clear or obvious visual cues. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Here we found that individuals' political affiliations could be accurately discerned from their faces. In Study 1, perceivers were able to accurately distinguish whether U.S. Senate candidates were either Democrats or Republicans based on photos of their faces. Study 2 showed that these effects extended to Democrat and Republican college students, based on their senior yearbook photos. Study 3 then showed that these judgments were related to differences in perceived traits among the Democrat and Republican faces. Republicans were perceived as more powerful than Democrats. Moreover, as individual targets were perceived to be more powerful, they were more likely to be perceived as Republicans by others. Similarly, as individual targets were perceived to be warmer, they were more likely to be perceived as Democrats. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: These data suggest that perceivers' beliefs about who is a Democrat and Republican may be based on perceptions of traits stereotypically associated with the two political parties and that, indeed, the guidance of these stereotypes may lead to categorizations of others' political affiliations at rates significantly more accurate than chance guessing.

The Media, Corruption and Democratic Accountability in Nigeria's ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Transparency and accountability are essential pillars of democratic government the world over. These virtues are significant in measuring the success or otherwise of any democratic system. Apart from the activities of anti-graft agencies in combating corruption in the society, the mass media are often looked upon as ...

Theorizing about conflicts in the social practice of the school

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Højholt, Charlotte; Kousholt, Dorte

to a child’s family life, a teacher’s competence, the social dynamics in the classroom etc. In psychological investigations of the problems such conflicts are seldom involved explicitly – investigations often focus on pupils’ individual behavior, deficits or shortcomings. In this way, you could say......The school as an institution for the education of future citizens is a central site for debate about how to develop a democratic society – and hence for social conflict. Many parties participate in making school what it is. On one hand the school connects these different parties in a shared...... that social problems - and disagreements about them - are displaced to individualized categories. In previous research we have discussed how such categorizations of individual children imply different ways of understanding them and different social conditions for the children in the classroom. We have...

Social Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lundgaard Andersen, Linda

2015-01-01

In social entrepreneurship, social innovation and human economy coexist with democratic governance and volunteerism in the development of new initiatives and responses to wicked welfare problems. Volunteerism in social entrepreneurship takes up a prominent position, leading to the birth of new...... organisational hybrid formats: social enterprises. Drawing upon a single case study of ‘the Bridge’, a typical Danish work integration social enterprise (WISE), it is shown how social enterprises act as ‘strong learning arenas’, opting for a number of high-profile and ‘popular’ objectives: to train and empower...... marginal citizens, to create sustainable enterprises in a new economy, to strengthen the local community, to renew welfare services and labour strategies, and to develop social enterprise and business models. Adding to these objectives we can include democracy and participation, and positioning...

Power Holders and Social Dynamics of Participatory Development and Reconstruction: Cases from the Democratic Republic of Congo

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kyamusugulwa, P.M.; Hilhorst, D.

2015-01-01

One of the challenges of participatory development and reconstruction programs is how and where to engage with power holders. This paper analyses the dynamics of power relations within a community-driven reconstruction program in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It shows that, in some

The advantage of democratic peer punishment in sustaining cooperation within groups

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pfattheicher, Stefan; Boehm, Robert; Kesberg, Rebekka

2018-01-01

(i.e., antisocial punishment) is possible. In the present work, we propose that a system of democratic peer punishment, that is, direct and equal participation of each individual in the punishment decision‐making process with punishment only executed when a majority has voted for its execution, can......In social dilemma situations, individuals benefit from uncooperative behavior while exploiting resources of the collective. One prominent solution to prevent uncooperative behavior and to increase cooperation is to establish a system of costly peer punishment, that is, the possibility for every...

Media Literacy: A Central Component of Democratic Citizenship

Science.gov (United States)

Burroughs, Susie; Brocato, Kay; Hopper, Peggy F.; Sanders, Angela

2009-01-01

Educators from Europe, Latin America, and the United States convened to explore issues inherent in democratic citizenship. Media literacy, a central component of democratic citizenship, was studied in depth. Data from the camp were examined for evidence of the participants' understandings of media literacy and how it might be taught. Results…

Educating for Participation: Democratic Life and Performative Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Radaelli, Eleonora

2015-01-01

A democratic life is a form of associated living that requires people to participate in a pluralistic dialogue in different spheres of the civic society: government, community, and work. Higher education classes have a leading role in preparing students for participation in a democratic society; however, more could be done, in particular focusing…

Why We Need to Question the Democratic Engagement of Adolescents in Europe

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Isolde De Groot

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Since the beginning of the 21st century, academics in various disciplines have stressed the need to address democratic deficits in Europe as well as lacunae in the citizenship development of European youth. In this article we explore the value of various types of democratic engagement for strengthening the democratic character of local and international communities throughout Europe. To this end, we present our democratic engagement typology and its derivation from empirical and conceptual research, and discuss several strengths and limitations of each type of engagement. We also explain the additive value of our typology in relation to existing engagement typologies, and conclude that in order to vitalize democratic communities, local and (international communities and institutions also need to cultivate a thick type of democratic engagement among European youth.

"'I Am Canada': Exploring Social Responsibility in Social Studies Using Young Adult Historical Fiction"

Science.gov (United States)

Horton, Todd A.

2014-01-01

This paper explores educating for democratic citizenship with a focus on the intersection between reading and values, specifically the nurturing of social responsibility. Using a pre-designed framework for teaching for social responsibility, excerpts from a young adult historical fiction series are used to consider learning possibilities in the…

Democratic Chaos: How Taiwanese Democracy Destabilized Cross-Strait Relations

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Newberry, David A

2005-01-01

Since 1988, democracy in Taiwan has evolved and developed a great deal. Experts argue whether this growth constitutes "democratic consolidation" but there is no contention of the idea that the ROC is more democratic now versus pre-1988...

Social News Sites as Democratic Media

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Szabo, András

This thesis presents an empirical analysis and normative theoretical evaluation of Reddit, a social news website, focusing on its coverage of the 2012 US presidential election campaign. It explores the site's structural features and organization, and evaluates its coverage by standards derived from...

The political context of social inequalities and health.

Science.gov (United States)

Navarro, V; Shi, L

2001-01-01

This analysis reflects on the importance of political parties, and the policies they implement when in government, in determining the level of equalities/inequalities in a society, the extent of the welfare state (including the level of health care coverage by the state), the employment/unemployment rate, and the level of population health. The study looks at the impact of the major political traditions in the advanced OECD countries during the golden years of capitalism (1945-1980)--social democratic, Christian democratic, liberal, and ex-fascist--in four areas: (1) the main determinants of income inequalities; (2) levels of public expenditures and health care benefits coverage; (3) public support of services to families; and (4) the level of population health as measured by infant mortality. The results indicate that political traditions more committed to redistributive policies (both economic and social) and full-employment policies, such as the social democratic parties, were generally more successful in improving the health of populations. The erroneous assumption of a conflict between social equity and economic efficiency is also discussed. The study aims at filling a void in the growing health and social inequalities literature, which rarely touches on the importance of political forces in influencing inequalities.

Constitutional Politics, Constitutional Texts and Democratic Variety in Central and Eastern Europe

OpenAIRE

Blokker, Paul

2008-01-01

In the paper, it is argued that democratization in Central and Eastern Europe involves important forms of differentiation of democracy, rather than merely convergence to a singular – liberal-democratic, constitutional - model. One way of taking up democratic differentiation in post-communist societies is by analysing the constitutional documents of the new democratic orders, and the constitutional politics leading to the foundational documents. In a first step, the paper analyses constitution...

Normalization of Racism through the Language of Democracy: the Case of the Slovenian Democratic Party

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ana Frank

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The article addresses the question of what kind of discursive strategies enable political parties the proliferation of racist and xenophobic ideas, in terms of a democratic society and within established politics. Theoretically, it is based on studies of racism, populism and the radical right. In the empirical part, elements of racism and (radical-right populism in the discourse of the Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS are analysed, with particular focus on the othering discourse. The discourse analysis includes interviews of party representatives and texts published on party’s websites. The SDS discourse analysis shows that the party articulates social problems through the use of nationalist, nativist and essentialist arguments, and proliferates and normalizes xenophobic and racist ideas by reproducing minorities and political opponents as threats to the Slovenian culture, values and lifestyle, as well as threats to the party itself.

Promoting democratic citizenship through non-formal adult education : the case of Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Milana, Marcella; Bern Jensen, Tore

Since the mid-90es the importance of strengthening democratic citizenship (DC) through learning activities has become an important aspect of European education policy. Accordingly, civic competences (CCs), "based on knowledge of social and political concepts and structures and a commitment...... activities organized by the non-formal adult education system in cooperation with national NGOs, which aim at promoting CCs among the out-of-school and unemployed population. The analysis will draw extensively on the Danish "folkeoplysning" research tradition, which provides a useful frame for interpreting...

[The contribution of persuasion social psychology to the retention of donors: the impact of labelling the previous donation].

Science.gov (United States)

Callé, N; Plainfossé, C; Georget, P; Sénémeaud, C; Rasonglès, P

2011-12-01

The supply of blood cell products requires from the National French Blood Institute (Établissement Français du Sang - EFS) to rely upon regular blood donors. Contact with donors, tailored to individuals as much as possible, helps them to donate on a regular basis. Within the context of a research program conducted with the Psychology Department of the Université de Caen Basse-Normandie, persuasive theoretical models from social psychology have been tested. These models allow adapting messages according to the motivation of donors. The content is centred on the previous donation, differently labelled according to two types of labelling: functional labelling and social labelling. Functional labelling points out the efficiency of what "has been done" (the previous blood donation), whereas social labelling emphasizes the social value of the individual. Different types of mailing invitations have been sent to 1917 donors from the Normandy database, invited to three different blood collections. Every experimental letter worked better than the standard EFS letter (which was used as the "control" letter) in terms of effective blood donation after reception of the letter. Some of the letters are more efficient in motivating donors than other ones. The letters labelling the previous blood donation as functional (efficiency of the donation) appeared more efficient than those with social label (social value) in whichever motivation induced. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Social costs of transition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pavlović Dušan

2006-01-01

Full Text Available The risk of political and economic transformation in Central and East Europe after 1990 was based on the presumption that the reforms will collapse when the citizens realize that the cost they have to pay for them is too high. The classical claim was that democracy will be destroyed by democratic means-namely, that the losers in the transition will vote the way back to the authoritarian regime. The article offers an explanation as to the regress to the authoritarian regime will not be a consequence of the economic reforms. The article is divided in six section. Section 1 considers the general context of the start of the economic transformation in the light of the debate about the choice between the expert government and the significance of democratic procedures for economic reforms. Section 2 defines the context of Serbia within which economic transformation started out after 2000. Sections 4-5 consider economic policy of the two post-Milosevic government. The major finding is that it was the economic policy that was highly socially sensible that prevented social uprising and undermining democracy by democratic means. Section 6 concludes by applying the concept of equilibrium of partial reforms.

The social context of severe child malnutrition: a qualitative household case study from a rural area of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Science.gov (United States)

Kismul, Hallgeir; Hatløy, Anne; Andersen, Peter; Mapatano, Mala; Van den Broeck, Jan; Moland, Karen Marie

2015-05-19

The magnitude of child malnutrition including severe child malnutrition is especially high in the rural areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo (the DRC). The aim of this qualitative study is to describe the social context of malnutrition in a rural part of the DRC and explore how some households succeed in ensuring that their children are well-nourished while others do not. This study is based on participant observation, key informant interviews, group discussions and in-depth interviews with four households with malnourished children and four with well-nourished children. We apply social field theory to link individual child nutritional outcomes to processes at local level and to the wider socio-economic environment. We identified four social fields that have implications for food security and child nutritional outcomes: 1) household size and composition which determined vulnerability to child malnutrition, 2) inter-household cooperation in the form of 'gbisa work party' which buffered scarcity of labour in peak seasons and facilitated capital accumulation, 3) the village associated with usufruct rights to land, and 4) the local NGO providing access to agricultural support, clean drinking water and health care. Households that participated in inter-household cooperation were able to improve food and nutrition security. Children living in households with high pressure on productive members were at danger of food insecurity and malnutrition. Nutrition interventions need to involve local institutions for inter-household cooperation and address the problem of social inequalities in service provision. They should have special focus on households with few resources in the form of land, labour and capital.

The effects of social isolation on steroid hormone levels are modulated by previous social status and context in a cichlid fish.

Science.gov (United States)

Galhardo, L; Oliveira, R F

2014-01-01

Social isolation is a major stressor which impacts the physiology, behaviour and health of individuals in gregarious species. However, depending on conditional and contextual factors, such as social status and group composition, social isolation may be perceived differently by different individuals or even by the same individuals at different times. Here we tested the effects of social status (territorial vs. non-territorial) and previous group composition (i.e. type of social group: mixed sex group with two territorial males, TT vs. mixed sex group with one territorial and one non-territorial male, TnT) on the hormonal response (androgens and cortisol) to social isolation in a cichlid fish (Oreochromis mossambicus). The different steroid hormones measured responded differentially to social isolation, and their response was modulated by social factors. Social isolation elicited a decrease of 11-keto formation only in territorial males, whereas non-territorial males present a non-significant trend for increasing KT levels. Testosterone did not respond to social isolation. Cortisol only increased in isolated individuals from TnT groups irrespective of social status (i.e. both in territorials and non-territorials). These results suggest that it is the perception of social isolation and not the objective structure of the situation that triggers the hormonal response to isolation. © 2013.

Bridging Social Capital in Online Communities: Heterogeneity and Social Tolerance of Online Game Players in Japan

Science.gov (United States)

Kobayashi, Tetsuro

2010-01-01

This article examines the democratic potential of online communities by investigating the influence of network heterogeneity on social tolerance in an online gaming environment. Online game communities are potential sources of bridging social capital because they tend to be relatively heterogeneous. Causal analyses are conducted using structural…

Public Policies – Embodiments of Democratization Processes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dorina Ţicu

2011-08-01

Full Text Available Public policies are the most practical part of the triad polity-politics-policy. Public policies are related to the practical areas of planning, implementation and evaluation of the governmental activities. From this perspective, to talk about a perfect public policy (or which aspires to perfection means to speak about an efficient institutional system of a state as a sign of its degree of democratization. This article aims to explore “the cuisine” of democratic systems taking into account the applied perspective of public policy functionality, a type of functionality which is determined by a particular decision, by a kind of rationality or motivation of the actors involved or by a type of an organizational culture. Thus, the study of democracies involves an analytical approach developed at a micro level (the types of parties, institutional designs, election systems, public policies becoming indices of democratization for every state system.

Social science that matters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Flyvbjerg, Bent

2006-01-01

Social science is headed down a dead end toward mere scientism, becoming a second-rate version of the hard sciences. We neeed to recognise and support a different kind of social science research - and so should those who demand accountability from researchers. This paper asks what kind of social...... science we - scholars, policy makers, administrators - should and should not promote in democratic societies, and how we may hold social scientists accountable to deliver what we ask them for....

The Democratic Potential of Theatre Talks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Louise Ejgod

2014-01-01

approach to a target-oriented approach to audience development in which the content of the performance should be matched with certain audience segments. And fourth, the article points to an outcome of the experience related to the challenging of one own view point and thus expanding ones horizon....... of democratization of culture and the democracy theory by James S. Fishkin. The analysis is based on the empirical material of 31 theatre talks carried through as a part of an audience development project and is focused on four different aspects of the democratic potential of theatre: First, how the theatre talks...

Assessing Political Dynamics in Contemporary Malaysia: Implications for Democratic Change

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Surain Subramaniam

2012-01-01

Full Text Available This article examines political dynamics in Malaysia and assesses the prospects for change in the direction of greater political liberalization. It focuses on the 12th General Election of 2008 and its implications for opportunities and challenges for liberal democratic change in Malaysia. It discusses the role of the internet-based new media in shaping an emerging public sphere, and some factors affecting the changing role of non-Malay voters in the political process. This article argues that democratization in Malaysia is already occurring, albeit at a gradual pace; it is being pushed by the new political forces of civil society actors, newly empowered opposition parties, and the internet-based media. The boundaries of this emerging democratic space is simultaneously being shaped and contested by the political competition between status-quo and reformist forces in this society. Some institutional changes have expanded the parameters of democratic space, although the entrenched dominant institutions of the ruling regime continue to wield sufficient amounts of institutional capacity to subvert any consolidation of these democratic changes for now.

Ability Grouping in Social Studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Social Education, 1992

1992-01-01

Presents a position statement of the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS). Reports that the NCSS objects to ability grouping in social studies. Argues that ability grouping disadvantages minority, handicapped, and low ability students. Suggests that ability grouping undermines the democratic ideals that should be the basis of the social…

Public Politics and Democratic Administration: the way school board works with the Municipal Secretary of Education

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Celso Conti

2008-03-01

Full Text Available The great depth of changes in the capitalism system beginning in the middle of the twentieth century has produced a total new way of life, which encloses from social behavior patterns to the relationship between capital, employment and the State. International organisms have been created to organize the changing process in the Nations’ agenda around the world, including the educational area that begins to be understood as priority justifying the needs of a new social pact, which implies the participation of the whole society. In Brazil, the municipal, state and federal laws sanction the principle of “democratic administration”. What we need to verify, though, is how this principle has been put in practice. Hence, the text intends to analyze the school board performance within the education system of São Carlos/SP, identifying the participation possibilities of the community inside the school. For that, we used the statements given by the municipal school counselors, and, as a result we identified two important obstacles regarding the democratic inner workings of the school board: one related to parity and power sharing; and the other regarding the representation.

DEMOCRACIA, POLÍTICA SOCIAL E LUTA HEGEMÔNICA

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Maria del Carmen Cortizo

2015-01-01

Full Text Available This paper reports about the possibility of building social policies within a process that aims the democratic radicality that can be ensured through participatory processes, but also necessarily representative. Starting from the Gramscian conception that conceives democracy as part of the hegemonic struggle, considers that social policies can be the arena of contest between corporate projects (neoliberal project and democratic participatory project and that this dispute should happen in “participatory” space and “representative” space of the State and civil society. Democracy and participation are terms of an organic unity that takes place in the struggle for hegemony.

Rethinking democracy and representation: a proposal to extend the democratic canon

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Alejandro Monsiváis Carrillo

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Rethinking political representation is necessary to understand many contemporary democratic challenges. However, a widely accepted view states that democracy and representation are two irreconcilable principles, thus hindering the theoretical assessment of political representation's democratic relevance. According to this view, what democracy needs is more popular participation; instead, representation involves elitism and political detachment. In this paper I will argue that such a view is inaccurate. Through the reconstruction of the democratic ideal, and the discussion of the concept of political representation, I intend to show that processes of political authorization, accountability and public justification are both elements of political representation and expression of democratic politics.

Internet Backbone in the Democratic Republic of Congo : Feasibility ...

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

Internet Backbone in the Democratic Republic of Congo : Feasibility Study and Advocacy. During 7-10 February 2005, representatives of five francophone African countries (Cameroon, Morocco, Niger, Sénégal, and the Democratic Republic of Congo - DRC) met to consider ways and means of galvanizing the appropriation ...

Finding Autonomy in Activity: Development and Validation of a Democratic Classroom Survey

Science.gov (United States)

Hur, Eun Hye; Glassman, Michael; Kim, Yunhwan

2013-01-01

This paper developed a Democratic Classroom Survey to measure students' perceived democratic environment of the classroom. Perceived democratic environment is one of the most important variables for understanding classroom activity and indeed any type of group activity, but actually measuring perceptions in an objective manner has been…

Learning Democratic Global Governance.

Science.gov (United States)

Haavelsrud, Magnus

1996-01-01

Outlines a model process of developing knowledge from within different groups and cultures to allow more equitable participation of all world societies in the definition of global governance. Reviews concepts relevant to education's contributions toward learning and creating democratic global governance. Discusses the educational utility of…

Nuclear Information Democratization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Savić, Dobrica

2013-01-01

Nuclear information (Nl) interests people for many reasons, with energy supply, safety, and security being at the top of the list. Democratizing nuclear information has its roots in the growth of a knowledge-based economy, the knowledge worker as a user of nuclear information, developments in information and communication technologies (ICT), and the impact of internet growth. Results of democratization are apparent in the process of information creation, in how nuclear information is distributed and accessed, and in the conditions for using the information found. The International Nuclear Information System (INIS) both reflects and contributes to these trends. Nuclear information falls under the overall umbrella of scientific and technical information (STI). It is highly specialized, but it follows general principles and trends of STI. The world of STI has its own culture and its own long-established rules of use and existence. These have brought us many inventions and improvements, introduced important technological changes, and made our lives and work much easier and more pleasurable. However, the world is constantly changing, and the traditional closed STI environment, including the world of nuclear information, is not keeping up with today’s changes. (author)

Optical network democratization.

Science.gov (United States)

Nejabati, Reza; Peng, Shuping; Simeonidou, Dimitra

2016-03-06

The current Internet infrastructure is not able to support independent evolution and innovation at physical and network layer functionalities, protocols and services, while at same time supporting the increasing bandwidth demands of evolving and heterogeneous applications. This paper addresses this problem by proposing a completely democratized optical network infrastructure. It introduces the novel concepts of the optical white box and bare metal optical switch as key technology enablers for democratizing optical networks. These are programmable optical switches whose hardware is loosely connected internally and is completely separated from their control software. To alleviate their complexity, a multi-dimensional abstraction mechanism using software-defined network technology is proposed. It creates a universal model of the proposed switches without exposing their technological details. It also enables a conventional network programmer to develop network applications for control of the optical network without specific technical knowledge of the physical layer. Furthermore, a novel optical network virtualization mechanism is proposed, enabling the composition and operation of multiple coexisting and application-specific virtual optical networks sharing the same physical infrastructure. Finally, the optical white box and the abstraction mechanism are experimentally evaluated, while the virtualization mechanism is evaluated with simulation. © 2016 The Author(s).

Civic education and religious education in the function of democratization of education in the Republic of Serbia

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Klemenović Jasmina

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Starting from the socio-political context of changes that have affected the education systems of Eastern European countries, the authors summarize the specific nature of the process of democratization of education in Europe at the turn of the century. The paper analyzes the purpose of democratization of education and of introduction of Civic Education and Religious Education classes in the education system of the Republic of Serbia, observing the idea that education may serve as a generator of social changes, and stating that school is an important support pillar in promoting and accepting the values of the community, as well as in personal growth and the development of every individual. The presented theoretical concepts are supported by the summary of results of empirical studies that have been focused on the analysis of the pedagogical aspects of the implementation of teaching these subjects at the secondary level of education from the perspective of teachers, pupils and parents. Based on the insight into the topic, the authors suggest searching for a “common tangent” in Civic Education and Religious Education teaching process via an open and tolerant dialogue of participants of both subjects, which would enable the exchange of experiences, attitudes, and opinions of pupils, as well as coinciding and permeating of spiritual and democratic values as a foundation for further democratization of school in general. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 179036: Pedagogical Pluralism as the Basis for Education Policy

Studies of crustal structure, seismic precursors to volcanic eruptions and earthquake hazard in the eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Mavonga, T

2010-11-01

Full Text Available In recent decades, civil wars in the eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo have caused massive social disruptions, which have been exacerbated by volcanic and earthquake disasters. Seismic data were gathered and analysed as part...

Social Enterprise and Social Innovation in Danish kindergartens

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Løvstad, Charlotte Vange; Larsen, Astrid Kidde

innovation in a daily basis. The interviews where all conducted in groups of minimum two members of staff in the kindergartens. The key concepts for developing the interview-guide and examining the research question are based upon literature on social enterprise (EMES) and social economy (Hulgård......-reflection related to social economy, social enterprise and social innovation, whereas the empirical material also shows awareness and articulation of skills and competences, theoretical methods and educational ideals. Conditions of possibility shown in the empirical data invites to a next step where researchers...... and staff cooperate (Moulaert) to exploit the potentials for change in both discursive and the social practice in the institutions (Fairclough). Change that might lead to processes of social innovation, explicate democratic participation and elements of social economy in the social practice...

Political Corruption, Democratic Theory, and Democracy

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Doron Navot

2014-09-01

Full Text Available According to recent conceptual proposals, institutional corruption should be understood within the boundaries of the institution and its purpose. Political corruption in democracies, prominent scholars suggest, is characterized by the violation of institutional ideals or behaviors that tend to harm democratic processes and institutions. This paper rejects the idea that compromises, preferences, political agreements, or consent can be the baseline of conceptualization of political corruption. In order to improve the identification of abuse of power, the concept of political corruption should not be related directly to democratic institutions and processes; rather, it should be related to ideals whose content is independent of citizens’ preferences, institutions and processes. More specifically, I articulate the relations between political corruption and the notion of subjection, and include powerful citizens in the category of political corruption. Yet, I also suggest redefining under what conditions agents are culpable for their motivations in promoting private gain. By doing this, we better realize how democratic institutions can be the source of corruption and not just its victims. Such a redefinition, I propose finally, is the basis for the distinction between individual and institutional corruption.

In Defense of Critical Democratic Pedagogy

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Tracey Isaacs

2018-04-01

Full Text Available A powerful positivist and neoliberal ideology in education masquerades more or less unharmed as the meritocratic myth promised under the cloak of democracy. Yet some students and teachers are beginning to interrogate the success-only orientations of neoliberalism in the face of crumbling school systems where many students fail. These students and teachers are not oblivious to the stark realities that characterize their daily existence, as they live under a dark cloud of mass unemployment and inequality where many struggle to “succeed”. Additionally, trained consciousness reveals the pockmarked version of democracy that admits only a few and is attendant with an authoritarian, disciplinary practice that breeds resistance towards education rather than the envisioned freedom it is purported to usher in. These inconsistent positions as an experience of education, by especially marginal students, is intensifying within a neoliberal discourse and invites the intense consideration of the place of critical democratic pedagogy as a more appropriate approach toward democratic teaching and learning practices. Within this context, I explore the theoretical and practical dimensions of critical pedagogy to provide an expanded view of teaching and learning in post-democratic South African education.

Democratic design experiments: between parliament and laboratory

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Binder, Thomas; Brandt, Eva; Ehn, Pelle

2015-01-01

For more than four decades participatory design has provided exemplars and concepts for understanding the democratic potential of design participation. Despite important impacts on design methodology participatory design has however been stuck in a marginal position as it has wrestled with what has...... been performed and accomplished in participatory practices. In this article we discuss how participatory design may be reinvigorated as a design research programme for democratic design experiments in the light of the de-centring of human-centredness and the foregrounding of collaborative...

Right to resistance in the context of democratic processes

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К. О. Павшук

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Problem setting. Right to resistance and especially right to rebellion should be considered as an element of constitutional order’s ensuring. It means the right of some Ukrainian citizen to realize civil disobedience as a resistance and a rebellion as to one kind of it. Rebellion against the power is the result of absence of stage-by-stage mutual discussion and consensus between power and people. It means that the absence of past democratic practices could be the reason of power usurpation and human rights violations. Recent research and publications analysis. Right of people to resistance and rebellion was considered by numerous scientists in the spheres of constitutional right, of political science and legal theory of past and modern times. Among them it could be named J. Lock, V.V. Rechitskij, S.Pogrebnjak etc. Paper objective. The main aim of the article is to find out the essence of the right to resistance and rebellion as an element of constitutional order’s ensuring, to review reasons of it, its forms and their realizations in a modern democratic state. Paper main body. In the article it is considered the direct and indirect form of the right’s realization. Directly the right to resistance takes is executed in the case of violations by bodies of a state power or in the case of citizen’s disagreement with their activity by means of unarmed meetings, campaigns and demonstrations, strikes for protection of their economic and social interests. One of the most democratic methods of resistance that has indirect character is a nationwide referendum against the solutions of a parliament. The alternative forms of resistance are civil hearings and people’s legislative initiatives, “people’s veto”, which can decrease the probability of a conflict aggravation.   Conclusions. Only participation of each citizen in the process of state rule should to prevent human and civil rights violations, abuses of state authority that can have as

The national education plan as articulator of the democratization of access to university and empowerment of the working class

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Hildegard Susana Jung

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this essay, theoretical and documental, is to reflect on the concept(s of empowerment of the working class, in which it invests itself in power, but with an important caveat: this process cannot be individual but collective, through the cooperative dialogue, in which education – especially higher education – is the great protagonist, as articulator of the process. On this track, shows a comparison between the National Education Plan (PNE 2001-2010 and the PNE 2014-2024 regarding the goals aimed to the democratization of the access to university, finding that, in this moment, what can be affirmed in fact is that there were not many advances in Higher Education. Still, the PNE is an important legal instrument for the democratization of access to university, which may serve as an articulator of the empowerment of the working class. Rethinking education means rethinking the entire State, since education policy suffers injunctions of political, economic and social spheres. Enhancing the Brazilian State, means moving towards a broader concept, which will translate a correlation of forces between civil society and politics, which means a greater social participation, increased democratization of access to university and consequently, greater empowerment of the working class through (why not? Higher Education. Therefore, it lies the important role of the academy to prepare educators who disseminate the reflexive practice, which will lead to autonomy and emancipation.

Self-esteem, authoritarianism, and democratic values in the face of threat.

Science.gov (United States)

Shaffer, Barbara A; Hastings, Brad M

2004-08-01

This study investigated the associations among terrorist threat, right-wing authoritarianism, self-esteem, and their relations in support for democratic values. Students (n = 140) completed Altemeyer's Right-Wing Authoritarianism Scale, Rosenberg's Self-esteem Scale, and the Democratic Values Scale. The participants also read an editorial regarding the events of 9/11/01 and completed two mortality-salience questions to induce a sense of threat. Results showed that self-esteem was a significant contributor to the prediction of scores on the Democratic Values Scale. Furthermore, the interaction between self-esteem and right-wing authoritarianism explained significant variance in the Democratic Values Scale scores. The results are interpreted in light of theories addressing authoritarianism and self-esteem.

Democratic Schooling in Norway: Implications for Leadership in Practice

Science.gov (United States)

Moller, Jorunn

2006-01-01

This article explores the meaning of an education based on democratic values and the implications for school leadership in practice. Based on findings from a case study in a Norwegian upper secondary school, the study describes democratic school leadership in practice, with particular attention to the distribution of power and leadership in the…

Social Politics: Social Media as a public sphere for Jamaican University Students

OpenAIRE

Clarke, Kevin

2016-01-01

The growth of social media use in Jamaica has changed how people communicate with each other and how they participate in the democratic process. To date, minimal research has been done to ascertain the relationship between social media use and the political process, specifically with younger members of the population. Through a survey and focus group interviews, this dissertation seeks to identify whether Jamaican university students are using social media to participate in the political proc...

Social accountability for maternal health services in Muanda and Bolenge Health Zones, Democratic Republic of Congo: a situation analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Mafuta, Eric M; Dieleman, Marjolein A; Hogema, Lisanne M; Khomba, Paul N; Zioko, François M; Kayembe, Patrick K; de Cock Buning, Tjard; Mambu, Thérèse N M

2015-11-23

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is one of the countries in Sub-Saharan Africa with the highest maternal mortality ratio estimated at 846 deaths per 100,000 live births. Innovative strategies such as social accountability are needed to improve both health service delivery and utilization. Indeed, social accountability is a form of citizen engagement defined as the 'extent and capability of citizens to hold politicians, policy makers and providers accountable and make them responsive to their needs.' This study explores existing social accountability mechanisms through which women's concerns are expressed and responded to by health providers in local settings. An exploratory study was conducted in two health zones with purposively sampled respondents including twenty-five women, five men, five health providers, two health zone officers and eleven community stakeholders. Data on women's voice and oversight and health providers' responsiveness were collected using semi-structured interviews and analysed using thematic analysis. In the two health zones, women rarely voiced their concerns and expectations about health services. This reluctance was due to: the absence of procedures to express them, to the lack of knowledge thereof, fear of reprisals, of being misunderstood as well as factors such as age-related power, ethnicity backgrounds, and women's status. The means most often mentioned by women for expressing their concerns were as individuals rather than as a collective. They did not use them instead; instead they looked to intermediaries, mostly, trusted health providers, community health workers and local leaders. Their perceptions of health providers' responsiveness varied. For women, there were no mechanisms for oversight in place. Individual discontent with malpractice was not shown to health providers. In contrast, health providers mentioned community health workers, health committee, and community based organizations as formal oversight mechanisms. All

Why We Need to Question the Democratic Engagement of Adolescents in Europe

Science.gov (United States)

de Groot, Isolde; Veugelers, Wiel

2015-01-01

Since the beginning of the 21st century, academics in various disciplines have stressed the need to address democratic deficits in Europe as well as lacunae in the citizenship development of European youth. In this article we explore the value of various types of democratic engagement for strengthening the democratic character of local and…

Peoples Democratic Party in the Fourth Republic of Nigeria

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Aliyu Mukhtar Katsina

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Their nature and functions make political parties central to democratic governance especially in the new democracies of Africa that face the challenge of building strong and enduring democratic institutions. It is accepted that the existing trend in most of these democracies of one big party dominating the political space weakens democracy and undermines its prospects for consolidation. Big parties—usually the ruling ones—exhibit tendencies such as absence of internal democracy that are antithetical to democratic governance. While observations such as these are incontestable, there is little understanding into the nature, character, ideology, and internal structure of big parties generally. In this article, I attempt to address this concern. Specifically, I examine the nature, structure, and ideology of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP, Nigeria’s ruling party at the federal level with considerable strength at local level between 1999 and 2015. Relying on data obtained from multiple sources, I investigate the process of its formation, the nature of its ideology, internal organization, its electoral strength, and how absence of internal democracy contributed significantly to its defeat in 2015 general elections.

Adult education for democratic citizenship in Europe

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Milana, Marcella

2009-01-01

In 2001 a new emphasis on learning for democratic citizenship has been championed by the European Commission's Communication on Making a European area of lifelong learning a reality.  The communication recognizes active citizenship as one of the four "broad and mutually supporting objectives....... The article introduces the core principles of a European study aiming at investigating, from a comparative perspective, ways in which adults can achieve competencies relevant for democratic citizenship. Furthermore it presents and discusses selected findings. The findings suggest that, in spite of the shift...

Reconceiving barriers for democratic health education in Danish schools

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Danielsen, Dina; Bruselius-Jensen, Maria; Laitch, Daniel

2017-01-01

Health promotion and education researchers and practitioners advocate for more democratic approaches to school-based health education, including participatory teaching methods and the promotion of a broad and positive concept of health and health knowledge, including aspects of the German...... educational concept of bildung. Although Denmark, from where the data of this article are derived, has instituted policies for such approaches, their implementation in practice faces challenges. Adopting a symbolic interactionist analytical framework this paper explores and defines two powerful institutional...... rationales connected to formal and informal social processes and institutional purposes of schools, namely conservatism and Neoliberalism. It is empirically described and argued how these institutional rationales discourage teachers and students from including a broad and positive concept of health...

The Paradox of Middle-Class Attitudes in China: Democracy, Social Stability, and Reform

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Ying Miao

2016-01-01

Full Text Available This article explores the seemingly paradoxical attitudes of the Chinese middle class towards democracy, social stability, and reform. Using fieldwork data from Ningbo, this article shows that a group of objective, middle-class individuals can concurrently display high levels of support for democratic principles and low levels of participation in real-life socio-political events. Being generally confident in China’s social stability, these individuals have little to no desire for significant democratic reform, or indeed any reform that occurs outside the purview of the state, as it is considered destabilising. By highlighting the distinction between how these members of the middle class respond to generic democratic concepts, real-life socio-political affairs, and the idea of democratic reform, this article argues that the Chinese middle class are aware of what “should be,” what “could be,” and what “is,” which lends their socio-political attitudes a paradoxical appearance.

Creating sustainable city by enhancing social capital

Science.gov (United States)

Affandi, R. A.; Mursitama, T. N.

2018-03-01

Scholars have been discussing social capital since the last two decades. They analyzed from various perspectives such as sociology, education, political participation, strengthening democratic values and economic empowerment of the society. However, study related to the implementation that benefits directly to the society is needed. This study examines how to create a sustainable city by enhancing social capital from both macro and micro analyses. This combination of analysis offers deeper understanding both from decision makers at city level and individuals, groups and society. We will conduct qualitative approach mainly by interviews and direct observation to collect the data. also, we also analyze publicly available data. Finally, this study contributes to new understanding in creating a sustainable city, not only about the environment and physical aspects, but also about ensuring political economic, democratic values, and social welfare.

DELIBERATIVE DEMOCRACY IN THE CONTEXT OF THE PROBLEMS OF DEMOCRATIC LEGITIMACY

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M. S. Zakharchenko

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The purpose. The article presents deep analyzes of legitimacy and the basics of the process of legitimization in democratic societies. The subject of article is to provide an understanding of deliberative democracy as the answer to the discussion about the essence of democratic legitimacy. The core element of deliberative democracy is a theory of discursive legitimating. Methodology. Taking into account Bourdieu’s theory about symbolic power author explains the processes of legitimization as well as the processes of institute’s delegitimization. Author points out that the form of bureaucratic institutes in the late capitalism may cause the delegitimazation of their power. Another problem of democratic legitimacy is the confusion of the voting as procedure of decision making and voting as legitimate principle. Addressing the theory of Pierre Rosanvallon author explains how the way of decision making mistakenly is taken as the core point of democratic legitimacy. Scientific novelty of received results consists of the approach of deliberative democracy in the light of the problems of democratic legitimacy. Conclusions. The author demonstrates that discursive legitimacy as the main idea of deliberative democracy may clarify the misconception of democratic legitimacy. It is not enough to explain the legitimating power of the state as based on the assumption of legal norms and moral principles. It is discursive principle that activates the legitimacy power of state decisions.

Freedom of Speech and Democratization in the New Latin American Constitucionalism: The Communitary Radios in Ecuador's Media Law

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Marta Thais Leite dos Santos

2017-02-01

Full Text Available This article, through bibliographic and documental research, studies the new law of Media in Equator, in the context of the new latin american constitucionalism, into the perspective of community radios, zas popular communication media which promote citizenship and social mobilization. The communication media democratization also goes through the concretization of the freedom of expression as a participation right.

Red Brain, Blue Brain: Evaluative Processes Differ in Democrats and Republicans

Science.gov (United States)

Schreiber, Darren; Fonzo, Greg; Simmons, Alan N.; Dawes, Christopher T.; Flagan, Taru; Fowler, James H.; Paulus, Martin P.

2013-01-01

Liberals and conservatives exhibit different cognitive styles and converging lines of evidence suggest that biology influences differences in their political attitudes and beliefs. In particular, a recent study of young adults suggests that liberals and conservatives have significantly different brain structure, with liberals showing increased gray matter volume in the anterior cingulate cortex, and conservatives showing increased gray matter volume in the in the amygdala. Here, we explore differences in brain function in liberals and conservatives by matching publicly-available voter records to 82 subjects who performed a risk-taking task during functional imaging. Although the risk-taking behavior of Democrats (liberals) and Republicans (conservatives) did not differ, their brain activity did. Democrats showed significantly greater activity in the left insula, while Republicans showed significantly greater activity in the right amygdala. In fact, a two parameter model of partisanship based on amygdala and insula activations yields a better fitting model of partisanship than a well-established model based on parental socialization of party identification long thought to be one of the core findings of political science. These results suggest that liberals and conservatives engage different cognitive processes when they think about risk, and they support recent evidence that conservatives show greater sensitivity to threatening stimuli. PMID:23418419

Democratization or asymmetry of representation: notes on State Councils for Food and Nutrition Safety

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Joana Tereza Vaz de Moura

2010-05-01

Full Text Available Councils are a key institutional innovation within the Brazilian post-1988 constitutional framework. They are structured so as to include representatives of civil society and the State within the same arena. The aim of this article is to engage in critical discussion on the representation of social organizations within these arenas. Our hypothesis suggests that representatives often distance themselves so much from their social base that they actually become a sort of elite. Thus, we raise the issue of whether the formal democratic structure and mechanisms that these councils incorporate are enough to guarantee a diversity of representatives and representational practices, or if, through the social and political resources that representatives hold, gaps between constituents’ demands and representatives’ actions re-emerge, notwithstanding the normative precepts of equality that the councils themselves advocate. Keywords: councils, elites, representation.

Democratic elements in group and project organized PBL

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Qvist, Palle

2006-01-01

beyond it to the school and the community” (Marris, 2003:274) then implementing democratic learning systems as The Aalborg Model are important for supporting and promote democratic bildung of students in higher education. This article defines at a – start - what should be understood by a democratic......, run processes and decide behaviour. It is what a pilot investigation referred in this article indicate. The meaning of this seems to be far behind the study itself and qualifications of the students to the labour marked. If it is true that ”the building of community begins in the classroom but extends...... learning system. It contrasts it to an authoritarian or elitist systems. Then it brings the results from an investigation of 9 process analyses’ written at the end of the second semester 2005 by project groups from The Technical Natural Scientific Basic Year at Aalborg University and concludes...

The Potential Perils of Praise in a Democratic Interactive Classroom.

Science.gov (United States)

Larrivee, Barbara

2002-01-01

Teacher praise can undermine the development of fundamental democratic values. This article presents styles of teacher talk in line with the principles and goals of democratic leadership and interactive teaching. Advocated discourse patterns encourage self-evaluation and self-reflection, enabling students to develop standards for judging their own…

Exposure to the American flag polarizes democratic-republican ideologies.

Science.gov (United States)

Chan, Eugene Y

2017-12-01

Some prior research has suggested that exposure to the American flag tilts Americans towards Republicanism, while others have proffered that it brings outs a common 'together' perspective instead. We explore a third possibility - that it may actually polarize Americans' political ideology. It is generally accepted that exposure to an environmental cue can shift attitudes and behaviours, at least partly or temporarily, in a manner that is consistent with that cue. Yet, the same cue can mean different things to different people. In the same vein, given how national identity and political ideology are intertwined in the United States, we hypothesize that the American flag should heighten different political beliefs depending on individuals' political ideology. To Democrats, being American is to support Democratic values, but to Republicans, being American is to support Republican values. The American flag thus should heighten Democrats of their Democratic identity, and it should heighten Republicans of their Republican one. The results of an experiment with 752 American respondents who were representative of the US population supported this polarizing effect of the American flag. The theoretical and policy implications of the findings are offered. © 2017 The British Psychological Society.

Is maternal education a social vaccine for childhood malaria infection? A cross-sectional study from war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo.

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Cary; Claude, Kasereka Masumbuko; Kibendelwa, Zacharie Tsongo; Brooks, Hannah; Zheng, Xiaonan; Hawkes, Michael

2017-03-01

In zones of violent conflict in the tropics, social disruption leads to elevated child mortality, of which malaria is the leading cause. Understanding the social determinants of malaria transmission may be helpful to optimize malaria control efforts. We conducted a cross-sectional study of healthy children aged 2 months to 5 years attending well-child and/or immunization visits in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Six hundred and forty-seven children were tested for malaria antigenemia by rapid diagnostic test and the accompanying parent or legal guardian simultaneously completed a survey questionnaire related to demographics, socioeconomic status, maternal education, as well as bednet use and recent febrile illness. We examined the associations between variables using multivariable logistic regression analysis, chi-squared statistic, Fisher's exact test, and Spearman's rank correlation, as appropriate. One hundred and twenty-three out of the 647 (19%) children in the study tested positive for malaria. Higher levels of maternal education were associated with a lower risk of malaria in their children. The prevalence of malaria in children of mothers with no education, primary school, and beyond primary was 41/138 (30%), 41/241 (17%), and 39/262 (15%), respectively (p = 0.001). In a multivariable logistic regression model adjusting for the effect of a child's age and study site, the following remained significant predictors of malaria antigenemia: maternal education, number of children under five per household, and HIV serostatus. Higher maternal education, through several putative causal pathways, was associated with lower malaria prevalence among children in the DRC. Our findings suggest that maternal education might be an effective 'social vaccine' against malaria in the DRC and globally.

Thinking Differently about Guidance: Power, Children's Autonomy and Democratic Environments

Science.gov (United States)

Millei, Zsuzsa

2012-01-01

This article critiques guidance approaches to discipline, that are employed in early childhood environments with an aim to create democratic environments for children, and as part of "good" practices. Advocates of guidance claim that this is a more humane or democratic approach to discipline that empowers children, and therefore, power…

Dream turns into a nightmare. The dilemma of a party of the people: The Social Democrats in the nuclear controversy. Der Traum wird zum Alptraum. Das Dilemma einer Volkspartei: Die SPD im Atomkonflikt

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Haeusler, J

1988-01-01

The book deals intensively with two interpretations of the nuclear controversy, their different approaches formulating two poles of conceivable criticism of the role of the political parties in the nuclear controversy: 1) Conservative interpretations nourish frustration over the stop of the nuclear power programme and put the blame exclusively on the political parties, so that their role appears dysfunctional in the process of technological process that is determined by the technical facts. 2) Materialistic analyses anticipate the smooth functioning of the nuclear power programme and forget about the political parties, so that their role in this approach appears to be irrelevant to the enforcement of capitalistic logics or of the interests of the nuclear power industry. An empirical criticism of the case opposes both approaches. Arguments against the one show that the political parties played a relevant role in the development of nuclear power technology in the F.R.G., and arguments against the other show that the parties' influence in the process was by no means dysfunctional. The concluding statement is that the blocking impact of the Social Democratic Party has been quite a functional one in the economic development of the nuclear power programme within the framework set by the 'Modell Deutschland'. The Social Democratic Party actually got hooked up in a dilemma in the wake of the nuclear controversy, and the book analyses the Party's current situation. (orig./HSCH).

Dream turns into a nightmare. The dilemma of a party of the people: The Social Democrats in the nuclear controversy. Der Traum wird zum Alptraum. Das Dilemma einer Volkspartei: Die SPD im Atomkonflikt

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Haeusler, J.

1988-01-01

The book deals intensively with two interpretations of the nuclear controversy, their different approaches formulating two poles of conceivable criticism of the role of the political parties in the nuclear controversy: 1) Conservative interpretations nourish frustration over the stop of the nuclear power programme and put the blame exclusively on the political parties, so that their role appears dysfunctional in the process of technological process that is determined by the technical facts. 2) Materialistic analyses anticipate the smooth functioning of the nuclear power programme and forget about the political parties, so that their role in this approach appears to be irrelevant to the enforcement of capitalistic logics or of the interests of the nuclear power industry. An empirical criticism of the case opposes both approaches. Arguments against the one show that the political parties played a relevant role in the development of nuclear power technology in the F.R.G., and arguments against the other show that the parties' influence in the process was by no means dysfunctional. The concluding statement is that the blocking impact of the Social Democratic Party has been quite a functional one in the economic development of the nuclear power programme within the framework set by the 'Modell Deutschland'. The Social Democratic Party actually got hooked up in a dilemma in the wake of the nuclear controversy, and the book analyses the Party's current situation. (orig./HSCH).

Authoritarianism and Intolerance Under Autocratic and Democratic Regimes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kris Dunn

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Based on findings indicating that authoritarians express greater intolerance in situations where diversity is more apparent, Stenner (2005 proposes that democracies may sabotage their stability by allowing the unbridled expression of societal pluralism. She therefore suggests that pluralism in democracies be suppressed in order to pacify authoritarians and the threat their unbridled intolerance may pose to the stability of these countries. Based on data from the World and European Values Surveys, I examined 75,478 individuals across 75 countries to determine if authoritarians are indeed more intolerant in more democratic societies; a key assumption upon which Stenner’s suggestion rests. While authoritarianism was more strongly and negatively related to tolerance in more democratic countries, authoritarians in more democratic countries were more tolerant than were authoritarians in more autocratic countries. I argue that Stenner’s concern may be valid if we strictly consider rapid pluralization within a single generation within consolidating democracies, but for established democracies, her concern appears unwarranted.

The Democratic Party of Córdoba before the November 1931 elections

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Desiree del Valle Osella

2015-04-01

Full Text Available The paper analyzes the Cordoba Democratic leaders's actions for orchestrating an electoral solution to the uriburista dictatorship, considering the results of the elections; strategy to integrate a national electoral antiyrigoyenista coalition (The National Democratic Party and the reaction that it brought about within the group. How ever the Democrats triumphed comfortably in the provincial and municipal elections; the PDN victory was not very pronounced. Integrating meant to PD coalition the defection of the leaders who saw in it the loss of the progressivism that characterized the Cordoba party

Adult education for democratic citizenship

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

The report presents, in brief, the findings from the study of research literature on Adult Education for Democratic Citizenship, which was carried out in the nine EU member states represented by the project: Austria, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Spain and United Kingdom...

A Developmental Model for Educational Planning: Democratic Rationalities and Dispositions

Science.gov (United States)

Hess, Michael; Johnson, Jerry; Reynolds, Sharon

2014-01-01

The Developmental Democratic Planning (DDP) model frames educational planning as a process that extends beyond the immediate focus of a particular planning effort to acknowledge and cultivate the potential of all members of the organization to fulfill their roles as active participants in the democratic life of the organization. The DDP model…

The Social Industry

OpenAIRE

Christian Sandvig

2015-01-01

Historical mass media and contemporary social media are typically seen as opposites. “The culture industry” was the term used by the Frankfurt School in the 1940s to explain the emerging commercial mass media. The culture industry was portrayed as a semi-fascist apparatus of indoctrination. It selected cultural products and made them popular based on obscure determinations of economic value. In contrast, the common view of contemporary social media is that it is more democratic. Using voting ...

Democratic Leadership Doesn't Just Happen

Science.gov (United States)

Hartman, Catherine L.

1977-01-01

The research cited and the inservice experiences with teachers described suggest that attitude screening criteria and a training program show promise for producing administrators and teachers with democratic leadership abilities. (Author/IRT)

The Refugee Crisis as a European Democratic Crisis

OpenAIRE

Chryssoula Kapartziani; Katerini Papathanasiou

2016-01-01

The institutional European Union is facing two types of crisis. On the one hand, it needs to manage the current refugee’s influx efficiently and on the other hand it needs to deal with the democratic deficit that emerged by Europe’s incapacity to make the required decisions and gain the justification of its actions from its own people. This article aims firstly to highlight the legal framework (rule of law) that governs the asylum and migration procedures as well as the democratic gap that th...

Electoral Violence and Democratization Process in Nigeria: A Reference of 2011 and 2015 General Elections

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lawrence I. EDET

2015-09-01

Full Text Available The general account of Nigeria’s post-independence electoral processes has always been characterized by violence. Nigeria’s 2015 general elections marked the fifth multi-party elections in the country and the second handover of civilian administrations since the inception of the Fourth Republic democratic experiment in 1999. This account cannot be analyzed without issues of electoral violence. Electoral violence had been a permanent feature of Nigeria’s democratic process, except 2015 general elections where the international observers described as a “significant improvement” over the previous elections in terms of violence related cases. Electoral related violence in the country particularly in 2011 got to an unprecedented dimension resulting in destruction of lives and property worth millions of naira. This paper expatiates on electoral violence and its general implications on the democratization process in the country, with major emphasis on the 2011 and 2015 general elections. The paper argued that the high incidence of pre and post electoral violence in the country within the periods has to do with the way Nigerian politicians regard politics, weak political institutions and weak electoral management body as well as bias nature of the security agencies, etc. However, the paper examined the general implications of electoral violence on democratization process and how the country can handle the electoral process to avoid threats associated with the electoral violence. Archival analysis, which widely extracted data from newspapers, journals, workshop papers, books, as well as publications of non-governmental organizations was adopted for the study. The major significance of this study is to expose the negative implications associated with electoral violence and how it can be curbed. The position canvassed in this paper will serve as a useful political literature for political leaders, policy makers and the general reading public who

Desigualdad económica y bienestar: tres modelos de justicia social

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Borja Barragué Calvo

2011-06-01

ABSTRACT The economic crisis that began in 2007 has meant that both the unemployment rate and the percentage of people living below the poverty line in Spain rose to 20 percent. During the past fifteen years Spain has needed substantial rates of economic growth to maintain the proportion of poor people close to 20%; it is highly probable that the current situation significantly increases that proportion. The paper aims to contribute to the analysis of the libertarian and social democratic models of social justice, after the Keynesian critique of classical economics. The article argues that libertarianism does not promote any conception of distributive justice, and that social democratic model of social justice does not work in the context of globalization, so concludes with the proposal of two asset-based welfare policies

The association between posttraumatic stress symptoms and functional impairment during ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Science.gov (United States)

Veling, Wim; Hall, Brian J; Joosse, Petra

2013-03-01

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has suffered from a bloody conflict for more than a decade. More than 5,400,000 people died from war-related causes since 1998 and exposure to violence was wide-spread. This study investigated the impact of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms on perceived health and physical and social functioning, filling an important gap in the current literature. Data were collected from a sample of 93 adults living in Bunia, Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Structured in-person interviews included the PTSD section of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview and the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Scale. Additional questions were included to assess social resources. Study recruitment was balanced to achieve equal representation of both sexes and each quarter of town. Forty percent met symptom criteria for probable PTSD. Individuals with PTSD reported poor perceived general health and had high disability scores compared to those without PTSD. Of the three PTSD symptom clusters, hyperarousal was most strongly associated with disability. Individuals with PTSD were significantly more emotionally affected by their health problems than those without PTSD (85% versus 41%), had more difficulties in activities involving social contact (54% versus 16%) and in doing their daily work (54% versus 20%). The impact of war-related violence on mental health is severe in the DRC. Psychosocial interventions developed in conflict areas might be best targeted primarily to supporting social functioning and reducing hyperarousal. Implications for clinical treatment and future directions are discussed. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The social policies of Lula's administration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Hermínia Tavares de Almeida

Full Text Available The article focuses on the initiatives taken by the Lula administration regarding social policies. To begin with, we describe the social reform process implemented by the governments that followed the redemocratization of Brazil. Then, we examine some indices showing the evolution of social conditions due to social policies practiced during the democratic period. Finally, we analyze the views about the social question predominant in the PT government, as well as the most appropriate policies to tackle such a question. We also discuss the present government's proposals and initiatives regarding the social area.

Democratic Leadership Theory in Late Modernity: An Oxymoron or Ironic Possibility?

Science.gov (United States)

Starrat, Robert J.

2001-01-01

Discuses five premises for a qualified theory of democratic leadership. Discusses the essential characteristics of American pragmatism, especially that of John Dewey. Describes concept of constructivism and results of constructivist research. Lists givens of postmodern theory of democratic leadership. Posits a reconstructed theory of democratic…

Democratic Leadership and Students with Disabilities: Discordant Conversations but Not Incompatible.

Science.gov (United States)

Doyle, Lynn H.

2003-01-01

Investigates perceptions about democratic leadership as they relate to serving students with disabilities. Qualitative data were collected through 15 interviews with both administrative and nonadministrative school staff. Discussion focuses on how democratic leaders share decisions and use tensions in the administration of special education.…

Democratically Binding

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robert E. Goodin

2011-05-01

Full Text Available The 'democracy unbound' project aspires to extend democracy in two dimensions: range and scope. The former would give a wider range of people the vote. The latter would give people a wider scope of things to vote on. In practice, no doubt there is room to do much more of both. But whereas it would be democratically justifiable in an ideal world for democracy to be completely unbounded as regards range, even in an ideal world democracy ought be subject to some limits internal to the logic of democracy itself as regards its scope. DOWNLOAD THIS PAPER FROM SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1837428

A "Democratization" of Markets? Online Consumer Reviews in the Restaurant Industry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kevin Mellet

2014-05-01

Full Text Available This article examines the promise of market democratization conveyed by consumer rating and review websites in the restaurant industry. Based on interviews with website administrators and data from the main French platforms, we show that review websites contribute to the democratization of restaurant criticism, which first started in the 1970s, both by including a greater variety of restaurants in the reviews, and by broadening participation, opening restaurant reviewing to all. However, this twofold democratic ambition conflicts with the need to produce fair and helpful recommendations, leading review websites to seek compromises between these two dimensions.

Deliberative Democratic Evaluation in Preschools

Science.gov (United States)

Hreinsdottir, Anna Magnea; Davidsdottir, Sigurlina

2012-01-01

In this study, the merit of using deliberative democratic evaluations is studied in light of ten questions asked by House and Howe, which defined the approach and raise issues of interests, representation, and choice of stakeholders, power balances and procedures for controlling them, participation, reflection and deliberation. Suggestions by…

Introducing Children to Democratic Government

Science.gov (United States)

Alleman, Janet; Brophy, Jere

2006-01-01

Researchers have been studying children's knowledge, thinking, and attitudes about government for several decades. However, the studies focusing on elementary students, and especially primary students, have little or nothing to say about children's ideas about democracy or democratic government. That is because children at these ages have not yet…

Can the EU’s constitutional framework accommodate democratic politics?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Scicluna Nicole

2017-11-01

Full Text Available The robustness of the EU’s constitutional framework – and its ability to accommodate democratic politics – is challenged as never before. The growing disconnect between formally democratic procedures and substantive choice is well illustrated by the Greek crisis. Since its first bailout in May 2010, Greece has held four general elections and a referendum. Yet, the anti-austerity preferences of the Greek electorate have not been effectively translated into policy.

The democratizing potential of the Internet in Southeast Asia

OpenAIRE

Parker, Kevin J

1997-01-01

This thesis argues that the Internet is likely to he a strong, positive facilitating factor for the transition to and consolidation of democracy for states in Southeast Asia. U.S. policy makers intent on promoting democracy in Southeast Asia should consider the Internet's potential as a tool for promoting democratization. A review of the existing democratization literature, coupled with quantitative analysis of the societal impact of computer networking technologies, suggests that the level o...

Lydia J. Roberts's Nutrition Research and the Rhetoric of "Democratic" Science

Science.gov (United States)

Jack, Jordynn

2009-01-01

This article examines nutritionist Lydia J. Roberts's use of the "democratic approach" as a rhetorical strategy both to build solidarity among scientists and to enact participatory research in a rural Puerto Rican community. This example suggests that participatory scientific methodologies are not necessarily democratic but may function…

A Guide to Curriculum Planning in Social Studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Hartoonian, H. Michael

Social studies is concerned with developing reflective, democratic citizenship within a global context, and includes the disciplines typically classified as belonging to the social and behavioral sciences as well as history, geography, and content selected from law, philosophy, and the humanities. It also includes those topics that focus on social…

Explaining the democratic anchorage of governance networks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Skelcher, Chris; Klijn, Erik-Hans; Kübler, Daniel

2011-01-01

Advances in understanding the democratic anchorage of governance networks require carefully designed and contextually grounded empirical analysis that take into account contextual factors. The article uses a conjectural framework to study the impact of the national democratic milieu...... on the relationship between network governance and representative institutions in four European countries: the United Kingdom, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Denmark. The article shows that the distinction between majoritarian and consensus democracy as well as the varying strength of voluntary associations...... are important contextual factors that help explain cross-national differences in the relationship between governance networks and representative institutions. We conclude that a context of weak associationalism in majoritarian democracies facilitates the instrumentalization of networks by government actors...

A questão democrática em Florestan Fernandes The democratic question in Florestan Fernandes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Silvana Tótora

1999-12-01

Full Text Available O papel da questão democrática na análise da revolução burguesa na obra de Florestan Fernandes é reconstruído a partir da ênfase no caráter radical que ela assume numa obra que se recusa a separar o problema substantivo da democracia do problema da revolução social.The role played by the democratic question in the analysis of the bourgeois revolution in Brazil by Florestan Fernandes is reconstructed on the basis of the emphasis on the radical character it takes in a work in which no distinction is allowed between the substantive problem of democracy and the problem of social revolution.

The School's Democratic Mission and Conflict Resolution: Voices of Swedish Educators

Science.gov (United States)

Hakvoort, Ilse; Olsson, Elizabeth

2014-01-01

Swedish educational policy mandates have given schools a double mission: the development of content-based knowledge as well as the promotion of democratic values and competencies. While detailed learning outcomes are specified for content domains, the democratic mission is imprecisely described and unsupported by practical measures. This leaves…

Challenges and Choices: A Multidistrict Analysis of Statewide Mandated Democratic Engagement

Science.gov (United States)

Marsh, Julie A.; Hall, Michelle

2018-01-01

This article seeks to deepen our understanding of the nature and quality of democratic participation in educational reform by examining the first-year implementation of California's Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) mandating civic engagement in district decision-making. Drawing on democratic theory, empirical literature, and data from 10…

On the position of the Democratic Party of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes on the Agrarian Reform

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Drakić Gordana

2012-01-01

Full Text Available One of the most important issues in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was the process of the agrarian reform. The agrarian reform was a complex state measure with an economic, social and political aspect. All political parties, due to political reasons, spoke in favor of the resolution of the agrarian issue through agrarian reform. Political parties kept in mind the large number of those individuals interested in the agrarian reform, as well as the fact that majority of the voters were farmers, when they formulated their position towards the reform. The Democratic Party was one of the most influential political party in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. The paper presents the basic concepts related to the agrarian reform and agricultural policy in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes that represented the Democratic Party.

The agricultural and the democratic transitions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gundlach, Erich; Paldam, Martin

Long-run development (in income) causes a large fall in the share of agriculture commonly known as the agricultural transition. We confirm that this conventional wisdom is strongly supported by the data. Long-run development (in income) also causes a large increase in democracy known...... as the democratic transition. Elsewhere we have shown that it is almost as strong as the agricultural transition. Recently, a method has been presented to weed out spuriousness. It makes the democratic transition go away by turning income insignificant, when it is supplemented by a set of formal controls. We show...... that the same method makes the agricultural transition go away as well. Hence, it seems to be a method that kills far too much, as suggested by the subtitle. This suggestion leads to a discussion of the very meaning of long-run causality....

Evaluating the democratic accountability of governance networks: Analysing two Nordic Megaprojects

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Aarsæther, Nils; Bjørnå, Hilde; Fotel, Trine

2009-01-01

There is currently a need to analyse and measure the democratic accountability of governance networks. This kind of analysis and measurement calls for the development of an interactive conceptualisation of democratic accountability that makes it possible to measure the level of democratic...... accountability of concrete governance networks with reference to the extent to which they interact with (1) relevant politicians appointed through the institutions of representative democracy, (2) the relevant and affected stakeholders, and (3) the wider citizenry. A case study of two governance networks...... involved in two Nordic megaprojects illustrates how this measurement device can be brought into use and what the insights are that can be gained from it....

The Role of Romanian NGOs in Democratization Process of the SOCIETY After 1990

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Marton BALOGH

2006-06-01

Full Text Available This paper strives to critically discuss the role that NGOs1 played in the democratization process of the Romanian society after the changes from 1990. In the transition process from a dictatorial system to a democratic one, NGOs functioning is absolutely necessary. There is a variety of ways in which the civil society can contribute to the democratization of a country. To some, the very proliferation of civil society organizations - no matter what their type, agenda, or influence are - builds the infrastructure of democracy, because according to the supporters of this view an active associational life is a precursor of democracy. The right to free elections, the freedoms of speech, and citizen’s participation to governance (including free access to public interest information are only few aspects whose evolution is worth studying in this paper. Also, the existence of a strong NGO sector provides a great opportunity in a society, mainly because its involvement in community development is thought to build skills and foster democratic values and attitudes in individuals that will eventually spread to the broader society. They also enhance the prospects for democratization because they foster associational life, empower individuals, and provide them with the skills and attitudes that are useful for democratization.

Deployment of the Military in Post-Conflict Reconstruction: Implication for Democratization in Sri Lanka

Science.gov (United States)

2016-12-01

political leadership , interparty alliances, and legislatures by which society constitutes itself politically to select and monitor democratic government... democratically elected civilian leadership .” Matei, “New Conceptualization,” 31. Young posits expertise, essential duties, responsibility, and corporateness as...CONFLICT RECONSTRUCTION: IMPLICATION FOR DEMOCRATIZATION IN SRI LANKA by Don Kapila Sarath Kumara Dolage December 2016 Thesis Advisor: Anshu

Risk in social science

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Zinn, Jens; Taylor-Gooby, Peter

2006-01-01

... for control. Advances in social science improve understanding of how people perceive and prioritise risks, broaden awareness of the bearing of a range of other issues (trust, experience during the life course, democratic expectations) on people's capacity to manage risks, and facilitate exploration of the ways in which people communicate abo...

Democratic reinforcement: A principle for brain function

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stassinopoulos, D.; Bak, P.

1995-01-01

We introduce a simple ''toy'' brain model. The model consists of a set of randomly connected, or layered integrate-and-fire neurons. Inputs to and outputs from the environment are connected randomly to subsets of neurons. The connections between firing neurons are strengthened or weakened according to whether the action was successful or not. Unlike previous reinforcement learning algorithms, the feedback from the environment is democratic: it affects all neurons in the same way, irrespective of their position in the network and independent of the output signal. Thus no unrealistic back propagation or other external computation is needed. This is accomplished by a global threshold regulation which allows the system to self-organize into a highly susceptible, possibly ''critical'' state with low activity and sparse connections between firing neurons. The low activity permits memory in quiescent areas to be conserved since only firing neurons are modified when new information is being taught

Democratic Education Online: Combating Racialized Aggressions on Social Media

Science.gov (United States)

Gin, Kevin J.; Martínez-Alemán, Ana M.; Knight, Sarah; Radimer, Scott; Lewis, Jonathan; Rowan-Kenyon, Heather T.

2016-01-01

In the 21st century, mobile, low-friction, and easy to use social media have changed the landscape of college campuses. Social media have opened the doors for racial hostility to be displayed on campus in new ways and have been widely used to express racial aggressions toward students of color. Anonymity allows these behaviors to be freely enacted…

An analysis on the contribution of civil society to democratic consolidation in Turkey

OpenAIRE

Torus, Emre

2007-01-01

Cataloged from PDF version of article. This is an analysis on the contribution of civil society to democratic consolidation in Turkey. This thesis will try to understand this problematic by assessing the civil society’s formal structure, legal framework, internal values and its impact during the consolidation process. The key aim here is to understand the civil society’s role as a contributor to democratic consolidation by mapping the civil society and democratic consolidati...

Implementing Democratic Equality in Political Parties

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bolleyer, Nicole; von Nostitz, Felix-Christopher; Little, Conor

2015-01-01

This article theorises and empirically assesses some important intra-organisational implications of maximising democratic equality in political parties both between followers and members and between members and elites. They include weak member commitment, passivity of the rank-and-file membership...

What do we know about adult education for democratic citizenship?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Milana, Marcella

2006-01-01

This article presents the findings from the study of research literature on Adult Education for Democratic Citizenship, carried out in nine EU memner states. The literature review was designed as the building block for a European Stocktaking study on lifelong learning for democratic citizenship...... through adult education. This article begins by describing the context of the study, and introducing the study aims and core principles. This is done in section 1 and 2. In section 3, the article introduces and discusses substantive features which emerged from scholarly investigation at national level....... Implications for further research are discussed in the concluding section, which presents the main argument of this paper. Despite countries unique characterizations, there is a general concern on citizens´conduct in democratic societeies in Europe, but relative limited attention on the specific contribution...

NPPCI - topics in the German Democratic Republic

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ziegenbein, D.

1986-01-01

This paper summarizes research and development activities in the field of computerized operator support systems, self-powered detectors, boiling diagnostic and loose part detection systems in the German Democratic Republic

Democratic innovations: designing institutions for citizen participation

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Smith, Graham

2009-01-01

At a time when there is growing disillusionment with the institutions of advanced industrial democracies, there is also increasing interest in new ways of involving citizens in the democratic process...

Strengthening the integrity of local leadership and its relevance to run democratic governance

OpenAIRE

Maulana Mukhlis; Idil Akbar

2018-01-01

Abstract   Even though many aspects that shows how to run a democratic government, but the most important aspect is related to the leadership of integrity. The leadership of integrity put the perspective of power in the orientation of partisanship on the people. In addition, democratic governance at the local level can be run effectively and constructively if in his leadership held with integrity. In other words the leadership of integrity is a requirement to run a democratic governme...

Strengthening Democratic Governance through ICTs : Post Election ...

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

Strengthening Democratic Governance through ICTs : Post Election ... has had several consequences, culminating in the disputed general elections of December 2007. ... Linking research to urban planning at the ICLEI World Congress 2018.

Transgender inclusion in state non-discrimination policies: The democratic deficit and political powerlessness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrew R Flores

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Transgender people—people whose gender identity or expression is different from their assigned sex at birth—and their allies advocate for the inclusion of gender identity or transgender in state non-discrimination policies. These policies generally proscribe discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations. Courts and administrative agencies have determined discrimination against transgender people is a violation of existing statutes, but there remain efforts by advocates to seek policies that explicitly prohibit discrimination on the basis of transgender status, which are often the result of legislation going through the political process. A pluralist understanding of the political process theorizes that a majority coalition of minorities can offer social groups policies they support. This rests on the presumption that a majority coalition of minorities should rule. Any indication to the contrary may suggest a democratic deficit, whereby more than a majority is necessary for policy introduction. We find that there is a substantial democratic deficit regarding the inclusion of gender identity or transgender in employment non-discrimination policies. On average, state support for the policy must be 81% in order for the state to have a policy reflecting such sentiment. This leaves substantial implications for the political powerlessness of transgender people in the political process.

The Developmental Roots of Social Responsibility in Childhood and Adolescence

Science.gov (United States)

Wray-Lake, Laura; Syvertsen, Amy K.

2011-01-01

Social responsibility is a value orientation, rooted in democratic relationships with others and moral principles of care and justice, that motivates certain civic actions. Given its relevance for building stronger relationships and communities, the development of social responsibility within individuals should be a more concerted focus for…

Trade unions and liberal values: struggle or complementarity in a democratic society?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

O. I. Tupitzya

2014-02-01

Thus, viewing the political position of trade unions in a modern democratic society suggests that the trade union units are fully capable to absorb some elements of liberal doctrines. This indicates a broad base complementarity and mutual conceptual foundations of trade unionism and democratic society.

Giving voice to the voiceless through deliberative democratic school governance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nonceba Mabovula

2009-05-01

Full Text Available I focus on the role of learners in the governance of secondary schools. I seek to promote a voice for learner expression as guaranteed in the national Department of Education's guidelines for Representative Council of Learners as part of promoting democratic governance. The potential, limitations, constraints, conse­quen­ces, and challenges facing learners in the school governance structure need to be revealed and debated. The views of school principals were solicited by means of unstructured open-ended questionnaires. Six problem areas emerged from the data. The irony is that although the democratisation of school governance has given all stakeholders a powerful voice in school affairs, learners' voices are, seemingly, being silenced. In attempting to resolve the problem, a new model of democratic school governance to be known as 'deliberative democratic school governance' (DDSG is suggested. There are several DDSG approaches that can be employed in creating elements for stakeholder empowerment and in driving deliberative democratic school governance forward. These include inclusion, motivational communication, consensus, deliberation/ dialogue, collaboration, and conflict resolution. Some school governance stake­holders and schools may use only one or a few of these strategies to create spaces for learner voices in their respective schools.

After the Arab Spring: Democratic Aspirations and State Failure

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Afsah, Ebrahim

2017-01-01

on an unprecedented scale, and the resulting frustration has led to the biggest refugee flows in recent memory. What went wrong? This short course offers an overview of the structural shortcomings of Arab states and societies, which help us understand why the democratic awakening did not happen but instead “has given......The popular protests that erupted in 2010 and quickly remade the political map of the Arab world surprised almost everybody. We all knew the terrible state of Arab governance, marked as it was by rents, repression and regression, still no-one predicted that the people would ever rise. For decades......, the Arabs had looked like an exception to global trends towards greater participation and accountability in public life, towards more sensible economic policies and more permissive social mores. Today, the Arab world is in deep crisis. Of the 22 member states of the Arab League, at least five have...

Social Enterprise, Social Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship in Sweden

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Persson, H. Thomas R.; Hafen, Niklas

2014-01-01

gradually been liberalised through the introduction of ele-ments of individual freedom of choice and decentralisation in welfare provision, a process initiated by a Centre-Right coalition during the end of the 1980s, continued by Social Democratic Govern-ments and most recently by the Centre-Right coalition....... As a result a new strain of social entrepreneurs making use of mainstream entrepreneurial logic – discovery, evaluation and exploitation of opportunities to create future goods and services – when addressing societal problems, demonstrating that it works to be both commercially oriented as well...... as ideologically driven. Sweden is no exception to this trend. However, when the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso states that: “Social business can be indeed a very powerful agenda for change. To deliver better outcomes for the common good. To show that it is possible to do things more...

The recent process of decentralization and democratic management of education in Brazil

Science.gov (United States)

Santos Filho, José Camilo Dos

1993-09-01

Brazilian society is beginning a new historical period in which the principle of decentralization is beginning to predominate over centralization, which held sway during the last 25 years. In contrast to recent Brazilian history, there is now a search for political, democratic and participatory decentralization more consonant with grass-roots aspirations. The first section of this article presents a brief analysis of some decentralization policies implemented by the military regime of 1964, and discusses relevant facts related to the resistance of civil society to state authoritarianism, and to the struggle for the democratization and organization of civil society up to the end of the 1970s. The second section analyzes some new experiences of democratic public school administration initiated in the 1970s and 1980s. The final section discusses the move toward decentralization and democratization of public school administration in the new Federal and State Constitutions, and in the draft of the new Law of National Education.

Reflecting on democratic and responsible citizenship. Where do the media step in?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oana BĂLUŢĂ

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Citizenship is one notion that generated debates and, on occasion, contradictory positions within academic community, opening the doors not only for political scientists, but for practitioners, activists, politicians as well to step in. The paper aims to explore and highlight how sociologists, political scientists and mass media practitioners envisage responsible and democratic citizenship in Romania. Reviews of literature developments on citizenship in connection with democracy and participation, and perspectives of local journalists, sociologists and political scientists on the intersection of media and responsible citizenship allowed me to highlight key inner marks of responsible and democratic citizenship. The final part of the paper proposes a process of (rethinking citizenship, emphasizing few propositions with a decisive role when drafting responsible and democratic citizenship: citizenship cannot be separated from participation, active participation; citizenship is correlated with political interests; 3. Active citizenship is democratic and responsible citizenship; citizenship has both a private and a public dimension.

Social Rights in the face of the Crisis. Reflections on the Spanish Case

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fernando Puzzo

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Spain and many European countries are going through a critical stage that endangers the achievements of civilization and protection of social rights which are the standard of the constitutionalism of the social-democratic systems after the Second World War. The emergence of the economic and financial crisis and its impact on Member States, especially in regard to the realization of the rights and, in particular, the social ones, impose a critical reflection since on the European scene there is not a shared concept. In the Spanish social and democratic rule of law, many of the social rights are placed in Chapter III of Title I as guiding principles of social and economic policy. The analysis of this regulatory body of the Constitution is problematic insofar as it raises the problem of redirecting the content of such rules to legal structures in order to ensure guarantee levels which approximate them to fundamental rights within the fram

Social role of the media: Control of social reality

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Đukić Nemanja

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Through analysis of the nature and character of media practice, the paper shows that the media are basic political instrument of manipulative social control of the democratic order. Control of social reality as a fundamental social role of the media stems from the manipulative power of the media that is based in the strategies of production and control of the symbolic potential of the society. Through the production and control of the symbolic potential of the society, the media transform symbolic power in social action or absence of social action through homogenization and activate individuals and social groups in public opinion or their dispersion and breaking off in the public. Development of manipulation, control, oppression, domination and hegemony, the media becomes a product of instrumentalist mind which contributing 'colonization of the lifeworld' and the development of modern society which on a rational way becoming totalitarian.

The Field Trip Book: Study Travel Experiences in Social Studies

Science.gov (United States)

Morris, Ronald V.

2010-01-01

Looking for social studies adventures to help students find connections to democratic citizenship? Look no further! This book provides just the answer teachers need for engaging students in field trips as researching learners with emphasis on interdisciplinary social studies plus skills in collecting and reporting data gathered from field…

Wisdom and Compassion in Democratic Leadership: Perceptions of the Bodhisattva Ideal

Science.gov (United States)

McClain, Leslie; Ylimaki, Rose; Ford, Michael P.

2010-01-01

At the heart of democratic leadership rests a deep respect for what it means to be human, the cultivation of the common good, and the need to act according to one's own direction. If democratic leadership aims to create an environment in which people are encouraged and supported in "aspiring to truths about the world" (Woods, 2005, p. xvi), then…

Democratic Leadership: Guidelines for School Administrators.

Science.gov (United States)

Devlin, Barbara Seeley

1980-01-01

Democratic leadership is not always desirable and should be employed only in certain situations. A 1977 study of 315 teachers suggests that when teachers perceive the subject matter under consideration to be important to them, participatory decision making is significantly related to favorable job attitudes. (Author/JM)

A Democratic Framework for Educational Rights

Science.gov (United States)

Newman, Anne

2012-01-01

Educational theorists frequently invoke rights claims to express their views about educational justice and authority. But the unyielding nature of rights claims presents a significant quandary in democratic contexts, given the tension between rights claims and majoritarian democracy. Educational theorists have given limited attention to this…

O controle social e a democratização da informação: um processo em construção El control social y la democratización de la información: un proceso en construcción Social control and information democratization: a process under construction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marluce Maria Araújo Assis

2003-06-01

Full Text Available O presente trabalho tem como objetivo refletir criticamente sobre o controle social como uma conquista jurídico-institucional e as suas condições de legitimidade, apontando estratégias para a democratização da informação no sistema local de saúde. O texto foi desenvolvido em três eixos temáticos: o 1º discute a participação social como conquista jurídico-institucional; o 2º analisa as condições essenciais para a legitimidade e o 3º aponta a informação como elemento fundamental para a gestão e o controle social, como um processo inacabado, em construção.El presente trabajo tiene como objetivo reflexionar críticamente sobre el control social como una conquista jurídico-institucional y sus condiciones de legitimidad, describiendo estrategias para la democratización de la información en el sistema local de salud. El texto fue desarrollado en tres ejes temáticos: el primero discute la participación social como conquista jurídico-institucional, el segundo analiza las condiciones esenciales para la legitimidad y el tercero apunta la información como elemento fundamental para la gestión y el control social, como un proceso en construcción.This work aims at a critical reflection on social control as a legal-institutional achievement and its legitimacy conditions, pointing out strategies for information democratization in the local health system. The text was developed according to three thematic units: the first discusses social participation as a legal-institutional achievement; the second analyzes the essential conditions for legitimacy and the third presents information as a fundamental element for management and social control as an unfinished process that is still under construction.

Chile: Una Vision Politica, Economica y Social (Chile: A Political, Economic, and Social View).

Science.gov (United States)

Cortes-Hwang, Adriana

1972-01-01

This address seeks to explain in brief the historical background and political, economic, and social conditions leading to the democratic election of a Marxist president in Chile. A historical sketch of Chilean government from independence in 1810 is provided with a description of the situation just before Salvador Allende's election in 1969. Some…

Tolerance-based interaction: a new model targeting opinion formation and diffusion in social networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexandru Topirceanu

2016-01-01

Full Text Available One of the main motivations behind social network analysis is the quest for understanding opinion formation and diffusion. Previous models have limitations, as they typically assume opinion interaction mechanisms based on thresholds which are either fixed or evolve according to a random process that is external to the social agent. Indeed, our empirical analysis on large real-world datasets such as Twitter, Meme Tracker, and Yelp, uncovers previously unaccounted for dynamic phenomena at population-level, namely the existence of distinct opinion formation phases and social balancing. We also reveal that a phase transition from an erratic behavior to social balancing can be triggered by network topology and by the ratio of opinion sources. Consequently, in order to build a model that properly accounts for these phenomena, we propose a new (individual-level opinion interaction model based on tolerance. As opposed to the existing opinion interaction models, the new tolerance model assumes that individual’s inner willingness to accept new opinions evolves over time according to basic human traits. Finally, by employing discrete event simulation on diverse social network topologies, we validate our opinion interaction model and show that, although the network size and opinion source ratio are important, the phase transition to social balancing is mainly fostered by the democratic structure of the small-world topology.

Struggling for the Soul of the Nation: Educational Policy, Democratic Leadership, and Radical Democracy in Neoliberal Times

Science.gov (United States)

Torres, Carlos Alberto

2010-01-01

Two conditions are crucial in preparing radical democratic leaders for a democratic society. In this article, the author argues against instrumental rationality and for radical democratic leaders with a critical perspective in education and schools.

State Capacity and Democratic Administration: South Africa’s Post- Democracy View

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mashele Rapatsa

2016-09-01

Full Text Available State capacity and democratic administration are conceptually distinct, but theoretically interdependent notions whose significance concerning fulfilment of developmental objectives cannot be understated in any democratic dispensation. Thus, this article discusses how the notion of state capacity affect the pursuit of human development and the enforcement and realization of socioeconomic rights under South Africa’s post 1994 democratic dispensation. It is considerate of the fact a progressive fulfilment of people’s socio-economic entitlements largely depends on having a state which has adequate administrative, economic and technical capabilities to discharge its constitutional obligations. Without these capacities, citizens’ legitimate expectations of state fulfilling its obligations as imposed by the Constitution and essential international legal norms diminishes. State capacity is concerned with state’s competence to discharge its governance obligations in pursuit of the goal of regulating and protecting rights and interests of private persons and entities. Weakened state lack capacity to control its functionaries and private agents, consequently depriving citizens of their deserved protection. It is argued that the post 1994 transformative democratic dispensation is caught in a quagmire owing to diminishing fiscal capacity, and is inherently struggling to ward off socioeconomic deprivations inherited from the past.

Arañas sociales de la Amazonía ecuatoriana, con notas sobre seis especies sociales no descritas previamente Social spiders of the Ecuadorian Amazonia, with notes on six previously undescribed social species

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

LETICIA AVILÉS

2001-09-01

, including six species ­Cyclosa sp., Plesiometa sp., Tapinillus sp. 2, Achaearanea cf. mundula, a pholcid, and a sparassid­ whose sociality has not been previously described. In the introduction we review the characteristics of spider sociality, noting several significant differences with insect social systems. In particular, we note that social spiders have not developed reproductive castes and that in the species with the most complex social behaviors the social groups are also relatively isolated population lineages. We discuss how the Ecuadorian social spiders, in particular those recently discovered, may help test existing hypotheses for the evolution of sociality in spiders. We also outline some of the evolutionary and ecological problems that social spiders may help clarify, such as the evolution of female-biased sex ratios in subdivided populations, the levels of selection, and the patterns of extinction and dispersal of local populations in a metapopulation. An electronic Appendix with English descriptions of the six previously undescribed social species can be found at http://www.scielo.cl/

Democratic Governance in Sub-Saharan Africa

African Journals Online (AJOL)

there was general consensus that the “democratic experiment” had taken root in Africa ... African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance is of particular importance in this context. The .... of governmental work through results in the interests of citizens. ... declarations impact on the reality of political rule in Africa?

Democratic accountability and the votes for nuclear energy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bradbury, F

1980-10-01

Political aspects of nuclear energy figured in United Kingdom elections during the 1970s as the issue of risks aroused popular interest. The failure of such a complex issue to make an impact at the polls reflects certain electoral inadequacies in the democratic process in that too much time elapsed between opportunities for citizens to express their will and this resulted in pressure groups replacing referenda. Nuclear issues illustrate the dilemma of risk assignment and risk assignment when the perception of risks is not balanced by clear information about the benefits. True democratic accountability would allow citizens to vote directly on each major issue rather than periodically electing a representative with a package of unrelated positions. 7 references. (DCK)

Critical emancipatory research for social justice and democratic ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This article proposes a research paradigm located within the respectful relationship between participants and researcher(s) towards construction of positive holding, interactions and invitational environments which privilege social justice. I outline power as expressed at the heart of any form of human society through ...

Social Capital, a Critical Factor in Strengthening Democratic ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Social capital has for centuries been used by traditional communities as a resource on which they relied in dealing with challenges and problems confronting them. Colonialism and imperialism undermined African norms and values on decision making processes and relationship building mechanisms. The advent of ...

Cognitive-Emotional Conflict: Adversary Will and Social Resilience

Science.gov (United States)

2017-12-21

effectively with skilled adversaries in the realm of social media . This admit- tedly is a complex problem for any open, democratic society that does not... social media of the targeted populations. Rather than inciting a population to take a particular action, as the leak of the Zimmerman telegram did in...produced by the 24/7 news cycle, amplified and accelerated by social media . National Level Most Americans do not recognize the threats posed by

A Study of Democratic School Culture Perceptions of Sport High School Students

Science.gov (United States)

Isikgöz, Enes

2016-01-01

In this study; the perceptions of the students studying at sport high schools about democratic school culture were analysed in accordance with different variables. Participants of the research consisted of 216 students studying at Sport High Schools in Sakarya and Batman Provinces of Turkey. The data were collected with the Democratic School…

Taxation and redistribution in autocratic and democratic regimes over the long-run of history

OpenAIRE

SEELKOPF, Laura; LIERSE, Hanna

2017-01-01

The introduction of the personal income tax has often coincided with phases of democratization in history. A common explanation is that the demands of the newly enfranchised poor contribute to the rise of progressive taxes. Yet, although the world has, on average, become more democratic since the first permanent introduction of the income tax in Great Britain in 1842, inequality is again on the rise. To what extent do democratic societies really adopt more redistributive policies than their a...

Noblesse oblige? Social status and economic inequality maintenance among politicians.

Science.gov (United States)

Kraus, Michael W; Callaghan, Bennett

2014-01-01

Economic inequality is at historically high levels in the United States and is among the most pressing issues facing society. And yet, predicting the behavior of politicians with respect to their support of economic inequality remains a significant challenge. Given that high status individuals tend to conceive of the current structure of society as fair and just, we expected that high status members of the U.S. House of Representatives would be more likely to support economic inequality in their legislative behavior than would their low status counterparts. Results supported this prediction particularly among Democratic members of Congress: Whereas Republicans tended to support legislation increasing economic inequality regardless of their social status, the social status of Democrats - measured in terms of average wealth, race, or gender - was a significant predictor of support for economic inequality. Policy implications of the observed relationship between social status and support for economic inequality are considered.

Demilitarization of the Police, Criminal Policy and Human Rights in the Democratic Rule of Law

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Igor Frederico Fontes de Lima

2016-10-01

Full Text Available This article proposes a reflection on the incompatibility between the militarization of the police and the democratic rule of law. Seeing the violent mechanisms such as routine, relates to public safety model with Agamben's teachings on the state of exception as the rule. The culture of fear is seen as legitimizing the social longing for more militarized apparatus. Reconnecting Bauman, Zaffaroni and Foucault , the work points out that criminal policy is based on the annihilation of the other and that the penal system is extremely selective, using the PM's for vertical integration and standardization of acceptable profiles.

Towards Democratic Leadership: Co-principal Initiatives.

Science.gov (United States)

Court, Marian

2003-01-01

A case study of a New Zealand primary school coprincipalship describes the impact of some intergroup misunderstandings and struggles over power. Concludes that building a democratic school community requires a set of considerations and practices different from those promoted within a market-managerial approach. (Contains 7 notes and 51…

Law and Order in the Classroom: Reconsidering "A Course on Citizenship," 1914

Science.gov (United States)

Ellis, Lindsay

2013-01-01

This article explores the tension between social control and democratic participation in the first American peace education curriculum, "A Course in Citizenship" (1914). Previously, this "Course" has been read as a case study of progressive era peace education, during which the call to teach democratically increased in volume. Building on this…

Building a Democratic Model of Science Teaching

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Suhadi Ibnu

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Earlier in the last century, learning in science, as was learning in other disciplines, was developed according to the philosophy of behaviorism. This did not serve the purposes of learning in science properly, as the students were forced to absorb information transferred from the main and the only source of learning, the teacher. Towards the end of the century a significant shift from behaviorism to constructivism philosophy took place. The shift promoted the development of more democratic models of learning in science which provided greater opportunities to the students to act as real scientist, chattering for the building of knowledge and scientific skills. Considering the characteristics of science and the characteristics of the students as active learners, the shift towards democratic models of learning is unavoidable and is merely a matter of time

Studying the Quality of Democracy: Two Cross-National Measures of Democratic Citizenship

Science.gov (United States)

Ledet, Richard

2016-01-01

This article provides new cross-national measures of two dimensions of democratic citizenship with great import for the study of democratic quality, expressive participation, and intolerance of diversity. Using data from the 2000-2001 wave of the World Values Survey, the paper present new ways to measure participation and intolerance, as well as a…

Democratic Teacher Beliefs According to the Teacher's Gender and Locus of Control

Science.gov (United States)

Kesici, Sahin

2008-01-01

This study explored the variations in democratic beliefs among teachers based on gender and locus of control. The study groups comprised of 286 teachers. The results demonstrated that the level of adherence to democratic beliefs on the part of female teachers was significantly higher than those of male teachers, especially in terms of equality and…

Democratização da governança global: perspectivas históricas mundiais Democratizing global governance: world historical perspectives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christopher Chase-Dunn

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Este artigo examina a controversa noção de democracia global. O texto apresenta uma perspectiva histórica mundial da evolução da governança global - como a estrutura política do sistema-mundo evoluiu ao longo dos últimos séculos - e analisa movimentos sociais contemporâneos que buscam democratizar as instituições de governança global. Argumenta-se que os que desejam democratizar a governança global devem assumir o repto de ajudar a promover a construção de um estado mundial globalmente multilateral para fazer frente aos desafios que se colocarão à humanidade no século 21. Movimentos sociais transnacionais e estados nacionais semiperiféricos progressistas são vistos como os agentes que irão desafiar os poderes constituídos e conduzir a humanidade rumo a uma comunidade global democrática e coletivamente racional nas próximas décadas.This article examines the contested idea of global democracy. It presents a world historical view of the evolution of global governance - how the political structure of the world-system has evolved of over the past several centuries - and it examines contemporary social movements that are seeking to democratize global governance institutions. It is argued that those who want to democratize global governance must take up the problem of helping to further construct a global multilateral world state in order that the challenges that humanity has created for itself may be met in a collectively rational, sustainable and humane manner in the 21st century. Transnational social movements and progressive semiperipheral national-states are seen as the agents that will challenge the powers that be and move humanity closer to a democratic and collectively rational global commonwealth in the next several decades.

Social media: A trend or threat to democracy? | Omede | Journal of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The recent trend of democratization and the advancement in the information and communication technology have created a lot of awareness on the global development towards the social media. This situation has recently attracted a huge interest from researchers particularly in the field of social sciences. The emergence of ...

Social democracy : A comparative account of the left-wing party family

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Keman, Hans

2017-01-01

The Social Democratic party family is a central part of political life in the West. This book focuses on this party family as well as a unique political force in the industrialised world. It provides a critical comparative survey of when, where, how and why Social Democracy developed within

Social Networks and Political Parties in Chile

OpenAIRE

Adler Lomnitz, Larissa

2002-01-01

This paper describes the origin and evolution of two Chilean political parties (the Radical Party and the Christian Democrat Party) through the analysis of the social networks that originated and composed them. The aim of this study is to propose a model of national political cultures on the basis of the structure of social networks related to power and of the symbol system, which legitimizes it. The structure of social networks, horizontal and vertical, are based on reciprocal or redistribut...

Probabilistic causality, selection bias, and the logic of the democratic peace

OpenAIRE

Slantchev, Branislav L; Alexandrova, A; Gartzke, E

2005-01-01

Rosato (2003) claims to have discredited democratic peace theories. However, the methodological approach adopted by the study cannot reliably generate the conclusions espoused by the author. Rosato seems to misunderstand the probabilistic nature of most arguments about democratic peace and ignores issues that an appropriate research design should account for. Further, the study's use of case studies and data sets without attention to selection-bias produces examples that actually support theo...

Political Socialization, Tolerance, and Sexual Identity

Science.gov (United States)

Avery, Patricia G.

2002-01-01

Key concepts in political socialization, tolerance, groups, rights and responsibilities can be used to understand the way in which young people struggle with sexual identity issues. Educators may promote greater tolerance for homosexuality among heterosexuals by situating sexual identity issues within a broader discussion of democratic principles.…

Civic Engagement and Social Media

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

The recent wave of protests, from the Arab Spring to the Occupy movement and austerity protests, have reinvigorated hopes for the democratic potential of the Internet, and particularly social media. With their popular appeal and multimodal affordances social media such as YouTube, Twitter...... and Facebook have generated both media and scholarly interest in their possibilities for granting visibility to and facilitating the organization of activism. However, the role of social media in sustaining civic engagement beyond protest and fatalism remains under-explored. How can social media contribute...... to sustaining longer-term involvement of civil society? What is the potential of social media for making available alternative social imaginaries? And what role may social media play in facilitating social change through cooperation with business? This volume offers answers to these questions by providing...

The Importance of Belonging: Learning from the Student Experience of Democratic Education

Science.gov (United States)

Hope, Max A.

2012-01-01

This article grew out of an extensive piece of grounded theory research that explored students' experiences of democratic education. A small democratic school in the south of England is used as a case study. Students in this school experienced a strong sense of belonging--to the school itself, with teachers, and with peers. This appeared to make a…

Family and community rejection and a Congolese led mediation intervention to reintegrate rejected survivors of sexual violence in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Science.gov (United States)

Kohli, Anjalee; Tosha, Maphie; Ramazani, Paul; Safari, Octave; Bachunguye, Richard; Zahiga, Isaya; Iragi, Aline; Glass, Nancy

2013-01-01

Our purpose in this study is to describe the multiple and inter-related health, economic, and social reasons for rejection and to provide an example of a Congolese-led family mediation program to reintegrate survivors into their families. We conducted this study in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and included two focus group discussions and twenty-seven interviews. Rejection extends beyond physical dislocation to include economic and social aspects. Family mediation is a process requiring knowledge of traditions and norms. Understanding the context of rejection and supporting promising local reintegration efforts will likely improve health, economic, and social outcomes for the survivor, her family, and her community.

Homegrown Democracy, Homegrown Democrats

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Norman K. Denzin

2005-02-01

Full Text Available Written on the eve of the 2004 American presidential election, this political narrative offers a critical reading of two models of democracy: Instant-Mix imperial democracy (bring to a boil, add oil, then bomb, criticized by Arundhati Roy, and Garrison Keillor’s Homegrown Democrat. Keillor’s pastoral view of democracy is anchored in LakeWobegon, his imaginary utopian community. His homegrown democracy is narrow, provincial, and White. The author concludes that he must look elsewhere for his alternative view of democracy.

Political Identity Convergence: On Being Latino, Becoming a Democrat, and Getting Active

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leonie Huddy

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The majority of Latinos in the United States identify with the Democratic Party, a tendency with broad political implications as Latinos become an increasingly large segment of the population. Little research, however, has delved into the origins of this preference. In this research, we contrast two explanations for Latinos’ Democratic proclivities: an instrumental explanation grounded in ideological policy preferences and an expressive identity account based on the defense of Latino identity and status. In analysis of data from two large national datasets, the 2012 Latino Immigrant National Election Study and American National Election Study focused on Latino immigrants and citizens respectively, we find strong support for the expressive identity explanation. Hispanic and partisan identities have converged among Latinos in the United States to create a large number of Latino Democrats regardless of citizenship status. Those who identify strongly as Latinos and see pervasive discrimination against Latinos are the strongest Democrats, a process that further intensified over the course of the 2012 election. A strong partisan preference increased political campaign activity, though this activity level was modest overall. Relatively few Latinos had worked on a campaign or given money to a candidate; somewhat larger numbers had tried to convince others about a candidate or worn a button or displayed a sticker. Finally, some support was evident for an instrumental account. Latino support for government-provided health insurance in 2012 consistently increased support for the Democratic Party.

NGO participation in international lawmaking and democratic legitimacy : The debate and its future

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Beijerman, M.

2016-01-01

Over the last few decades, scholars - mainly in the field of law and international relations - have argued that NGOs are indispensable in making international law more democratically legitimate. This study refers to this as the ‘NGO democratic legitimacy thesis’. The thesis is presented as a

Why we need to question the democratic engagement that adolescents in Europe develop.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Groot, I. de; Veugelers, W.

2015-01-01

Since the beginning of the 21st century, academics in various disciplines have stressed the need to address democratic deficits in Europe as well as lacunae in the citizenship development of European youth. In this article we explore the value of various types of democratic engagement for

Differential Effects of Message Framing on Obesity Policy Support Between Democrats and Republicans.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Tae Kyoung; Kim, Hye Kyung

2017-12-01

This study tests whether gain- and loss-framed messages about establishing obesity-reducing policies have different persuasive effects on Republicans and Democrats. In a randomized between-subject experiment, participants (N = 384) read a message emphasizing either benefits to a society by establishing policies aimed to reduce obesity (i.e., gain-framed message) or costs to a society that fails to establish those policies (i.e., loss-framed message). Results indicated that Democrats perceived the gain-framed message as more persuasive than the loss-framed message and the perceived argument strength fully mediated the framing effect on Democrats' policy support; however, there was no framing effect on perceived argument strength among Republicans. On the other hand, the gain-framed message led Republicans to attribute the cause of obesity less to the individual level compared to the loss-framed message and the no-message condition. We observed no framing difference among Democrats on causal attributions. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Private Sector Contracting and Democratic Accountability

Science.gov (United States)

DiMartino, Catherine; Scott, Janelle

2013-01-01

Public officials are increasingly contracting with the private sector for a range of educational services. With much of the focus on private sector accountability on cost-effectiveness and student performance, less attention has been given to shifts in democratic accountability. Drawing on data from the state of New York, one of the most active…

High School Social Studies Teachers' Beliefs and Education for Democratic Citizenship

Science.gov (United States)

Phipps, Stuart Beall

2010-01-01

This study explores secondary social studies teachers' beliefs about the concept of citizenship. The development of citizenship in young people is an often-stated goal for schooling in the USA. The most prominent social studies professional organization, the National Council for the Social Studies, describes education for citizenship as the…

A "Social Bitcoin" could sustain a democratic digital world

Science.gov (United States)

Kleineberg, Kaj-Kolja; Helbing, Dirk

2016-12-01

A multidimensional financial system could provide benefits for individuals, companies, and states. Instead of top-down control, which is destined to eventually fail in a hyperconnected world, a bottom-up creation of value can unleash creative potential and drive innovations. Multiple currency dimensions can represent different externalities and thus enable the design of incentives and feedback mechanisms that foster the ability of complex dynamical systems to self-organize and lead to a more resilient society and sustainable economy. Modern information and communication technologies play a crucial role in this process, as Web 2.0 and online social networks promote cooperation and collaboration on unprecedented scales. Within this contribution, we discuss how one dimension of a multidimensional currency system could represent socio-digital capital (Social Bitcoins) that can be generated in a bottom-up way by individuals who perform search and navigation tasks in a future version of the digital world. The incentive to mine Social Bitcoins could sustain digital diversity, which mitigates the risk of totalitarian control by powerful monopolies of information and can create new business opportunities needed in times where a large fraction of current jobs is estimated to disappear due to computerisation.

Democratizing Authority in the Built Environment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Andersen, Michael P [UC Berkeley; Kolb, John [UC Berkeley; Chen, Kaifei [UC Berkeley; Culler, David [UC Berkeley; Katz, Randy [UC Berkeley

2017-11-08

Operating systems and applications in the built environment have relied upon central authorization and management mechanisms which restrict their scalability, especially with respect to administrative overhead. We propose a new set of primitives encompassing syndication, security, and service execution that unifies the management of applications and services across the built environment, while enabling participants to individually delegate privilege across multiple administrative domains with no loss of security or manageability. We show how to leverage a decentralized authorization syndication platform to extend the design of building operating systems beyond the single administrative domain of a building. The authorization system leveraged is based on blockchain smart contracts to permit decentralized and democratized delegation of authorization without central trust. Upon this, a publish/subscribe syndication tier and a containerized service execution environment are constructed. Combined, these mechanisms solve problems of delegation, federation, device protection and service execution that arise throughout the built environment. We leverage a high-fidelity city-scale emulation to verify the scalability of the authorization tier, and briefly describe a prototypical democratized operating system for the built environment using this foundation.

The Third Wave of Democratization in Indonesia

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Delin, Azizan

2000-01-01

.... For half a century, authoritarianism was dominant in Indonesia, but like all dictatorships, Indonesia subsequently had to return to democracy. Pressures from within the authoritarian government and Indonesian society dictated the democratization process. However, the long term prospects for unstable democracy remain unclear.

Dynamical Cognitive Models of Social Issues in Russia

Science.gov (United States)

Mitina, Olga; Abraham, Fred; Petrenko, Victor

We examine and model dynamics in three areas of social cognition: (1) political transformations within Russia, (2) evaluation of political trends in other countries by Russians, and (3) evaluation of Russian stereotypes concerning women. We try to represent consciousness as vectorfields and trajectories in a cognitive state space. We use psychosemantic techniques that allow definition of the state space and the systematic construction of these vectorfields and trajectories and their portrait from research data. Then we construct models to fit them, using multiple regression methods to obtain linear differential equations. These dynamical models of social cognition fit the data quite well. (1) The political transformations were modeled by a spiral repellor in a two-dimensional space of a democratic-totalitarian factor and social depression-optimism factor. (2) The evaluation of alien political trends included a flow away from a saddle toward more stable and moderate political regimes in a 2D space, of democratic-totalitarian and unstable-stable cognitive dimensions. (3) The gender study showed expectations (attractors) for more liberated, emancipated roles for women in the future.

[Deliberative devices in mental health and democratization peer exchanges: the case of a user's assembly of a psychosocial care center in Brazil].

Science.gov (United States)

Ruelland, Isabelle

2015-01-01

Several mental health public networks in Brazil focus on the participation of a plurality of actors in different collective methods of analysis and co-management of services in order to ensure improved efficiency and greater democratization of social relations. It is clear that the analysis of the effectiveness of these collectives is often done at the expense of the social relations of power they help produce. In other words, it is as if the participatory nature of the devices immediately ensure their democratic potential and their positive impact on the recovery of the users involved.Research is presented that seeks to understand the point of view of the actors involved and to determine whether or not collective spaces for the organization of mental health services contribute to the democratization of social relations that is, the construction of individual and collective capacities for debate, decision and public action. What and how people living with serious mental disorders are protagonists in the design of service and in the struggle for quality public services and how this is involved in their recovery? The research is drawn from an organizational ethnography carried out over nearly one year in Campinas, Brazil in 2012. The research focuses on a case study in a psychosocial care center (CAPS) housing for people living with serious mental disorders. To consolidate the internal validity of the case study, three collecting data techniques were applied: the shadowing over 17 institutionalize methods or devices involved in the organization of services of the CAPS, analysis of documents and forty-seven personal interviews with users, managers and workers. This article focuses on the data from the observation of one of these devices deliberation involving users, the user's assembly, as well as interviews with 15 of these participants. The results highlight how peer exchanges, emerging in the assembly of users and the convivencia space lead to collective

New government to make social security cutbacks

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Grünell, M.

2003-01-01

In May 2003, a new coalition government of the Christian Democrats and two liberal parties, VVD and D66, took office in the Netherlands. The parties' coalition agreement provides for major cutbacks in public spending, largely targeted on social security expenditure. The trade unions are fiercely

'Democratic Leadership'--A Contradiction in Terms?

Science.gov (United States)

Riley, Kathryn

2003-01-01

Draws on a range of country contexts to shed light on the ways in which the practice of leadership is shaped by national aspirations. Examines whether there is a set of ideas, arrangements, and activities that appear to sustain new forms of leadership that support democracy, or whether democratic leadership of schools is a chimera. (Contains 29…

Democratic Republic of Congo Jobs Diagnostic

OpenAIRE

Aterido, Reyes; Gonzalez, Alvaro; Merotto, Dino; Petracco, Carly; Sanchez-Reaza, Javier

2018-01-01

The economy of the Democratic Republic of Congo is not creating sufficient jobs for its young and rapidly growing workforce. Although the Congolese economy has experienced fast growth and poverty has declined, further reducing poverty will require more dynamic job creation and continued reductions in fertility rates. The current youth bulge and potential demographic dividend will open a un...

Democratizing English as an International Language.

Science.gov (United States)

Deneire, Marc

The aim of this paper is threefold. The first section shows how the political uses of language engendered by both western-style liberalism on the one hand and various forms of nationalism on the other lead to the negation of democratic ideals. Because of the current international situation, political aspects of language are receiving more and more…

Brazilian social management modalities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Tereza Gonçalves

2015-12-01

Full Text Available In Brazil the social management is configured in a complex process. This is due to its asymmetry with respect to economic policy, environmental policy and. Social management is a major challenge that involves the articulation of warranty rights, expanding the notion of social development, the role of the state and the search for a management paradigm that respects the new status given to the social area . The analysis focuses on the methods of social management in Brazil. Among the findings it is noted that the management models adopted in Brazil has proved insufficient. It is also noted that the ideas produced around a democratic-participative management creates tensions in the hegemony of the managerial organization in the country, so that tension may represent a potentiation between efficiency and democracy.

Social Policy and Economic Development in the Nordic Countries

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kangas, Olli; Palme, Joakim

between democratization and social policy, drawing attention to the role of the state and non-governmental organizations. Social Policy and Economic Development in Nordic Countries examines Nordic social policies on unemployment, social care, family, education and health care policies, and reviews future......This volume examines the relationship between Nordic social policy and economic development from a comparative perspective. It identifies the driving forces behind the development of the Nordic welfare model and the problems and dilemmas the model is facing at present. The book also traces the link...

The short communism's journey into democracy: an appraisal of Romanian democratization

OpenAIRE

Ionescu, Alexandra

2009-01-01

Two decades after the demise of communism, one can draw a state of the art of democratization in Romania. The task of building democracy was not only an endeavor of institutional engineering, but also a re-conceptualization of the intellectual resources of politics, as well as a re-conversion of the instruments and modes of government. Romanian democratization meant simultaneously unraveling the state and the regime and separating the state and the society. Both processes were grounded in the...

HOW SOCIAL STABILITY INFLUENCES THE LEVEL OF SOCIAL TRUST IN YOUNG UKRAINIANS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tetiana Shyriaeva

2015-06-01

Full Text Available In the light of the current events in Ukraine it appears logical to consider the concept of trust. It has always been and still functions as a cement of human cooperation. Influencing various aspects of interpersonal relations, including interpersonal, intergroup, and individual ones, it illustrates the state of the political, economic and professional ability to maintain social connections. Trust makes the basis for problem solving and is characterized with constructive correlation. Thus, it is seen as the factor of transformation of the state’s social status on its way to become democratic and transparent. Without exaggeration, it is trust that forms the ground for the majority of social processes.

SOCIAL SECURITY SYSTEM-A SPECIAL FORM OF PROTECTION OF ROMANIAN SOCIETY

OpenAIRE

Maria Mirabela Ianc Florea

2012-01-01

In a democratic State, social protection is a fundamental element of State policy, because the implementation is carried out prevention, reduction or elimination of the consequences of events which are regarded as "social risk" on the level of living of the population. Social protection is designed to ensure a basic standard of living for all people, irrespective of the means by which they have.

Students' Participation to the Decision-Making Process as a Tool for Democratic School

Science.gov (United States)

Dundar, Selma

2013-01-01

This research has been designed because it has been realized that there is only little research carried out about the student participation in the administration for the structuring of the democratic authority in the higher education system in Turkey. In the relevant literature, concepts of democratic authority and education have been approached…

Civil Society Organizations’ Contribution To Democratic Governance In European Union

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dragoș – Cătălin Apostu

2013-12-01

Full Text Available This paper tries to focus/put emphasis on what are Civil Society Organizations are and gives an outline of categories of such Organizations in Europe, it briefly looks at Governance and Democratic Governance concepts. It will then after focus on the major roles of Civil Society Organizations in European democratic Governance drawing other examples also from other countries where possible and try to bring out scholarly arguments on the negative impacts of civil society organizations. The paper ends with conclusions and analysis of SC participation through EU’s multilevel governance. Much of my discussion and commentaries shall be depicted and based on information and ideas put forward by the following scholars; Paul Magnette 2003, European Governance and Civic participation, Dawid Friedrich 2007/08, Actual and Potential Contribution of Civil Society Organizations to Democratic Governance in Europe, EU Governance White Paper 2001, Rollin F. Tusalem 2007, the role of Civil Society in the Third and Fourth-Wave Democracies and other scholars not limited to the above.

The Ethics of a Democratically-Based Classroom.

Science.gov (United States)

Harrison, Gale A.

1993-01-01

The elite model of education postulates that only a select few have the intellectual capacity, moral values, and personal commitment to make "good" decisions for society. A democratically based classroom, where students are respected for their intellectual abilities, personal integrity, and commitment to achievement, fosters successful…

Global human rights awareness, education and democratization

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mihr, A.

The 1990s was the era of human rights awareness, democratic transitions, and growing involvement of international organizations and the nongovernmental sector in human rights education (HRE). The UN Decade for HRE from 1995–2004 was not only born out of the initiatives and pressures of

A Critical Ethnography of Democratic Music Listening

Science.gov (United States)

Silverman, Marissa

2013-01-01

The purpose of this critical ethnography was to investigate how music educators can approach the development of students' music listening abilities democratically in order to deepen students' musical understandings and, by teaching through music, create pathways for student-teacher transactions that are inclusive, educative, ethical and…

Journal Editorship: Mentoring, Democratic, and International Perspectives

Science.gov (United States)

Mullen, Carol A.

2011-01-01

This essay builds on a review of studies in education. Journal editorship is explored from the mentoring, democratic, and international perspectives. Trends are examined within the publishing culture around these three editorial functions. Theoretical groundwork is provided for exploring contemporary journal editorship and its challenges and…

Micro Black Holes and the Democratic Transition

CERN Document Server

Dvali, Gia

2009-01-01

Unitarity implies that the evaporation of microscopic quasi-classical black holes cannot be universal in different particle species. This creates a puzzle, since it conflicts with the thermal nature of quasi-classical black holes, according to which all the species should see the same horizon and be produced with the same Hawking temperatures. We resolve this puzzle by showing that for the microscopic black holes, on top the usual quantum evaporation time, there is a new time-scale which characterizes a purely classical process during which the black hole looses the ability to differentiate among the species, and becomes democratic. We demonstrate this phenomenon in a well-understood framework of large extra dimensions, with a number of parallel branes. An initially non-democratic black hole is the one localized on one of the branes, with its high-dimensional Schwarzschild radius being much shorter than the interbrane distance. Such a black hole seemingly cannot evaporate into the species localized on the oth...

Human Rights and Democratization of the Media

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abner Barrera Rivas

2018-03-01

Full Text Available This article analyzes the relationship between the freedom of the press, conceived and practiced by the big media, and the human right to an independent and truthful information, as understood and proposed by some international treaties, agreement, conventions and declarations concerning freedom of opinion and freedom of expression as human rights. For this reason are taken into account the controversies aroused by media and some progressive governments in South America in the past fifteen years. The article presents and analyzes arguments advanced with respect to human rights that civil society demands when receiving the information, and the rights big media’s owners hold. Given that private media companies’ priority is profit, the information becomes, then, just another consumer product. It is concluded that this situation is a real problem for the education and configuration of a democratic society, and the proposal is to democratize media to protect the human rights of all.

Democratic Deliberation Procedures : Theoretical and Practical Issues

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tutui Viorel

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract : In contemporary political philosophy, the focus of the most important controversies is on the deliberative model of democracy. These controversies concern not only the theoretical problem of providing the best justification for a deliberative model of democratic legitimacy, but also the practical problem of designing the best deliberative procedure that will secure the implementation of deliberative democracy. In this paper I will present and analyze some of the most important deliberative designs: deliberative polls, citizens’ juries, consensus conferences and planning cells. I argue that these deliberative events can have a significant impact on the political behavior of a democratic community. However, I explain that all of them have only a limited influence on the policy-making activities in local and central governing structures. This is the reason why I believe we could only supplement and never fully replace the traditional aggregative procedures of democracy (voting and bargaining with a deliberative design.

Possibilities of consensus: toward democratic moral discourse.

Science.gov (United States)

Jennings, B

1991-08-01

The concept of consensus is often appealed to in discussions of biomedical ethics and applied ethics, and it plays an important role in many influential ethical theories. Consensus is an especially influential notion among theorists who reject ethical realism and who frame ethics as a practice of discourse rather than a body of objective knowledge. It is also a practically important notion when moral decision making is subject to bureaucratic organization and oversight, as is increasingly becoming the case in medicine. Two models of consensus are examined and criticized: pluralistic consensus and overlapping consensus. As an alternative to these models, the paper argues that consensus refers to the dialogic aspects of a broader normative conception of democratic moral agency. When the preconditions for that dialogic democratic practice are met, consensus has a justificatory role in ethics; when they are not, consensus, as distinct from mere agreement, does not emerge and can have no moral authority.

The Democratizing Power of the Internet in Southeast Asia

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Parker, Kevin

1997-01-01

.... A review of the existing democratization literature, coupled with quantitative analysis of the societal impact of computer networking technologies, suggests that the level of Internet connectivity...

Overcoming Residents Opportunity Apathy in Danish Social Housing Democracy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bertelsen, Olav W.

2014-01-01

In this paper, I discuss how various technologies can support democratic collaboration in the social housing sector in Denmark, and help overcome opportunity apathy. I exemplify the discussion with an ongoing process of strategy development, in a Danish housing organization....

Foreign private capital inflows in Nigeria's democratic dispensation ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

FPCI) in Nigeria in the current democratic dispensation with a view to finding out whether the inflows have recorded significant increase since the institution of Democracy in the country. Relevant theories and empirical data were reviewed.

Two Democratic Traditions In The Election Of Head Of Village In Neglasari, Tasikmalaya

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Iyep Saefulrahman

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This study aims to analyze the working of two democratic traditions in the election of head of Neglasari Village in 2015. This aim based on the condition of Neglasari as a unity of law society that has its own tradition in implementing democracy. However, the state determines that liberal democratic tradition is the main traditions that applied in head of village election. The research uses qualitative research and case study as its research strategy. Data collecting is done by interview, observation and documentation. The working of both democratic traditions turns out to provide a positive contribution, to the village democracy to be more qualified because both traditions are supporting each other.

Social communication difficulties and autism in previously institutionalized children.

Science.gov (United States)

Levin, April R; Fox, Nathan A; Zeanah, Charles H; Nelson, Charles A

2015-02-01

To determine the risk of difficulties with social communication and restricted/repetitive behaviors as well as the rate of autism in children institutionalized in early infancy and to assess the impact of a foster care intervention on ameliorating this risk. Children abandoned at birth and raised in institutions in Bucharest, Romania were randomly assigned to a care-as-usual group (institutional care, CAUG), or placed in family-centered foster care (FCG) as part of the Bucharest Early Intervention Project (BEIP). At approximately 10 years of age, the Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ) was administered to caregivers of children in both groups as well as to parents of a typically developing community sample (Never-Institutionalized group [NIG]) residing in Bucharest, Romania. Children scoring ≥12 on the SCQ underwent clinical evaluation for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Caregivers of children with a history of institutionalization reported that these children had significantly more deviant behavior than never-institutionalized children on all subdomains of the SCQ (all p communication. Three of 60 CAUG children, 2 of 57 FCG children, and none of the NIG children received a formal ASD diagnosis. Early institutional rearing was associated with an increased risk of social communication difficulties and ASD. A family-centered foster care intervention improved social communication skills. Copyright © 2015 American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Social Epistemology and Its Politically Correct Words: Avoiding Absolutism, Relativism, Consensualism, and Vulgar Pragmatism

Science.gov (United States)

Price, Leigh

2005-01-01

Where social epistemology has been applied in environmental education research, certain words have come to be associated with it, such as, "social," "contextualized," "strategic," "political," "pragmatic," "democratic," and "participatory." In this paper, I first suggest interpretations of these words that potentially avoid absolutism, relativism,…

The Puzzle of Democratic Monopolies: Single Party Dominance and Decline in India

OpenAIRE

Dasgupta, Aditya

2016-01-01

How to explain political monopolies in democratic institutional settings? Dominant parties in countries with robust formal democratic institutions are surprisingly frequent, yet poorly understood. Existing theories explain away the puzzle by characterizing dominant parties as `catch-all' parties that survive on the basis of historically imbued mass voter legitimacy. This dissertation develops a theory of how dominant parties in fact routinely win free and fair elections despite counter-majori...

Creating Better Schools through Democratic School Leadership

Science.gov (United States)

San Antonio, Diosdado M.

2008-01-01

This paper examines the impact of implementing democratic school leadership via advisory school councils in Philippine public secondary schools. Through an experiment with empirical surveys and interviews, this study reveals that the experimental group had higher levels of commitment, empowerment and trust compared with the control group after one…

A Code of Ethics for Democratic Leadership

Science.gov (United States)

Molina, Ricardo; Klinker, JoAnn Franklin

2012-01-01

Democratic leadership rests on sacred values, awareness, judgement, motivation and courage. Four turning points in a 38-year school administrator's career revealed decision-making in problematic moments stemmed from values in a personal and professional code of ethics. Reflection on practice and theory added vocabulary and understanding to make…

Desert, Liberalism and Justice in Democratic Education

Science.gov (United States)

Jonsson, Olafur Pall

2012-01-01

Liberal democratic education, as advocated in recent accounts of citizenship education or civic education, is often seen as incompatible with moral education or character education rooted in specific views regarding the virtues. This contrast relies on well established philosophical differences between liberal views of justice and democracy, on…

AFRICAN STATES AND GLOBAL CHALLENGES IN DEMOCRATIC ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Dean SPGS NAU

governing requires an ability to balance the differing needs and expectations of both local .... subsequently tables place-shaping as solution – using powers and influence ... democratic ideals and local government practices work at cross- purposes. .... values, it must be part of everyday life in localities and their communities.

Republican reforming policy and democratic modernization | El reformismo republicano y la modernización democrática

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Glicerio Sánchez Recio

2003-12-01

Full Text Available This study focuses on the survival of Republican values in our present-day democratic system, values which have been analysed from a dual perspective: on the one hand, the current interest in the principles and values fostered by centre-left governments and organizations during the Second Republic, and on the other, the presence of these principles and values in our present-day democratic system. Consensus, social reform, political pluralism, devolution, and educational and cultural advancement, besides being democratic values and principles, are currently pointing towards a specific way of understanding politics and public affairs, understood as proximity and service to, and respect for all citizens. Moreover, there are similarities between the two regimes; in both cases, the immediate political background was marked by a dictatorship, both expressly declared an intention to establish themselves as democracies and subsequently underwent a transitional process marked by consensus, and both had similar aims. However, there are also significant differences between the two, not only in terms of the system of government, but also the attribution of State powers, the declaration of rights and the way these were put into practice, and the limits of consensus. While we cannot talk of continuity between the two regimes, the Second Republic may be seen as a short-lived precedent to the current democratic system, and one which succumbed to the strength of anti-democratic organizations and interests. | Este trabajo trata de la pervivencia de los valores republicanos en el régimen democrático actual, que se han analizado desde una doble perspectiva: el interés que despiertan los principios y valores activados por los gobiernos y organizaciones del centro izquierda durante la II República, y la presencia de esos mismos principios y valores en el ordenamiento democrático actual. Consenso, reformismo social, pluralismo político, descentralización del

A New Conservative Cold Front? Democrat and Republican Responsiveness to the Passage of the Affordable Care Act

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stephen L. Morgan

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Through an analysis of the 2004 through 2014 General Social Survey (GSS, this article demonstrates that the 2010 passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA decreased support for spending on health among Democrats, Independents, and Republicans, contrary to the conjecture that a rigid partisanship equilibrium has taken hold among voters in the United States. Instead, only a partisan deflection is present, with spending preferences declining more for Republicans than for Democrats, and with Independents in between. Through supplemental analysis of the GSS panel data, as well as comparative analysis of other GSS items on national spending preferences, government responsibility, and confidence in leaders, this article also undermines support for an alternative explanation that cannot be entirely eliminated from plausibility, which is that the identified period effect that emerged in 2010 and persisted through 2014 is a response to the Great Recession and resulting deficit spending by the federal government. Implications for public opinion research are discussed, lending support to current models of thermostat effects and policy-specific political mood from the political science literature, which are informed by an older literature on weather fronts in public opinion that originated in the sociology literature.

Spirituality for democracy: Spiritual resources for democratic participation in the 21st century

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roderick R. Hewitt

2014-08-01

Full Text Available The topic invites us to explore spirituality for democracy and to identify and critique the spiritual resources that are needed for democratic participation in the 21st century. The statement specifically focused on for and not of democracy. Modern expressions of democracy are in crisis. Every context is teething with challenges and conflicts between government sand their citizens concerning how much influence through participation should be allowed in the decision-making process of governance. This topic is of extreme importance for academic discourse because the malaise that has crept into contemporary forms of democratic governance calls for urgent attention. Democratic forms of governance are not set in stone. Rather, they are formed as a result of human deliberation and praxis and cultural developments and must therefore remain open for further reformation. It is this intrinsic capacity for renewal that opens democracy to converse with spirituality. This article begins with identifying the key terms that constitute the academic building blocks of this study. The inherent contradictions in the use of these terms are noted in order to arrive at a theoretical construct to converse with the key concepts of spirituality, democracy, spiritual resources and democratic participation.Through the use of the post colonial lenses of Rastafari hermeneutics, a theoretical framework will be employed to map a life-giving path for contemporary expressions of spirituality for democracy and to identify the resources needed for democratic participation.

Perceptions of Social Media: A Joint Arena for Voters and Politicians?

OpenAIRE

Segaard, Signe Bock

2015-01-01

While observers have focused on the political use of social media when exploring their democratic potential, we know little about users’ perceptions of these media. These perceptions could well be important to understanding the political use of social media. In exploring users’ perceptions, the article asks whether politicians and voters view social media in a similar way, and to what extent they consider social media to be an apt arena for political communication. Within a Norwegian context,...

A social-eco-democrat between ideals and reality

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Đurić Jelena

2010-01-01

Full Text Available The challenge of discovering what is generally important vis-à-vis human being, through dealing with seemingly local topics, was the ideal of a late Serbian philosopher, ethicist and social theorist Prof. Dr. Svetozar Stojanović, the ideal that he, by his own self-understanding, was persistently explored. The rediscovery of his world-view initiated by his recent passing, has a potential to arouse momentous thinking on the principles of identity transformation.

Securing Social Media : A Network Structure Approach

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Chiluka, N.J.

2013-01-01

Due to its democratized nature, online social media (OSM) attracts millions of users to publish and share their content with friends as well as a wider audience at little cost. Such a vast user base and a wealth of content, however, presents its own challenges. First, the amount of user-generated

Cinema and Politics since 9/11: the Democratic Pardox of Media

OpenAIRE

Marteau, Aurélie

2006-01-01

The question of whether cinema is democratic is a vast one, which requires research limitations of time and place to actually find an answer for. In this study, the place will be the United States, because nowhere else is the industry of cinema so powerful and generates more elements of popular culture; where also the country is considered to be democratic and practicing freedom of speech. The time will be the period following 11th September 2001: a date after which American politics has been...

The left and the democratic stability in Latin America: the ideology of the Bolivarian Revolution and its impact on the political processes in Venezuela and Latin America

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José Enrique MOLINA V.

2010-10-01

Full Text Available One of the main areas of work in Comparative Politics and Political Theory has been the determination of the variables associated with the stability/instability of political systems in general, and democracy in particular. This paper focuses on one of these variables. One with newly acquired importance after the recent electoral successes by the left, but that nevertheless has not been in the spotlight of scholarly analysis: ideological polarization. Particularly, ideological polarization brought about by the attempt to pursue by the government a leftist political project. The main focus is on the ideological project pursued by the Venezuelan Bolivarian Government and its association with the political instability of 2002 and 2003. The paper considers this topic taken into account mainstream theoretical approaches on political stability, and the experience of previous Latin American leftist governments. The paper reaches the conclusion that in Latin America the attempt to implement a socialist program by a democratically elected government, if it is done without meaningful social and political negotiation, and with authoritarian overtones, is likely to lead to intense political instability and to the ultimate failure of the proposed social change.

Sustained Innovation Through Shared Capitalism and Democratic Governance

Science.gov (United States)

Beyster, M. A.; Blasi, J.; Sibilia, J.; Zebuchen, T.; Bowman, A.

The Foundation for Enterprise Development (FED) explores application of democratic representative governance models and structures for long-term interdisciplinary research, development and education to the concept of an organization that can sustain activity in support of interstellar travel in the 100-year timeframe, as outlined by the 100 Year StarshipTM. This paper titled, Sustained Innovation through Shared Capitalism and Democratic Governance , explores the roots of representative structures and organizations as long-lived success stories throughout history. Research, innovation, organizational structures and associated issues are explored to address the long-term focus required for development, both material and human. Impact investing vehicles are also explored as potential investment structures addressing the long-term horizon required by the organization. This paper provides an illustration, description and philosophical approach of this model as developed by the FED and our collaborators.

You, Too. The Social Science Newsletter for Secondary Teachers. Vol. VIII, Number 2, October-November 1978.

Science.gov (United States)

Educational Research Council of America, Cleveland, OH.

This newsletter explores trends in social studies education from the 1950s through the 1970s. The decades of the 1950s and 1960s are characterized as kaleidoscopes of pedagogic fashions. Among the trends in social studies objectives, methods, and content were socialization, democratic attitudes, conceptual learning, inquiry learning, values…

Association of Finnish Members of Parliament and Researchers: Social Democratic Parliamentary group MP K. Olin, Former Finnish MP M. Tiuri, Finnish Centre Party MP P. Vilkuna, Senior Assistant Professor I. Ruostetsaari and Finnish Parliament Committee of Future Researcher U. Gabrielsson at ATLAS experiment with P. Jenn, M. Nordberg and M. Kotamaki on 15 September 2006.

CERN Document Server

Maximilien Brice

2006-01-01

Association of Finnish Members of Parliament and Researchers: Social Democratic Parliamentary group MP K. Olin, Former Finnish MP M. Tiuri, Finnish Centre Party MP P. Vilkuna, Senior Assistant Professor I. Ruostetsaari and Finnish Parliament Committee of Future Researcher U. Gabrielsson at ATLAS experiment with P. Jenn, M. Nordberg and M. Kotamaki on 15 September 2006.

Teachers as curriculum leaders: towards promoting gender equity as a democratic ideal

OpenAIRE

Simmonds, Shan

2017-01-01

Curriculum is a site of political, racial, gendered, and theological dispute. Teachers who acknowledge this and see the implications for democratic living embrace their teaching practice as curriculum leaders and participate in complicated conversations. With the focus on gender equity as a democratic ideal, this article explores the lived experiences of some South African female teachers. From the findings, it became evident that some teachers still experience their school contexts as pervad...

Judging Political Hearts and Minds: How Political Dynamics Drive Social Judgments.

Science.gov (United States)

Cornwell, James F M; Bajger, Allison T; Higgins, E Tory

2015-08-01

We investigated how judgments of political messengers depend upon what would benefit one's preferred candidate. In Study 1a, participants were asked to evaluate the warmth and competence of the writer of a pro- or anti-Obama political message for the 2012 presidential election (Obama/warm; Romney/competent). When judging the messages, warmth was emphasized by Democrats and competence by Republicans. Study 1b replicated these effects for messages about Romney as well. Study 2 examined the 2004 presidential election where perceptions of the party candidates' warmth and competence reversed (Bush/warm; Kerry/competent). There competence was emphasized by Democrats and warmth by Republicans. Study 3 showed that varying the warmth and competence of each party's prospective candidates for the 2016 election influences whether warmth or competence is emphasized by Democrats or Republicans. Thus, differences between Republicans and Democrats in emphasizing warmth or competence reflect a dynamic motivated cognition that is tailored to benefit their preferred candidate. © 2015 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

Democratizing the Multinational Corporation (MNC)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Torben Juul; Hallin, Carina Antonia

2017-01-01

insights that can be used strategically if management at headquarters is cognizant about its existence and able to collect this information. We introduce the notion of democratizing the strategic engagement of managers and employees at all levels and locations of the multinational corporation (MNC......) as an essential leadership paradigm. The implied interaction between slow central analytical reasoning at headquarters and updated insights from fast decentralized initiatives in local subsidiaries constitutes an effective dynamic responsive mechanism. This dynamic interaction implies that critical strategic...

Strategic Mine Planning: A SWOT Analysis Applied to KOV Open Pit Mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo

OpenAIRE

Patrick May Mukonki

2017-01-01

KOV pit (Kamoto Oliveira Virgule) is located 10 km from Kolwezi town, one of the mineral rich town in the Lualaba province of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The KOV pit is currently operating under the Katanga Mining Limited (KML), a Glencore-Gecamines (a State Owned Company) join venture. Recently, the mine optimization process provided a life of mine of approximately 10 years withnice pushbacks using the Datamine NPV Scheduler software. In previous KOV pit studies, we recently outlined t...

Intention to breastfeed in low-income pregnant women: the role of social support and previous experience.

Science.gov (United States)

Humphreys, A S; Thompson, N J; Miner, K R

1998-09-01

The purpose of this study was to describe the relationship between breastfeeding intention among socioeconomically disadvantaged pregnant women and maternal demographics, previous breastfeeding experience, and social support. A cross-sectional, convenience sampling strategy was employed for data collection. Low-income women (n = 1001) in a public hospital completed a six-page questionnaire about their infant feeding plans, demographics, and social support. Simple regression analyses were conducted to compare maternal breastfeeding intention with the hypothesized correlates. Breastfeeding intention was positively correlated with older maternal age, higher education, more breastfeeding experience, Hispanic ethnicity, and hearing about breastfeeding benefits from family members, the baby's father, and lactation consultants, but not from other health professionals. Health professionals' attitudes were less influential on women's infant feeding decisions than the attitudes and beliefs of members of women's social support networks. When controlling for breastfeeding experience (none vs any), some findings, varied, indicating a need for breastfeeding interventions tailored to women's level of experience. Use of peer counselors and lactation consultants, inclusion of a woman's family members in breastfeeding educational contacts, and creation of breastfeeding classes tailored to influential members of women's social support networks may improve breastfeeding rates among low-income women, especially those with no breastfeeding experience, more effectively than breastfeeding education to pregnant women that is solely conducted by health professionals.

THEORY OF GOVERNANCE AND SOCIAL ENTERPRISE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cristina SANDU

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The article, subordinated to the governance and public sector reform domain, approaches governance theory, a theory that is specific to a society in a profound transformation. The transformation represents a result of globalization and the thematic of social enterprise a mean of appearance within the global arena for social actors as representatives of the new economic governance. Starting from the New Public Management reforms, the article analysis the state and public action changes within the contemporary society and in the same time, realizes a clear distinction between governing and governance and identifies a third way within the economic governance –heterarchy or network management, which refers to horizontal self-organizations between the interdependent actors. The study also illustrates the fact that the development of global political economy is in strong connection with democratization. Thus, the democracy must be affirmed at both global and local levels, and the role of non-state actors must increase, democratization representing a consonance in economic liberalization, state institutional change and development of a powerful public space. The result of the current analysis materializes in the identification of the social enterprise typology, the reference models and comparative experiences of social enterprise. As a conclusion, the study formulates a complex definition of social enterprise concept, which comprises the social and economic criteria, the social aim of the ideal-type of social enterprise. The research methodology is represented by complex methods as follows: the first and the second parts are based on literature and theories analysis, the third part is based on questionnaire application, statistical data collection and comparative empirical studies. The sample the comparative studies is represented by European countries as follows: the references models - United Kingdom, France and Italy and the empirical studies �

Religion, Democratic Community, and Education: Two Questions

Science.gov (United States)

D'Souza, Mario Osbert

2012-01-01

This paper examines the mediating role that education plays between religion and democratic community. The paper is situated in the Canadian context and examines this mediation through two questions: First, what is the relationship between religion and education and what is the contribution of this relationship to and within a pluralist society?…

Kant's categorical imperative: a foundation for democratic ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

... to the prevalence of a monstrous anti-democratic vice such as corruption. Rocked by a decline in morality and national consciousness in both public and private life, the practice of democracy in Africa and Nigeria in particular since ... a cardinal moral theory in Immanuel Kant.s ethical philosophy presented in his work ...

[Social participation and health in Brazil: a systematic review on the topic].

Science.gov (United States)

Paiva, Fernando Santana de; Stralen, Cornelis Johannes Van; Costa, Pedro Henrique Antunes da

2014-02-01

The process of democratization of Brazil contributed to the emergence of management councils and thematic conferences in the context of public health policies. The scope of this article was to conduct a systematic review of the literature in order to establish the factors associated with the process of institutionalization of these democratic areas. The following databases were researched: LILACS, IBECS, MEDLINE, SciELO, PAHO, PsycINFO, Web of Science, Social Science and EBSCO. For the composition of the sample of 25 articles, the following key words were used: Social Control, Social Participation, Consumer Participation, Community Participation, Public Participation, Citizen Participation, Political Participation, Participative Management, Participative Democracy, Deliberative Democracy with Health Councils and Health Conferences. The results found synthesize a set of categories that has impacted the participatory public spaces: political representation and qualification, relationships among the social actors, institutional design, political culture, discourses about health/disease and the debate about democracy. The findings help to move forward in the understanding of such institutions, fostering the construction of alternatives committed to the strengthening of democracy in Brazil.

[Drug addiction and social exclusion].

Science.gov (United States)

Solal, J F; Schneider, M C

1996-10-01

Destitute drug addicts have not deliberately chosen to be socially excluded; it's more the consequence of a sanitary and social policy which has given a greater importance to the treatment of addiction than to the drug addict's health. Facing Aids, physicians, with their pragmatic attitude, have reversed this drift. On the streets, the drug addict holds handicaps concurrently; medicinal addiction leads to harder sevrance and substitution. Having access to social rights allows to regain an identity, compulsory for an access to health care; but public hospitals have to make casier both the admission and the stay of patients whose therapeutic observance is dependent on a preliminary substitution. Drug addiction and precarity represent a double social challenge that a democratic society must take up without any segregation.

EZI- NA-ULO AND UMUNNA: IN SEARCH OF DEMOCRATIC ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Dr Ike

Anthony Ufearoh. Abstract. This write-up intends to locate democratic ideals the traditional Igbo .... quintessential leader in the communalist leadership system of the traditional .... style is 'inclusionary' rather than 'exclusionary'. Representation.

The Perceptions of Prospective Teachers on the Democratic Aspects of the Constructivist Learning Environment

Science.gov (United States)

Bay, Erdal; Gundogdu, Kerim; Kaya, Halil Ibrahim

2010-01-01

Introduction: The nations which have the aim to create democratic societies should also realize the same ideals in educational practices. Related literature declare that learning environments based on constructivist approach is assumed to be democratic. In line with this frame, the aim of this study is to determine the perceptions of prospective…

Radical Social Democracy and School Reform in Wilhelmian Germany

Science.gov (United States)

Olson, James M.

1977-01-01

The article describes how the German Social Democratic Party promoted educational reform in Germany before World War I. It demanded state support for a secularized school program, suggested curricular reforms to instill socialist values, and promoted adult education and socialist training in the home. (AV)

Non-formal Education and Its Role in Establishing a Democratic Culture within Indonesian Heterogeneous Society.

Science.gov (United States)

Tampubolon, Mangatas

2003-01-01

Examines nonformal education's part in expanding democratic culture in Indonesia; discusses contextual constraints on democracy, use of nonformal education for literacy and life skills development, and the influence on developing citizen awareness of responsibilities in a democratic society. (Contains 28 references.) (SK)

Democratizing science and technology education: Perspectives from the philosophy of education

Science.gov (United States)

Pierce, Clayton Todd

This study examines conceptualizations of science and technology and their relation to ideas of democratic education in the history of philosophy of education. My genealogical analysis begins by tracing the anti-democratic emergence of ideas and values of science and technology that have evolved through ancient and modern periods within the philosophy of education and continue to shape the ways science and technology are understood and treated in educational settings. From my critical engagement with Plato's Republic and Rousseau's Emile, I argue that anti-democratic structures and values have been embedded in philosophy of education through Plato's educational theory of techne and Rousseau's pedagogical theory that involves science and technology as important educational force. Following this theme, I analyze the work of John Dewey and Herbert Marcuse and their shared project for democratizing science and technology through education. Through a critical comparison of both theorists' models, I suggest that each provides positive legacies for philosophy of education to draw upon in rethinking the intersection of science, technology, and education: a strong model for understanding public problems associated with a highly technological and scientific society and a reconstructive framework for values and sensibilities that demands a new value relationship to be developed between humans and science and technology. Finally, I situate my critique and assessment of this history in the philosophy of education within the current science and technology education reform movement in the United States. I claim that the official models of science and technological literacy and inquiry, as constructed by the National Academy of Sciences and a host of governmental policies, shape science and technology education with a decidedly neo-liberal focus and purpose. In response to this anti-democratic movement I offer an alternative position that utilizes a counter-epistemology to the

El discurso político de Manuel Fraga durante la Transición. Aplicaciones metodológicas / The political discourse of Manuel Fraga in the process of Democratic Transition. Methodological applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antonio Pantoja Chaves

2010-06-01

Full Text Available Resumen: Para finalizar con esta serie de artículos sobre el análisis de los discursos de los líderes más importantes del proceso de Transición democrática en España, en esta entrega nos centramos en la figura política de Manuel Fraga Iribarne. Su trayectoria estuvo marcada por una activa participación institucional durante los últimos años del régimen de Franco, reconducida hacia una realidad política y social consensuada por los principios democráticos.Summary: To end this series of articles on the analysis of the speeches of the most important leaders of the democratic transition process in Spain, in this issue we focus on the political figure of Manuel Fraga Iribarne. His career was marked by active institutional participation over the last years of the Franco regime, redirected towards a political and social consensus for democratic principles.

Is Democratization a Sound Strategy for Combating Fundamentalist Islam

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Johnson, Anthony J

2008-01-01

.... The United States' current National Security Strategy (NSS) prepossess to counter the growth of radical Islam through the promotion of human rights and freedom by the process of democratization throughout the world...

Introduction Public Sector Reforms and the Quest for Democratic ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

seriane.camara

substantive (or emancipatory) democracy in the long run”. Democratic .... the paradigm focused exclusively on short-term macro-economic stabilization, with little ..... Paper presented at the Guy Mhone Memorial Conference on Public Sector.

Leadership Education Priorities in a Democratic Society

Science.gov (United States)

Page, William Tyler

2010-01-01

Is there still an effort to include democratic ideals in public education? Some claim that it is no longer a priority, the result of a lack of common definition or perceived benefits. In today's policy driven climate, school leaders must transition to new and more effective approaches to enhancing learning and teaching. Aspiring principals/leaders…

EUROPEAN INSTITUTIONS ON SOCIAL MEDIA ‒ SHAPING THE NOTION OF EUROPEAN CITIZENSHIP

OpenAIRE

Gaušis, E

2017-01-01

This study supports topical discussion about the possibilities to use social media as a tool for citizen involvement in democratic processes. Contemporary academic views and statistics on the use of social media for communication between institutions and citizens are gathered in the study. The research focus is on social media publications, analysing the content of four European Parliament`s social media accounts in Latvian during the period from 1 July 2015 to 31 December 2015. The aim of th...

Children Rights in Social Studies Curricula in Elementary Education: A Comparative Study

Science.gov (United States)

Merey, Zihni

2012-01-01

Social studies classes educate students as citizens who are expected to adopt democratic values and apply their information and richness to their life. Social studies classes are the ones that include human rights education in the first place. The purpose of this study is to make a comparison of inclusion levels of children's rights issues in…

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…

Governing Insecurity: Democratic Control of Military and Security ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

P H Stoker

democratic control of military and security institutions is strategic to democratisation for two main reasons: firstly because these institutions have a peculiar intimate relationship to political power and secondly because their security functions, including the management of insecurities that may be generated by democratisation ...

Development of Democratic Processes in the People’s Republic of China: Prospects of Transformation of the Political Regime

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexey Alexandrovich Semenov

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Rapid economic growth of the PRC has brought new challenges and promoted social transformation in Chinese society. China suffers profound changes involving fundamental principles of public relations. The political regime in China is in a changeable condition, and continues to transform. Some decisions of the Chinese government affect not only the economy and public administration, but also in some ways human rights and political changes. Chinese political regime takes on the pending social problems and begins to gently lift old political bans. There is development of processes which at least by the formal features can be attributed to be democratic or quasi-democratic. However, despite a number of political changes and improving of human rights situation in last decades, China is still an illiberal state. Moreover, the level of repression in China has increased in the last few years. All of these actions raise questions about the political future of China. The scale of the socio-economic changes that have occurred in the PRC is so significant, that the maintaining of the existing governance structure is not possible. Rapid economic growth reduced public discontent at the disregard to fundamental human rights. Yet the “economic miracle” is coming to an end, and the country desperately needs economic and political reforms. Lack of reforms or its incorrect implementation can put the existing system out of balance, which will lead to adverse effects not only in China but also in the world. Depending on the reforms we can assume several scenarios for further development of the PRC.

Bringing LGBTQ Topics into the Social Studies Classroom

Science.gov (United States)

Maguth, Brad M.; Taylor, Nathan

2014-01-01

Social studies education plays an important role in preparing students for a diverse, pluralistic democratic citizenry (NCSS 2010). While the field has made some gains in addressing the needs of various marginalized communities within the curriculum, there has been very little progress in incorporating LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender,…

Theorizing Democratic Education from a Senian Perspective

Science.gov (United States)

DeCesare, Tony

2014-01-01

Despite the growing body of literature and general interest in the intersection between the capabilities approach (CA) and education, little work has been done so far to theorize democratic education from a CA perspective. This essay attempts to do so by, first, getting clear about the theory of democracy that has emerged from Amartya Sen's…

Leadership Education Priorities for a Democratic Society

Science.gov (United States)

Jenlink, Patrick M.

2010-01-01

Determining the priorities for leadership education in a democratic society is a complex, challenging responsibility, not a task to be taken lightly. It is complex on one level in that to be a leader in schools "today is to understand a profoundly human as well as a professional responsibility." It is challenging on another level in that preparing…

Phenomenological mass matrices with a democratic warp

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kleppe, A.

2018-01-01

Taking into account all available data on the mass sector, we obtain unitary rotation matrices that diagonalize the quark matrices by using a specific parametrization of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa mixing matrix. In this way, we find mass matrices for the up- and down-quark sectors of a specific, symmetric form, with traces of a democratic texture.

The Democratic Window of Opportunity: Evidence from Riots in sub-Saharan Africa

OpenAIRE

Aidt, Toke Skovsgaard; Leon, Gabriel

2014-01-01

We show that drought-induced changes in the intensity of riots lead to moves towards democracy in sub-Saharan Africa, and that these changes are often a result of concessions made as a result of the riots. This provides evidence that low-intensity conflict can have a substantial short-run impact on democratic change, and supports the "window of opportunity" hypothesis: droughts lead to an increase in the threat of conflict, and incumbents often respond by making democratic concessions. Thi...

Democratic Socialism: Toward a Fifth Theory of the Press.

Science.gov (United States)

Picard, Robert G.

For more than 25 years, the "four theories" paradigm has been dominant in the study of the relationships among the press, society, and the state. Asserting that the major approaches to such study are the libertarian, social responsibility, authoritarian, and Soviet/communist theories, this paradigm fails to account for economic and…

A qualitative analysis of psychosocial outcomes among women with sexual violence-related pregnancies in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Science.gov (United States)

Scott, Jennifer; Mullen, Colleen; Rouhani, Shada; Kuwert, Philipp; Greiner, Ashley; Albutt, Katherine; Burkhardt, Gillian; Onyango, Monica; VanRooyen, Michael; Bartels, Susan

2017-01-01

Sexual violence is prevalent in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and has potentially devastating psychosocial consequences. Previous studies have reported on sexual violence and its impact on the mental health of survivors, but there are few studies conducted among women with sexual violence-related pregnancies (SVRPs). Women with SVRPs may be at greater risk of complex psychosocial outcomes, including social stigmatization. This study aimed to describe psychosocial outcomes among this subgroup of sexual violence survivors in order to inform future interventions. A mixed methods study was conducted in Bukavu, DRC in 2012 among adult women who self-reported an SVRP and either (1) were currently raising a child from an SVRP (parenting group) or (2) had terminated an SVRP (termination group). This manuscript presents qualitative findings from the mixed methods study. Participants were recruited using respondent-driven sampling and a proportion engaged in semi-structured qualitative interviews conducted by trained female interviewers. Thematic content analysis was conducted and key themes were identified. In total, 55 women were interviewed, of whom 38 were in the parenting group and 17 in the termination group. Women with SVRPs experienced a myriad of emotional responses as they navigated their social environments following the SVRPs. Negative reactions, including social stigmatization and/or social rejection, toward women with SVRPs and toward children born from SVRPs were important influences on psychological well-being. Women expressed both internalized emotionality intertwined with externalized experiences in the social environment. Many women demonstrated resilience, or what could be termed post-traumatic growth, identifying avenues of agency to advance the social conditions for women. The findings from the qualitative study, and in particular, the respondents' needs and suggested strategies, may be useful to inform future research, programs, and

Vertical accountabilitlity and democratization of Judiciary: the end of restricted suffrage

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lourival Barão Marques Filho

2017-02-01

Full Text Available The National Council of Justice holds the Judiciary Branch horizontality accountable, however, other Judiciary institutions still lack vertical accountability that shall promote internal democratization. The transposition of Guilhermo O’Donnell’s concept of vertical accountability is useful to democratize administration in Courts of Justice. The verticality in this perspective can be expressed by the possibility of judges to choose, watch, punish and reward their administrators. A new arrangement, based on efficient mechanisms of accountability, can provide a legitimacy that lacks for the internal public of these institutions, especially with direct election for the presidency of Courts of Justice.

State-Led Education for Democratic Socialism: Venezuela's Education Missions

Science.gov (United States)

Duffy, Maura

2015-01-01

Venezuela's "Bolivarian Revolution" is conceptualised as an anti-neoliberal project that aims to promote fundamental changes in the configuration of political power via processes of state-grassroots collaboration. Central to this process is an emphasis on the key role of education in the development of a 21st Century socialism based on…

Leadership Style Right in the Democratic

OpenAIRE

Harlen, Togu

2015-01-01

Each leader has a leadership style that is different tobe adapted to the work environment so as to avoidinternal conflicts between superiors and subordinates.No leadership style that has been attached since theman was still in the womb, but some are derived fromexperience and knowledge about leadership.In an era of democratization takes leaders who have ademocratic leadership style that promotes democraticvalues that exist so that the subordinate was given theopportunity to cooperate and coor...

Further Democratizing Latin America: Broadening Access to Higher Education and Promoting Science Policies Focused on the Advanced Training of Human Resources

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Manuel Heitor

2014-08-01

Full Text Available We focus this paper on the conditions to build reliable science, technology and higher education systems in Latin America, based on international comparative studies, fieldwork and interviews conducted over the last three years. The analysis shows that science can have a major role in furthering the democratization of society through public policies that foster opportunities to access knowledge and the advanced training of human resources. Broadening the social basis for higher education promotes the qualification of the labour force and contributes to social and economic development. The need to guarantee higher education diversity, strengthening scientific institutions and investing in a strong science base, is deemed as critical, but goes far beyond policies centred on innovation and industry-science relationships. It requires adequate training and attraction of skilled people, as well as the social promotion of a scientific and technological culture.

The Refugee Crisis as a European Democratic Crisis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chryssoula Kapartziani

2016-07-01

Full Text Available The institutional European Union is facing two types of crisis. On the one hand, it needs to manage the current refugee’s influx efficiently and on the other hand it needs to deal with the democratic deficit that emerged by Europe’s incapacity to make the required decisions and gain the justification of its actions from its own people. This article aims firstly to highlight the legal framework (rule of law that governs the asylum and migration procedures as well as the democratic gap that these provisions created in the different member states, as a crystal clear example of how a national competence became supranational. Furthermore, it illustrates the refugee profile, as a human being with acquired human rights through the theories of H. Arendt and the U. Beck. Lastly, the cosmopolitan approach is suggested in order to overcome the refugee crisis but a well-established integration should be the long term goal of Europe.

Democratic Twittering: Microblogging for a More Participatory Social Studies

Science.gov (United States)

Krutka, Daniel G.

2014-01-01

Waves of revolutionary actions beginning in late 2010 led to the downfall of dictatorial leaders who had been entrenched in the Arab world for decades. Everyday citizens used social media services to coordinate, communicate, expose, and respond to the oppressive forces that would crush pockets of resistance. The period known as the Arab Spring…

Pentecostalism, gerontocratic rule and democratization in Malawi : the changing position of the young in political culture

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dijk, van R.A.; Haynes, J.

1999-01-01

This chapter explores the relationship between the father-metaphor, gerontocratic power, democratization and religion in the context of changing political culture in Malawi. It argues that democratization in Malawi signalled a change in the nature of the dominant gerontocratic power relations

The cyclical social choice of primary vs. general election candidates

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kurrild-Klitgaard, Peter

The manner in which US presidential elections are organized make them ripe for empirical manifestations of the “voting paradoxes” identified by social choice theorists. This note illustrates the general point with polling data involving the two leading Democrats and the three leading Republicans ...

School Governing Bodies in South African Schools: Under Pressure to Enhance Democratization and Improve Quality

Science.gov (United States)

Heystek, Jan

2011-01-01

Governing bodies in South Africa are expected to have an important role in ensuring high quality education in schools as well as in the democratization of the post-apartheid South Africa. However, current legislation precludes governing bodies from involvement in the professional management of schools. Governing bodies are democratically elected…

Kinship Structures and Social Justice in Sub-Saharan Africa ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

A major obstacle to the development of sustainable democratic systems of government in contemporary sub-Saharan African states is the difficulty in articulating an adequate conception of social justice to serve as a guiding principle in these polities. This difficulty is a consequence of the ethnically heterogeneous character ...

Between the Managerial and the Democratic University: Governance Structure and Academic Freedom as Sites of Political Struggle

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dalie Giroux

2016-03-01

Full Text Available In this article we argue that the university cannot fully contribute to democratic life without being both an institution whose governance is collegial and based on principles of equality, equity, inclusion, transparency, and accountability, and a vector of critical thinking closely linked to academic freedom. Based on this understanding of the ‘democratic university,’ we seek to highlight some of the key tensions between the ‘managerial university’ and the democratic university, as reflected in institutional structures, regulations, legal frameworks, and principles. In order to achieve this objective, we identify two sites of political struggles from which it is possible to examine the interaction between a managerial and a democratic conception and practice of the university. The first of these sites is the bicameral governing structure, membership, rules, and regulations of the University of Ottawa. The second site is academic freedom in Canada, which we will discuss by comparing the Canadian Association of University Teachers’ (CAUT Statement on Academic Freedom (CAUT, 2011 with the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada’s (AUCC Statement on Academic Freedom (AUCC, 2011. By stressing the necessary link and positive relationship between democratic governance and academic freedom, the article offers a normative evaluation of the impact the managerial reengineering of Canadian universities has had on the possibility and practice of a more democratic university.

Is there still a place for social emancipation in public policies?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paula Guimarães

2010-09-01

Full Text Available The consolidation of the welfare state in Europe after World War II allowed for the development of adult education programmes aimed at social inclusion, economic growth and democratic citizenship. Lifelong education, proposed by UNESCO (1970s, allowed countries to build adult education policies combining the needs of economic growth and increasing democratic social demands, based on adults’ emancipation. In the last two decades, the European Union (EU orientation for lifelong learning has stressed the formation of education and training to prepare workers to be more productive, and the creation of partnership (public/private provision, according to managerial rules and procedures. These two distinct political approaches have influenced the evolution of adult education in Portugal. In this paper we argue that the civil society organisations (CSOs of Portugal today are trapped within a set of technical procedures that have been established in the name of lifelong learning and that EU programmes have made it very difficult for CSOs to escape national state control. This situation impedes innovative and alternative attempts to promote social emancipation

Gestão democrática e luta por reconhecimento na educação de surdos - Democratic management and fight for the recognition of deaf education

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eliane de Oliveira Rodrigues

2015-10-01

, diferença, luta por reconhecimento. DEMOCRATIC MANAGEMENT AND FIGHT FOR THE RECOGNITION OF DEAF EDUCATION Abstract This work searches on the democratic management some possibilities for understanding of the struggle for recognition of deaf education. The management of schools, after than the return to democracy in Brazil and its 1988 Constitution, has been changed its principles of school administration for the democratic management. With these changes of public policy for special education inclusive perspective, there are many deaf’s struggles to maintain the deaf schools in full operation. In front of this context the problem of survey questions, from the Teaching for the Deaf State School of Special Education Dr. Reinaldo Fernando Coser’s Experimental Project, the contribution of democratic governance for the recognition of deaf community. Shortly, try to look like a democratic enables the social recognition of otherness deaf and observe the conflicts inherent in the process of inclusive education, referenced in the National Special Education, as well as its viability with the practices of everyday education and, finally, identify the process of democratic management in this teaching. Leaned on the methodological approach of philosophical hermeneutics to thus, interpret and understand how concepts of democratic management and differences are understood by this course of teaching. Among the reflections that did present evidence that the deaf school in Santa Maria, having already emerged in a context of democratic management, seems to overcome some early closing of your culture from the commitments of its management in democratic perspective. The democratic management appears as the medium, necessary, of school for the deaf community in interaction with the listener, and thus allows a new reinterpreted possibility for understanding the struggle for recognition of deaf education. Key-words: democratic management, deaf education, difference, struggle for recognition.

Political Education in the Former German Democratic Republic.

Science.gov (United States)

Dumas, Wayne; Dumas, Alesia

1996-01-01

Investigates civic education curricular reform in the former German Democratic Republic (GDR). Discusses the problems inherent in reforming an entire educational system, from textbooks to teachers, originally designed for Marxist-Leninist purposes. Examines the German state educational structure and the role that the main political parties play in…

Educazione alla legalità, alla responsabilità sociale e all’inclusione. Una ricerca sui temi dell’antimafia sociale

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laura Corazza

2016-11-01

Full Text Available This research is part of an agreement with the regional government. The study focused on education for democratic lawfulness and civic responsibility by observing educational courses run by Libera on property confiscated from organized crime. The first outcome consisted of setting out pedagogical paradigms for education on democratic lawfulness and anti-mafia education. In order to do this, volunteers from schools were observed over a number of weeks while they lived in properties confiscated from mafia and worked on the land, which had been entrusted to co-operatives as part of an anti-mafia social training Program. Three Italian regions were involved: Piemonte, Emilia Romagna and Puglia. The second outcome was the production of multimedia materials for teaching, and specific courses, which were held in local secondary schools.

Giving voice to the voiceless through deliberative democratic school ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

There are several DDSG approaches that can be employed in creating elements for stakeholder empowerment and in driving deliberative democratic school governance forward. These include inclusion, motivational communication, consensus, deliberation/ dialogue, collaboration, and conflict resolution. Some school ...

From Representation to Participation: A More Democratic European Union?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marcela Monica Stoica

2012-05-01

Full Text Available The present paper analyzes the evolution and characteristics of the democratic process in theEuropean Union from the perspective of political science using the recent theories in this field. Following theentry into force, the Treaty of Lisbon establishes the principle of participatory democracy that puts the focusof the European citizen, a citizen who is actively involved in European Union life, strengthening EU - citizenrelationship. The essence of participatory democracy is the destruction of political apathy and the maximizingof active participation of citizens in the democratic tasks. So, the basic principle of the participatorydemocracy is solidarity. The results of this analysis show that although participatory democracy is establishedin the European law, citizens are less involved in the decision-making in EU and are more and moreindividual, contradicting thus the very foundations of this type of democracy.

The Drastic Outcomes from Voting Alliances in Three-Party Democratic Voting (1990 → 2013)

Science.gov (United States)

Galam, Serge

2013-04-01

The drastic effect of local alliances in three-party competition is investigated in democratic hierarchical bottom-up voting. The results are obtained analytically using a model which extends a sociophysics frame introduced in 1986 (Galam in J. Math. Phys. 30:426, 1986) and 1990 (Galam in J. Stat. Phys. 61:943, 1990) to study two-party systems and the spontaneous formation of democratic dictatorship. It is worth stressing that the 1990 paper was published in the Journal of Statistical Physics, the first paper of its kind in this journal. It was shown how a minority in power can preserve its leadership using bottom-up democratic elections. However such a bias holds only down to some critical value of minimum support. The results were used latter to explain the sudden collapse of European communist parties in the nineties. The extension to three-party competition reveals the mechanisms by which a very small minority party can get a substantial representation at higher levels of the hierarchy when the other two competing parties are big. Additional surprising results are obtained, which enlighten the complexity of three-party democratic bottom-up voting. In particular, the unexpected outcomes of local voting alliances are singled out. Unbalanced democratic situations are exhibited with strong asymmetries between the actual bottom support of a party and its associated share of power at the top leadership. Subtle strategies are identified for a party to maximize its hold on the top leadership. The results are also valid to describe opinion dynamics with three competing opinions.

Wage Setting in Democratic Labour Unions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Filges, Trine

1999-01-01

In this paper, we analyse the wage setting of a democratic labour union. The union members differ with respect to their employment probabilities. The union wage only changes if the parameters of the median member change. An exogenous shock to revenue may increase the wage, even if labour demand...... is iso-elastic and unemployment benefits may have only a small effect on wages if the median member differs from the average. These findings are in accordance with empirical results....

Fast thinking: Implications for democratic politics

OpenAIRE

Hay, Colin; Stoker, Gerry; Barr, Matthew

2016-01-01

A major programme of research on cognition has been built around the idea that human beings are frequently intuitive thinkers and that human intuition is imperfect. The modern marketing of politics and the time-poor position of many citizens suggests that ‘fast’, intuitive, thinking in many contemporary democracies is ubiquitous. This article explores the consequences that such fast thinking might have for the democratic practice of contemporary politics. Using focus groups with a range of de...

Overcoming the Obstacles to Establishing a Democratic State in Afghanistan

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Young, Dennis O

2007-01-01

.... This project looks at several of those obstacles to democracy in Afghanistan, to include the absence of a democratic history and tradition, an endemic culture of corruption, a pervasive narcotics...

The imperatives of economic, social and cultural rights in the ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Economic, social and cultural rights remain the bedrock of good governance, which is a prerequisite for sustainable democracy. The obligations of any democratic government are founded on this principle. The desideratum for the recognition of any government as civilized and responsive is its respect for the ...

School Democratization in Prefigurative Form: Two Brazilian Experiences

Science.gov (United States)

McCowan, Tristan

2010-01-01

Recent moves towards greater pupil participation in school decision-making have in part been based on instrumental rationales, such as increases in test scores and improvements in behaviour. This article assesses a different approach--that of the "prefigurative"--through which the school embodies the democratic society it aims to create.…

The Dissociative University: Pragmatist Reconstructions in Democratic Pedagogy

Science.gov (United States)

Hachem, Ali H.

2016-01-01

The American university is in transition, witnessing major changes to its institutional structures and processes. While the 1960s and 1970s were decades of progressive democratization in American higher education, today's university is more aligned with the economic theory of neoliberalism. Existing at the intersection of two dominant but…

New public management reforms in Nigerian democratic governance

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This paper brings concepts and ideas from around the world about the need for and ways of achieving more responsive and accountable new public management within the framework of democratic governance. The paper adopts a content analysis method through the use of secondary data. The findings of the paper ...

Educational Conservatism and Democratic Citizenship in Hannah Arendt

Science.gov (United States)

Mihaila, Ramona; Popescu, Gheorghe H.; Nica, Elvira

2016-01-01

The purpose of this article was to gain a deeper understanding of Arendt's educational philosophy, her perspective of political involvement as a kind of political education, and natality as the fundamental nature of education. The current study has extended past research by elucidating Arendt's view of participatory democratic politics, her…

An Investigation of Students' Perceptions about Democratic School Climate and Sense of Community in School

Science.gov (United States)

Karakus, Memet

2017-01-01

This study aims to investigate students' perceptions about democratic school climate and sense of community in school. In line with this purpose, it aims to find answers to the following questions: How democratic do students find the school climate? What is students' sense of belonging level at school? What is the academic success level of…

RELIGIOUS DEMOCRATIZATION IN INDONESIA: STRENGTHENING THE PRO-CEDURAL AND SUBSTANTIAL RELIGIOUS DEMOCRACY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eka Hendry AR.

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Inspired by the book of Michael Mann about the dark side of democracy that discusses the paradox between the ideality of democratic values and empirical realities of violence in the name of freedom (democracy, this paper begins with the exposure of the paradox, such as the rise of the violent conflict between groups of people (both ethnic and religious-based and the high prevalence of violence between religious groups in Indonesia. Even worse, a very wrenching violence involves state actors (rulers. This paper tries to understand the roots of the paradox, with a look at how the relationship between state and religion and the religious community trend of Indonesia (especially Muslims. The author argues that the democratization of religion is a solution to the issues. To answer what kind of religious democracy lives in Indonesia, the author analyzes through a religious procedural (or constitutional democratic dimension and religious substantial democratic dimension. The phenomenon of disobedience of law and system and the euphoria of law-making that reflects “intolerance” in several places in Indonesia display the fundamental issue in the religious procedural democracy. Whereas in the context of religious substantial democracy, the prevailing trend of religion that serves as a political and economic vehicle and ignores religion as a substantial aspect of the behavior of the Indonesian society has resulted in the marginalization of religious position and function. Then, the infiltration of the model of political Islam has also led to alienation of the character of the Islamic society of Indonesia, from a democratic pattern to a revival (radical one. In this light, the author needs to present a strategy to encourage religious democracy in Indonesia, structurally through formulating the ideal relation model between state and religion and culturally through a substantial pattern of religion embedded with the character of Indonesian religious

From Islamist to Muslim Democrat: The Present Phenomenon of Muslim Politics in Malaysia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

MOHD IZANI MOHD ZAIN

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The Muslim political rivalry in democracy has triggered the birth of two groups; Islamist and Muslim Democrat. The two groups are competing by using a different approach in getting the support of the people. The Islamist group is championing its Islamic State agenda and the implementation of Shari`a as a political ambition within the framework of democracy while the Muslim Democrat recognises democracy and freedom as the basis of their struggle. Due to a greater development in democracy and a more open political rivalry, the Islamist group that was initially strongly backed by their rigid ideology and approach, has decided to change for a more moderate approach. This can be seen through their political strategy that emphasises on universal issues such as democracy, justice and good governance without rhetorical expressions of Islam and Shari`a. This change from Islamist to that of Muslim Democrat is an exciting development for it shows the transition path and direction of Muslim politics in Malaysia. This paper examines the latest development of the Islamist group, i.e. PAS in political rivalry in Malaysia, particularly in the recent General Election in 2013. This article reveals that due to the changing political landscape and democratization, the Islamist has pragmatically moderated their stance to gain more supports and it has embarked on a new landscape for Muslim political rivalry in Malaysia. Although PAS’s new approach to transform its approach to be more open and democratic is still questionable, this study believes that the participation of the party in democracy is no longer just for the sake of election, on the other hand it should recognise democracy as a political culture that emphasizes justice, freedom and good governance.

Low back pain in military recruits in relation to social background and previous low back pain. A cross-sectional and prospective observational survey

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hestbæk, Lise; Larsen, K.; Weidich, F.

2005-01-01

back pain in the development of low back pain in military recruits. METHODS: During a three-month period, Danish military recruits with different social backgrounds live and work under the same conditions. Thus, there is an opportunity to investigate the influence of social background......BACKGROUND: Traditionally, studies on the etiology of low back pain have been carried out in adult populations. However, since low back pain often appears early in life, more research on young populations is needed. This study focuses on the importance of social background factors and previous low...... on the development of low back pain, when persons are removed from their usual environment and submitted to a number of new stressors. In addition, the importance of the recruits' previous low back pain history in relation to low back pain during military service was studied. This was done by means of questionnaires...

The democratic horizons of the museum: Citizenship and culture

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dahlgren, P.; Hermes, J.; Witcomb, A.; Message, K.

2015-01-01

Change is sweeping through the world of museums, technologically, financially, and ideologically, impacting on the sociocultural evolution of their roles and status. We seek to contribute to ongoing reflections by offering a conceptual framework that links museums with democratic theory, to

The German social democratic party (SPD) and the debate on the fertility decline in the German Empire (1870~1918).

Science.gov (United States)

Mun, Soo-Hyun

2011-12-31

This paper aimed to examine the debate over the fertility decline in the German Empire, focusing on the role of the SPD. During the German Empire, the fertility rate dramatically declined and the growing awareness of a continuous decline in the birth rate prompted a massive debate among politicians, doctors, sociologists, and feminist activists. The fertility decline was negatively evaluated and generated consciousness of crisis. However, it was not the only way to face this new phenomenon. Indeed, the use of birth control among the upper class was interpreted as a part of a modernizing process. As the same phenomenon reached the working class, it suddenly became a social problem and was attributed to the SPD. The debate over the fertility decline in imperial German society ridden with a fierce class conflict was developed into a weapon against the SPD. Contrary to the assumption of conservative politicians, the SPD had no clear-cut position on this issue. Except for a few politicians like Kautsky and the doctors who came into frequent contact with the workers, the "birth strike" was not listed as the main interest of the SPD. Even Clara Zetkin, the leader of the Social Democratic women's organization viewed it as a concern of the individual person which could not be incorporated in the party program. The women's organization of the SPD put priority on class conflict rather than issues specific to women. As a result, the debate over the birth rate decline within the SPD was not led by the women themselves. There could have been various means to stimulate the birth rate. Improvement in the welfare system, such as tax relief for large families, better housing conditions, and substantial maternity protection, could have been feasible solutions to the demographic crisis. However, Germany chose to respond to this crisis by imposing legal sanctions against birth control. In addition to paragraphs 218-220 of the German criminal law enacted in 1872 which prescribed penal

The Third Wave of Democratization in Indonesia

Science.gov (United States)

2000-03-01

Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat (House of the Representatives) augmented by delegates from the regional territories and the groups in accordance with...unlimited THE THIRD WAVE OF DEMOCRATIZATION IN INDONESIA Azizan bin Md Delin Lieutenant Colonel, Malaysian Army LL B. (Hons), UiTM, Malaysia , 1996...Article 2(1) of the 1945 Constitution reads: "The Majelis Permusyawaratan Rakyat (People’s Consultative Assembly) shall consist of members of the

Ella Flagg Young: Pioneer of Democratic School Administration.

Science.gov (United States)

Webb, L. Dean; McCarthy, Martha M.

1998-01-01

Ella Flagg Young was the first woman superintendent of a large-city school system (Chicago, 1909-15) and the first woman president of the National Education Association (1910). A colleague of Dewey, Young pioneered democratic administrative practices in a scientific management era and organized school councils to give teachers a greater voice in…

Social orphanhood in Latvia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Trapenciere I.

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The reform processes and the developments of social policy to solve the major social problems of the socially vulnerable population, among them, children in particular, take place in Latvia during the last 20 years. Protection of children rights is declared one of the strategic priorities of the state social policy. At the same time the problem of child neglect and child abandonment in Latvia has not yet been sufficiently conceptualized. Already since 1990-ies Latvian society has clearly faced with an objective necessity of solving problems of child abandonment in connection with an increasing number of social orphans. The situation was complicated by the fact that the formation of a fundamentally new system of social policy, social support and assistance to risk children had to be developed and implemented in conditions of economic transition to market economy relations, increasing social tensions, and sharp increase in social inequality and social discrimination. Among the enourmous number of economical and social problems in the developing democratic state, the issue of child abandonment as an important social problem has been addressed rather fragmentary. The term “social orphanhood” does not appear in the social policy vocabulary of the Latvian social policy doscourse.

The Social Construction of Transgenic Corn: Relevant Social Actors in Chihuahua

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Marco Antonio Fernández Nava

2016-01-01

Full Text Available According to the socio-technical perspective, the meaning of a technological artefact does not lie within the artefact itself. Analyzing transgenic corn from a socio-technical perspective means taking one’s research beyond the artefact itself. To do this, it is necessary to overcome and avoid determinist positions, be they social or technological. This work takes as it point of departure the Social Construction of Technology Focus (SCOT. In this sense, transgenic corn is an unfinished object that is affected by an onslaught of struggles, opinions, agreements, disagreements, designs and redefinitions of the relevant social actors. These groups, the Democratic Campesino Front, El Barzón, National Agro-dynamic and Regional Agricultural Union of Yellow Corn Producers (UNIPRO, demonstrate how technological development is a social process. The deconstruction of transgenic corn according to the perspectives of these different social actors is key to the process of constructivist analysis: to take the artefacts just as each social actor views them. The objective of this study then is to describe how the different social groups, through their actions, construct and deconstruct the meaning of transgenic corn in Chihuahua, Mexico.

Antecedent causes of a measles resurgence in the Democratic ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Introduction: Despite accelerated measles control efforts, a massive measles resurgence occurred in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) starting in mid-2010, prompting an investigation into likely causes. Methods: We conducted a descriptive epidemiological analysis using measles immunization and surveillance ...

Social policy towards the family: Socialization or the end of a historic form?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pavićević Aleksandra

2007-01-01

Full Text Available Intensive development of socialist society, which started immediately after Second World War, proceeded simultaneously on two mutually conditional tracks: on material and ideological. In certain way, both were based on the critique of traditional social concept: starting from its economic and all the way to value characteristics under all encompassing parole of "modernization". The policy of transformation was mostly based on certain number of dichotomies that expressed the difference between past and preferred social forms and contents. Past, which was defined as old, regressive, conservative, patriarchal, alienated should be replaced by preferred, that is, by new, progressive, modern, egalitarian, democratic, free... The mainstay of the past was village, agrarian family, while the mainstay of the preferred was, as it appeared later, urban type family. Modernization implied economic restructuring of the state through the process of intensive industrialization and consequently, urbanization while "non-material" discourse of changes was dominated by the idea of democratization of society, that is, a specific ideology of "freedom" that had to be won on all instances of social reality. In-alienation of society was proclaimed as the highest ideal of the new order, which should be achieved by the emancipation of its members from all types of coercion-from work, through moral and up to religious coercion. Even though there is a prevailing viewpoint in scientific literature about the conditionality of social transformations by economic and technological factors and "progress", I think that it can be rightly said that this process was primarily of "spiritual" nature, that is, that its main mover and trigger was the process of atheism of the society. Development of modern society (not only in Serbia meant in fact its de-Christianization and secularization, where "freedom" from God and "coercions" contained in the religious view of the world became

Ordinance of 30 November 1988 on travel abroad by citizens of the German Democratic Republic.

Science.gov (United States)

1989-01-01

This Ordinance sets forth new rules with respect to travel abroad by citizens of the German Democratic Republic. Its major provisions are as follows: 1) the occasions when relatives may travel abroad to other than socialist countries have been increased; 2) travel abroad by pensioners may be undertaken without giving any special reason; 3) travel abroad to socialist countries can be made for any reason; 4) persons may now leave the German Democratic Republic permanently for humanitarian reasons, including the desire of an invalid or old person to receive care or spend his or her days elsewhere and family reunification; 5) requests for permanent departure can be denied on the grounds of national security or defense, because a person has not performed his or her military service, to protect the public order or state interests, and to protect the rights of citizens or socialist morale and social requirements; 6) requests to go abroad temporarily are generally to be handled within 30 days and requests to leave permanently usually within 3 months; 7) adverse decisions may now be appealed both administratively and then through the courts, although in a court the only argument that can be made is that the decision was unlawful; 8) a request that has been denied can be resubmitted if the reason for denial is no longer present; and 9) in the case of a request to leave permanently, 6 months must pass before resubmission.

The Need for Media Education in Democratic Education

Science.gov (United States)

Stoddard, Jeremy

2014-01-01

Despite the potential for media and technology to act as a democratizing force and the challenges to democracy posed by partisanship and the explosion of political media spending, media education and the preparation of active citizens in schools is virtually nonexistent. This essay presents the case for revitalizing media education for the age of…

The Evolution of the U.S. Position toward Democratic Development of Ukraine (2000-2008

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Natalya Korniyenko

2015-12-01

Full Text Available In the article the author describes and analyzes the evolution of the US position on democratic development in Ukraine at the time of George W. Bush presidency (2000-2008. Four election campaigns in Ukraine have been examined, three of them for the parliament – Verkhovna Rada (2002, 2006, 2007 and one – for Presidency (2004. There is a try to determine the main features of the US position towards each of these Ukrainian election campaigns as the indicator of the development of democracy. According to the results of research we can say that, in accordance with American side opinion, the US assessment to the democratic process in Ukraine has changed during the 2000-2008. Parliamentary elections in 2002 were classified as ones in which international standards have been partially respected. The Orange revolution of 2004 was the key point, which caused the democratic changes in the electoral processes and the development of the democracy in Ukraine, in general. Parliamentary elections in 2006 and 2007 were named as examples of democracy development in Ukraine. Much of the responsibility for the deployment of the democratic process in Ukraine has been given to the current government, especially to the president of Ukraine.

“But the forest does know it...” Persistence of omusitu in the BaNande culture and thought (Democratic Republic of Congo)

OpenAIRE

Francesco Remotti

2016-01-01

The BaNande, farmers of the hills of the North Kivu (Democratic Republic of the Congo), call themselves proudly abakondi, the young and strong men who cut down the trees, who destroy the forest. Almost their entire culture is based on the principle of the “cut” (eritwa), as well as their social and political organization is due to the historical achievement of their territory wrested from the forest. Even the erotic activity is designed with the typical categories of abakondi. But the traditi...

Statement dated 1 June 1994 by a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-01-01

The attached text of a statement by a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, dated 1 June 1994, is being circulated to all Member States of the Agency at the request of the Permanent Mission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. This text was received by the Secretariat before the withdrawal of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea from the Agency

The Complexity of ‘Community’: Considering the Effects of Discourse on Museums’ Social Media Practices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amelia Wong

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Words are ‘objects of discourse’ in that they function not simply to convey meaning, but also to assert and reinforce values and truths in a society. Here I consider the effects of ‘community’ as a discursive object in museums’ use of social media, since how it is imagined affects practice, especially how institutions try to democratize practice. I trace a genealogy of ‘community’ to show how museums translate long-held ideas into new practices, explaining how its origins and social media conventions influence museums to champion an idealized view of community based on frequent, public, and immediate communication. Using the case study of the Japanese American National Museum’s Discover Nikkei project, I argue that, while communication is essential to progressive practice, museums accepting this conceptualization can actually stymie their efforts to use social media to democratize their relationship with audiences. I conclude with suggestions as to how to address this issue.

Learners' and teachers' perceptions of principals' leadership in Soweto secondary schools: a social justice analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patrick Mafora

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The legislative framework for education in South Africa enforces the democratisation and transformation of education consistent with the values of human dignity, equity, human rights, and freedom. As ex officio members of School Governing Bodies (SGBs and professional managers of schools, principals should play a pivotal role in providing transformative leadership for social justice in these schools. The purpose of this study was to examine, through a social justice framework, how teachers and learners who are SGB members perceive and experience the principals' leadership in Soweto secondary schools. Five schools were purposefully sampled for this qualitative case study. Data were collected through semi-structured focus group interviews and follow-up individual interviews. Findings suggest that learners and teachers experience sampled schools as democratically untransformed with a climate fraught with unfairness, inequity, disregard for human rights, and intolerance of diversity. The leadership behaviour of principals is perceived as a barrier to democratic transformation and social justice and this engenders resistance and threatens management effectiveness.

The impact of democratic transitions on the representation of women in the national parliaments of southern Africa

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kessel, van W.M.J.; Maloka, E.

2001-01-01

This chapter examines what democratic transition in the 1990s has meant for women in southern Africa. It focuses in particular on the impact of democratization processes on political participation by women, notably women's representation in parliament in Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius,

Visual graphics for human rights, social justice, democracy and the ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The value of human rights in a democratic South Africa is constantly threatened and often waived for nefarious reasons. We contend that the use of visual graphics among incoming university visual art students provides a mode of engagement that helps to inculcate awareness of human rights, social responsibility, and the ...

RUSSIA’S ‘FOREIGN AGENT’ LAW: A RESPONSE TO AMERICAN DEMOCRATIC PROMOTION POLICY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vijay Kumar

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Recently passed the Russian ‘Foreign Agent’ law against foreign funding of NGOs and civil society has attracted criticism from almost every quarter. From home to abroad all party concerned (i.e., civil society organizations, NGO groups, donor countries (especiallyAmericaand European countries as well as some Russian opposition political parties are of the view that this bill has been introduced to scuttle the independent civic activities and in this way unconstitutional. However on the basis of overall analysis of ‘Foreign Agent’ law in the context of American democratic promotion policy this paper is of the view that this law simply cannot be characterized as anti-democratic, which is against the very basis of freedom and rule of law, by the anti-democratic Russian government but it should be seen as extension of same challenge which American democratic promotion policy is facing around the whole world. It is because of its illegal and unconstitutional method of regime change policy, with the help of foreign funded NGOs, and civil society which has compelled various countries includingRussiato resort this type of law. It is important to note that the promise of peace, stability and prosperity by the democratic promotion protagonists after the fall ofSoviet Unionhas not been realised till today. Instead what post-Soviet states are witnessing today is emergence of chauvinist nationalist government in respective countries which witnessed colour revolution. Whole region is now plunging into economic turmoil, ethnic nationalism, rise of religious fundamentalism and identity politics. Recent overthrow of legitimate Viktor Yanukovych government inUkraineand subsequent decision by incumbent government to exclude Russian as administrative language can be sited as example. That is why former American Republican Congressman Ron Paul is of the view that “US‘Democracy Promotion’ Destroys Democracy Overseas’’. In this context this paper

the attrition of democratic gains in africa: an appraisal

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The paper uses historical trajectory to demonstrate how patronage, ethnicity, electoral authoritarianism and extension of presidential term limit erodes democratic gains in Africa. The paper concludes that in order for democracy to flourish in Africa, the structural factors need to be addressed. Key Words: Democracy, Term ...

Public Libraries and the Decline of the Democratic Dogma

Science.gov (United States)

Harris, Michael H.

1976-01-01

We are now witnessing what I prefer to call the decline of the democratic dogma in this country; the people seem to be losing their unmitigated faith in the basic and most cherished of American beliefs; their faith in the value of universal public enlightenment. (Author)

“All for the sake of Freedom”: Hannah Arendt’s Democratic Dissent, Trauma, and American Citizenship

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Frank Mehring

2011-12-01

Full Text Available

As an intellectual Jewish immigrant, Hannah Arendt’s work is informed by two key factors: the failures of German intellectuals regarding the rise of fascism and the promise of American democracy. Arendt was haunted by the past and the memories of how the democratic structures of the Weimar Republic had been undermined, manipulated, and finally transformed into a totalitarian terror regime. The issues of freedom, equality, and the shortcomings of democratic societies form a transcultural nexus in her oeuvre. This reading of Arendt will reveal how her efforts to deal with a transatlantic traumatic past shaped the felt need to voice democratic dissent in the United States. While much has been said about her theoretical groundwork on the mechanisms of totalitarian systems, Arendt’s living conditions as a naturalized foreigner, her enthusiasm for American democracy, and her refusal to return to Germany have been largely neglected. Arendt is usually rooted firmly in a European philosophical context. She has been canonized as one of the foremost philosophical thinkers from Germany on the emergence of totalitarian systems and the Holocaust. This transatlantic force field looms large over the second half of the twentieth century in the realm of culture and politics. Among her fellow intellectual émigrés and exiles such as Adorno, Horkheimer, Marcuse, or Fraenkel, Arendt stands out. She decided not to return to the new democratic Germany with its Grundgesetz fashioned along the lines of the American Constitution. Instead, she insisted on becoming naturalized and used her transnational background as a basis to address democratic gaps from the vantage point of an American citizen. First, Mehring shows in which ways Arendt identified herself as an American and wished to become recognized as an American citizen. Second, he reconnects Arendt’s democratic dissent with her efforts to become recognized as an American citizen.

Leadership to Build a Democratic Community within School: A Case Study of Two Korean High Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Kang, Young Taek; Printy, Susan

2009-01-01

This article aims to explore how democratic community is manifest in schools in Korea. It also tries to examine how leadership, specifically transformational leadership, functions in shaping a democratic community within a school. Toward this aim, we have conducted a case study of two religious high schools in Korea. Based on the findings from the…

“Democratic Government”, Interest Groups and American Trade Politics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhanyu Dong

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The study of American trade politics is of great significance when interpreting U.S.A. trade policies and understanding China-U.S.A. trade relations. In order to explain the mechanism of American trade politics, this paper constructs a new analytical framework of “democratic government-interest groups”, which argues that U.S.A. trade policies are not only the choices made by the democratic government between state interests and political private benefits, but also the outcomes of interaction between the U.S.A. government and interest groups. The case study of the U.S.A. trade policies toward China since the new century also demonstrates how the interaction between the government and interest groups ultimately shapes trade policies. Therefore, we need to understand the logic of American trade politics, generate more mutual benefits for our two countries, and work together to promote the bilateral free trade as well as the bilateral relations between China and the U.S.A.

Education, Democracy and Social Change: Venezuela's Education Missions in Theory and Practice

Science.gov (United States)

Duffy, Maura

2015-01-01

The "Bolivarian Revolution" in Venezuela is conceptualised as a pedagogical project that aims to develop "twenty-first century Socialism" through state-grassroots collaboration in the reorganisation of political space in order to develop participatory, democratic institutions and processes. The cornerstones of this project to…

Transportation management and security during the 2004 Democratic National Convention

Science.gov (United States)

2005-01-05

The transportation operations plan for the 2004 Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Boston, Massachusetts, was not a typical transportation plan driven by goals such as mobility and air quality. The DNC was the first national political convention...

Communication perspectives on social networking and citizen journalism challenges to traditional newspapers

OpenAIRE

Katz, James E.

2011-01-01

Communication perspectives are presented on the challenges posed to traditional newspapers by social media and citizen journalism, with special reference to the United States. This is an important topic given the critical role investigative reporting, long the domain of newspapers, plays in fostering democratic practices. New Media and social networking technology are evaluated in terms of their impact on the newspaper enterprise. Alternative scenarios for future developments are examined as ...

Can Social Media be a Space for Democratic Inclusivity?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lynn Schofield Clark

2015-04-01

Full Text Available This think piece invites readers to imagine what it might be like to seek a technological solution regarding the problems inherent within participatory democracy. The piece suggests that such a process must begin by first identifying the constraints to participation that are structured into society in relation to privilege, and then imagining how social media could be designed to play a role in addressing these constraints in order to work toward a more equitable and participatory future.

The Role of Social Networking Services in eParticipation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sæbø, Øystein; Rose, Jeremy; Nyvang, Tom

2009-01-01

, content-generation and the development of loosely-coupled communities. They provide the forum for much discussion and interaction. In this respect social networking could contribute to solve some of the problems of engaging their users that eParticipation services often struggle with. This paper...... and social networking because democratic systems favour the interests of larger groups of citizens --- the more voices behind a political proposition, the greater its chances of success. In this context of challenges the study of social networking on the internet and social network theory offers valuable...... insights into the practices and theories of citizen engagement. Social network theory focuses on the chains of relationships that social actors communicate and act within. Some social networking services on the internet attract large numbers of users, and apparently sustain a great deal of interaction...

Visualizing Armed Groups: The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s M23 in Focus

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Cathy Nangini

2014-02-01

Full Text Available New information technologies can help unpack the relationships and tendencies that persist in complex networks. We present an interactive, web-based visualization that captures interlocking networks related to the Mouvement du 23 Mars (M23 rebel group in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC to demonstrate the utility of visually summarizing relationships in a multi-dimensional dataset. We draw exclusively from the findings the UN Group of Governmental Experts report S/2012/843 documenting the procurement of weapons and ammunition by the M23 network. The visualization was built using a hierarchical edge bundling algorithm (Holten 2006 implemented in Data-Driven Documents (d3 (Bostock 2011, an open-source JavaScript-based library for interactive web visualizations. We contend that such visualizations can provide improved understanding of complex social networks both within and beyond the confines of war.

Marxist Theory in Critical Transitions: The Democratization of the Media in Post-Neoliberal Argentina

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pablo Castagno

2012-05-01

Full Text Available This article contends that for socialist emancipation to occur it is crucial to investigate how political cadres conceal, regulate or displace the demands of citizens and workers in the context of the calamitous effects of global capitalism. Analyzing the constitutive relationship between politics and the media is an essential component in researching those practices of state ideological production. Specifically looking into the transformation of media policy in the case of Argentina, this article problematizes the different political forms through which the state has cloaked its fundamental contradiction: alleged representation of the general interests of citizens, when explored in critical depth, reveals the state’s actual adjustment to a process of capitalist transnationalization that increases irrationality, social inequality and misery. Through this lens, the article emphasizes the value of Marxist dialectic method and theory in imagining a true democratic future.

Can EU Act as a Democracy Promoter? Analysing the Democratization Demand and Supply in Turkey - EU Relations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Çiğdem Üstün

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The EU’s role to assist Turkey in its democratization efforts has been debated during Turkey’s candidacy. However, in the second decade of the 21st century, this role of the EU lost its visibility while Turkey seemed to lose its interest in reform movements. This paper, inspired by Pevehouse, defines the EU as a supplier of democratization mechanisms and Turkey as an actor in need. Although lack of enthusiasm and disengagement have come to characterize Turkey-EU relations, this study aims to demonstrate that there are differences between the governing and the opposition actors’ views on the EU and its role in the democratization of Turkey. Data collected from the speeches of opposition parties’ parliamentarians between 1 January 2011 and 31 August 2016 demonstrates the similarities observed in these parties’ concerns regarding democratic practices and the perception of the EU as an actor strengthening democracy, while indicating that the EU, as a supplier, overlooked their concerns during the process.

Traditional Leadership and Democratic Governance: Using Leadership Theories to Calibrate Administrative Compatibility

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mashele Rapatsa

2015-12-01

Full Text Available This article discusses South Africa’s phenomenon of traditional leadership which is widely vested in kings, chiefs and headmen in a traditional context. It unpacks the notion of traditional leadership considerate of transformative leadership theory applicable to the post-1994 rights-based administration, given notable changes in governance systems under democratic dispensation and its reputable human rights narratives. The erstwhile regime of apartheid configured traditional authorities and their administration in a despotic manner, to an extent that kings, chiefs and their traditional headmen were elevated in status and regarded as unequal to all other humans in society. This served apartheid excellently as it enabled kings and chiefs to disregard human rights and other people’s entitlements thereby rendering people powerless and docile to abuses and exploitations. Thus, apartheid entrenched that ‘culture of authority’ which could not be challenged. Women and children suffered the most under these instances. In contrast, the post-1994 administration embedded a new system of governance characterized by a ‘culture of justification’. The system obligates that all administrative actions including those of traditional authorities, must be justified in accordance with the law as per the supremacy of the Constitution. This entails that kings and chiefs are not above the law and must similarly conform to written rules, uphold the Constitution, respect and protect people’s fundamental rights. It is asserted that a contestation of power between traditional authority and central democratic governance remain widespread. Thus, it is indispensable to calibrate administrative compatibility of these regimes to essentially safeguard the democratic regime and its crucial human rights norms from collapsing. This is essential to effectuate appropriate democratic public administration.

How to Exist Politically and Learn from It: Hannah Arendt and the Problem of Democratic Education

Science.gov (United States)

Biesta, Gert

2010-01-01

Background/Context: In discussions about democratic education, there is a strong tendency to see the role of education as that of the preparation of children and young people for their future participation in democratic life. A major problem with this view is that it relies on the idea that the guarantee for democracy lies in the existence of a…

Re-imagining democratic citizenship education: Towards a culture of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

After a decade of implementing liberal conceptions of democratic citizenship education in public schools in South Africa, questions need to be asked about its credibility and success. We commence this article by analysing the Department of Basic Education's (DoBE, 2011) recently produced Building a culture of ...

Economic inequality, working-class power, social capital, and cause-specific mortality in wealthy countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Muntaner, Carles; Lynch, John W; Hillemeier, Marianne; Lee, Ju Hee; David, Richard; Benach, Joan; Borrell, Carme

2002-01-01

This study tests two propositions from Navarro's critique of the social capital literature: that social capital's importance has been exaggerated and that class-related political factors, absent from social epidemiology and public health, might be key determinants of population health. The authors estimate cross-sectional associations between economic inequality, working-class power, and social capital and life expectancy, self-rated health, low birth weight, and age- and cause-specific mortality in 16 wealthy countries. Of all the health outcomes, the five variables related to birth and infant survival and nonintentional injuries had the most consistent association with economic inequality and working-class power (in particular with strength of the welfare state) and, less so, with social capital indicators. Rates of low birth weight and infant deaths from all causes were lower in countries with more "left" (e.g., socialist, social democratic, labor) votes, more left members of parliament, more years of social democratic government, more women in government, and various indicators of strength of the welfare state, as well as low economic inequality, as measured in a variety of ways. Similar associations were observed for injury mortality, underscoring the crucial role of unions and labor parties in promoting workplace safety. Overall, social capital shows weaker associations with population health indicators than do economic inequality and working-class power. The popularity of social capital and exclusion of class-related political and welfare state indicators does not seem to be justified on empirical grounds.

Parenting Practices and the Development of Adolescents' Social Trust

Science.gov (United States)

Wray-Lake, Laura; Flanagan, Constance A.

2012-01-01

Social trust (ST) (i.e., beliefs that people are generally fair and trustworthy) is a critical disposition for democratic governance. Yet there has been scant research on its developmental foundations. We assess factors related to ST in 11-18 year olds with survey data collected over two years from 1150 U.S. adolescents and their mothers.…

Democratic Management at school: in search of participation and leadership

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Neide Pena Cária

2016-11-01

Full Text Available The article is the result of studies performed in the Research Group in Education and Management (known as GPEG, certificated by the Vale do Sapucaí University and registered in the CNPq Directory. The study aims to expand the view about the so-called "democratic management" and the "participation" in the in the administration of school educational work. For this, are articulated theoretical and legal fundamentals to the challenges and issues that, normally, the managers face in the exercise of their function in daily school considering the contradictions and challenges, which they are exposed. Passing between the given power and the real power, the managers are pressed, on one hand, by the accountability and evaluation of results and, on the other, by the lack of autonomy and proper conditions for a democratic school management.

Education in the new practice of democratic citizenship: databases of John Dewey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Giannina Burlando

2015-10-01

Full Text Available The bases of the political art of John Dewey or his new practice of democratic citizenship are reviewed. Dewey is acknowledged as one of the most prominent of the American philosophers in the first half of the twentieth century. He is also the most influential due to endowing philosophy a public task, namely, political and educational concern. From the instrumentalist method applied to the political area, crucial postulates in the major writings of Dewey are selected to revitalize the meaning and draw up the practical impacts of the central element of his political philosophy: ‘the collective power of democratic community’.

Ethical implications of democratic theory for U.S. public participation in environmental impact assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hourdequin, Marion; Landres, Peter; Hanson, Mark J.; Craig, David R.

2012-01-01

Traditional mechanisms for public participation in environmental impact assessment under U.S. federal law have been criticized as ineffective and unable to resolve conflict. As these mechanisms are modified and new approaches developed, we argue that participation should be designed and evaluated not only on practical grounds of cost-effectiveness and efficiency, but also on ethical grounds based on democratic ideals. In this paper, we review and synthesize modern democratic theory to develop and justify four ethical principles for public participation: equal opportunity to participate, equal access to information, genuine deliberation, and shared commitment. We then explore several tensions that are inherent in applying these ethical principles to public participation in EIA. We next examine traditional NEPA processes and newer collaborative approaches in light of these principles. Finally, we explore the circumstances that argue for more in-depth participatory processes. While improved EIA participatory processes do not guarantee improved outcomes in environmental management, processes informed by these four ethical principles derived from democratic theory may lead to increased public engagement and satisfaction with government agency decisions. - Highlights: ► Four ethical principles based on democratic theory for public participation in EIA. ► NEPA and collaboration offer different strengths in meeting these principles. ► We explore tensions inherent in applying these principles. ► Improved participatory processes may improve public acceptance of agency decisions.

La Ciencia Social Y La Búsqueda De Una Sociedad Justa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Richard Harvey Brown

2002-02-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACTIt is argued here that social science should be seen as a civic discourse oriented towards the development of more humane and democratic societies. Against the overall tendency to make social science discourse more scientific, in the way physics or engineering is scientific, and thus less intelligible to citizens, the author argues for the elaboration of a social science discourse that is more open and plural in its attempts to understand and explain the social. This requires that the metaphor used to approach the social be that of the text, and that our investigation be devoted to the elaboration of the different ways groups write it and themselves in it.

Control of corruption, democratic accountability, and effectiveness of HIV/AIDS official development assistance.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Hwa-Young; Yang, Bong-Ming; Kang, Minah

2016-01-01

Despite continued global efforts, HIV/AIDS outcomes in developing countries have not made much progress. Poor governance in recipient countries is often seen as one of the reasons for ineffectiveness of aid efforts to achieve stated objectives and desired outcomes. This study examines the impact of two important dimensions of governance - control of corruption and democratic accountability - on the effectiveness of HIV/AIDS official development assistance. An empirical analysis using dynamic panel Generalized Method of Moments estimation was conducted on 2001-2010 datasets. Control of corruption and democratic accountability revealed an independent effect and interaction with the amount of HIV/AIDS aid on incidence of HIV/AIDS, respectively, while none of the two governance variables had a significant effect on HIV/AIDS prevalence. Specifically, in countries with accountability level below -2.269, aid has a detrimental effect on incidence of HIV/AIDS. The study findings suggest that aid programs need to be preceded or at least accompanied by serious efforts to improve governance in recipient countries and that democratic accountability ought to receive more critical attention.

Transitional justice and peacebuilding in the Democratic Republic of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Almost two decades ago, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) was confronted with a vicious cycle of internationalised armed conflicts in which between six and ten million people are estimated to have been killed. Those conflicts were resolved through peace agreements between the leaders of the warring parties ...

Youth, Poverty, and Use of ICTs: Constructing New Democratic ...

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

Youth, Poverty, and Use of ICTs: Constructing New Democratic Public Spheres. Violence toward youth in Brazil is among the highest in the world. However, youth in poor and violent neighbourhoods of Rio de Janeiro are using new technologies to make their voices heard. Brazil has achieved remarkable economic success ...

Democratic Citizenship and Service Learning: Advancing the Caring Self.

Science.gov (United States)

Rhoads, Robert A.

2000-01-01

Discusses how service learning can promote the development of a "caring self" in college students by drawing on the ideas of John Dewey, George Herbert Mead, and contemporary critical theorists. Links this caring self to democratic citizenship and uses students' narratives to illustrate how it develops through service learning contexts.…

Democratic Values and Teacher Self-Efficacy Perceptions: A Case of Pre-Service English Language Teachers in Turkey

Science.gov (United States)

Topkaya, Ece Zehir; Yavu, Aysun

2011-01-01

This study investigated democratic values of pre-service English language teachers in relation to their teacher self-efficacy perceptions in a Turkish context. It also examined the possible relationships between gender, grade and democratic values and self-efficacy perceptions. A questionnaire survey was conducted with 294 pre-service teachers.…

Unintended pregnancy and its correlates among currently pregnant women in the Kwango District, Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Science.gov (United States)

Dhakal, Sarita; Song, Jin Sung; Shin, Dong Eun; Lee, Tae Ho; So, Ae Young; Nam, Eun Woo

2016-06-16

Unintended pregnancy is an important reproductive health problem in both developed and developing countries and is most prominent in low-middle income countries. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the total fertility rate is high at 5.9 births per women, and a mother's probabily of dying at an age between 15-49 years is also high (53 %). Women with unintended pregnancies are less likely to utilize available necessary services for their own health and the health of their children. Therefore, unintended pregnancy is a crucial factor of maternal health in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This study aims to identify the prevalence of unintended pregnancy and its associated factors in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Data were collected from June 20 to 29, 2014 among women aged 15-49 years who had children younger than 5 years old. The women were from a representative sample of 602 households. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to evaluate the associations between the dependent variable and the explanatory variables. Unintended pregnancy was reported in 51.4 % of the respondents. Multivariate logistic regression showed an association between education status (AOR, 3.4; CI, 1.21-9.90) and age of the last child (AOR, 5.17; CI, 1.23-21.70) with an unintended pregnancy. Unintended pregnancies were low among women who owner a cell phone (AOR, 0.18; CI, 0.47-0.73) and those who were aware of family planning method (AOR 0.20; CI, 0.06-0.60). The unintended pregnancy rate high and was significantly associated with female education, previous use of family planning methods, ownership of cell phone, and age of the last child. Maternal health interventions should focus on increasing family planning service utilization, awareness of family planning, and access to communication and income.

From Authoritarian to Democratic Regimes: The New Role of Security Intelligence

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Margarita, Ana

2001-01-01

... for the rule of law and human rights, accountability and transparency. This thesis compares the intelligence systems of Argentina, Romania, and El Salvador under their different regimes, authoritarian as well as democratic...

Translating Globalization and Democratization into Local Policy: Educational Reform in Hong Kong and Taiwan

Science.gov (United States)

Law, Wing-Wah

2004-11-01

The past two decades have witnessed three important international trends: an increase in the number of democratic states; economic globalization; and educational reforms in light of the challenges of the new millennium. A great deal of research has addressed educational change in relation to either globalization or democratization, but little has been said about the complex interactions among all three processes. In view of recent educational reforms in Hong Kong and Taiwan, the present contribution examines the local nature of education policy in a globalized age. It challenges those globalization theories which minimize the role of the state and exaggerate the power of globalization over local factors. In particular, it explores how the governments of these two Chinese societies have employed democratization to generate and legitimate reform proposals and have used economic globalization to justify educational reforms. The study concludes by discussing the complex interrelations of these processes, including tensions between global and local concerns in educational reform.

The Relationship Between Levels of Education and Perception of Democratic Governance Among Nigerian School Leavers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adesoji A. ONI

2006-01-01

Full Text Available The study investigated the views and perception of school leavers about the democratic government in Nigeria. A self-designed questionnaire was used for collection of their views. The participants of the study comprised 500 school leavers selected across different working places in the six states of Southwest Nigeria. Results clearly revealed that majority of the respondents are not satisfied with the current performance of the present democratic Government in Nigeria. Most of the respondents suggested participation of everyone in the act of governance that favor rule of law, equality, and freedom and that this should be adopted by the government. The researcher therefore recommended a democratic system of government that will incorporate all the basic principles of democracy into the system of government, while marginalization and neglect of the poor, women, youth, and rural dwellers should be avoided.

Cost-Benefit Analysis and the Democratic Ideal

OpenAIRE

Karine Nyborg; Inger Spangen

1997-01-01

In traditional cost-benefit analyses of public projects, every citizen’s willingness to pay for a project is given an equal weight. This is sometimes taken to imply that cost-benefit analysis is a democratic method for making public decisions, as opposed to, for example, political processes involving log-rolling and lobbying from interest groups. Politicians are frequently criticized for not putting enough emphasis on the cost-benefit analyses when making decisions. In this paper we discuss t...

Constitutionalisation and Judicial Protection of Social Rights - An Approach to Latin American Case

OpenAIRE

German Lopez Daza

2015-01-01

Latin America is probably the region with greater social inequality, contrary to the amount of rights enshrined in their constitutions. In the last decade of the twentieth century, the area resulted in significant changes to democratization and constitutional changes. Through low-key public policy, political leaders activated participation in the culture of human rights. The struggle for social rights in Latin America has been a constant regulation. His consecration at th...

Democratic Republic of Congo A Fertile Ground for Instability in the Great Lakes Region States

Science.gov (United States)

2017-06-09

ravaged by a brutal armed conflict. In comparison to the three past presidents, Joseph Kabila has managed to restore political stability and calm to much...DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO-A FERTILE GROUND FOR INSTABILITY IN THE GREAT LAKES REGION STATES A thesis presented to the Faculty of...From - To) AUG 2016 – JUNE 2017 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Democratic Republic of Congo-A Fertile Ground for Instability in the Great Lakes Region

Social Shaping in Danish Technology Assessment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Anne Grethe; Clausen, Christian

2003-01-01

The term ‘social shaping of technology’ has been used broadly as a response to techno-economic deterministic understandings of the relations between technology and society. Social shaping has brought together analysts from different backgrounds who share a common interest in the role of social an...... in these projects contributed to new insights into the processes of technological change and thus to policy formulation. The social shaping perspective and technology assessment experiences are suggested as important guides to future technology strategies....... and political action for technology change. The authors of this article suggest that the social shaping perspective draws on lessons from technology assessments of earlier decades, lessons about the role of technology debate, participation and democratic control. We suggest that these are important......The term ‘social shaping of technology’ has been used broadly as a response to techno-economic deterministic understandings of the relations between technology and society. Social shaping has brought together analysts from different backgrounds who share a common interest in the role of social...

Decision Making for Democratic Leadership in a Guided Internship

Science.gov (United States)

Klinker, JoAnn Franklin; Hoover, J. Duane; Valle, Fernando; Hardin, Fred

2014-01-01

Experience in problem-based learning, authentic experiences, on-the-job decision making, and critical reflection on decisions made formed the conceptual framework of an internship to develop democratic leadership as a professional ethic in interns. Interns in an on-the-job guided internship examined decisions over a 13-week period as they…

Creating clones, kids & chimera: liberal democratic compromise at the crossroads.

Science.gov (United States)

Adams, Nathan A

2004-01-01

The objective of this article is to find middle ground between the supporters and opponents of biotechnology by perpetuating the existing legal compromise pertaining to the complete range of health and welfare doctrines relevant to the biotechnological industry. The author aspires neither to add to nor detract from this liberal democratic consensus, but to preserve its constitutive balance between positivism and natural law and over-regulation and under-regulation in the hopes of stabilizing new political fault lines developing around the few biotechnological innovations already grabbing headlines. The most feasible solution is to extend the existing liberal democratic compromise with respect to equal protection, reproductive rights, the First Amendment, human subject experimentation, patent law, and parental rights. This includes banning or monopolizing certain biotechnologies and extending substantive special respect to the ex vivo living human embryo. Biotechnology must not be left to regulate itself.

Involvement and deliberation: Correctives of the democratic system

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rodrigo Santiago Juárez

2009-07-01

Full Text Available Every democratic regime has to guarantee that participation and representation set in both sides of the same coin. In a lot of modern democracies, government doesn’t foment citizen participation, or just do it in case of periodic elections. That’s why is necessary to foment participation and civic virtues. Finally, we have to support deliberative teories to give legitimacy to our democracies.

The Contribution of Different Patterns of Teachers' Interactions to Young Children's Experiences of Democratic Values during Play

Science.gov (United States)

Zachrisen, Berit

2016-01-01

Developing a sense of belonging and experiences about the value of community are important democratic values that children may learn during play in preschool. Through the different ways that teachers' interact with children during play, children can learn about democratic values. This study is part of a Nordic project on values education in early…

3 CFR - Presidential Determination for the Lao People's Democratic Republic Under Section 2(b)(2) of the...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... Determination for the Lao People's Democratic Republic Under Section 2(b)(2) of the Export-Import Bank Act of... 3 The President 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Presidential Determination for the Lao People's Democratic Republic Under Section 2(b)(2) of the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945, as amended Presidential...

Ethical implications of democratic theory for U.S. public participation in environmental impact assessment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hourdequin, Marion, E-mail: Marion.Hourdequin@ColoradoCollege.edu [Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute, Rocky Mountain Research Station, USDA Forest Service, 790 East Beckwith, Missoula, MT 59801 (United States); Department of Philosophy, Colorado College, 14 E. Cache La Poudre St., Colorado Springs, CO 80903 (United States); Landres, Peter [Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute, Rocky Mountain Research Station, USDA Forest Service, 790 East Beckwith, Missoula, MT 59801 (United States); Hanson, Mark J. [Department of Philosophy, University of Montana, Missoula, MT 59812 (United States); Craig, David R. [Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute, Rocky Mountain Research Station, USDA Forest Service, 790 East Beckwith, Missoula, MT 59801 (United States)

2012-07-15

Traditional mechanisms for public participation in environmental impact assessment under U.S. federal law have been criticized as ineffective and unable to resolve conflict. As these mechanisms are modified and new approaches developed, we argue that participation should be designed and evaluated not only on practical grounds of cost-effectiveness and efficiency, but also on ethical grounds based on democratic ideals. In this paper, we review and synthesize modern democratic theory to develop and justify four ethical principles for public participation: equal opportunity to participate, equal access to information, genuine deliberation, and shared commitment. We then explore several tensions that are inherent in applying these ethical principles to public participation in EIA. We next examine traditional NEPA processes and newer collaborative approaches in light of these principles. Finally, we explore the circumstances that argue for more in-depth participatory processes. While improved EIA participatory processes do not guarantee improved outcomes in environmental management, processes informed by these four ethical principles derived from democratic theory may lead to increased public engagement and satisfaction with government agency decisions. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Four ethical principles based on democratic theory for public participation in EIA. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer NEPA and collaboration offer different strengths in meeting these principles. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer We explore tensions inherent in applying these principles. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Improved participatory processes may improve public acceptance of agency decisions.

The Democratic Deficit and School-Based Management in Australia

Science.gov (United States)

Kimber, Megan; Ehrich, Lisa Catherine

2011-01-01

Purpose: The paper seeks to apply the theory of the democratic deficit to school-based management with an emphasis on Australia. This theory was developed to examine managerial restructuring of the Australian Public Service in the 1990s. Given similarities between the use of managerial practices in the public service and government schools, the…

Does Religiosity Promote or Discourage Social Trust? Evidence from Cross-Country and Cross-State Comparisons

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bjørnskov, Christian; Berggren, Niclas

We look at the effect of religiosity on social trust, defined as the share of a population that thinks that people in general can be trusted. This is important since social trust is related to many desired outcomes, such as growth, education, democratic stability and subjective well-being. The ef......We look at the effect of religiosity on social trust, defined as the share of a population that thinks that people in general can be trusted. This is important since social trust is related to many desired outcomes, such as growth, education, democratic stability and subjective well......-being. The effect of religiosity is theoretically unclear: while all major religions call for behaving well to others, religious groups may primarily trust people in their own groups and distrust others, as well as cause division in the broader population. We make use of new data from the Gallup World Poll for 105...... countries and the U.S. states, measuring religiosity by the share of the population that answers yes to the question "Is religion an important part of your daily life?". Our empirical results, making use of regression analysis whereby we control for other possible determinants of social trust and, by using...

Social media and (dis)connectivity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tække, Jesper

The paper discuss the relation between media of communication and societal (dis)connectivity. The question is how communication media provide society with different possibilities for (dis)connectivity in different historical media societies. The paper draws on Luhmann’s theory of social systems...... for social systems to develop structures with new forms of communicative connections. Even though society only is possible because of communication media and gets new possibilities for the formation of new structures providing it with new connection possibilities, in the beginning a new communication medium....... In the present society we also see signs of new dis-connectivity, i.e. fake news, political polarization, and economic and democratic inequality. In the final section the paper analyse such problems triggered by digital media. Also the paper point out some new possibilities triggered by the acquisition of social...

An Interview with Dan Hind: Media Reform is a Precondition of Social Changes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sašo Slaček Brlek

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Dan Hind, an advocate for media reform towards the public tender model, talks about his proposals for media democratization, the entanglement of these proposals in a broader vision of progressive social change, and implications of the digital revolution for citizen participation in the media.

Equal rights as the center of democratization

OpenAIRE

Alan Gilbert

2010-01-01

Well-stated modern political or democratic theory is rights-based. Meaningful democracy rests as a precondition on the equal rights of citizens. This idea stems from Rousseau’s distinction between a general will*one which is impersonal and tends toward equality, that is, the equal basic rights of citizens*and a transitory will of all. For instance, absent equal basic rights, one might imagine a possible world in which what I have called a self-undermining series of wills of all, or the ...

THE DEMOCRATIC CONTROL OF MILITARY FORCES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Smail Oštraković

2011-04-01

Full Text Available The transition requirement for post communism countries, especially the part that is about military forces is to establish those civil-military relation that will have prepared projects for awareness evolving of society and military about necessity of democratic control over military sector of country through development of many different communication forms and shapes. Before everything, it means the entire freedom and independence of media at access to military forces as the topic and subject of its interests and also the organization of public military communication system as integral part of information-communication system in society

Rural science education as social justice

Science.gov (United States)

Eppley, Karen

2017-03-01

What part can science education play in the dismantling of obstacles to social justice in rural places? In this Forum contribution, I use "Learning in and about Rural Places: Connections and Tensions Between Students' Everyday Experiences and Environmental Quality Issues in their Community"(Zimmerman and Weible 2016) to explicitly position rural education as a project of social justice that seeks full participatory parity for rural citizens. Fraser's (2009) conceptualization of social justice in rural education requires attention to the just distribution of resources, the recognition of the inherent capacities of rural people, and the right to equal participation in democratic processes that lead to opportunities to make decisions affecting local, regional, and global lives. This Forum piece considers the potential of place-based science education to contribute to this project.

Deliberative Democracy between Social Liberalism and Neoliberalism

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Loftager, Jørn

During the same decades as neoliberalism has expanded at the expense of social liberalism, democratic theory has witnessed a profound deliberative turn. The paper explores links be-tween these developments and presents a double argument. First, it argues for a critical oppo-sition between a current...... agenda with problems calling for effective public reasoning and the predominance of neoliberal politics and ideas of citizenship. Whereas a social liberal notion of citizenship based on equal rights is conducive to deliberative democracy, recent years’ ne-oliberalism tends to define citizenship in terms...... in neoliberal ontology (Hayek). Here there is a remarkable parallel to French solidarism and especially the social liberal think-ing of Durkheim. Danish politics will serve as an illustrative empirical, least likely, case in point....

Bridging Worlds in the Social Studies Classroom:Teachers' Practices and Latino Immigrant Youths' Civic and Political Development.

Science.gov (United States)

Callahan, Rebecca M; Obenchain, Kathryn M

2013-01-01

Prior research suggests that high school experiences shape young adult political behaviors, particularly among immigrant youth. The U.S. social studies classroom, focused on democratic citizenship education, proves an interesting socializing institution. Through qualitative inquiry, we interviewed Latino immigrant young adults and their former teachers regarding their high school social studies experiences and evolving political and civic engagement. indicate that armed with experience bridging the worlds of the school and home, immigrant students respond and relate to the content and pedagogy of the social studies classroom in such a way that they (1) participate in civic discourse and (2) nurture a disposition toward leadership through teachers' civic expectations of them and instructional emphasis on critical thinking skills. The ability to engage in civic discourse and a disposition toward leadership are both necessary to foster America's democratic ideals, and to take on leadership roles during adulthood. With focused effort on the unique perspective of immigrant youth, high school social studies teachers can nurture in these students the ability to become leaders in young adulthood, broadening the potential leadership pool. This study highlights how the social studies curriculum may be particularly salient to Latino immigrant youth as they transition from adolescence to young adulthood and develop their political and civic identities.

Social Explanation and Political Accountability: Two Related Problems with a Single Solution.

Science.gov (United States)

McPherson, Andrew; And Others

Governing bodies that are quasi-rational, representative, and democratic are accountable to those they govern in much the same way that social scientists are accountable to the academic community. Since they both appeal to rationality as the basis of their actions, governments and scientists must use epistemologically adequate procedures to…

Women's Views about Gender Equality on the Current Social Policy in Turkey

Science.gov (United States)

Öztop, Hülya; Finkel, Müge

2015-01-01

Women's equal participation in all aspects of social, political and economic life is an essential requirement for sustainable development and democratic governance. How to engage women in these different spheres of policy, increase their access to information and ensure their participation in policy debates are therefore among the key questions…

Redefining Social Design in 1970s Belgium: Affordable Design vs. Elite Design

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gimeno Martinez, J.C.

2011-01-01

The 1960s was the decade when democratization became a central issue in social affairs and politics, a trend that had a twofold effect on furniture design. A renewed interest in design creativity led to the emergence of new forms and typologies, and of a new, more dynamic relationship between user,

The Rise of Democratic and Authoritarian POST - States: the Case of Indonesia and Malaysia

Science.gov (United States)

Alatas, Syed Farid

1991-02-01

The theoretical framework of this study on democratic and authoritarian post-colonial states is based on an historical study of the emergence of the dominant class forces that shaped the types of regimes found in Malaysia and Indonesia. Both emerged as democratic post-colonial states. However, in Indonesia the democratic process was suspended altogether and after about a decade of independence, an authoritarian state emerged there. Meanwhile, Malaysia still retains a functioning democratic system. The contrast between Indonesia and Malaysia, then, is an opportunity to study the conditions under which democracy can be sustained in post-colonial states. Three conditions under which democracy can survive in post-colonial states, based on the experience of Malaysia and Indonesia, are (1) the absence of mass resistance against the state, (2) a homogeneous ruling elite, and (3) an internally strong state. The imposition of colonialism upon the precapitalist societies of Malaysia and Indonesia left several classes with competing interests in these countries upon formal independence. It is in the context of this class structure that the three factors of the lack of resistance against the state, homogeneity of the ruling elite, and internal state strength were examined. The presence of these factors leads to democratic outcomes, as in Malaysia, while their absence leads to authoritarian outcomes, as in Indonesia. The significance of this study lies in the fact that there has not been any comparative work done on the state in Malaysia and Indonesia. Furthermore, the few works on the state in the two countries tend to focus on issues not directly related to the question of the origins of the post-colonial state. Democracy in post-colonial states is not to be explained in terms of its emergence because it is a given, having been introduced from without. What needs explanation is how and why democracy persisted in some post-colonial states and gave way to authoritarianism in