scholarly journals Undone Science and Smart Cities: Civil Society Perspectives on Risk and Emerging Technologies

2021 ◽  
pp. 57-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Hess
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Public Interest ◽  
Smart Cities ◽  
The United States ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Smart Meters ◽  
The Public ◽  
Low Volume ◽  
Knowledge Claims

AbstractThis study contributes to the analysis of civil society and knowledge by examining mobilizations by civil society organizations and grassroots networks in opposition to wireless smart meters in the United States. Three types of mobilizations are reviewed: grassroots anti-smart-meter networks, privacy organizations, and organizations that advocate for reduced exposure to non-ionizing electromagnetic fields. The study shows different relationships to scientific knowledge that include publicizing risks and conducting citizen science, identifying non-controversial areas of future research, and pointing to deeper problems of undone science (a particular type of non-knowledge that emerges when actors mobilize in the public interest and find an absence or low volume of research that could have been used to support their concerns). By comparing different types of knowledge claims made by the civil society organizations and networks, the study examines the conditions under which mobilized civil society generates positive responses from incumbent organizations versus resistance and undone science.

scholarly journals Condicionantes da Tempestividade das Prestações de Contas Contábeis no Terceiro Setor

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (37) ◽  
pp. 2
Author(s):  
Laís Amélia Revoredo de Paula ◽  
Maria Aparecida do Nascimento Cavalcanti Marques ◽  
Roberto Silva da Penha
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Public Interest ◽  
Third Sector ◽  
Rio Grande ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
The Public ◽  
Descriptive Research ◽  
Specific Organ ◽  
Internal Accounting ◽  
Social Entities

O Terceiro Setor compreende as atividades voluntárias realizadas pela sociedade civil voltadas para o atendimento do interesse público. O objetivo da pesquisa foi identificar os principais fatores que influenciam na prestação de contas das Organizações da Sociedade Civil de Interesse Público (OSCIP) das entidades situadas no Estado do Rio Grande do Norte. Foi realizada uma pesquisa descritiva, na qual se utilizou como instrumento para a coleta de dados um survey direcionado aos gestores das 38 entidades qualificadas como OSCIP e que possuem o registro no portal do Cadastro Nacional de Entidades Sociais do Ministério da Justiça (CNES/MJ). Os resultados demonstraram que 50% das instituições não possuem os relatórios de prestação de contas disponíveis no portal CNES/MJ, apesar dos gestores entenderem a prestação de contas como uma forma de continuarem percebendo recursos. No que tange aos fatores identificados como passíveis de influenciar na prestação de contas, verificou-se que as entidades que possuem mais tempo de qualificação têm algum órgão específico dentro da organização e que o fato de ter uma contabilidade interna favorece a prestação de contas. Outro achado importante é que na percepção dos respondentes, o prazo estipulado para a prestação de contas é insuficiente comprometendo a adimplência por parte das entidades.Palavras-chave: Terceiro Setor. Prestação de Contas. OSCIP.Abstract The third sector comprises voluntary activities carried out by civil society aimed at meeting the public interest. The objective of the research is to identify the main factors that influence the accountability of Civil Society Organizations of Public Interest (OSCIPs) of entities located in the state of Rio Grande do Norte. A descriptive research was carried out in which a survey was conducted as a tool for the data collection directed to the managers of the 38 entities qualified as OSCIPs and that have the registration in the portal of the National Register of Social Entities of the Ministry of Justice (CNES / MJ). The results showed that 50% of institutions do not have the reporting reports available on the CNES/MJ portal, although managers see accountability as a way to continue to perceive resources. Regarding the factors identified as capable of influencing the accountability, it was verified that the entities that have more qualification time have some specific organ within the organization and that the fact of having an internal accounting favors the rendering of accounts. Another important finding is that in the respondents’ perception, the deadline for accountability is insufficient, jeopardizing compliance by the entities.Keywords: Third Sector. Accountability. OSCIP.

Applying the Human Rights Framework Is Not “a” Development Alternative; It Is “the” Road to an Alternative Development Process (People’s Health Movement Latin America)

2018 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 562-567
Author(s):  
Claudio Schuftan
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Public Interest ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
Political Elites ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Road ◽  
Hands On ◽  
The Press ◽  
Human Rights Movement

Historically, political elites adopted the idea of human rights if, and only if, it could foster their interests. Today, it is thus public interest civil society organizations, and not states, that are left to contribute most to the protection of and the struggle for human rights. Despite human rights being enshrined in constitutions, nowadays they can primarily be effectively claimed by those with access to the courts and by the press, i.e., those in power. Public interest civil society organizations and social movements are the only ones left to play this crucial role. The need for the global human rights movement to bridge the gap that has opened up between itself and the majority of the public is clear. Communications in the human rights domain simply have to become less legalistic and more hands-on. To claim their rights, those rendered poor need real power. Those who have been left poor and oppressed do not ever get to actively claim their rights. Instead they ask for mercy, expect charity, and seek benefits from benevolent masters.

Technische Universitaät Darmstadt v. Eugen Ulmer KG

2015 ◽  
Vol 109 (1) ◽  
pp. 161-167
Author(s):  
Anne-Marie Carstens
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual Property Rights ◽  
Public Interest ◽  
The United States ◽  
Fair Use ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Public ◽  
Court Of Justice ◽  
International Attention ◽  
International Obligations ◽  
Mass Digitization

In Technische Universität Darmstadt v. Eugen Ulmer KG, the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ or Court) addressed several important copyright issues stemming from a practice that continues to confound many legal practitioners and adjudicators: the mass digitization of library collections. The judgment adds to an emerging body of jurisprudence decided in the context of a trend toward greater digitization that could ultimately facilitate the development of a global, digital library. To date, the jurisprudence has largely been formed by cases challenging mass digitization that are percolating through the United States courts and have attracted international attention and criticism. The ECJ decision thus provides an important point of reference for evaluating how different jurisdictions balance the rights of authors against the public interest, as served by relevant fair use exceptions consistent with their international obligations under traditional copyright treaties, the 1996 WIPO Copyright Treaty, and the 1994 Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) applicable to all WTO member states.

Assessing Variation in Civil Society Organizations

2007 ◽  
Vol 41 (9) ◽  
pp. 1240-1265 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin L. Read
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Political Action ◽  
Real Life ◽  
The United States ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
High Expectations ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Grassroots Groups ◽  
Collective Action Problems ◽  
Power Comparisons

Theories of civil society set high expectations for grassroots associations, claiming that they school citizens in democracy and constrain powerful institutions. But when do real-life organizations actually live up to this billing? Homeowner organizations in the United States and elsewhere have sparked debate among political scientists, criticized by some as nonparticipatory and harmful to the overall polity and defended by others as benign manifestations of local self-governance. With this as a backdrop, China's emerging homeowner groups are used as a testing ground for exploring variation in three criteria of performance: self-organization, participation, and the exercising of power. Comparisons are drawn cross-nationally, among 23 cases in four Chinese cities and over time within neighborhoods. The article puts forward several factors affecting the properties of grassroots groups, highlighting the role of conflict, the political—legal environment, and collective action problems in shaping the way they engage their members and take political action.

scholarly journals Our Boys and The Last Shot: Examples of the Power of Community Involvement in Underprivileged America

2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 101
Author(s):  
Claire C. Schaeperkoetter
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Community Involvement ◽  
The United States ◽  
Future Research ◽  
High School Athletes ◽  
Public Education System ◽  
The Public ◽  
Central Focus ◽  
Rural Environments ◽  
High School Coach

The central focus of this essay was to examine different socio-cultural structures that affect high school aged athletes in seemingly different impoverished areas in the United States. Specifically, narratives in the popular press books The Last Shot and Our Boys were explored in order to highlight similarities and differences between the high school athletes in these two different urban and rural environments. In all, four factors that showcase the power of community involvement in underprivileged America emerged: the values promoted by the high school coach, the socioeconomic status of the community, the public education system, and the battle between the desire to escape the community and fear of the unknown. The implications of community involvement are discussed and avenues for future research are presented.

scholarly journals Asia`s Role in Internet Governance

2009 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 137-142
Author(s):  
Park Y. J.
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Public Policy ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Internet Governance ◽  
The Public ◽  
Policy Negotiation ◽  
Global Public Policy

Most stakeholders from Asia have not actively participated in the global Internet governance debate. This debate has been shaped by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers(ICANN) since 198 and the UN Internet Governance Forum (IGF) since 2006. Neither ICANN nor IGF are well received as global public policy negotiation platforms by stakeholders in Asia, but more and more stakeholders in Europe and the United States take both platforms seriously. Stakeholders in Internet governance come from the private sector and civil society as well as the public sector.

Conclusion: SDO Decision-making and the Public Interest

2020 ◽  
pp. 210-237
Author(s):  
Alison Harcourt ◽  
George Christou ◽  
Seamus Simpson
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Public Interest ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
International Level ◽  
Multiple Streams ◽  
Policy Entrepreneurship ◽  
Historical Representation ◽  
The Public ◽  
Decision Making Processes

The conclusion situates the book’s findings in academic debates on democracy and the Internet, global self-regulation, and civil society, and international decision-making processes in unstructured environments. It assesses whether current standards-developing organization (SDO) decision-making is able to bridge historical representation gaps and deficiencies. A nuanced pattern is emerging with increasing inclusion of a wider number of actors within SDO fora. The first part of the chapter returns to the Multiple Streams (MS) framework applied to the case studies on a comparative basis. It identifies key processes under which SDO rules of interaction are established at the international level and explains which interests have come to the fore within decision-making highlighting the occurrence of policy entrepreneurship, forum shopping, and coupling. The final part explores additional frameworks for SDO regulation where spaces for public interest consideration might occur in the future. These are opportunities for inserting public interest considerations into international and national Acts, certification programmes, and the move towards open source solutions for Internet management. The book concludes that, although the literature is expansive on the interaction of corporate sector actors within SDOs, the study of other actors, such as digital rights groups, civil society, academics, policy entrepreneurs and the technical community as a whole, has been underdressed in the literature on international self-regulatory fora to date. In this respect, the book raises important questions of representation of the public interest at the international level by having addressed the actions of actors within SDO fora who promote public interest goals.

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