scholarly journals Introduction: Menstruation as Structural

2020 ◽  
pp. 469-473
Author(s):  
Inga T. Winkler
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Critical Reflection ◽  
Practical Experience ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Limited Attention ◽  
Global Awareness ◽  
Early Assessment ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Current State ◽  
Political Dimensions

Abstract To recognize menstruation as structural, we must tune into the very political dimensions that undergird our institutions, laws, policies, budgets, guidelines, taxation, programs, and data collection. Historically, decision-makers have paid limited attention to menstruation—either due to oversight and neglect or due to deliberate exclusion. Yet, the last decade has seen enormous developments; at various levels, menstruation is rising to the level of global awareness. This might be what most distinguishes the current state of the menstrual movement from its past. Menstruation is gaining traction. Against this background, this section offers an overview and early assessment of these developments at various levels including those driven by practitioners, policy-makers, activists, and civil society actors. It seeks to capture these trends and initiatives through a combination of practice-based and research-based chapters that bring together different perspectives, voices, and experiences. This diversity is essential to engage different types of emerging knowledge in this field and to combine practical experience with critical reflection.

Combating corruption in Pakistan

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 195-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
Feisal Khan
Keyword(s):  
The State ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Ruling Elite ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Current State ◽  
British Colonial ◽  
The Government ◽  
Systemic Corruption ◽  
Institutional Capabilities

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze the current state of corruption in Pakistan and evaluate attempts by the government to combat its entrenched corruption culture. Design/methodology/approach – The paper shows that Pakistan’s legacy of British colonial rule, its ethno-linguistic conflict and alternating civilian governments and military coups have weakened institutional capabilities, hindered capacity building and allowed systemic corruption to flourish there. Pakistan’s many anti-corruption efforts failed because they were used to attack political foes instead of strengthening institutional capabilities. Findings – Pakistan has maintained its highly authoritarian form of governance inherited from the British in 1947. The ruling elite view the state as a milch cow for their personal enrichment and this attitude is also reflected in the performance of its bureaucracy. Existing rules of conduct and administration are not enforced as citizens encounter corruption in their dealings with officials. At the policy level, key decisions are often made to benefit the decision makers. The paper concludes that without political will no significant improvement in the state of corruption in Pakistan is likely to occur. Originality/value – This paper will be useful for scholars, policy-makers and anti-corruption practitioners who are interested in corruption in Pakistan and whether the apparent institutionalization of parliamentary democracy has reduced corruption there.

The Post-Communist Manifesto

Human Affairs ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Václav Bělohradsky
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Critical Reflection ◽  
Global Politics ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Strategies ◽  
Communist Manifesto ◽  
Current State ◽  
Forms Of Life ◽  
Political Spectrum

AbstractThe essay is the critical reflection on the current state of global politics. It points to the importance of reconnecting politics with more substantial “human affairs”. The search for new understanding and conceptual tools is necessary on both sides of the political spectrum, however, the left should press for its lost identity more urgently. But what is even more urgent is the planetary vision based on reflexive rationality and a politics of dialogue, respect for the environment and civil society, overcoming obsolete and pointless political strategies and forms of life. Knowledge and nature are to be taken as public assets.

Social innovation as a ‘magic concept’ for policy-makers and its implications for urban governance

2020 ◽  
pp. 147309522093483
Author(s):  
Francesca Bragaglia
Keyword(s):  
Critical Reflection ◽  
Urban Governance ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
The Way

This article proposes a critical reflection on the concept of social innovation, arguing that it can be understood as a ‘magic concept’ as theorized by Pollitt and Hupe. It is a pervasive and positive notion in academia, policies and politics. The notion of social innovation is therefore deconstructed into the characteristics that make it so seductive: the multiplicity of meanings it can take on, its positive normative charge, its ability to generate consensus and its global marketability. This investigation underlines the way in which the understanding of social innovation may have profound repercussions in the ways in which decision-makers are reshaping urban governance.

scholarly journals Knowing when to talk? Plant genome editing as a site for pre-engagement institutional reflexivity

2021 ◽  
pp. 096366252199979
Author(s):  
Robert D.J. Smith ◽  
Sarah Hartley ◽  
Patrick Middleton ◽  
Tracey Jewitt
Keyword(s):  
Genome Editing ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Plant Genome ◽  
Limited Attention ◽  
Full Potential ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Institutional Dynamics ◽  
Social Studies Of Science ◽  
High Profile ◽  
A Site

Citizen and stakeholder engagement is frequently portrayed as vital for socially accountable science policy but there is a growing understanding of how institutional dynamics shape engagement exercises in ways that prevent them from realising their full potential. Limited attention has been devoted to developing the means to expose institutional features, allow policy-makers to reflect on how they will shape engagement and respond appropriately. Here, therefore, we develop and test a methodological framework to facilitate pre-engagement institutional reflexivity with one of the United Kingdom’s eminent science organisations as it grappled with a new, high-profile and politicised technology, genome editing. We show how this approach allowed policy-makers to reflect on their institutional position and enrich decision-making at a time when they faced pressure to legitimate decisions with engagement. Further descriptions of such pre-engagement institutional reflexivity are needed to better bridge theory and practice in the social studies of science.

scholarly journals Research use at the Ministry of Health in Burkina Faso: the decision-makers’ perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Dagenais
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Knowledge Transfer ◽  
Burkina Faso ◽  
Informed Decision ◽  
Communication Strategy ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Research Use ◽  
Informed Decision Making ◽  
Ministry Of Health ◽  
Policy Makers

Abstract Background Despite the increased emphasis placed on the use of evidence for policy development, relatively few initiatives have been developed to support evidence-informed decision-making, especially in West Africa. Moreover, studies examining the conditions under which policy-makers use research-based evidence are still scarce, but they show that their attitudes and opinions about research are one of the main determinants of such use. In February 2017, Burkina Faso’s Minister of Health planned to create a unit to promote evidence-informed decision-making within the ministry. Before the unit was set up, documenting the attitudes towards research at the highest levels of his Ministry appeared profitable to the unit’s planning. Method Individual interviews were conducted by the author with 14 actors positioned to consider evidence during decision-making from the Burkina Faso’s Minister of health cabinet. An interview grid was used to explore several themes such as attitudes towards research, obstacles and facilitators to research use, example of research use in decision-making and finally, ways to increase decision-makers’ participation in knowledge transfer activities. Interviews were partially transcribed and analysed by the author. Results The results show a mixed attitude towards research and relatively little indication of research use reported by respondents. Important obstacles were identified: evidence inaccessibility, lack of implementation guidelines, absence of clear communication strategy and studies’ lack of relevance for decision-making. Many suggestions were proposed such as raising awareness, improving access and research communication and prioritizing interactions with researchers. Respondents agree with the low participation of decision-makers in knowledge transfer activities: more leadership from the senior officials was suggested and greater awareness of the importance of their presence. Conclusions The conclusion presents avenues for reflection and action to increase the potential impact of the knowledge transfer unit planned within the Ministry of Health of Burkina Faso. This innovative initiative will be impactful if the obstacles identified in this study and policy-makers’ preferences and needs are taken into account during its development and implementation.

WoCoVA consensus on the clinical use of in-line filtration during intravenous infusions: Current evidence and recommendations for future research

2021 ◽  
pp. 112972982198916
Author(s):  
Ton Van Boxtel ◽  
Mauro Pittiruti ◽  
Annemarie Arkema ◽  
Patrick Ball ◽  
Giovanni Barone ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Potential Benefit ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Venous Access ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Global Awareness ◽  
Current State ◽  
Intravenous Infusions ◽  
Proper Definition ◽  
Definition Of

The need for filtering intravenous infusions has long been recognized in the field of venous access, though hard scientific evidence about the actual indications for in-line filters has been scarce. In the last few years, several papers and a few clinical studies have raised again this issue, suggesting that the time has come for a proper definition of the type of filtration, of its potential benefit, and of its proper indications in clinical practice. The WoCoVA Foundation, whose goal is to increase the global awareness on the risk of intravenous access and on patients’ safety, developed the project of a consensus on intravenous filtration. A panel of experts in different aspects of intravenous infusion was chosen to express the current state of knowledge about filtration and to indicate the direction of future research in this field. The present document reports the final conclusions of the panel.

scholarly journals Introduction to the Special Issue: Soft Power of Civil Society in International Relations

2012 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 473-476
Author(s):  
TAKASHI INOGUCHI
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Soft Power ◽  
The United States ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Policy Makers

This special issue focuses on the role of civil society in international relations. It highlights the dynamics and impacts of public opinion on international relations (Zaller, 1992). Until recently, it was usual to consider public opinion in terms of its influence on policy makers and in terms of moulding public opinion in the broad frame of the policy makers in one's country. Given that public opinion in the United States was assessed and judged so frequently and diffused so globally, it was natural to frame questions guided by those concepts which pertained to the global and domestic context of the United States.

Addressing the Crisis in Urban Water Access

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victoria A. Beard ◽  
Diana Mitlin
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Informal Settlements ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Urban Water ◽  
Accurate Assessment ◽  
Water Access ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Policy Responses ◽  
Insufficient Attention ◽  
Global Data

This paper highlights challenges of water access in towns and cities of the global South and explores potential policy responses. These challenges are not new, although, we argue that they have been underestimated by policy makers due to a focus on global data, thus, resulting in decision makers paying insufficient attention to these problems. Policies need to be based on a more accurate assessment of challenges, specifically the need for continuous and affordable water service, and the need to provide services to informal settlements. We share findings from research on 15 cities across Latin America, Asia, and Africa.

Predicting Psycho-educational Problems in Childhood

1978 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 148-159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Howard S. Adelman
Keyword(s):  
State Of The Art ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Health Maintenance ◽  
Ethical Concerns ◽  
Current State ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Assessment Procedures ◽  
Mass Identification ◽  
Ethical Perspectives

Presented are (1) a brief synthesis of several key conceptual and methodological concerns and some ethical perspectives related to identification of psycho-educational problems and (2) conclusions regarding the current state of the art. The conceptual discussion focuses on differentiating prediction from identification and screening from diagnosis; three models used in developing assessment procedures also are presented. Methodologically, the minimal requirements for satisfactory research are described and current problems are highlighted. Three ethical perspectives are discussed; cost-benefit for the individual, models-motives-goals underlying practices, and cost-benefit for the culture. The current state of the art is seen as not supporting the efficacy of the widespread use of currently available procedures for mass screening. Given this point and the methodological and ethical concerns discussed, it is suggested that policy makers reallocate limited resources away from mass identification and toward health maintenance and other approaches to prevention and early-age intervention.

scholarly journals Cinderella deceived: analyzing a Brazilian myth regarding trafficking in persons

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 377-419 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Paula da Silva ◽  
Thaddeus Gregory Blanchette ◽  
Andressa Raylane Bento
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Structural Analysis ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Trafficking In Persons ◽  
Social Categories ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Public Discussion

This article provides an overview of how trafficking in persons has come to be imagined in Brazil. We stipulate that a mythical narrative has become central to discourses about trafficking used to guide policy-makers and educate civil society. We perform a structural analysis of this myth arguing that its acceptance, combined with the persistence of laws that define trafficking solely as the migration of prostitutes, has shifted public discussion towards a paradigm of passivity and law enforcement where members of certain social categories must be "educated to understand that they are victims" and their movements must be curtailed.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document