scholarly journals Circular Agreements—Exploring the Role of Agreements and Deals as a Political Tool for a Circular Economy

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nils Johansson
Keyword(s):  
Value Chain ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Policy Instruments ◽  
Alternative Form ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Free Rider Problem ◽  
Political Governance ◽  
The Eu

AbstractA problem for a circular economy, embedded in its policies, tools, technologies and models, is that it is driven by the interests and needs of producers, rather than customers and users. This opinion paper focuses on an alternative form of governance—agreements, which thanks to their bargaining approach brings actors from across the value chain into the policy process. The purpose of this opinion paper is to uncover and analyse the potential of such agreements for a circular economy. Circular agreements aim at increasing the circulation of materials and are an emerging form of political governance within the EU. These agreements have different names, involve different actors and govern in different ways. However, circular agreements seem to work when other types of regulations fail to establish circulation. These agreements bring actors together and offer a platform for negotiating how advantages and disadvantages can be redistributed between actors in a way that is more suitable for a circular economy. However, circular agreements are dependent on other policy instruments to work and can generate a free-rider problem with uninvolved actors. The agreements may also become too detailed and long term, which leads to problem shifting and lock-ins, respectively.

The role of motivation in talent selection and ­development in competitive sport

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Measurement Instrument ◽  
Psychological Characteristics ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Current State ◽  
Talent Selection ◽  
Comprehensive Picture ◽  
Performance Development ◽  
The Right

The early and long-term development of promising young athletes is a decisive factor in being internationally competitive in top-level sports. Among the multitude of talent criteria suggested in the literature, motivation plays a prominent role in the area of psychological characteristics. It is recognised in practice and research as a relevant criterion for performance development across all sports. This article provides an overview of the current state of talent research in the field of motivation. First, the most common theories of motivation in competitive sports are described, then different measurement methods and their advantages and disadvantages as well as the predictive value of motivation for athletic performance are discussed. Finally, implications for practice are suggested. It can be summarised that motivation in sport is conceptualised and operationalised in different ways and that the decision for the right measurement instrument depends on the goal of the assessment. To get a comprehensive picture of an athlete’s motivational status, it is useful to assess several aspects of motivation through different methods.

scholarly journals Governing education policy: the European Union and Australia

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gosia Klatt ◽  
Marcella Milana
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Education Policy ◽  
Policy Instruments ◽  
Unintended Consequences ◽  
Data Generation ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Policy Goals ◽  
Modes Of Governance ◽  
The Eu

This paper considers the changing modes of governance of education policy in the European Union (EU) and Australia through a lens of ‘soft governance’. It considers the increased use of ‘policy instruments’ such as benchmarking, targets, monitoring, data-generation in policy-making in recent decades. It considers the roles these policy instruments play in coordinating education policy in the EU and Australia as well as their intended and unintended consequences. It shows that in the EU, these instruments played a role in strengthening the coordination through the links between individuals and programs, and networking, which is seen as resulting in enhanced creativity in policy solutions, development of new norms and new means for achieving policy goals. While in Australia it seems that the role of these instruments is focused on consolidating the role of the Commonwealth’s oversight and control over what constitutionally is a responsibility of States which adds to several policy tensions already existing in the federal coordination of education.

The Role of Standards for E-Commerce in Virtual Worlds

2011 ◽  
pp. 257-266 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joerg H. Kloss
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
3D Graphics ◽  
Iso Standard ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Future Developments ◽  
3D Environments ◽  
Interactive 3D ◽  
The Right

This chapter discusses the topic of standards for Virtual Worlds with emphasis on their usability as a stable and reliable basis for long-term investments into 3D-E-Commerce. The text explains why standards are important for the success of Virtual Worlds as well as the business in these shared online 3D environments, and what the relevant criteria are to decide for the right technology and/or provider. Although sometimes in the shadow of popular proprietary platforms there are already many different candidates for a Virtual World standard, currently in different states of development. By choosing a 3D platform, E-Commerce providers will decide about their business potential and at the same time strengthen one or another standard in the current technical competition phase. So it is important to get an overview about the current approaches, their advantages and disadvantages as well as the tendencies for the future developments. In this chapter the reader will be sensitized for the issues of standardization, compatibility and interoperability of Virtual Worlds for successful E-Commerce applications. An overview about the current approaches supports the orientation and decision for the different technologies. Some concrete XML-based code examples realized in the international ISO standard for interactive 3D-Graphics X3D demonstrates the practical deployment of highly compatible concepts. An outlook to the further integration of interactive 3D graphics into the Next Generation Web respectively the 3D Internet completes the overview.

scholarly journals Cooperation and Security: Examining the Political Discourse on Natural Gas Transit in Ukraine and Slovakia

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (22) ◽  
pp. 5969
Author(s):  
Kateryna Yakovenko ◽  
Matúš Mišík
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
Energy Security ◽  
Political Discourse ◽  
Fossil Fuel ◽  
The Political ◽  
Nord Stream ◽  
Under Construction ◽  
The Eu

The COVID-19 pandemic appeared in the midst of developing the European Green Deal, the most ambitious project to decarbonise the EU’s economy to date. Among other issues, the project highlighted the challenges connected to the long-term role of natural gas as a fossil fuel in the European economy. Moreover, the changes to the gas architecture caused by the development of new import infrastructure (especially Nord Stream and its extension, which is currently under construction) put additional pressure on the transit countries, mainly of which are linked to the Brotherhood pipeline. These have been strong supporters of natural gas utilisation and harsh critics of new pipelines that circumvent their territories, as they consider energy transit to be an important part of their energy sectors. This research examines the political discourse on gas transit in Slovakia and Ukraine in order to identify the main arguments connected to these positions. The paper examines a total of 233 textual units from both countries for the period 2014–2018. It concludes that, while Ukraine sees transit predominantly through the lens of cooperation with the EU and other actors, the Slovak political discourse considers gas transit in terms of energy security and the availability of gas for the national economy.

scholarly journals Creating a Circular Economy in the Automotive Industry: The Contribution of Combining Crowdsourcing and Delphi Research

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 6762
Author(s):  
Simone Wurster
Keyword(s):  
Value Chain ◽  
Delphi Method ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Product Configuration ◽  
Innovation Research ◽  
Managerial Decisions ◽  
Scientific Disciplines ◽  
Delphi Research ◽  
Innovation Processes ◽  
The Eu

The circular economy (CE) is an essential societal topic of the 21st century. Although various scientific disciplines address it, many research gaps exist. The Delphi is a proven instrument for managerial decisions, which also gained importance in sustainability-oriented innovation research. Likewise, innovation processes using the input of crowds are emerging phenomena. Nevertheless, the Web of Science publication record includes a few articles applying crowdsourcing or the Delphi method to support CE-oriented management decisions only, and their further application has limitations. Addressing these gaps, this article presents an advanced concept integrating both methods to support the development of CE products and software responding to the worldwide need for more sustainable automotive products and CE solutions for tyres specifically. A combination of two-stage crowdsourcing and Delphi approaches was used, involving 509 participants from the EU member state Germany in total. This article provides, in particular, five contributions: First, it identified specific benefits of combining crowdsourcing and the Delphi method. Second, the attractiveness of a CE software system with product configuration tools is shown. Third, the interest in a quality label for sustainable tyres is unveiled. As the fourth contribution, the analyses show the importance of the CE software’s and labels’ consideration of social aspects in the tyre value chain and certain substances influencing appropriate recycling. Fifth, it represents consumers’ suggestions for products made of tyre recyclates and their interest in additional CE automotive products. The article finishes with recommendations for developing a tyre CE and applying the method combination in research and management.

Unemployment as a threat to society – an analysis of the situation in Poland and selected countries of the European Union

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 265-282
Author(s):  
Tomasz Łachacz ◽  
Sylwester Zagulski
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Sex Education ◽  
The State ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Role Of The State ◽  
And Migration ◽  
The Unemployed ◽  
The Eu

Unemployment is classified today as one of the main threats to society. The phenomenon affects the lives of individuals, the functioning of families and society and development of the state. It is often the source of other social problems such as poverty, violence, or social pathologies. The article presents the scale and nature of unemployment occurring after 1989 in Poland and in selected European Union countries, i.e. the Netherlands, Spain, Slovakia and Latvia. It attempts to show the characteristic trends of the phenomenon over a period of more than two decades. Examples from the European countries analysed show that the situation in the labour market and the approach to employment are radically different. Individual countries are characterised by very different unemployment rates, which reflect their different size, economic and demographic potential, or are associated with the tradition of employment. The existence of differences seems to be normal, but their scale may give rise to concern. A characteristic feature of unemployment in the period analysed is its regional diversity, both in Poland and in the whole of the European community. Important factors that determine the level of unemployment are age, sex, education and people’s qualifications. The effects of long-term unemployment are very painful for the whole of society. Such a situation can lead to, amongst others, poverty, societal antagonism, violence and migration. The latter is an issue that the whole of Europe is currently struggling with. The uncontrolled influx of immigrants, including those migrating for economic reasons, causes fear of losing their job among Europeans, which in turn translates into the radicalisation of society. A role of the state and the EU institutions is to create an effective mechanism for the protection and support of the unemployed. This is a prerequisite for Europeans to continue the project which is a common united Europe.

scholarly journals CORONAVIRUS CRISIS AND EU ANTITRUST – JUST TEMPORARY ADAPTATIONS OR LONG-TERM CHANGES?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Václav Šmejkal ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Dominant Role ◽  
Management Communication ◽  
Medical Products ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Online Platforms ◽  
Long Term Changes ◽  
Competition Rules ◽  
The Eu

The European Commission and the competition authorities of the EU member states responded to the coronavirus crisis with assurances about sufficient flexibility of their instruments. They enabled temporary cooperation between competitors to ensure the supply of essential medical products and services. At the same time, they warned against any misuse of the crisis for overpricing or other monopolistic practices. However, the crisis has also intensified long-term pressures for a fundamental adaptation of European competition rules. The first challenge is represented by Chinese state-backed enterprises as potential acquirers of weakened European competitors. The second source of pressure is the increasingly dominant role of global online platforms. Their role as an irreplaceable infrastructure for management, communication, counselling and distance learning was reinforced in the coronavirus crisis. The Commission and other experts are already discussing appropriate responses. This paper maps the discussion on possible EU responses to these challenges, and tries to show the strengths and weaknesses of the proposed solutions and on this basis to estimate the future development of EU antitrust in the post-coronavirus period.

scholarly journals Want Sustainable Productivity? Incentivize Investments in Innovation

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 18-23
Author(s):  
Dr. Ron Basu
Keyword(s):  
Value Chain ◽  
Multinational Companies ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Sustainable Growth ◽  
Engineering And Technology ◽  
Additional Funding ◽  
And Training ◽  
Sustainable Productivity ◽  
The Eu

Research and development (R&D) and innovations derived from R&D have been argued to be the engine of economic growth for hundreds of years. With supporting data, the paper establishes the vital role of innovation in the value chain and sustainable growth of economies. In order to convert these strategies into the tangible outcome, we need right tools, skills, and funding. Tools are provided by research methodologies underpinned by the application of project management principles. Skills come from higher education and training in science, engineering, and technology. The sources of funding are mainly from the governments and private industries where the latter provides the major share. To generate additional funding, the author argues that governments should offer a tax break to multinational companies for additional investment in R&D above the threshold of R&D intensity. For the ‘post- Brexit’ United Kingdom a new R&D strategy is of particular importance when the supply of the EU research money will discontinue.

scholarly journals Agri-environmental management and rural development: Hungary after EU accession

2007 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-40
Author(s):  
Judit Katonáné Kovács
Keyword(s):  
Rural Development ◽  
Interdisciplinary Approach ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Research Area ◽  
Social Functions ◽  
Sustainable Rural Development ◽  
Environmental Measures ◽  
The Eu

In Hungary, similarly to developed countries, the share of agriculture in the GDP has declined. Even so, preparation of the sector’s long term strategy is crucial, as the role of agriculture exceeds the results represented in the GDP. Environmental and social functions of agriculture are revaluated in developed countries, and consumers at the end of the food chain actually govern the entire process. This is why information plays an increasingly important role, and gives signals (Verbeke, 2005) to the actors in the economy and society. This research area is diverse (including agricultural policy, environmental policy, rural development and sustainable development), and so I applied an interdisciplinary approach and conducted an integrated examination. The results show that in recent decades, the pressure of agriculture on the environment has been lower in Hungary than in the EU-15 and agri-environmental measures have taken hold in all types of land-use systems, even though they are more important in protected areas. Although this development provides a good basis for a long term strategy social capital has lost strength (Csath, 2002), so fostering the creation of internal and external rural networks – one instrument for this could be the Leader programme – is essential for sustainable rural development.

scholarly journals Future-Proofing Capitalism: The Paradox of the Circular Economy for Plastics

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Alice Mah
Keyword(s):  
Value Chain ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Environmental Governance ◽  
Corporate Sustainability ◽  
Sustainable Business ◽  
Industrial Systems ◽  
Corporate Strategies ◽  
Global Environmental ◽  
Sustainability Concept

The marine plastics crisis sparked a wave of corporate interest in the circular economy, a sustainable business model that aims to eliminate waste in industrial systems through recycling, reduction, reuse, and recovery. Drawing on debates about the role of corporations in global environmental governance, this article examines the rise of the circular economy as a dominant corporate sustainability concept, focusing on the flagship example of the circular economy for plastics. It argues that corporations across the plastics value chain have coordinated their efforts to contain the circular economy policy agenda, while extending their markets through developing risky circular economy technologies. These corporate strategies of containment and proliferation represent attempts to “future-proof” capitalism against existential threats to public legitimacy, masking the implications for environmental justice. The paradox of the circular economy is that it seems to offer radical challenges to linear “take-make-waste” models of industrial capitalism, backed by international legislation, but it does not actually give up on unsustainable growth. We need to tackle the plastics crisis at its root, dramatically reducing the global production of toxic and wasteful plastics.

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