scholarly journals Outreach, Impact, Collaboration: Why Academics Should Join to Stand Against Poverty

2012 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 163-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Pogge ◽  
Luis Cabrera
Keyword(s):  
Public Discourse ◽  
Significant Contribution ◽  
Professional Associations ◽  
Policy Outcomes ◽  
Global Poverty ◽  
Specialized Training ◽  
Direct Role ◽  
International Network ◽  
Societal Role

This article offer reasons why academics should feel compelled to play a more direct role in the alleviation of global poverty, specifically through participation in a new international network, Academics Stand Against Poverty (ASAP). Academics have the specialized training and knowledge, and the societal role, that make them particularly well equipped to make a significant contribution. They also have responsibilities to answer sometimes spurious or misleading claims made about aspects of global poverty by others in the profession, and to highlight ways in which their own governments are implicated in the perpetuation of severe global poverty. By joining forces with like-minded others in a group such as ASAP, they can enhance their own impact on poverty dialogue and policy outcomes. Those academics already playing prominent direct roles—for example, as government consultants, in public discourse, or through leadership in professional associations—can deepen their influence through sharing their insights and expertise with other ASAP members

Direct Democracy and LGBT Politics

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel C. Lewis
Keyword(s):  
Direct Democracy ◽  
Policy Outcomes ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Lgbt Rights ◽  
Direct Role ◽  
Same Sex Marriage ◽  
The Public ◽  
Ballot Measures ◽  
Lgbt Politics ◽  
Lgbt Community

While many landmark policies affecting LGBT rights have been determined by legislatures and courts, voters have also often played a more direct role in LGBT politics through direct democracy institutions, such as the initiative and referendum. For example, in 2008 California voters approved Proposition 8, barring same-sex marriage in the state and setting the stage for a key federal court decision in Hollingsworth v. Perry (2013). This followed on the heels of 31 ballot measures to ban same-sex marriage in the previous decade. Direct democracy has also been employed frequently to consider a range of other important issues relevant to the LGBT community, including bans on same-sex couple adoptions, nondiscrimination policies, education policies, and employment benefits. Further, as issues addressing transgender right have emerged on the political landscape, local referendums have addressed public accommodation discrimination, including so-called “bathroom bills,” like the high-profile Houston referendum in 2014. Most of these prominent direct democracy contests have resulted in negative outcomes for the LGBT community, spurring concerns about subjecting the rights of marginalized groups to a popular vote. However, some ballot measures, such as Washington’s 2012 vote to legalize same-sex marriage, have expanded or protected LGBT rights. Yet the effects of direct democracy institutions extend beyond the direct policy outcomes of elections and have been shown to shape the decision-making of elected officials as well. Still, studies of both the direct and indirect effects of direct democracy on LGBT rights reveal mixed results that are contingent upon public attitudes and how the issues are framed. When the public is supportive of LGBT rights and views them through a civil right frame, direct democracy has been used to expand and protect these rights. However, when the public views the LGBT community more negatively and views the issues through a morality or safety lens, LGBT rights are put at risk by direct democracy. As such, direct democracy institutions function as a double-edged sword for the LGBT community, simultaneously offering an opportunity to elevate LGBT rights issues onto the public agenda with a civil rights frame and posing a threat to the community when these issues are viewed in a more hostile manner.

scholarly journals Organised food crime: an analysis of the involvements of organised crime groups in the food sector in England and Italy

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alice Rizzuti
Keyword(s):  
Public Discourse ◽  
Corporate Crime ◽  
Organised Crime ◽  
Policy Outcomes ◽  
Green Criminology ◽  
Food Sector ◽  
Institutional Perspective ◽  
Food Fraud ◽  
Conceptual Clarity ◽  
Organised Crime Groups

AbstractThe food sector is subject to illegal practices of various types such as adulteration or exploitation of labour. In the media and public discourse, this phenomenon is often associated to activities by organised crime groups. Drawing on a socio-legal empirical study on the perception and conceptualisation of food crime in English and Italian public institutions, this paper unpacks the involvement of organised crime and mafia-type actors in the food sector. Considering data collected through in-depth interviews with representatives of law enforcement and other public authorities, supported by documentary sources, this research points out that, from both an institutional perspective that narrowly conceptualises as food crime as food fraud, as well as from a wider perspective that addresses other practices happening in the food sector, organised crime is involved in food crime. By referring to the English and Italian cases, and by merging different bodies of literature, such as green criminology and enterprise theory, this article advocates for conceptual clarity when referring to the involvement of corporate crime, organised crime and mafia-type groups active in the food sector. In so doing, it presents and reflects upon ‘organised food crime’ as a new socio-legal category and highlights its policy outcomes.

Supporting the work of art libraries in society: the role of the professional association

2003 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 29-33
Author(s):  
Sonia French
Keyword(s):  
Professional Associations ◽  
Professional Association ◽  
Work Of Art ◽  
International Network ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Active Membership

Professional associations serve to underpin the work of libraries and of individual librarians. This paper considers the roles associations fulfil in general and goes on to examine in particular the international network of art library societies. Focusing on ARLIS/UK & Ireland, it outlines recent developments within the structure of the Society which have arisen from the needs of an active membership and a changing professional agenda.

Policymaking, Ideational Power and the Role of the Media

2020 ◽  
pp. 147892992096834
Author(s):  
Declan Curran ◽  
Robert Gillanders ◽  
Mounir Mahmalat
Keyword(s):  
Political Communication ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Public Support ◽  
Policy Outcomes ◽  
Policy Proposal ◽  
Media System ◽  
Comparative Review ◽  
Communicative Process ◽  
The Media

The ideational power framework developed by Carstensen and Schmidt has sought to make explicit the manner in which ideas can exert an influence over policy outcomes. However, one key feature of this theoretical framework has not yet been adequately conceptualised: the communicative process through which policy entrepreneurs convey their ideas to the general public. This article focuses on one specific form of communicative discourse as a means of generating widespread public support for a given policy proposal: public discourse via the media – be it print, broadcast or social media. We argue that the ideational power literature should recognise the media as a powerful entity in its own right rather than merely depicting the media as an implement for political communication. We contend that the ideational power framework could usefully incorporate a characterisation of the media that has recently emerged from political communications research: the hybrid media system. In order to illustrate how the communicative process inherent in ideational power can be understood in terms of a hybrid media system, we undertake a comparative review of two empirical studies which assess political discourse during the 2016 US presidential election from the perspectives of ideational power and hybrid media systems.

Using God-Talk in a Secular Society: Time for a New Conversation on Public Issues?

2012 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 137-158
Author(s):  
Andrew Bradstock
Keyword(s):  
Public Discourse ◽  
Religious Language ◽  
Policy Outcomes ◽  
Public Issues ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Square ◽  
Current State ◽  
The Right ◽  
Michael Sandel

Abstract The role that religious language should play in the ‘public square’ has long been a matter of debate. As Rawls, Rorty, Audi and others have long argued, albeit with subtle variations, discussion on public issues must be truly ‘public’ and therefore employ vocabulary, principles and reasoning which are intelligible to any reasonable person and based on public canons of validity. But does this argument do justice to religious voices? Can the growing number of such voices clamouring for the right to be heard continue to be ignored? Does excluding conviction-based language from public debate lessen the quality of that debate and the potential to find effective solutions to policy challenges? Drawing upon recent work by Jonathan Chaplin, Rowan Williams, Roger Trigg and Michael Sandel, this article examines the current state of scholarship on the question of language in public discourse, and concludes that the case for ‘confessional candour’ to be accepted in such discourse is overwhelming and could have a positive effect on policy outcomes. A prerequisite to this, however—at least within the context of New Zealand—will be a fresh debate about the meaning and scope of the term ‘secularism’.

scholarly journals Importance and Feasibility of Animal Welfare Measures from a Consumer Perspective in Germany

Food Ethics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1-2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolin Winkel ◽  
Sirkka Schukat ◽  
Heinke Heise
Keyword(s):  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Significant Contribution ◽  
Welfare Programs ◽  
The Public ◽  
Representative Study ◽  
Perceived Importance ◽  
Consumer Perspective ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Welfare Measures

AbstractThe subject animal welfare is increasingly in the public discourse. Consumers and policymakers are increasingly demanding products that are produced under increased animal welfare standards. The profession of the farmer involuntarily gets into disrepute. Many consumers want fundamental changes in pig farming, but are not aware of the consequences of implementation. In this representative study, consumers (n = 1101) were asked about their assessment of 33 animal welfare measures with regard to their importance and the feasibility of implementing those measures. With the help of a four-field matrix, both the perceived importance and the feasibility of the animal welfare measures surveyed were brought together. The results show four possibilities: important and easy to implement, important and not feasible, not important and easy to implement as well as not important and not feasible. The results show that any outdoor access to pasture ranks first, followed by any outdoor access to straw bedding. The results can make a significant contribution to future communication with critical consumers concerning the implementation of higher animal welfare levels, as it becomes clearer how realistic consumers are about the feasibility of several animal welfare measures. Furthermore, the results could prove useful for the design of animal welfare programs and could help famers making targeted decisions concerning stable construction and management.

scholarly journals “Mischievous Uncles” as Rule Breakers: Intersectional Stereotypes and Risk Perceptions During the Coronavirus Pandemic in Turkey

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 205630512094926
Author(s):  
Didem Türkoğlu ◽  
Meltem Odabaş
Keyword(s):  
Risk Perceptions ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
News Coverage ◽  
Risk Groups ◽  
Policy Outcomes ◽  
User Comments ◽  
Working Age ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Government ◽  
Novel Coronavirus

Responses to crises can highlight and exacerbate class inequalities. Seemingly neutral policy measures taken during the COVID-19 pandemic that aim to protect high-risk groups can lead to a shift in the public discourse that deprives citizens of their agency based not only on their age but also their class. In this article, we focus on the case of Turkey, one of the countries with the fastest growth of novel coronavirus cases in late March 2020, where the government introduced a curfew for people over the age of 65, while actively encouraging the rest of the working-age population to stay at home. An intersectional analysis of the Twitter campaign #StayatHome (# EvdeKal) and the media outlets’ news coverage of the policy implementation show that both platforms circulated human-interest stories of working-class men who defy the curfew predominantly. Both the stories and Twitter user comments often defined the subjects of those stories as rule-breakers and, therefore, as “mischievous uncles.” They became the scapegoats, while upper and middle classes avoided the label. These findings have implications for the framing of policy outcomes and welfare provisions as well as oppositional politics that push for the expansion of labor protections during the pandemic.

scholarly journals Either with Us or Against Us: British Perceptions of the Irish in World War Two

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Katherine Kimber-Alldridge
Keyword(s):  
Public Discourse ◽  
Significant Contribution ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Second World War ◽  
World War Two ◽  
World War ◽  
The Public ◽  
Irish People ◽  
Second World ◽  
Key Questions

Literature on Anglo-Irish relations in the Second World War has suggested that in British popular and political discourse the neutral Irish were felt complacent, shortsighted, stubborn, stupid, and cowardly. Extreme opinion held them treacherous. However, there was significant Anglo-Irish intelligence collaboration, many Irish served in the British Forces and a significant contribution was made by Irish immigrant labour during the war. Yet ambivalent and dismissive perceptions of the Irish continued and grew during World War Two. This thesis will examine the ways in which contemporarypopular perceptions of “Irishness” were affected by cultural antipathy, the actions of the Irish state, the influx of immigrant Irish workers and the recruitment of Irish volunteers into the British Armed Forces, during the years of 1939-1945. Key questions that appear here are whether the shifting circumstances of war changed attitudes to the Irish, and further if, at time of extreme threat to Britain and her Empire, was Ireland, though neutral, considered an enemy.Concentrating on the public discourse on the Irish states conduct during the war, attitudes towards Irish people and British experiences of Irish immigrant workers and Irish people in the British Forces, this survey will illuminate the depth and breadth of ambivalence towards Eire and its people. It is found that the key to British understanding was acquiescence to British influence, even if this was against the wishes of the Irish people. It is the main contention of this thesis that, because of non-acquiescence, the Second World War was the point when Britain psychically ejected ‘Irishness’ from its national identity, casting the Irish as irredeemably ‘other’, even before Ireland seceded from the Commonwealth. It is also concluded that due to influence of this ejection, for many Eire, though neutral, was perceived as if she were an enemy to Britain.

scholarly journals Maximising available resources: Equality and human rights proofing Irish fiscal policy

2017 ◽  
Vol 65 (3) ◽  
pp. 59-80
Author(s):  
Mary P. Murphy
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Fiscal Policy ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Developing Nations ◽  
Policy Outcomes ◽  
National Plan ◽  
Business And Human Rights ◽  
Policy Statements ◽  
Human Rights Norms ◽  
Available Resources

AbstractThe paper examines various rationales for applying equality and human rights proofing mechanisms to fiscal policy. The principle of using available resources to the maximum to progressively realise human rights, and not to erode the revenue capacity of developing nations to do likewise, is at the heart of emerging human rights norms. To date, Irish budgetary processes and major policy statements such as the Commission on Taxation or the draft outline National Plan on Business and Human Rights Strategy have not engaged with the principles of maximising available resources or extraterritoriality. Proofing fiscal policy is also relevant from the perspective of fiscal welfare where taxation instruments, traditionally used as a revenue-gathering mechanism, are increasingly used as distributional mechanisms to achieve policy outcomes in pensions, health, housing and employment, with important equality and distributive dimensions, particularly from gender, age and socioeconomic perspectives. A number of practical institutional mechanisms and evaluative questions can guide equality and human rights proofing of fiscal policy, but commitments to maximise resources to realise rights also need to be promoted through a public discourse which sees taxation as potential investment in society rather than a burden or cost on the economy.

Citizen-Driven International Networks and Globalization of Social Movements on Twitter

2016 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 68-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qinfeng Zhu
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Social Movements ◽  
Social Movement ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
National Income ◽  
World System ◽  
World Systems Theory ◽  
International Network ◽  
Global Networks ◽  
The World

Social media offer an avenue for the formation of citizen-driven global networks that are vital to mobilizing international support and curating global public discourse in social movements. This study looks into the global flow of information and communication about Hong Kong's Occupy Central Movement with a focus on the country/territory-level international network that emerged on Twitter. Drawing on the world systems theory and the literature on social movement, it examines whether the globalization of a local social movement via social media is circumscribed by the existing order of the world system (i.e., from the developed core countries/territories to the developing peripheral). It focuses its analysis on the network structure and the predictors of countries/territories’ centrality in the network. Findings of the social network analysis show that the structure of the international network still follows the existing order of the world system to a large extent. It is further supported by the result of the multivariate analysis that national income, a widely used benchmark for determining a country/territory's position in the world economy, is significantly and substantially related to centrality. However, national income does not have the largest predicting power. Instead, a country/territory's level of political grievances is found to be the strongest predictor. In addition, countries/territories with high Internet penetration rates tend to have high-centrality scores, and yet the effect size is smaller than the other predictors.

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