The Anthropology of Bureaucracy and Public Administration

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Bierschenk ◽  
Jean-Pierre Olivier de Sardan
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Research Field ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Formal Organization ◽  
The Public ◽  
Anthropological Study ◽  
Core Components ◽  
Informal Practices ◽  
Specific Concern

Anthropology is a latecomer to the study of bureaucracy. Nonetheless, the anthropological study of organizations—of which bureaucracies are a subtype, as larger organizations are always bureaucratically organized—was initiated by anthropologists as early as the 1920s. Since the 2010s, the anthropology of bureaucracy has slowly consolidated into a discernible subfield of the discipline. It brings to the study of public administrations a double added value: (a) a specific concern for the informal aspects of bureaucracy, (b) the emic views of bureaucratic actors and their pragmatic contexts, based on long-term immersion in the research field, as well as (c) a non-Eurocentric, global comparative perspective. Anthropologists have focused on bureaucratic actors (“bureaucrats”), the discursive, relational, and material contexts in which they work, the public policies they are supposed to implement or to comply with, and their interactions with the outside world, in particular ordinary citizens (“clients”). A foundational theorem of the anthropological study of bureaucracies has been that you cannot understand organizations on the basis of their official structures alone: the actual workings of an organization are largely based on informal practices and practical rules; there is always a gap between organizational norms and “real” practices; large-scale organizations are heterogeneous phenomena; and conflicts, negotiations, alliances, and power relations are their core components. Thus, one of the major methodological achievements of the anthropology of bureaucracy has been to focus on the dialectics of formal organization and real practices, official regulations, and informal norms in organizations “at work.”

Approaches to Supporting Local and Community Development

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liesel Mack Filgueiras ◽  
Andreia Rabetim ◽  
Isabel Aché Pillar
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Mining Company ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Social Partnership ◽  
The Public ◽  
Mining Investment ◽  
The Social ◽  
Corporate Social

Reflection about the role of community engagement and corporate social investment in Brazil, associated with the presence of a large economic enterprise, is the major stimulus of this chapter. It seeks to present how cross-sector governance can contribute to the social development of a city and how this process can be led by a partnership comprising a corporate foundation, government, and civil society. The concept of the public–private social partnership (PPSP) is explored: a strategy for building a series of inter-sectoral alliances aimed at promoting the sustainable development of territories where the company has large-scale enterprises, through joint efforts towards integrated long-term strategic planning, around a common agenda. To this end, the case of Canaã dos Carajás is introduced, a municipality in the State of Pará, in the Amazon region, where large-scale mining investment is being carried out by the mining company Vale SA.

scholarly journals Improving tuberculosis surveillance by detecting international transmission using publicly available whole-genome sequencing data

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Sanchini ◽  
Christine Jandrasits ◽  
Julius Tembrockhaus ◽  
Thomas Andreas Kohl ◽  
Christian Utpatel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Whole Genome Sequencing ◽  
Genome Sequencing ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Whole Genome Sequencing Data ◽  
Whole Genome ◽  
International Transmission ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Dataset ◽  
Public Repositories

AbstractIntroductionImproving the surveillance of tuberculosis (TB) is especially important for multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR)-TB. The large amount of publicly available whole-genome sequencing (WGS) data for TB gives us the chance to re-use data and to perform additional analysis at a large scale.AimWe assessed the usefulness of raw WGS data of global MDR/XDR-TB isolates available from public repositories to improve TB surveillance.MethodsWe extracted raw WGS data and the related metadata of Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates available from the Sequence Read Archive. We compared this public dataset with WGS data and metadata of 131 MDR- and XDR-TB isolates from Germany in 2012-2013.ResultsWe aggregated a dataset that includes 1,081 MDR and 250 XDR isolates among which we identified 133 molecular clusters. In 16 clusters, the isolates were from at least two different countries. For example, cluster2 included 56 MDR/XDR isolates from Moldova, Georgia, and Germany. By comparing the WGS data from Germany and the public dataset, we found that 11 clusters contained at least one isolate from Germany and at least one isolate from another country. We could, therefore, connect TB cases despite missing epidemiological information.ConclusionWe demonstrated the added value of using WGS raw data from public repositories to contribute to TB surveillance. By comparing the German and the public dataset, we identified potential international transmission events. Thus, using this approach might support the interpretation of national surveillance results in an international context.

scholarly journals Still normal? Contextualizing real-time data with long-term statistics to monitor anomalies and systematic changes in storm surge activity – Introduction of a prototype web tool storm surge monitor for the German coasts

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xin Liu ◽  
Insa Meinke ◽  
Ralf Weisse
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Storm Surge ◽  
Storm Surges ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Time Data ◽  
Storm Activity ◽  
The Public ◽  
Real Time Data

Abstract. Storm surges represent a major threat to many low-lying coastal areas in the world. While most places can cope with or are more or less adapted to present-day risks, future risks may increase from factors such as sea level rise, subsidence, or changes in storm activity. This may require further or alternative adaptation and strategies. For most places, both forecasts and real-time observations are available. However, analyses of long-term changes or recent severe extremes that are important for decision-making are usually only available sporadically or with substantial delay. In this paper, we propose to contextualize real-time data with long-term statistics to make such information publicly available in near real-time. We implement and demonstrate the concept of a ”storm surge monitor” for tide gauges along the German North Sea and Baltic Sea coasts. It provides automated near real-time assessments of the course and severity of the ongoing storm surge season and its single events. The assessment is provided in terms of storm surge height, frequency, duration, and intensity. It is proposed that such near real-time assessments provide added value to the public and decision-making. It is further suggested that the concept is transferable to other coastal regions threatened by storm surges.

scholarly journals Hybrid Environmental-Media Facades

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jules Moloney ◽  
Anastasia Globa ◽  
Rui Wang
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Concept Design ◽  
Worker Productivity ◽  
Environmental Media ◽  
The Public ◽  
Control Interface ◽  
Time Simulation ◽  
And Control

<p>There is significant potential for responsive sun screening systems to improve the energy performance of large scale public and commercial buildings. However there has been minimal uptake, primarily due to the capital and maintenance costs. We propose that these costs can be offset by providing added value in three ways. (1) Development of a finer grained control interface for occupants to enhance individual comfort, which has been shown to improve worker productivity. (2) With a high granularity of panels and a control system that enables individual movement of each panel, the system can be re-purposed as a low resolution media screen to foster social interactions in urban settings. (3) Enabling a new movement-aesthetic for architecture of indeterminate states that coalesce and shift during the daily and seasonal cycles, thus enlivening the public face of architecture. To evaluate the feasibility of such hybrid responsive facades we are developing physical prototypes calibrated to real time simulation and control software. A initial proof-of-concept design explores the optimal configuration and geometry of the kinetic panels to enable the granularity required for a range of graphic and textural information, along with development of the actuator. We document progress to date on this research into hybrid environmental-media façades’.</p>

Final Remarks and Conclusions

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Livnat Holtzman
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Social Function ◽  
Oral Literature ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Road ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
The Masses

Anthropomorphism in Islam presents a range of issues that encompass the problematics of aḥādīth al-ṣifāt. The book focuses on aḥādīth al-ṣifāt as popular oral literature; the use of aḥādīth al-ṣifāt in the traditionalistic discourse; and aḥādīth al-ṣifāt as iconic texts in the public sphere. These issues form the demarcation lines between ultra-traditionalism, middle-of-the-road traditionalism, and traditional-rationalism. The major findings of Anthropomorphism in Islam are as follows: first, the ultra-traditionalists were more receptive to aḥādīth al-ṣifāt than other middle-of-the-road muḥaddithūn. Second, the ultra-traditionalists were more attentive to the social function that aḥādīth al-ṣifāt served in offering the masses an Islamic religiosity which provided a direct way to perceive God without the interference of mediators. Third, the ultra-traditionalists structured the iconicity of aḥādīth al-ṣifāt by perfecting their skills as performers. Accordingly, Anthropomorphism in Islam offered the first large-scale examination of gestures that were part of the process of transmitting aḥādīth al-ṣifāṭ. These gestures symbolised the main features of the long-term debate between the flexible Hanbalites and the rigid Ashʿarites. Aḥādīth al-ṣifāt and the gestures that accompanied their recitation were among the most powerful icons of Islamic traditionalism.

scholarly journals Citizen Science on Twitter: Using Data Analytics to Understand Conversations and Networks

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 210
Author(s):  
Suvodeep Mazumdar ◽  
Dhavalkumar Thakker
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Citizen Science ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Term Study ◽  
The Public ◽  
Long Term Study ◽  
Science Projects ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Science Activities

This paper presents a long-term study on how the public engage with discussions around citizen science and crowdsourcing topics. With progress in sensor technologies and IoT, our cities and neighbourhoods are increasingly sensed, measured and observed. While such data are often used to inform citizen science projects, it is still difficult to understand how citizens and communities discuss citizen science activities and engage with citizen science projects. Understanding these engagements in greater depth will provide citizen scientists, project owners, practitioners and the generic public with insights around how social media can be used to share citizen science related topics, particularly to help increase visibility, influence change and in general and raise awareness on topics. To the knowledge of the authors, this is the first large-scale study on understanding how such information is discussed on Twitter, particularly outside the scope of individual projects. The paper reports on the wide variety of topics (e.g., politics, news, ecological observations) being discussed on social media and a wide variety of network types and the varied roles played by users in sharing information in Twitter. Based on these findings, the paper highlights recommendations for stakeholders for engaging with citizen science topics.

scholarly journals Identifying Ecosystem-Based Alternatives for the Design of a Seaport’s Marine Infrastructure: The Case of Tema Port Expansion in Ghana

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (23) ◽  
pp. 6633 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wiebe P. de Boer ◽  
Jill H. Slinger ◽  
Arno K. wa Kangeri ◽  
Heleen S.I. Vreugdenhil ◽  
Poonam Taneja ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Port Development ◽  
Ecosystem Impacts ◽  
Planning And Design ◽  
Design Alternatives ◽  
Port Design ◽  
Port Expansion

Long-term sustainable port development requires accounting for the intrinsic values of ecosystems. However, in practice, ecosystem considerations often only enter the planning and design process of ports when required by an Environmental Impact Assessment. At this late stage, most of the design is already fixed and opportunities to minimize and restore ecosystem impacts are limited. In this paper, we adopt a large-scale, ecosystem perspective on port development with the aim to identify ecosystem-based design alternatives earlier and throughout the planning and design of a port’s marine infrastructure. We present a framework, termed the ‘ecosystem-based port design hierarchy’ (EPDH), to identify ecosystem-based alternatives at four hierarchical design levels: 1) alternatives to port developments, 2) port site selection, 3) port layout design, and 4) design of structures and materials. In applying the EPDH framework retrospectively to a case study of port expansion in Tema, Ghana, we establish that ecosystem considerations played only a limited role in identifying and evaluating alternatives at all four design levels in the case study, whereas more eco-friendly alternatives in terms of port layouts, structures, and materials are identified using the EPDH framework. This reveals that opportunities for ecosystem-friendly port designs may have been missed and demonstrates the need for and the potential added value of our framework. The framework can assist practitioners in earlier and wider identification of ecosystem-based alternatives for a port’s marine infrastructure in future seaport developments and, hence, represents an important step towards more sustainable port designs.

scholarly journals Improving tuberculosis surveillance by detecting international transmission using publicly available whole genome sequencing data

2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Sanchini ◽  
Christine Jandrasits ◽  
Julius Tembrockhaus ◽  
Thomas Andreas Kohl ◽  
Christian Utpatel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Whole Genome Sequencing ◽  
Genome Sequencing ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Whole Genome Sequencing Data ◽  
Whole Genome ◽  
International Transmission ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Dataset ◽  
Public Repositories

Introduction Improving the surveillance of tuberculosis (TB) is especially important for multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) TB. The large amount of publicly available whole genome sequencing (WGS) data for TB gives us the chance to re-use data and to perform additional analyses at a large scale. Aim We assessed the usefulness of raw WGS data of global MDR/XDR Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates available from public repositories to improve TB surveillance. Methods We extracted raw WGS data and the related metadata of M. tuberculosis isolates available from the Sequence Read Archive. We compared this public dataset with WGS data and metadata of 131 MDR- and XDR M. tuberculosis isolates from Germany in 2012 and 2013. Results We aggregated a dataset that included 1,081 MDR and 250 XDR isolates among which we identified 133 molecular clusters. In 16 clusters, the isolates were from at least two different countries. For example, Cluster 2 included 56 MDR/XDR isolates from Moldova, Georgia and Germany. When comparing the WGS data from Germany with the public dataset, we found that 11 clusters contained at least one isolate from Germany and at least one isolate from another country. We could, therefore, connect TB cases despite missing epidemiological information. Conclusion We demonstrated the added value of using WGS raw data from public repositories to contribute to TB surveillance. Comparing the German with the public dataset, we identified potential international transmission events. Thus, using this approach might support the interpretation of national surveillance results in an international context.

A Conversation about Ageism: Time to Deinstitutionalize Long-Term Care?

2021 ◽  
Vol 90 (2) ◽  
pp. 183-206
Author(s):  
Rachel Herron ◽  
Christine Kelly ◽  
Katie Aubrecht
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Residential Care ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Long Term Care ◽  
Health Care Administrators ◽  
Term Care ◽  
Residential Care Facilities ◽  
The Public ◽  
Aging Studies

Ageism is arguably one of the least challenged forms of discrimination globally and manifests in many obvious and subtle ways. Situating our conversation within the context of COVID-19, we discuss peculiar and unchallenged forms of ageism in current times as well as the intersections with other forms of discrimination such as ableism, racism, sexism, and heterosexism. We highlight the limits of current understandings of ageism, specifically those that seek to identify positive aspects of ageism without appreciating how these forms of ageism reinforce inequalities among older adults. With regards to spatial manifestations of ageism, we explore the failure of critiques of institutionalization to include older people. Only in the context of “mass death” during COVID-19 has the public eye turned toward the problems of long-term residential care facilities as spaces of care, yet disabled, mad, and D/deaf people and allies have challenged the mass institutionalization of disabled people for decades, highlighting how physical and social segregation constitutes an obvious form of ableism. Institutions are notorious for their physical, spiritual, and emotional harms, but when it comes to residential long-term care for older people, especially older people living with dementia, responses to segregation and isolation have generally been ambivalent. Even aging studies scholars call for “transformation” but do not call for the elimination of large-scale institutions (e.g., Theurer et al.). We discuss this softer critique from aging studies, raising questions about whether institutionalized and segregated congregate living for older people is inherently discriminatory, and we consider the implications for families, health care administrators, researchers, and scholars working in the field of long-term residential care.

Food Trust, Ethics and Safety in Risk Society

1999 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 275-281 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reidar Almas
Keyword(s):  
Food Production ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Risk Society ◽  
Industrial Society ◽  
Central Feature ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Individual

We are living in the age of mad cow disease. Through large scale bulletins in the media, we have learned about food scandals that threaten both our health and our environment. This has raised problems like: Who can we trust? And what type of food production can be regarded as ethically defensible in our day and age? And finally, how does the precautionary principle apply to the way we evaluate food and risk. The likelihood of becoming sick from the next meal has probably never been less than it is today. Yet at the same time, we know less than ever about the long-term consequences of today's food production. Ulrich Beck argued more than 10 years ago that we are moving from “industrial society” to “risk society”. While industrial society was structured through social classes, risk society is individualised. Beck's individualisation thesis is central to being able to understand how individuals handle risks through composing their own risk identity profile. Because the different experts “dump their contradictions and conflicts at the feet of the individual” (Beck 1992:137), he or she has to find biographical solutions to handle risks. Where to live, what to eat, where to take a vacation, what clothes to wear, with whom to mingle and to have sex with is up to the individual. And it is not like in simple modernity anymore, when the regulatory authorities took care of the risks and kept the foods you should not eat out of the country. The reflexive burden is placed upon the shoulders of the individual. So is also the case when it comes to genetic modified foods and debates around this. Even if these new foods are labelled, the consumer has to choose which experts to believe before to buy and eat. It is not the case any more that all experts agree and that the public food control institutions will tell you what to do. In the future there will be new food scandals in Europe that will threaten health and the environment. Such food scandals will be a central feature in what people experience as “risk society”. Expertise in the social sciences will gradually be given a new role as “experts on peoples’ concerns”.

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