Assembly campaign will raise Venezuela tensions

2015 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Media Coverage ◽  
Local Level ◽  
National Level ◽  
Socialist Party ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Past ◽  
Intense Competition ◽  
Electoral Cycles ◽  
Opinion Polls

Significance The build-up to Venezuela's December 6 elections shows continuity with conflictive electoral cycles of the past 15 years. Inconclusive opinion polls caution against a bullish opposition extrapolating popular rejection of President Nicolas Maduro at the national level to the local level. The ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) may once again survive a tough campaign through opposition miscalculations. Impacts The brief campaign period will be marked by intense competition. Dirty tricks, wild claims and hyperbole will dominate media coverage, exacerbating a climate of conflict. While the PSUV machine will lurch into action, the opposition risks divisive internal splits.

Excellence and gender

2015 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Farinaz Fassa
Keyword(s):  
Gender Equality ◽  
Common Good ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Local Level ◽  
National Level ◽  
Academic Careers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Feminist Movements

Purpose – Discussing the Swiss case, the purpose of this paper is to examine how gender equality policies deal with the present requirements for scholars to be considered “excellent”. It aims to pinpoint the lines of tension or coherence between excellence, meritocracy and gender politics. Design/methodology/approach – In order to specify the norms of academic careers and their different renditions, the author draws on two studies (at local and national levels) to illustrate where the changes and resistances are taking place. Findings – The translations of a number of demands of feminist movements into the policies set up to favour equality between the sexes may combine to challenge the norms of academia as a gendered realm. Nevertheless, without strong pressure from feminists at local level and the conduct of research pursuing the enterprise of deconstructing norms, top-down policies may prove less “corrective” than affirmative action. This pressure is not only useful to build gender equality in science but also to broaden the spectrum of knowledge that can become a common good. Research limitations/implications – As neither the names nor the positions of the experts who select the candidates at national level are made public, we had to opt for other, less satisfactory means. Originality/value – The originality of the paper lies in the link made between the enhancements brought by Equalities policies and the changes they bring. It attempts to bring to light the extent to which gender equality policies conform to the neo-managerial order or challenge its norms to build a world that is more just.

Zingen over branden, scheepsrampen en grote buitenlandse catastrofes, 1755-1918

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 270-293
Author(s):  
Lotte Jensen
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Sense Of Community ◽  
Local Community ◽  
National Level ◽  
International Level ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Past ◽  
International Solidarity ◽  
Different Types

Abstract Singing about fires, ship wrecks and major international catastrophes between 1755 and 1918 Local, national and international solidarity This article focuses on Dutch songs about three different kind of disasters in the period 1755-1918: fires (which occurred in Dutch villages and cities), ship wrecks (both in the Netherlands and abroad) and other foreign catastrophes, such as the earthquake on Martinique (1839) or the floods in Mexico (1888). This popular genre is an important source to understand how people coped with disasters in the past. They were not only used to spread the news, but also to make sense of the events by offering moral and religious lessons. This article investigates how these different types of disaster songs could shape a shared sense of community on the local, national and international level. While songs about fires were often directed at the local community, ballads about shipwrecks appealed to the imagined Dutch community. Songs about big disasters in foreign places, sometimes aimed at raising international solidarity, but they were more often used to strengthen communal feelings at the national level.

scholarly journals Developing and validating a multi-dimensional measure of coopetition

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 665-689 ◽  
Author(s):  
James M. Crick ◽  
Dave Crick
Keyword(s):  
Local Level ◽  
National Level ◽  
Reliability And Validity ◽  
Geographic Location ◽  
Good Deal ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Product Markets ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Dimensional Measure ◽  
Business To Business

Purpose Coopetition, namely, the interplay between cooperation and competition, has received a good deal of interest in the business-to-business marketing literature. Academics have operationalised the coopetition construct and have used these measures to test the antecedents and consequences of firms collaborating with their competitors. However, business-to-business marketing scholars have not developed and validated an agreed operationalisation that reflects the dimensionality of the coopetition construct. Thus, the purpose of this study is to develop and validate a multi-dimensional measure of coopetition for marketing scholars to use in future research. Design/methodology/approach To use a highly cooperative and highly competitive empirical context, sporting organisations in New Zealand were sampled, as the key informants within these entities engaged in different forms of coopetition. Checks were made to ensure that the sampled entities produced generalisable results. That is, it is anticipated that the results apply to other industries with firms engaging in similar business-to-business behaviours. Various sources of qualitative and quantitative data were acquired to develop and validate a multi-dimensional measure of coopetition (the COOP scale), which passed all major assessments of reliability and validity (including common method variance). Findings The results indicated that coopetition is a multi-dimensional construct, comprising three distinct dimensions. First, local-level coopetition is collaboration among competing entities within a close geographic proximity. Second, national-level coopetition is cooperation with rivals within the same country but across different geographic regions. Third, organisation-level coopetition is cooperation with competitors across different firms (including with indirect rivals), regardless of their geographic location and product markets served. Indeed, organisation-level coopetition extends to how companies engage in coopetition in domestic and international capacities, depending on the extent to which they compete in similar product markets in comparison to industry rivals. Also, multiple indicators were used to measure each facet of the coopetition construct after the scale purification stage. Originality/value Prior coopetition-based investigations have predominately been conceptual or qualitative in nature. The scarce number of existing scales have significant problems, such as not appreciating that coopetition is a multi-dimensional variable, as well as using single indicators. In spite of a recent call for research on the multiple levels of coopetition, there has not been an agreed measure of the construct that accounts for its multi-dimensionality. Hence, this investigation responds to such a call for research by developing and validating the COOP scale. Local-, national- and organisation-level coopetition are anticipated to be the main facets of the coopetition construct, which offer several avenues for future research.

Indonesian energy reform eyes public-private balance

2015 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Local Level ◽  
National Level ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Resource Endowment ◽  
Gas Market ◽  
The Government ◽  
Private Investors ◽  
Energy Assets ◽  
Oil And Gas Sector

Subject Proposed reforms in the oil and gas sector. Significance In the face of strong resource nationalism, President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo's government faces strong pressure to improve the balance between public control and private participation in the oil and gas sector. To that end, the government proposes to amend the 2001 oil and gas law. Its draft amendment proposes, most notably, that state enterprises should control all production operations, while private investors provide technology and capital. The government is also considering revisions to the upstream regime, which is currently based on production-sharing contracts (PSCs). These changes require parliamentary approval. Impacts Private firms, especially foreign ones, are likely to delay fresh investment in energy assets, given the oil and gas market glut. Indonesia's vast natural resource endowment will attract private interest, but regulatory uncertainty will be an abiding problem. Transparency in the extractive sector will continue to rise at the national level, but local level reforms will be slow.

Incumbents will dominate Nigerian gubernatorial polls

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
National Level ◽  
Political Influence ◽  
Content Type ◽  
State Institutions ◽  
The Future ◽  
Electoral Cycles ◽  
Election Results ◽  
Run Up

Significance The results will indicate whether newly re-elected President Muhammadu Buhari’s All Progressives Congress (APC) will continue to dominate at the sub-national level and will give clues about the future of Nigerian politics once Buhari finishes his second and final term in 2023. Impacts The longstanding political influence of zonal power-brokers may grow more fragmented in subsequent electoral cycles. The run-up to the May 29 presidential inauguration could see a wave of court battles over election results. Further disputed polls will intensify fears about the APC’s willingness to unfairly manipulate state institutions to its advantage.

scholarly journals Understanding social enterprise country models: Spain

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 156-177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramon Fisac ◽  
Ana Moreno-Romero
Keyword(s):  
Economic History ◽  
Social Enterprise ◽  
Regional Differences ◽  
Current Model ◽  
National Level ◽  
Institutional Context ◽  
Social Enterprises ◽  
Discussion Paper ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Past

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe the historical institutional context of Spain in the past 40 years and to analyze the influence of institutional factors in the current model of social enterprise existing in the country. Design/methodology/approach – This study draws on the theory of historical institutionalism, national-level empirical data and Kerlin conceptual framework (2013) that informs models of social enterprise. Findings – This paper describe some traits of Spain’s social enterprise that can be explained by the evolution of its institutional context in the past 40 years. It helps to validate, from a historical institutionalistic perspective, aspects of the Kerlin framework for social enterprise models. It also begins to show that the analysis of regional differences in the context should be taken into consideration when examining a country’s social enterprise space. Research limitations/implications – This discussion paper encourages academics to analyze regional differences in the emergence of social enterprise within a country. The main limitation of the paper is the lack of an “official” definition of social enterprise in Spain. Originality/value – This paper applies a valuable framework to a country with a unique political and economic history in the past 40 years. It contributes to enrich the research on the emergence and development of social enterprises in a variety of contexts and advances understanding of how regional differences inside a country influence the development of social enterprises.

Challenges for integrated water resources governance in Brasilia metropolitan area

2014 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 150-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luiz Fernando Macedo Bessa ◽  
Marcelo Facchina
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Environmental Governance ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Water Governance ◽  
Local Level ◽  
National Level ◽  
Federal District ◽  
Metropolitan Region ◽  
Power Dynamics ◽  
Content Type

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss the reasons behind the difficulties in implementing proper participatory environmental and water governance systems in the metropolitan region of Brasilia, Brazil. Design/methodology/approach – This work is a result of a the qualitative analysis of documents and reports of local participatory arenas in Brasilia, and is complemented by a set of 13 interviews held between November 2009 and March 2010 with a variety of actors involved in the promotion of sustainability in the region. Findings – The findings reveal that impediments to the good performance of environmental governance in the Federal District are a consequence to two main factors: institutional framework poorly transferred from the national level and incompatibility between the set of regulations and local electoral power dynamics. Research limitations/implications – As a consequence of the deliberate choice of one specific case, the conclusions of this paper may erroneously overemphasize the perils of participatory local governance rather than its potentials. Practical implications – By identifying a series of mechanisms that threaten positive partnerships between governments and civil society at the local level, this work serves as an important tool for public managers and civil society to engage in more fruitful partnerships. Originality/value – The paper provides a power-based analysis of a case of ineffectiveness of participatory mechanisms. In doing so, it also demonstrates that policy planning must be analysed from a variety of perspectives, and often involve coalitions that cut across the traditional state-society divide. The identification of the mechanisms behind the creation of these obstacles constitutes the originality and value of this paper.

scholarly journals Application of the new Swedish planning support system Citylab to a Chinese urban case

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yunzhu Ji ◽  
Zhenhong Gu ◽  
Ronald Wennersten ◽  
Tong Zhang ◽  
Yixing Duan
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Support System ◽  
Local Level ◽  
National Level ◽  
Planning System ◽  
City Development ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Planning Support ◽  
Planning Support System

PurposeThe purpose of this paper we present a case study where the Swedish planning support system Citylab is applied to a Chinese case in Changzhou's Tianning District.Design/methodology/approachChina's planning system is a vertical system based on policy development on the national level, policies which are to be implemented on local level. There is a gap between the ambitious central policies and the implementations on local levels. China is now exporting its planning model to other developing countries which makes it urgent to show examples of other strategies including more horizontal planning involving the public. The planning system in Sweden is based on a much more horizontal process. Therefore, the authors try to learn from Sweden's vertical planning system in the urban development environment of China.FindingsA key message for policy makers in China is that systems like Citylab can play an important role in developing practical and scalable examples of more sustainable city districts. The paper concludes that a barrier for local sustainability planning in China is still lack of effective communication between local actors including the public.Originality/valueThe authors exemplified Changzhou Tianning District's practical exploration, thus proving the adapted Citylab method's practical operability. Based on the common problems faced by eco-city development in developing countries, the method framework of Citylab is applicable to other developing countries, with strong room for deduction and development.

scholarly journals Low carbon urban development in Serbia: Challenges and opportunities on the local level

2012 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-53
Author(s):  
Milica Bajic-Brkovic ◽  
Visnja Sretovic ◽  
Matija Brkovic
Keyword(s):  
Local Level ◽  
National Level ◽  
Small Towns ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
The Past ◽  
Current Trends ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Development Processes ◽  
Legal Constraints

Development of low carbon urban environment stands among the highest priorities countries, cities and regions are faced with. Despite all the efforts, initiatives and concrete actions taken on the international, regional and national level, many countries experience very low or almost insignificant change on a local level. The situation in Serbia resembles these widely recognized dynamics. While on one hand, the responsible ministries and governmental bodies in Serbia have made a visible progress in meeting the challenge of developing low carbon environment over the past decade, it is a fact that actions on a local level aimed at redirecting the current trends and introducing a more responsible development into their cities and towns are very rare and rather sporadically taken. This paper focuses on a local level, and is concerned with the specific challenges and opportunities recognized there. The medium and small towns in Serbia are of primary interest, since their potential for change is least developed and recognized. The paper explores the challenges they deal with, namely, the perceptive, institutional, and legal constraints and goes on to investigate how these constraints could be overcome, or reduced. On the other hand, there are some opportunities that local communities have on hand. The paper takes to the light their strengths, and presents how they could be integrated into the development processes, and employed in order to further empower local communities in making their towns and places more carbon sensitive.

Collaboration between housing, health and social care

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 69-77
Author(s):  
Tim Brown
Keyword(s):  
Social Care ◽  
Housing Association ◽  
Local Level ◽  
National Level ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Housing Quality ◽  
Content Type ◽  
East Midlands ◽  
Health And Social Care ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities

Purpose Comment on the contribution that housing can make to delivering better health and wellbeing outcomes. More specifically, the purpose of this paper is threefold: summarise recent evidence that makes the case for housing in helping to address health and social care issues; comment on the challenges and opportunities of partnership working; and describe examples of interesting and innovative local joint provision. Design/methodology/approach Draws on the author’s briefing papers on housing, health and social care for housing quality network, which is a national housing consultancy organisation as well as the author’s role as Chairperson of East Midlands Housing Care and Support, which is a regional housing association. Findings Collaboration between housing, health and social care is making slow progress at the national level in England. This is despite an ever-increasing evidence base highlighting that good housing can help to address issues, such as delayed discharges. Nevertheless, there are an increasing number of interesting examples of successful local initiatives on housing, health and adult social care. The way forward is to facilitate joint working at a local level. Originality/value Focusses on the success of examples of local joint working between housing, health and social care to achieve better outcomes for vulnerable people.

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