On the volatility of transnational actor populations: What has access got to do with it?

2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (5) ◽  
pp. 695-710
Author(s):  
Andreas Nordang Uhre

Over the past few decades, international organizations have increasingly granted transnational actors access to monitor and participate in their proceedings. Some observers have argued that stronger involvement of civil society may be a cure for the perceived democratic deficit in international political institutions. However, simply measuring levels of formal access tells us nothing about the degree to which access translates into participation. This article therefore examines the stability, or volatility, of two populations of transnational actors over a period of three decades. It finds significant differences in volatility between the two populations that levels of formal access do not seem to explain.

Author(s):  
Mason W. Moseley

The fifth chapter introduces the case of Argentina, a country where protest has taken root as a common characteristic of everyday political life over the past two decades. The chapter begins by analyzing the history of protest from Carlos Menem’s election in 1989 to the current Fernández de Kirchner government, arguing that it has indeed crystallized as a routine form of political participation in this regime. I attribute this trend to the weakness of political institutions and strength of Argentine civil society: the two pillars of the protest state. I then proceed to utilize survey data and protest events count data to support this argument, demonstrating that not only has protest become more common over the past two decades, but that it has consolidated as a common mode of political voice for Argentine citizens across demographic groups and the political spectrum.


2010 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 24
Author(s):  
Manal Farouk Sayed Ali

Although there are numerous definitions and theories of the concept of development, many developing countries continue to suffer from problems associated with lack of development and environmental degradation. It seems that states in developing countries are not effectively facing the increasing requirements for development. In response, institutions and organizations of civil society stepped-up to promote the realization of social development and self-reliance among the citizens. In consequence, the past twenty years witnessed the birth of many national and international non-governmental organizations which started to deliver social services to the population. However, and with reference to Egypt, conflicting opinions questioning the relationship between these organizations and the development of civil society have started to emerge. This paper attempts to investigate first the role of these societies in the development of civil society and review the controversy over this role. The attempt will also touch upon and evaluate several studies which relate to the role of these organizations in the development of civil society in Egypt.  


2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-47
Author(s):  
Clinton D. Young

This article examines the development of Wagnerism in late-nineteenth-century Spain, focusing on how it became an integral part of Catalan nationalism. The reception of Wagner's music and ideas in Spain was determined by the country's uneven economic development and the weakness of its musical and political institutions—the same weaknesses that were responsible for the rise of Catalan nationalism. Lack of a symphonic culture in Spain meant that audiences were not prepared to comprehend Wagner's complexity, but that same complexity made Wagner's ideas acceptable to Spanish reformers who saw in the composer an exemplar of the European ideas needed to fix Spanish problems. Thus, when Wagner's operas were first staged in Spain, the Teatro Real de Madrid stressed Wagner's continuity with operas of the past; however, critics and audiences engaged with the works as difficult forms of modern music. The rejection of Wagner in the Spanish capital cleared the way for his ideas to be adopted in Catalonia. A similar dynamic occurred as Spanish composers tried to meld Wagner into their attempts to build a nationalist school of opera composition. The failure of Tomás Bréton's Los amantes de Teruel and Garín cleared the way for Felip Pedrell's more successful theoretical fusion of Wagnerism and nationalism. While Pedrell's opera Els Pirineus was a failure, his explanation of how Wagner's ideals and nationalism could be fused in the treatise Por nuestra música cemented the link between Catalan culture and Wagnerism.


Author(s):  
Mona Ali Duaij ◽  
Ahlam Ahmed Issa

All the Iraqi state institutions and civil society organizations should develop a deliberate systematic policy to eliminate terrorism contracted with all parts of the economic, social, civil and political institutions and important question how to eliminate Daash to a terrorist organization hostile and if he country to eliminate the causes of crime and punish criminals and not to justify any type of crime of any kind, because if we stayed in the curriculum of justifying legitimate crime will deepen our continued terrorism, but give it legitimacy formula must also dry up the sources of terrorism media and private channels and newspapers that have abused the Holy Prophet Muhammad (p) and all kinds of any of their source (a sheei or a Sunni or Christians or Sabians) as well as from the religious aspect is not only the media but a meeting there must be cooperation of both parts of the state facilities and most importantly limiting arms possession only state you can not eliminate terrorism and violence, and we see people carrying arms without the name of the state and remains somewhat carefree is sincerity honesty and patriotism the most important motivation for the elimination of violence and terrorism and cooperation between parts of the Iraqi people and not be driven by a regional or global international schemes want to kill nations and kill our bodies of Sunnis, sheei , Christians, Sabean and Yazidi and others.


Author(s):  
Елена Александровна Тарханова

За последние двадцать лет в мире сформировалась концепция «зеленой» экономики, которая соединила в себе комплексную увязку двух ключевых компонентов: экономического и экологического. Такая модель экономики должна способствовать более гармоничному согласованию между этими компонентами, которое было бы уместно для всех государств. В статье изучены предпосылки становления и развития «зеленой» экономической модели. Проведено исследование подходов международных организаций к определению понятия «зеленая» экономика. Over the past twenty years, the concept of a "green" economy has emerged in the world, which combines a complex alignment of two key components: economic and environmental. Such an economic model should contribute to a more harmonious harmonization between these components, which would be appropriate for all groups of countries. The article studies the prerequisites for the formation and development of a "green" economic model. A study of the approaches of national and international organizations to the definition of the concept of "green" economy.


2020 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheetal Uppal ◽  
Mohd. Asim Khan ◽  
Suman Kundu

Aims: The aim of our study is to understand the biophysical traits that govern the stability and folding of Synechocystis hemoglobin, a unique cyanobacterial globin that displays unusual traits not observed in any of the other globins discovered so far. Background: For the past few decades, classical hemoglobins such as vertebrate hemoglobin and myoglobin have been extensively studied to unravel the stability and folding mechanisms of hemoglobins. However, the expanding wealth of hemoglobins identified in all life forms with novel properties, like heme coordination chemistry and globin fold, have added complexity and challenges to the understanding of hemoglobin stability, which has not been adequately addressed. Here, we explored the unique truncated and hexacoordinate hemoglobin from the freshwater cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 known as “Synechocystis hemoglobin (SynHb)”. The “three histidines” linkages to heme are novel to this cyanobacterial hemoglobin. Objective: Mutational studies were employed to decipher the residues within the heme pocket that dictate the stability and folding of SynHb. Methods: Site-directed mutants of SynHb were generated and analyzed using a repertoire of spectroscopic and calorimetric tools. Result: The results revealed that the heme was stably associated to the protein under all denaturing conditions with His117 playing the anchoring role. The studies also highlighted the possibility of existence of a “molten globule” like intermediate at acidic pH in this exceptionally thermostable globin. His117 and other key residues in the heme pocket play an indispensable role in imparting significant polypeptide stability. Conclusion: Synechocystis hemoglobin presents an important model system for investigations of protein folding and stability in general. The heme pocket residues influenced the folding and stability of SynHb in a very subtle and specific manner and may have been optimized to make this Hb the most stable known as of date. Other: The knowledge gained hereby about the influence of heme pocket amino acid side chains on stability and expression is currently being utilized to improve the stability of recombinant human Hbs for efficient use as oxygen delivery vehicles.


Catalysts ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 255
Author(s):  
Dien-Thien To ◽  
Yu-Chuan Lin

Copper phyllosilicates-derived catalysts (CuPS-cats) have been intensively explored in the past two decades due to their promising activity in carbonyls hydrogenation. However, CuPS-cats have not been completely reviewed. This paper focuses on the aspects concerning CuPS-cats from synthesis methods, effects of preparation conditions, and dopant to catalytic applications of CuPS-cats. The applications of CuPS-cats include the hydrogenation of carboxylates, carboxylic acids, carbonates, formyls, and CO2 to their respective alcohols. Besides, important factors such as the Cu dispersion, Cu+ and Cu0 surface areas, particles size, interaction between Cu and supports and dopants, morphologies, and spatial effect on catalytic performance of CuPS-cats are discussed. The deactivation and remedial actions to improve the stability of CuPS-cats are summarized. It ends up with the challenges and prospective by using this type of catalyst.


2021 ◽  
pp. 016224392199910
Author(s):  
Nina Frahm ◽  
Tess Doezema ◽  
Sebastian Pfotenhauer

Long presented as a universal policy-recipe for social prosperity and economic growth, the promise of innovation seems to be increasingly in question, giving way to a new vision of progress in which society is advanced as a central enabler of technoeconomic development. Frameworks such as “Responsible” or “Mission-oriented” Innovation, for example, have become commonplace parlance and practice in the governance of the innovation–society nexus. In this paper, we study the dynamics by which this “social fix” to technoscience has gained legitimacy in institutions of global governance by investigating recent projects at two international organizations, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the European Commission, to mainstream “Responsible Innovation” frameworks and instruments across countries. Our analysis shows how the turn to societal participation in both organizations relies on a new deficit logic—a democratic deficit of innovation—that frames a lack of societal engagement in innovation governance as a major barrier to the uptake and dissemination of new technologies. These deficit politics enable global governance institutions to present “Responsible Innovation” frameworks as the solution and to claim authority over the coproduction of particular forms of democracy and innovation as intertwined pillars of a market-liberal international order.


2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aileen O’Gorman ◽  
Eberhard Schatz

Abstract Background A range of civil society organisations (CSOs) such as drug user groups, non-governmental/third sector organisations and networks of existing organisations, seek to shape the development of drugs policy at national and international levels. However, their capacity to do so is shaped by the contexts in which they operate nationally and internationally. The aim of this paper is to explore the lived experience of civil society participation in these contexts, both from the perspective of CSOs engaged in harm reduction advocacy, and the institutions they engage with, in order to inform future policy development. Methods This paper is based on the presentations and discussions from a workshop on ‘Civil Society Involvement in Drug Policy hosted by the Correlation - European Harm Reduction Network at the International Society for the Study of Drugs Policy (ISSDP) annual conference in Paris, 2019. In the aftermath of the workshop, the authors analysed the papers and discussions and identified the key themes arising to inform CSI in developing future harm reduction policy and practice. Results Civil society involvement (CSI) in policy decision-making and implementation is acknowledged as an important benefit to representative democracy. Yet, the accounts of CSOs demonstrate the challenges they experience in seeking to shape the contested field of drug policy. Negotiating the complex workings of political institutions, often in adversarial and heavily bureaucratic environments, proved difficult. Nonetheless, an increase in structures which formalised and resourced CSI enabled more meaningful participation at different levels and at different stages of policy making. Conclusions Civil society spaces are colonised by a broad range of civil society actors lobbying from different ideological standpoints including those advocating for a ‘drug free world’ and those advocating for harm reduction. In these competitive arena, it may be difficult for harm reduction orientated CSOs to influence the policy process. However, the current COVID-19 public health crisis clearly demonstrates the benefits of partnership between CSOs and political institutions to address the harm reduction needs of people who use drugs. The lessons drawn from our workshop serve to inform all partners on this pathway.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 5659
Author(s):  
Farhood Sarrafzadeh Javadi ◽  
Rahman Saidur

Refrigeration systems have experienced massive technological changes in the past 50 years. Nanotechnology can lead to a promising technological leap in the refrigeration industry. Nano-refrigerant still remains unknown because of the complexity of the phase change process of the mixture including refrigerant, lubricant, and nanoparticle. In this study, the stability of Al2O3 nanofluid and the performance of a nano-refrigerant-based domestic refrigerator have been experimentally investigated, with the focus on the thermodynamic and energy approaches. It was found that by increasing the nanoparticle concentration, the stability of nano-lubricant was decreased and evaporator temperature gradient was increased. The average of the temperature gradient increment in the evaporator was 20.2% in case of using 0.1%-Al2O3. The results showed that the energy consumption of the refrigerator reduced around 2.69% when 0.1%-Al2O3 nanoparticle was added to the system.


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