How Policy Institutions Filter Conflict: The (De)Escalation of Policy Conflict through Closing Down or Opening Up the Space for Contestation

2021 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-74
Author(s):  
Eva Wolf

This article argues that in situations of policy conflict, policymaking institutions that act as de facto conflict arbiters may escalate the conflict they are trying to settle. The role of institutions in policy conflicts is studied in the lengthy and highly contested policymaking process of the multibillion-euro 'Oosterweelconnection' highway in Antwerp (Belgium). The article concludes that while narrowing the scope of conflict through standardized institutional procedures initially disciplined the Oosterweel conflict, it ultimately drove further escalation, as residual topics of conflict remained and sought new institutional outlets. At the same time, more flexible institutions, while being able to finally settle the Oosterweel conflict, produced an agreement that remained institutionally unembedded and therefore more vulnerable to exploitation because it was not formally enforceable.

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 5588
Author(s):  
Anita Tvedt Crisostomo ◽  
Anne B. Reinertsen

In this article, we seek to theorize the role of the kindergarten teacher as an agency mobiliser for sustainability through keeping the concept of the child in play, ultimately envisioning the child as a knowledgeable and connectable collective. This implies a non-dialectical politics of multiplicity ready to support and join a creative pluralism of educational organization and teacher roles for sustainability. Comprising friction zones between actual and virtual multiplicities that replace discursive productions of educational policies with enfoldedness, relations between bodies and becomings. This changes the power, position and function of language in and for agency and change. Not through making the child a constructivist change-agent through language but through opening up the possibilities for teachers to explore relations between language and matter, nature and culture and what might be produced collectively and individually. We go via the concepts of agencement expanding on the concept of agency, and conceptual personae directing the becoming of the kindergarten teacher. Both concepts informed by the transformational pragmatics of Gilles Deleuze (1925–1995) and Félix Guattari (1930–1992). The overarching contribution of this article is therefore political and pragmatic and concerns the constitution of subjectivity and transformative citizenships for sustainability in inter- and intra-generational perspectives.


AI Magazine ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 49-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Randall Davis ◽  
David Libon ◽  
Roda Au ◽  
David Pitman ◽  
Dana Penney

The digital clock drawing test is a fielded application that provides a major advance over existing neuropsychological testing technology. It captures and analyzes high precision information about both outcome and process, opening up the possibility of detecting subtle cognitive impairment even when test results appear superficially normal. We describe the design and development of the test, document the role of AI in its capabilities, and report on its use over the past seven years. We outline its potential implications for earlier detection and treatment of neurological disorders. We set the work in the larger context of the THink project, which is exploring multiple approaches to determining cognitive status through the detection and analysis of subtle behaviors.


2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 101-108
Author(s):  
Marc Belissa ◽  
Gary Berton

The volume contains six contributions (and an introduction) that have been presented in the Thomas Paine Second International Conference held in Paris Ouest Nanterre in 2014. All scholars involved in the field of research of Atlantic history agree on the fact that the partitioning between ‘national’ historiographies (American, English and French) is detrimental in the understanding of the role of specific transatlantic actors, of which Thomas Paine is one the most spectacular example for the era of the revolutions (1760–1830). This conference gathered American, British and French historians to develop this fruitful approach. The papers presented here participate in the historiographic opening up of studies on Thomas Paine and propose studies, reflexion and specific comments on how Thomas Paine converges within the general framework of Atlantic history and Republicanism history.


2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 20160151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela Logan ◽  
Michael P. Murphy

Our understanding of the role of mitochondria in biomedical sciences has expanded considerably over the past decade. In addition to their well-known metabolic roles, mitochondrial are also central to signalling for various processes through the generation of signals such as ROS and metabolites that affect cellular homeostasis, as well as other processes such as cell death and inflammation. Thus, mitochondrial function and dysfunction are central to the health and fate of the cell. Consequently, there is considerable interest in better understanding and assessing the many roles of mitochondria. Furthermore, there is also a growing realization that mitochondrial are a promising drug target in a wide range of pathologies. The application of interdisciplinary approaches at the interface between chemistry and biology are opening up new opportunities to understand mitochondrial function and in assessing the role of the organelle in biology. This work and the experience thus gained are leading to the development of new classes of therapies. Here, we overview the progress that has been made to date on exploring the chemical biology of the organelle and then focus on future challenges and opportunities that face this rapidly developing field.


2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 223-239
Author(s):  
Bakhtawar Ijaz ◽  
Noman Arshed ◽  
Zamin Abbas ◽  
Uzma Hanif ◽  
Kamran Hameed

Recent developments which were coined to the opening up of borders have attracted interest of many researchers from many disciplines. A lot of work can be observed regarding the role of globalization / internationalization on economic growth and social development, this study specifically explores the implications of globalization on the ultimate goal that is life longevity. Adapting from the Kuznets curve, this study proposed a quadratic function of economic globalization and life longevity. The results using panel the ARDL model for the SAARC region, it can be seen that expansion of trade globalization de jure and management of financial globalization de facto and de jure may help them to increase longevity in the long run.


2020 ◽  
Vol 35 ◽  
pp. 04020
Author(s):  
Irina K. Romanova

The main directions of improving training that can be achieved as part of the introduction of new software in the teaching of engineering disciplines are considered. The necessity of ensuring the continuity of training within the framework of a unified concept of using software tools is noted. The analysis of needs in the formation of new competencies based on the results of a survey of graduate students of BMSTU, and the views of employers, which showed the closeness of the representations of students, teachers and employers. It is noted that the developed software application technologies should guarantee their inextricable link. New approaches to the teaching of engineering disciplines based on computer modeling, which are used in world practice, are considered. Trends in the application of modeling technologies, including the use of integrated software products, are noted. The main modern trends are active training and teamwork, group training. These computer technologies have taken the project approach to learning to a new stage. New software products allow not only the formation of special competencies, but also provide the opportunity to acquire important communication skills. New opportunities for student motivation are opening up. Access to an open electronic educational environment, including open packages of applied engineering design programs allows you to create self-education skills, without which it is impossible for an engineer to work in rapidly changing conditions. The active role of the teacher in effective and competent self-education is noted.


2018 ◽  
Vol 70 (4) ◽  
pp. 515-554
Author(s):  
Henry Farrell ◽  
Abraham L. Newman

Globalization blurs the traditional distinction between high and low politics, creating connections between previously discrete issue areas. An important existing literature focuses on how states may intentionally tie policy areas together to enhance cooperation. Building on recent scholarship in historical institutionalism, the authors emphasize how the extent of political discretion enjoyed by heads of state to negotiate and implement international agreements varies across issue areas. When policy domains are linked, so too are different domestic political configurations, each with its own opportunity structures or points of leverage. Opening up the possibility for such variation, the article demonstrates how actors other than states, such as nonstate and substate actors, use the heterogeneity of opportunity structures to influence negotiations and their institutional consequences. The authors examine the theory's purchase on international cooperation over intelligence, privacy, and data exchange in the transatlantic space in the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and the revelations made public by Edward Snowden in 2013. The findings speak to critical international relations debates, including the role of nonstate actors in diplomacy, the interaction between domestic and international politics, and the consequences of globalization and digital technologies for the relationship between international political economy and security.


Author(s):  
Jennifer N. Fish

This chapter looks at the role of NGOs, global and national unions, and feminist government leaders in the movement to support domestic workers’ global rights. Here, the merger of civil society activism, labor struggles, and government influence reveals how a cross-sectional range of players served in pivotal roles as allies in the determination of policy protections. Relations between domestic workers and the state are analyzed to show the potential for opening up new spaces of worker activism. The discussion of feminist government leaders, or femocrats, reveals how the unexpected alliance of women in positions of power and women in some of the world’s most marginalized positions resulted in a synergy that shook a staid, bureaucratic institution to its core, and enabled its reorientation to more effectively address issues of global human rights.


2019 ◽  
pp. 974-997
Author(s):  
Maria de Lurdes Calisto ◽  
Ana Gonçalves

This chapter takes as its research starting point a critical and convergent review and reexamination of existing theory and knowledge about entrepreneurship and sustainability. We question whether smart cities provide the ideal context for sustainability entrepreneurship (SE) to emerge and how sustainability-driven entrepreneurs can contribute to the development of smarter and more sustainable tourism destinations. Hence, we examine SE tourism and hospitality businesses implemented by these so-called ‘smart citizens' in Lisbon (Portugal), a city that arguably provides the necessary context for smart decisions to flourish. This chapter thus aims at opening up new modes of inquiry and questioning existing epistemologies on the study of smart cities and entrepreneurship that help breaking new ground about the role of entrepreneurs in the tourism activity.


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