Current Trends and Future Tendencies: Developing Sustainable Assessment Cultures

2012 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 366-373
Author(s):  
Stephen Dobson
Keyword(s):  
Local Community ◽  
Rational Choice Theory ◽  
Choice Theory ◽  
Systems Approach ◽  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Current Trends ◽  
Insight Into

Schools and their development as sustainable assessment cultures requires insight into the interests and role of different stakeholders: school policy makers, teachers and their teaching teams, principals, parents, pupils and the local community. Researchers are not immediately included in this list, but as external advisers they can play a pivotal role as catalysts or as the advocate for the actions or informed reflections of stakeholders. A stakeholder approach can easily draw support from rational choice theory or the perhaps more fashionable systems approach. In the opening article to this special issue, the authors are less interested in adopting and defending a single theoretical perspective and seek, instead, to highlight and provide an overview of a number of debates and approaches that seek to understand the study and practice of developing sustainable assessment cultures in schools. In the course of this article, the contributions of this special issue will be positioned in what is, in many respects, a global dialogue, where different researchers are keen to draw upon the experience and conceptual resources of colleagues located around the world.

scholarly journals Gastronomy tourism: A brief introduction

2021 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nika Razpotnik Visković ◽  
Blaž Komac
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Qualitative Methods ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Case Study Approach ◽  
Strategic Development ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Insight Into

The aim of this paper is to provide a theoretical and conceptual introduction for the special issue on the interactions between food and territory manifested in gastronomy tourism. We focus on four perspectives: sustainability, the role of heritage, the potential for rural development and the networking of stakeholders. The contributions critically examine the development potentials but also the weaknesses of the growing gastronomy tourism. The case study approach and qualitative methods provide a detailed and concrete insight into the emerging challenges of host communities, tourism businesses and farmers, public policy makers and visitors. The special issue also provides applicable results for stakeholders involved in the strategic development, creation and consumption of tourism offerings.

scholarly journals Introduction to the Special Issue: Soft Power of Civil Society in International Relations

2012 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 473-476
Author(s):  
TAKASHI INOGUCHI
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Soft Power ◽  
The United States ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Policy Makers

This special issue focuses on the role of civil society in international relations. It highlights the dynamics and impacts of public opinion on international relations (Zaller, 1992). Until recently, it was usual to consider public opinion in terms of its influence on policy makers and in terms of moulding public opinion in the broad frame of the policy makers in one's country. Given that public opinion in the United States was assessed and judged so frequently and diffused so globally, it was natural to frame questions guided by those concepts which pertained to the global and domestic context of the United States.

Theories of Nation Building: An Analysis for Academicians and Nation Builders to Employ Nepali Army

Unity Journal ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Anand Sing Bhat
Keyword(s):  
Social Integration ◽  
Social Transformation ◽  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
Research Work ◽  
Nation Building ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Library Research ◽  
Historical Times

Some of the theories of nation building have been dedicated to the study of link between nation and nationalism; others are attributed to explore nation building, state building, social integration, national integration and even conflict transformation during various historical periods. However, nation building is a normative concept used by academicians and nation builders alike to study the role of armed forces in nation building in recent times. Although research has conducted on ethnicity and nation building in Nepal, a little is known about application of theoretical perspective to explore the role of Nepali Army in nation building. Apparently, this article argues that the level of theoretical awareness of academicians and nation builders needs improvement and multiple theories of nation building are relevant to explore the role of Nepali Army in nation building during various enclaves of Nepali nation. Important issues like what are the relevant theories in Nepali context to analyse nation building? Their implication during the historical times to study the link of Nepali Army with nation building needs to be studied. Hence, this paper comparatively examines a nation building theories and their relevant implications during various enclaves of Nepali nation particularly applauding the role on Nepali Army. Conceptual framework based on Saunder's Research Onion Peeled (2007) method was used with qualitative design in a way of inductive approach to conduct the research work to investigate the research questions. Comparative document study, library research, quick survey with policy makers, government employees, professors, university students APF Officers and Army Officers based on purposive sampling method have been used. Study found that Nepali nation passes through its own way of building the nation in various enclaves, none of the theories are complete to study the employment of Nepali Army to produce visible and encouraging results. The level of theoretical awareness of academicians and nation builders needs further improvement. For this, multiple theories particularly related to social transformation, infrastructural development in support of centre to periphery relation; social integration and nationalism are appropriate.

The Building and Breaking of Peace

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Molly M. Melin
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Culture ◽  
Rational Choice Theory ◽  
Choice Theory ◽  
Bargaining Process ◽  
Peace And Conflict ◽  
Government Capacity ◽  
And Shifts ◽  
Corporate Actions ◽  
The Cost

The Building and Breaking of Peace considers the role of corporate firms in building peaceful societies. Examining the corporate motives for peacebuilding and then the implications of these activities for preventing violence and conflict resolution creates a holistic picture of the peace and conflict process. The book examines variation in corporate engagement as a product of corporate culture and shifts in government capacity, as well as threats to the ability to conduct business. Corporations engage in peacebuilding when there is a gap in the state’s capacity to enforce laws creating the demand for engagement but when there is stability that enables firms to supply peacebuilding. The book then considers the implications of corporate engagement for preventing and ending violence. Building on the rational choice theory of civil war and drawing from business research, The Building and Breaking of Peace examines the role of corporate firms in building peaceful societies. While firms are uniquely situated in their ability to raise the cost of violence, an active private sector acts as an additional veto player in the bargaining process, making it significantly harder to reach an agreement. The findings suggest that corporations help to prevent violence but not resolve it. These arguments are tested on original cross-national data of peacebuilding efforts by firms in Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa from 2000 to 2018 and in-depth case analyses of corporate actions and outcomes in Colombia, Northern Ireland, and Tunisia.

A new narrative for sustainability: Exploring biogas plants as ‘first movers’ in raising energy awareness

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Justyna Chodkowska-Miszczuk
Keyword(s):  
Local Community ◽  
Social Research ◽  
Public Awareness ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Energy Awareness ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
New Energy ◽  
Biogas Plants ◽  
Education Process

Abstract It is not only worth talking about the chances of survival in the fight against emerging environmental and socio-economic threats, but it is necessary to use all possible means to influence public awareness. It is awareness that shapes our attitudes and literacy. The core of these tools is cross-sectoral place-based education. This raises the question of the role of new energy actors in the education process. As ‘first movers’, they have enormous power in the local community. Are they therefore merely energy producers, or perhaps, using their position, are they actively involved in creating local energy behaviours? A combination of social research methods including qualitative studies helped respond to this question. As the study shows, an opportunity for effective education is contextualisation, embedding educators in the local social structure and including first movers – energy producers – in this process. Biogas entrepreneurs transpose the knowledge of renewable energy – a globally known issue – to the local level. The provision of comprehensive education requires institutional support focused on building partnerships between policy makers, teachers and practitioners, enabling not only trans-sectoral contact but also the exchange of experience.

Comparative Administrative Law and Economics

2020 ◽  
pp. 216-231
Author(s):  
Nuno Garoupa ◽  
Sofia Amaral-Garcia
Keyword(s):  
Rational Choice Theory ◽  
Choice Theory ◽  
Law And Economics ◽  
Administrative Law ◽  
Governance Indicators ◽  
Specialized Courts ◽  
Normative Dimension ◽  
State Liability

This chapter provides a rational choice theory to explain why features of administrative law vary across jurisdictions. It relates these varying features of administrative law to economic performance (as measured by macroeconomic variables or more specific variables such as rule of law, judicial effectiveness, governance indicators, or quality of legal institutions). The chapter also reveals a normative dimension related to the inevitable question of which arrangements or institutions produce better results. To that end, it reviews the current economic models of administrative adjudication. The chapter next takes a look at some more specific topics: specialized agencies, specialized courts, and state liability. Finally, it looks at the role of the interaction between administrative and constitutional law as well as rule-making and other types of executive policy-making.

Emotions

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jon Elster
Keyword(s):  
Rational Choice Theory ◽  
Choice Theory ◽  
Science Inquiry ◽  
Information Gathering ◽  
Belief Formation ◽  
Theory Of Action ◽  
Actor Model ◽  
Rational Actor ◽  
The Impact

This article explores the role of emotions in the explanation of behavior. It first provides an overview of complexities associated with the term ‘emotion’ before discussing the link between emotions and rationality. In particular, it considers the rational choice theory of action and the notion of emotional choice, along with the impact of emotion on substantive preferences, formal preferences, beliefs and belief formation, and information-gathering. The article argues that emotions governing action should not be deemed inaccessible to analytic social-science inquiry. Even if emotions trigger actions and reactions discontinuous with prior action streams, emotions do not make the rational-actor model fail. Emotions can determine belief and urgency-based emotions can determine outcomes.

Community rebuilding processes in a disaster-damaged area through community currency

2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiromi Nakazato ◽  
Seunghoo Lim
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
Economic Effects ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Community Currency ◽  
Community Rebuilding ◽  
Potential Tool

Purpose Community currency (CC) is used as a tool for reviving local communities by promoting economic growth and facilitating the formation of social capital. Although the Japanese CC movement has stagnated since mid-2005, a new experiment, Fukkou Ouen Chiiki Tsuka (CC for supporting disaster recovery), was introduced across disaster-damaged areas after the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami of March 2011. Previous studies assessing the role of CC in these earthquake-damaged areas are rare; the purpose of this paper is to examine the micro processes of community rebuilding that underlie the transactional networks mediated by one of the experiments, Domo, in Kamaishi. Design/methodology/approach Using transactional records capturing residents’ CC activities during the five-month pilot period before actual implementation of Domo simultaneous investigation for empirical network analysis techniques identify the network configuration dynamics representing the multiple observed forms of social capital in this disaster-affected local community. Findings This study of the five-month pilot for the Domo system revealed: intensive dependence on the coordinating role of core members (i.e. the creation of weak ties), a lack of balanced support among members and the resulting uni-directional transactions (i.e. the avoidance of generalized exchanges), and the reinforcement of previous transactional ties via reciprocation or transitive triads (i.e. the formation of strong ties). Originality/value This study provides guidance for practitioners, researchers, and policy makers on how community residents’ engagement in CC activities could function as a potential tool for generating positive socio-economic effects for local communities in disaster areas.

scholarly journals Beyond Access and Barriers: Inclusive Education and Systems Change

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew J. Schuelka ◽  
Alisha M.B. Braun ◽  
Christopher J. Johnstone
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Education Research ◽  
Complex Systems ◽  
Inclusive Education ◽  
Comparative Education ◽  
Systems Approach ◽  
Systems Change ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Current Trends ◽  
Education Needs

In this introduction to the special issue, we argue that inclusive education research should move beyond a traditional 'deficit' approach, rooted in special education. The articles contained in this special issue represent new ways of conceptualizing, researching, and exploring inclusivity in education. In sum, this special issue makes the case that inclusivity in education requires a complex systems approach of analysis and advocacy that recognizes multiple layers, actors, and sites. Specifically, any way of understanding inclusivity in education needs to foreground participants, practitioners, and end-users. We believe that new ways of researching and conceputalizing inclusivty in education also fits into current trends in international and comparative education.

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