scholarly journals Politics of disclosure: Organizational transparency as multi-actor negotiation

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maximilian Heimstädt ◽  
Leonhard Dobusch

Transparency is in vogue, yet oftentimes used as an umbrella concept for a wide array of phenomena. More focused concepts are needed to understand the form and function of different phenomena of visibility. In this article, we develop a definition of organizational transparency as systematic disclosure programs that meet the information needs of other actors. Organizational transparency, we argue, is best studied as an inter-organizational negotiation process on the field- level. To evaluate its merit, we apply this framework to a case study on the introduction of open data in the Berlin city administration. Analyzing the politics of disclosure, we learn about the similarities and differences between phenomena of visibility (e.g. open data, freedom of information), explore the transformative power of negotiating transparency, and deduce recommendations for managing transparency.

2011 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 87-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Polya Ilieva ◽  
Thomas M. Wilson

This article examines forms of ideological and political responses to European integration and Europeanisation that are either negative in form and function or that are projected as such for local and national purposes. The concept of 'Euroscepticism' is shown here as a useful linguistic and sociological starting point for examining the transformative power of the EU in the politics of all levels of European societies. The ways in which people express their support, opposition or ennui in regard to the role of 'Europe' in their lives delineates here the instrumentalism in the way they approach advancing European integration. The processes of resisting, negotiating and adapting (and adapting to) European integration are offered here as topics of anthropological significance in their own right. A case study from one former socialist country, Bulgaria, illustrates what may be suggested as a commonplace sentiment throughout the EU - a feeling of marginality due to the disconnection and disaffection that remain at the heart of Euroscepticism in all of its forms. Bulgaria offers a frame through which to reflect on the reformulations in local, regional and national political society as they relate to supranational and transnational forces throughout Europe, and to illustrate how an anthropological attention to the issues of post-socialism in Central and Eastern Europe may bene fit from an examination of the new forces of European integration.


2021 ◽  
pp. 009614422110236
Author(s):  
Matthew Bailey

This article uses Sydney as a case study to examine the process of retail decentralization during Australia’s postwar boom, showing how the form and function of capital city retailing changed completely in just a couple of decades. Suburban migration, the emergence of mobile car-driving consumers, socially constructed gender roles, the ongoing importance of public transport networks, planning regimes that sought to concentrate development in designated zones, and business growth strategies that deployed retail formats developed in America all played a role in shaping the form and function of Australian retailing during the postwar boom. In the process, the retail geographies of Australia’s capital cities were transformed from highly centralized distribution structures dominated by the urban core, to decentralized landscapes of retail clusters featuring modern retail forms like the supermarket and shopping center that would come to define Australian retailing for the remainder of the century.


Urban Studies ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 56 (5) ◽  
pp. 1042-1060 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cameron Johnson ◽  
Tom Baker ◽  
Francis L Collins

Imaginative practices are central to ongoing transformations in the form and function of suburbia. In recent years, urban scholars have focused increasing attention on the concept and process of ‘post-suburbanisation’ to understand contemporary suburbs, yet imaginaries and imaginative practices have been largely absent in their analyses. This paper examines the role of imaginative practices in post-suburban change. Through a case study of Auckland, New Zealand, the paper examines three key domains of imaginative practice – visions, problems and trajectories – implicated in the production of post-suburbia. It argues that understandings of post-suburbanisation will be enhanced by an appreciation of both the material and imaginative dimensions of suburban transformation.


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 191118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathan R. Geraldi ◽  
Shannon G. Klein ◽  
Andrea Anton ◽  
Carlos M. Duarte

Understanding the consequences of rising CO 2 and warming on marine ecosystems is a pressing issue in ecology. Manipulative experiments that assess responses of biota to future ocean warming and acidification conditions form a necessary basis for expectations on how marine taxa may respond. Although designing experiments in the context of local variability is most appropriate, local temperature and CO 2 characteristics are often unknown as such measures necessitate significant resources, and even less is known about local future scenarios. To help address these issues, we summarize current uncertainties in CO 2 emission trajectories and climate sensitivity, examine region-specific changes in the ocean, and present a straightforward global framework to guide experimental designs. We advocate for the inclusion of multiple plausible future scenarios of predicted levels of ocean warming and acidification in forthcoming experimental research. Growing a robust experimental base is crucial to understanding the prospect form and function of marine ecosystems in the Anthropocene.


2016 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 414-429 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa Vogel ◽  
Kristin Buhrow ◽  
Caroline Cornish

In the Andean region, spindle whorls have been the subject of archaeological analysis less often than other artifact classes, such as pottery. Nevertheless, spindle whorls may have much more to contribute to archaeological interpretations of production, status, and exchange patterns than previously acknowledged. The case study presented here examines the spindle whorl collection from the site of El Purgatorio, Peru, the capital city of the Casma polity (ca. A.D. 700–1400). Spindle whorls were not only expertly crafted utilitarian tools for spinning yarn, but also items of personal adornment, symbols of wealth or status, and possible indicators of intra-polity exchange patterns. The analysis of spindle whorls in regard to form and function provides insight into Casma social and economic organization. The spindle whorls discovered at El Purgatorio also reflect varying degrees of standardization and technical knowledge, suggesting that at least some may have been manufactured by specialists in metallurgical and ceramic workshops.


2015 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ville Hinkka ◽  
Maiju Häkkinen ◽  
Jan Holmström ◽  
Kary Främling

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose a typology of radio frequency identification (RFID)-based tracking solution designs to fit differing fashion supply chains. The typology is presented as principles of form and function contributing toward a design theory of configurable RFID tracking for fashion logistics. Design/methodology/approach – The typology is developed based on a case study of a logistics service provider (LSP) interested in designing a tracking solution for different customers in fashion logistics. In addition to the LSP, four fashion retailers were involved in the study. The case study was carried out using a review of existing RFID tracking implementations in the fashion industry, analysis of an RFID tracking pilot conducted by the case company, and interviews with representatives of the retailers. Findings – By varying three design parameters (place of tagging, place of tracking start and place of tracking end) a tracking solution can be configured to fit the requirements and constraints of different fashion supply chains. In the fashion logistics context under investigation, such parameterization addresses retailer requirements, brings concrete and quantifiable benefits to both LSP and its customers, and enables incremental adoption of RFID tracking. Research limitations/implications – Although the typology is developed in the specific setting of a case company developing RFID tracking solutions for fashion logistics, the design parameters identified in the study can be used when considering configurable tracking solutions also in other domains and settings. However, further research is needed to evaluate the proposed typology in those settings. Practical implications – The proposed typology enables fashion companies to consider which configuration of RFID tracking best fits the requirements and constraints imposed by their particular supply chain. For fashion companies, who find adoption of RFID tracking difficult despite the obvious benefits, the proposed typology enables incremental implementation of supply chain-wide tracking. Originality/value – The developed typology, describing how RFID-based tracking solutions can be adjusted to fit the needs of fashion companies with differing supply chains and requirements, is novel. The typology is generalizable to most fashion logistics settings and probably to numerous other logistics domains.


1992 ◽  
Vol 51 (4) ◽  
pp. 377-416 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda Pellecchia

From Alberti to Palladio, Renaissance architects and architectural theorists struggled to interpret the description of the ancient Roman house set forth by Vitruvius in De architectura. The debate concerning the form and function of the atrium-the most essential room of the ancient domus-provides the basis for a case study of the process by which Renaissance readers transformed words into images to visualize the parts of the ancient house. Lacking archaeological remains of the Roman domus, architects were forced to rely on written sources. Their zeal to understand led them to appropriate the philological tools of humanists, explicating Vitruvius's words by reading other texts. The result was a wealth of contradictory information, which permitted, indeed encouraged, a variety of reconstructions of the atrium. During a period of about one hundred years-from the 1450s to the 1560s-the Vitruvian atrium underwent numerous incarnations: a courtyard, a vestibule, a domed octagonal sala, a three-aisled basilica. Despite their often imaginative and probing research, none of the Renaissance architects ever conceived of the atrium exactly as it was in antiquity. Their [mis]interpretations, nonetheless, had an impact on contemporary design. In a period in which patrons wanted houses inspired by antiquity, the reconstructed atriums of Renaissance theorists appeared in the palaces and villas of princes, popes, and cardinals.


2012 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 170-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena Pallarés-García

Jane Austen’s Emma (1816) is generally considered an ambiguous and unreliable narrative in terms of point of view (Morini, 2009: 53–57; Wallace, 1995: 77–97). These qualities are often attributed to the extensive use of free indirect discourse (Finch and Bowen, 1990: 5–6; Mezei, 1996: 72–75). This article aims to demonstrate that another narrative technique is also responsible for the ambiguity and unreliability of the novel. ‘Narrated perception’ (NP) portrays the sensory perceptions of a fictional character by describing events as they are experienced by that character (Fludernik, 1993: 305–309). NP has been pointed out by some critics to be a distinct narrative technique, but in general perception is included within the broader category of free indirect discourse (FID), and occasionally as an aspect of free indirect thought (FIT). This article suggests that there are some subtle differences between NP and FID/FIT, and thus it can be beneficial to examine NP separately. In fact, NP is frequently similar to pure narration in terms of form and function. As a case study, this article presents a stylistic analysis of a number of passages containing NP in Emma which do not typically feature in studies of FID/FIT. The analysis provides textual evidence of (1) the presence of Emma’s sensory perceptions within what looks like narration, (2) the close connection between perception, thought and emotion, and (3) the difficulty of distinguishing between perception and narration in some cases, which suggests the potential of NP to mislead the reader by presenting as a seemingly objective fact what later on turns out to be Emma’s mistaken assessment.


2021 ◽  
pp. 016224392110556
Author(s):  
Rachel Faulkner-Gurstein ◽  
David Wyatt

The platform is emerging as a key organizational form and operational logic of contemporary capitalism, intimately tied to financialization and assetization. However, discussions to date have focused on platforms and platformization in the context of the private, corporate, and technology sectors. In this paper, we develop an analysis of how platformization operates in the context of public policy. Using the UK’s National Health Service as a case study, we explore how platformization is altering the form and function of the state. The platformization of the NHS has its roots in the UK government’s strategic interest in the development of the bioeconomy. This led to the creation of a research infrastructure within the health service. Subsequently, the NHS has leveraged various assets into a range of data- and technology-focused initiatives. We argue that platformization has been a major form of neoliberalization within the NHS. The paper concludes with a discussion of what an analysis of public platformization can teach us about ongoing transformations of the state.


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