Agenda In Response Research Articles

China as a ‘systemic challenge’ for NATO strategic interests

NATO’s 2022 Strategic Concept views China as a “systemic challenge” to the Alliance. Joint statements regarding China began to appear several years before the adoption of the new Concept on the official NATO agenda in response to increasing pressure from the Trump administration. The military-political, technological and discursive power of the PRC is perceived by the bloc as a threat to their strategic interests. The greater military-political presence of China in the Arctic and in the Middle East and North Africa is regarded by NATO countries as strengthening the hegemonic aspirations of the PRC. Technological dependence on supplies from China harms the Alliance’s operational capabilities and military mobility. NATO has set itself the goal of adapting to strategic competition with China, particularly in the areas of advanced technologies, artificial intelligence and 5G. China’s influence on the media agenda, as well as its ability to promote its own narrative, threatens transatlantic solidarity and the “soft power” of the Alliance countries. Moreover, China is accused of systematically seeking to sow divisions in transatlantic relations and exploit differences between Western countries to its own advantage. China’s efforts to forge a multipolar world order pose a direct challenge to Western liberal democracies and the rules-based international order. European NATO states have begun to regularly encounter the “China factor” when interacting with the United States. However, there remains disagreement over what policies should be pursued toward Beijing. Those who see China as a security threat advocate general policy coordination with the United States. Those who recognize Beijing as a necessary economic partner and participant in global governance insist that Europe pursue independent policies that distance itself from US strategy. All this suggests that practical steps within the Alliance to counter China, especially outside the Euro-Atlantic region, will face resistance from the United States’ European allies.

PEDAGOGICAL ANALYSIS OF THE CONTENT AND STRUCTURE OF ECOLOGICAL CULTURES OF ENVIRONMENTAL SPECIALISTS

In the face of escalating environmental challenges, the imperative for sustainable development has never been more urgent. Central to this pursuit is the cultivation of an ecological culture, particularly among those who will one day lead, manage, and innovate within the realm of environmental sciences. This paper seeks to delve into the pedagogical underpinnings that foster such a culture, specifically within the educational pathways of environmental specialists. The concept of ecological culture, with roots tracing back to the 1980s, represents not merely an academic discipline but an essential paradigm through which humanity’s survival and the biosphere’s integrity are interconnected. The notion of ecological culture encompasses a broad spectrum of understandings and practices that reflect a harmonious interaction between humans and their natural environment. Historically viewed as a subset of broader cultural dynamics, it has evolved from the peripheral to the central focus of educational agendas in response to global ecological crises. This evolution underscores the shift from viewing ecological issues as isolated challenges to recognizing them as integral to all aspects of societal development. This article examines the structural and content-related aspects of ecological culture in the training and education of environmental specialists. By analyzing theoretical developments and practical applications, it aims to highlight how ecological education not only imparts knowledge but also shapes the ethical and practical frameworks within which future environmental stewards operate. In doing so, it explores how an interdisciplinary approach can enrich this educational process, preparing students not just to understand but also to act upon environmental challenges with insight and responsibility. This holistic approach is crucial for fostering a generation of specialists capable of steering our society towards a sustainable future, emphasizing the critical role of education in shaping ecological consciousness and action.

Comparison Of Islamic Education Modernization Of Imam Hatip Anatolian Turkish School With Al-Azhar Islamic School 9 Yogyakarta Indonesia

The Imam Hatip School is the focus of modern Islamic education by Turkish society. In addition, the purpose of the study is to prove that Islamic schools in Turkey modernize Islamic education in Imam Hatip schools. Of course, Islamic educational institutions present an education system that produces students who have general knowledge and are supported by good religious knowledge. Al-Azhar Islamic High School 9 Yogyakarta Islamic education still maintains its religious identity in the same way as Islamic boarding schools and madrasas, but there are some that have carried out a renewal agenda in response to the guidance of modern times. The consequence of Islamic school education is with high school administration in the modern Islamic Religious Education system today. The modernization of Islamic education in Turkey and Indonesia cannot be separated from the role of reformers who received enlightenment from the modernization movement in the field of education. The modernization aspects that need to be considered in educational institutions include: by adding modern science and Islamic religious science.

Applying the practice-based competencies to evaluate and characterize the contracting process within genetic counseling sessions.

Contracting is a skill used by genetic counselors (GCs) to establish a shared vision for the session. Ensuring that patients and GCs are aligned on expectations for the encounter allows GCs to meet patient needs and support patient autonomy. Although contracting is described in the practice-based competencies (PBCs), the process has not been systematically observed in practice. We sought to further elucidate the skills used for contracting within genetic counseling sessions through directed content analysis of transcripts from 148 simulated prenatal and cancer genetic counseling sessions. An a priori codebook and rating scale were developed based on four contracting sample skills described in the PBCs: (a) describing the genetic counseling process, (b) eliciting client concerns, (c) applying client concerns to a session agenda, (d) modifying the agenda in response to emerging concerns. The rating scale described the quality of each skill on a 4-point scale of "absent," "minimal," "adequate," and "excellent." The codebook and rating scale were pilot tested with 40% of transcripts (n = 60). Three authors independently coded and rated the final 60% of transcripts (n = 88), resolving discrepancies via a consensus process. We found that the four PBC skills were present in most sessions (88%-98%), and on average, GCs received "adequate" scores on all four skills. We also identified three additional components of contracting not described in the PBCs: assessing whether client concerns were met, inviting to interrupt, and providing opportunity for partner concerns. This study represents the first attempt to evaluate GC performance of a PBC during a genetic counseling session. Our findings demonstrate that the PBC sample contracting skills reflect practice and suggest that they can be used in assessment of the genetic counseling contracting process. This type of analysis could be adapted in the future to provide support for other standards of practice in the genetic counseling field.

Nation branding and feminist diplomacy after crisis: France’s response to SEA allegations in Central African Republic

Abstract This article makes the case that gender and racial analyses of the constitutive interplay between nation branding and diplomacy advance understandings of how liberal states use feminist agendas in response to political crises. Adopting a feminist post-colonial approach and drawing on a discourse analysis of French diplomatic speeches made in the UN Security Council between July 2011 and January 2020, the article examines how male and female diplomats address France’s accountability failures when French peacekeepers sexually abused children in Central African Republic in 2014–15, widely known as the Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, or SEA crisis. Operating as embodied brand ambassadors, diplomats use affective and performative strategies to progress through the political crisis life cycle quickly and re-establish France’s ontological security. It is contended that while feminist foreign policy and feminist diplomacy serve as short-term solutions to reputational damage, France’s longer-term nation-branding project, which follows a masculine, white-supremacist neoliberal logic, stabilises the grand narrative of the middle power and its projected image as a legitimate strategic leader in global governance. Yet in attempting to control the narrative on the SEA crisis, French diplomats downplay the global crisis of accountability surrounding sexual exploitation and abuse and silence the personal crises of SEA survivors.

Shifts in the smart research agenda? 100 priority questions to accelerate sustainable energy futures

Energy transitions are at the top of global agendas in response to the growing challenges of climate change and international conflict, with the EU positioning itself as playing a pivotal role in addressing climate risks and sustainability imperatives. European energy transition policies identify ‘smart consumption’ as a key element of these efforts, which have previously been explored from a predominantly technical perspective thus often failing to identify or address fundamental interlinkages with social systems and consequences. This paper aims to contribute to interdisciplinary energy research by analysing a forward looking ‘Horizon Scan’ research agenda for smart consumption, driven by the Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH). Reflecting on an extensive systematic Delphi Method exercise surveying over 70 SSH scholars from various institutional settings across Europe, we highlight what SSH scholars see as future directions for smart consumption research. Building from seven thematic areas (under which are grouped 100 SSH research questions), the study identifies three key ‘shifts’ this new smart research agenda represents, when compared to previous agendas: (1) From technological inevitability to political choice, highlighting the need for a wider political critique, with the potential to open up discussions of the instrumentalisation of smart research; (2) From narrow representation to diverse inclusion, moving beyond the shortcomings of current discourses for engaging marginalised communities; and (3) From individual consumers to interconnected citizens, reframing smart consumption to offer a broader model of social change and governance. Social Sciences and Humanities scholarship is essential to address these shifts in meaningful (rather than tokenistic) ways. This agenda and the shifts it embodies represent key tools to enable better interdisciplinary working between SSH and teams from the technical and natural sciences.

Green growth for whom, how and why? The REPowerEU Plan and the inconsistencies of European Union energy policy

The REPowerEU plan redefines the European Union (EU) energy transition agenda in response to the Russia-Ukraine war. Formally, it aims to boost green growth, defend liberal democracy, and increase Europe's energy sovereignty. Yet, the new course of EU energy policy may be paradoxically yoking the continent into raw materials dependency and lock-in investments in fossil fuel infrastructures, while partnering with other warmonger and dictatorial states. I argue that even a much-needed switch to low-carbon energy sources is not immune from the calamitous consequences of an energy transition based on the growth imperative. Building on the System of Provision approach and integrating it with insights from ecological economics and political ecology, this paper asks how, for what purpose, and on whose terms is the remarkable expansion of solar photovoltaics outlined in the REPowerEU taking place. I find that the mass of raw materials required to meet solar energy targets will increase 3-fold by 2030. This could provide 4.4–6.7 % of EU energy while occupying 5.5–8 % of urbanised spaces. It will also strengthen the dependency on Chinese refining and manufacturing, besides intensifying mining and extractive activities around the globe. The findings in this paper show that the EU economy is not de-materialising, but rather harnessing discontent around rosy narratives like “green growth”. To conclude, I argue that a truly transformative energy policy requires questioning the material foundations of ecological modernisation approaches, abandoning the growth imperative, and reorganising energy systems around sufficiency and decentralised provisioning beyond, rather than within, global capitalism.

Introduction: Trauma Literacy in Global Journalism: Toward an Education Agenda

Due to growing evidence of extensive trauma associated with high exposure to traumatizing events, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and maladaptive coping strategies among practicing journalists, the drive to prepare journalism students to cope with the emotional and psychological stress of reporting trauma and human suffering has grown significantly among scholars in recent years. This special issue proposes a new pathway to an educational agenda in response to this persistent work-related problem in journalism practice.

Hyperspectral Vegetation Indices to Assess Water and Nitrogen Status of Sweet Maize Crop

The deployment of novel technologies in the field of precision farming has risen to the top of global agendas in response to the impact of climate change and the possible shortage of resources such as water and fertilizers. The present research addresses the performance of water and nitrogen-sensitive narrow-band vegetation indices to evaluate the response of sweet maize (Zea mays var. saccharata L.) to different irrigation and nitrogen regimes. The experiment was carried out in Valenzano, Bari (Southern Italy), during the 2020 growing season. Three irrigation regimes (full irrigation, deficit irrigation, and rainfed) and two nitrogen levels (300 and 50 kg ha−1) were tested. During the growing season, a Field Spec Handheld 2 spectroradiometer operating in the range of 325–1075 nm was utilized to capture spectral data regularly. In addition, soil water content, biometric parameters, and physiological parameters were measured. The DATT index, based on near-infrared and red-edge wavelengths, performed better than other indices in explaining the variation in chlorophyll content, whereas the double difference index (DD) showed the greatest correlation with the leaf–gas exchange. The modified normalized difference vegetation index (NNDVI) and the ratio of water band index to normalized difference vegetation index (WBI/NDVI) showed the highest capacity to distinguish the interaction of irrigation x nitrogen, while the best discriminating capability of these indices was under a low nitrogen level. Moreover, red-edge-based indices had higher sensitivity to nitrogen levels compared to the structural and water band indices. Our study highlighted that it is critical to choose proper narrow-band vegetation indices to monitor the plant eco-physiological response to water and nitrogen stresses.

Resilient Social Actors in the Transition from the Late Bronze to the Early Iron Age on Cyprus

Our understanding of the earliest Iron Age on Cyprus has long remained somewhat obscure. This is the result of both a relative lack of material evidence and the fact that scholarly attention has focused more on the preceding Late Bronze Age and on the subsequent Cypro-Archaic period. As more, and more varied, data have accumulated, there have been calls for a more theoretically informed approach to considering the social changes involved, and even for prehistorians to extend their work into the Cypriot Iron Age. As a response to this, the present study considers a broad range of material and documentary evidence, attempts to reconstruct the political economy, and offers an interpretative framework based on social understandings of Complex Adaptive Systems theory. Using this approach, the authors conclude that, while the enduring realities of Cyprus—its geography, copper resources and long tradition of agropastoralism—continued to shape Cypriot culture, the Iron Age is not simply a continuation of its Bronze Age sociopolitical forms. We argue instead that the earliest Iron Age involved social actors negotiating new politico-economic agendas in response to changing conditions in the Iron Age eastern Mediterranean.

Disaster philanthropy: Exploring the power and influence of for-profit philanthropy in education development during pandemic times

This article contributes a conceptual analysis of the power and influence of for- profit philanthropy on educational development during pandemic times. Through highlighting for-profit philanthropy, describing its relevance to educational development, and drawing attention to four aspects that are under-examined as for- profit philanthropists enact their philanthropic agendas in response to the COVID- 19 pandemic, disaster philanthropy is presented as a window of opportunity for elite donors to enact changes in public education based on their distinct donor and institutional agendas. Implications for educational development are discussed including shifts in power, definitions and public vs. private returns.

Strengthening flood resilient development in malaysia through integration of flood risk reduction measures in local plans

The increasing flood hazards due to climate change and development pressures have called for the integration of disaster resilient attributes through holistic flood risk reduction measures in development plans. Strengthening flood resilience in development planning therefore is not only to prevent risk, but also to reduce vulnerability as well as inculcate preparedness to adapt and better respond to disaster. In Malaysia, the notion of disaster resilience has become a recent development agenda in response to disaster risks especially flooding since the country is highly prone to such hazard. Flood reduction measures have become the key elements in Malaysia’s development plans at all levels, but little is known about the range of such measures being integrated in local development plan, which is a statutory development plan that guides planning control decisions and enable local communities to participate in local development agenda. Therefore, this study seeks to analyse the extent to which flood risk reduction measures are being integrated into local plans in Malaysia towards flood resiliency. The study, however, is limited to qualitative approach based on literature and content analysis of selected local plans. The finding suggests that all studied plans have integrated most measures to avoid risk and reduce vulnerability although measures on disaster preparedness were inadequate. There is a need thus, to further strengthen disaster resilience measures in the local development plans to ingrain preparedness and adaptation with more inclusive participatory civil societies and stakeholders.

Disruptions, distractions, and discoveries: Doctoral students' reflections on a pandemic.

This paper describes the reflections of two social work PhD students based on their personal and professional experiences with the COVID-19 pandemic. The students describe their positionality and use that to expound on the impact of the pandemic on their lives. They reflect on the disruptions to their social work education and research priorities including transitioning to online learning and modifications to research agendas. They then discuss ongoing distractions such as worries about getting sick, mental health concerns, and financial constraints. They share their discoveries about glaring disparities in coronavirus infection and death rates, the need to adjust research agendas in response to current events, and the urgency for qualitative research strategies to add meaning to the numbers being reported. In addition, the authors describe shared experiences and intersections they discovered while writing this essay. Finally, recommendations for practice include recommitting to social work values to help surmount the ongoing waves of this pandemic; reimagining social work education so that disparities and injustice intersect with every subject taught and graduates become experts at leading social change; and harnessing the untapped potential of qualitative research to drive real, systemic change.

How Does Climate Change Impact Psychiatry and Our Patients?

How Does Climate Change Impact Psychiatry and Our Patients?

What competencies will leaders need in a new Covid-19 world?

Key digested messageThe Covid-19 crisis created a particular pattern of shock – a rolling, growing, unpredictably evolving and quickly accelerating shock with fundamental, deeply-felt and frequently tragic impacts. The leadership agenda in response to this has, and will need to be equally fundamental, and, particularly for organisations in distress, undertaken with urgency.Whether they be leaders within the public or private sector, they will need to at least re-visit and potentially create new visions and values for their organisations; to embed resilience and resourcefulness in order to sustain new shocks; to undertake more horizon-scanning particularly for low-frequency but high-impact existential risks; and to engage and inspire virtually-working and remote teams behind the new vision for their organisations.

Employer and employer association matters in Australia in 2018

For employers and employer associations, 2018 was in part a year of submissions to government inquiries, the 4-yearly modern wage review and the minimum wage review. Issues of numerical flexibility, including casual work, the gig economy and labour hire, also consumed much attention. It was also a year in which public discontent with the business world, particularly with big business, in relation to industrial relations and broader socio-political issues, and the questioning of its social licence to operate have escalated. In examining the major issues that concerned employers and their associations during the year, this article also discusses the pressures building for them in expressing and promoting their industrial relations agendas in response to a looming federal election, dynamic trade union campaigning and growing public discontent with the industrial relations system in its current form.

Setting the Party Agenda: Interest Groups, Voters and Issue Attention

Do political parties respond to interest group mobilization? While party responsiveness to voters has received widespread attention, little is known about how interest groups affect parties’ policy agendas. I argue that political parties respond to interest groups as lobbyists offer valuable information, campaign contributions, electoral support and personal rewards, but that party responsiveness is conditioned by voter preferences. Based on a novel longitudinal analysis studying the responsiveness of German parties to interest groups across eleven issue areas and seven elections from 1987 until 2009, it is shown that parties adjust their policy agendas in response to interest group mobilization and that interest groups are more successful in shaping party policy when their priorities coincide with those of the electorate.

Muslims Opposing Violent Radicalism and Extremism: Strategies of Swedish Sufi Communities

Europe has seen the development of a new research agenda in response to Islamist terror attacks of recent years. Researchers are not only trying to solve the “radicalization puzzle” in order to understand the reasons why young Muslims in Western countries are attracted to extremism, but they are also making proposals for de-radicalizing extremists and creating relationships of trust with Muslim communities. Directly or indirectly, Europe’s Muslim minorities are the objects of the interventions and preventive work under discussion. This study suggests an alternative approach. Rather than regarding Muslims in Europe as more or less passive objects of various anti-extremism interventions, it directs attention toward the strategies developed by European Muslims themselves in fighting Islamist extremism. Using qualitative interviews with leaders of five Sufi communities in Sweden, the study examines a series of strategies for meeting the challenges posed by extremists.

“The Rare White at the Window”: A Reappraisal of Mark Costello and David Foster Wallace'sSignifying Rappers

Stay Fly, and Shit …DF Fresh WDavid Foster Wallace, letter to Bonnie Nadell (5 July 1989)This article evaluates David Foster Wallace and Mark Costello'sSignifying Rappersin terms of its contribution to both early hip-hop and whiteness studies, as well as positioning the text in relation to Wallace's career. First, the article traces many of Wallace's subsequent thematic concerns and literary techniques back to this early text, locating the origin of some of his most characteristic stylistic devices withinSignifying Rappers.Ultimately, this retrospective reading shows that far from being a mere curiosity piece in Wallace's corpus, radically disconnected from anything he published either before or after, a close interrogation ofSignifying Rappersenriches our understanding of Wallace's work, revealing an oblique vision of Wallace striving to articulate a personal artistic agenda in response to the postmodern literary tradition. The essay proceeds to address Wallace and Costello's uncanny presaging of many of the preoccupations of institutional hip-hop and whiteness studies, offering an extended interpretation of the text in light of these disciplines. This analysis also explores representations of race within Wallace's work more generally, as well as addressing the underlying reasons behind the obscure status ofSignifying Rapperswithin these two related fields.

Strange Bedfellows: How an Anticipatory Countermovement Brought Same‐Sex Marriage into the Public Arena

Since the 1980s, social movement scholars have investigated the dynamic of movement/countermovement interaction. Most of these studies posit movements as initiators, with countermovements reacting to their challenges. Yet sometimes a movement supports an agenda in response to a countermovement that engages in what we call “anticipatory countermobilization.” We interviewed ten leading LGBT activists to explore the hypothesis that the LGBT movement was brought to the fight for marriage equality by the anticipatory countermobilization of social conservatives who opposed same‐sex marriage before there was a realistic prospect that it would be recognized by the courts or political actors. Our findings reinforce the existing scholarship, but also go beyond it in emphasizing a triangular relationship among social movement organizations, countermovement organizations, and grassroots supporters of same‐sex marriage. More broadly, the evidence suggests the need for a more reciprocal understanding of the relations among movements, countermovements, and sociolegal change.