Categories Of Actors Research Articles

Tourists and Local Stakeholders’ Perception of Ecosystem Services Provided by Summer Farms in the Eastern Italian Alps

In the Alps, summer farms are temporary units, where cattle are moved during summer to graze on Alpine pastures, which provide multiple ecosystem services (ESs), many of which do not have a market value. This study aimed at understanding and comparing the perceptions of summer farms and of the associated ESs by local stakeholders and tourists in a study area of the province of Trento in the eastern Italian Alps. Thirty-five online questionnaires and two focus groups were realized with local stakeholders involved in the dairy value-chain. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 405 tourists in two representative summer farms. The perceptions of summer farms differed between local stakeholders, who mainly focused on provisioning ESs, and tourists, who mainly focused on cultural and regulating ESs. Both categories of actors rated positively eight different ESs associated with summer farms, but demonstrated a lack of knowledge of specific regulating ESs. This study showed that discussion among the different actors is required to increase mutual knowledge and to grasp the diversity of links between summer farms and ESs, in order to support public policies and private initiatives for promoting summer farm products and the sustainable development of mountain regions.

Participation in property formation: Insights from land-use planning in an informal urban settlement in Tanzania

This study argues that where land-use planning of any kind is conducted, it plays a supporting role that enables the property formation process to be effective. It uses evidence from Makongo Juu Settlement (in Tanzania) to reveal that the participation of actors with various levels of tenure awareness is necessary for property formation (land parceling). As the study is case-study focused, it uses data collected through a mix of procedures—including in-depth interviews, survey questionnaires, and documentary processes—analyzed qualitatively. Findings confirm that land-use planning introduces or embeds formal rules and regulations that govern the use of land. Furthermore, the study presents the affected persons’ narratives of their involvement in the property formation process. This medium allowed for an understanding of their perspectives of the property formation in the context of land-use planning. Apart from these empirical revelations (among other findings), the study contributes to land administration and land management literature in three ways. First, it outlines a typical outlook of formal and informal land development processes. Second, it deconstructs property formation in the context of land-use planning in an informal settlement. Thirdly, it presents the typical categories of actors (including their roles and viewpoints) in the participatory property formation process in an informal settlement. The study recommends that cadastral surveying (Property formation) and land-use planning should be better integrated for the formalization of property rights. This recommendation is considered necessary because there is evidence that land-use planning assigns rights (including restrictions and obligations or responsibilities) that owners and users of land have to follow in the property formation process.

« Faire le jeune » dans les gangs de l’économie clandestine pétrolière (delta du Niger, Nigéria)

This paper uses an ethnography of youth gangs in the oil-rich Niger Delta region of Nigeria to explore the distinctions between being young and being youth and to argue that, in order to understand the complexities of a category whose politics have profoundly influenced the history of contemporary social transitions in many African societies, one must analytically disaggregate its various components and highlight the interesting ways in which various contexts can shape it. There is of course a wide variety of spatial and historical contexts which shape the nature of the experiences that youth have. In this paper, the context of oil extraction and a long history of violent social ruptures in the Niger Delta are used as entry points into understanding how youthhood is framed as well as understood, and how different categories of actors engage with its constantly changing realities.

Role of radio in agricultural advisory service in western region of Cameroon

The objective of this article is to analyze the contribution of radios in agricultural advisory services and agricultural extension in the Western region of Cameroon. The study is focused on 3 of the 8 divisions of the region, those having around 70% of the radios of the region were particularly investigated, and it is about Menoua, Mifi and Bamboutos Divisions. With the help of structured questionnaires and interview guides, surveys were conducted with 13 radio broadcasters, 17 agricultural advisory agents and extension workers and 35 farmers' organization managers. The findings show that the region has 24 radio stations, divided into 3 main categories: public (12.5%), private (41.66%), and community (45.83) radio stations. The emergence of these radio stations had several reasons, amongst which the main are: the need to promote the activities of the rural areas (85%), inform, sensitize and advice the farmers (15%). Radio broadcasters are predominantly male (85%) having completed higher education (85%). They are made up of trained journalists (54%); on-the-job facilitators (31%) and agricultural technicians (15%). The content of the proposed programs cover training (50%), the raising of awareness (18%), advertisement (17%) and miscellaneous information (8%) on agricultural development and practices. The programs involved two categories of actors: farmers whose interaction with the radio is either by call (47%), text messages (7%), or by listening (46%); then the agricultural advisory agent for whom it is a flexible and indispensable tool for the execution of their various activities. Despite some infrastructural and logistical difficulties being encountered, the radio has effectively contributed to the improvement of agricultural activities in the region

The Methodologists: a Unique Category of Scientific Actors

This essay introduces a new analytical category of scientific actors: the methodologists. These actors are distinguished by their tendency to continue to probing scientific objects that their peers consider to be settled. The methodologists are a useful category of actors for science and technology studies (STS) scholars to follow because they reveal contingencies and uncertainties in taken-for-granted science. Identifying methodologists is useful for STS analysts seeking a way into science in moments when it is no longer “in the making” or there is little active controversy. Studying methodologists is also useful for scholars seeking to understand the genesis of scientific controversies, particularly controversies about long-established methods, facts, or premises.

The Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo Recurring Conflict: Whose Conflict Transformation Responsibility?

The recurring conflict in Eastern DRC has had devastating effects on civilians, mostly in Kivus. From the beginning of January 2002 till the end of May 2017, many conflict resolution efforts have been put together by regional and international communities. However, there has not been any sustainable mechanism to resolve the conflict. The situation regarding the security of Eastern Congo continues to be volatile. This paper seeks to identify the responsible party that would help mitigate the recurring conflict in Eastern Congo. Using the three distinct categories of actors in Conflict Transformation, the paper argues that the lack of coordination among these actors who constitutes the three Track levels have affected unity of purpose and the level of commitment as far as transforming the Eastern Congo Conflict. The divergent interests among the respective actors to outmaneuver one another when it comes to agenda setting regarding respective peace initiatives on conflict, could be the rationale behind the absence of a workable formula in transforming conflict in the Eastern DRC. The paper proffer strategic policy suggestions toward a workable Conflict Transformation mechanism that equitably addresses the root causes of the conflict and fairly incorporates the relevant stakeholders in an effort to find a sustainable solution.

KAJIAN LITERATUR RESISTENSI DALAM PENGAMBILAN KEBIJAKAN PEMBANGUNAN SERTA USULAN STRATEGI DALAM MENGHADAPI RESISTENSI KEBIJAKAN PEMBANGUNAN OLEH PEMERINTAH KABUPATEN INDRAGIRI HILIR

The Resistance Movement is a movement that is very typical of the rejection of policies or changes made in an area in which there are humans in it. There are two categories of actors involved in the resistance movement, namely the policy maker and the recipient of the policy. The identity of the perpetrators depends on the case and the location of the case which contains different human characteristics or human communities. The research uses literature review as preparation material for the Government of Indragiri Hilir Regency in dealing with resistance movements.
 This journal is the result of qualitative research which will explain theoretically the resistance movement. Resistance movement is the movement of a party in making a rejection or resistance to the policy to be made or already made. The results of this study can be used as a discussion of Indragiri Hilir Regency Government in making policies and dealing with resistance movements.
 This research concludes that poor communication and socialization can spark a desire to resist. The resistance movement becomes stronger when the policy maker is unable or slow in responding to the complaints of the recipient of the policy. Regardless of whether the complaint is wrong or right, rapid response must be done quickly so that there is no misunderstanding
 that causes greater resistance. The policy makers must identify the causes of resistance because the causes are the basic foundation in developing strategies for handling and resolving conflicts in this resistance movement. So that it can be said that each cause has its own handling strategy.

Invisible brokers: “citizen science” on Twitter

Who speaks for “citizen science” on Twitter? Which territory of citizen science have they made visible so far? This paper offers the first description of the community of users who dedicate their online social media identity to citizen science. It shows that Twitter users who identify with the term “citizen science” are mostly U.S. science professionals in environmental sciences, and rarely projects' participants. In contrast to the original concept of “citizen science”, defined as a direct relationship between scientists and lay participants, this paper makes visible a third category of individual actors, mostly women, who connect these lay participants and scientists: the “citizen science broker”.

“La coopération, c’est clé”: Montreal’s urban governance in times of austerity

ABSTRACTThis paper presents an investigation of local politics in an age of austerity in Montreal. Based on detailed interviews with actors in the local state, the municipal sphere and civil society, we analyzed a broad spectrum of political options between resistance and collaboration that characterizes the landscape of “austerian realism” in the Quebec metropolis. While Montreal has had a long history of collaboration at the local level, the municipality’s operation and institutions have come under stress lately as more aggressive austerity policies have been downloaded to the city from the province. We aim to understand what the consequences for local actors have been. The paper is subdivided in four parts. First, we revisit the notion of urban governance, building on a definition of the state as “cultural practice.” Second, we introduce the main components of past local state restructuring in Montreal, paying attention to the main rationalities supporting austerity measures. Third, we look at the main categories of actors involved in collaborative governance around issues of austerity measures and policies. Fourth, we consider activism within civil society. We conclude that emerging forms of cooperation remain key to the understanding of welfare state restructuring in Montreal.

Territorial Diagnosis of Ecotourism in Tunisian Mountain Protected Areas: Stakeholders, Positions and Power Relations

Since the 2000s, projects and studies have been multiplied for the development of ecotourism in Tunisian protected areas. Despite these efforts, the Tunisian case faces several failures. As part of this study, we aim to provide elements of reflection on a contractual scheme for a sustainable territorial development plan by ecotourism, around mountain protected areas in Tunisia. For this reason, we adopted the strategic prospective analysis revealing and analyzing the relationships between the different actors involved in ecotourism in the protected area. A Matrix of Alliances, Conflicts, Tactics and Objectives among MACTOR actors was developed in a participatory way to analyze the actors' strategies. After doing a triangular analysis which consists in to an inventory of the projects and studies about the protected area of Ichkeul and Cape Negro-Jbel Chitana, semi-structured interviews with personals from different sectors, we invited the actors met on the field or mentioned in the projects in a workshop organized in partnership with the General Directorate of Forests in Tunis in order to identify the different categories of actors and analyze the balance of power between them. This analysis is done through a matrix notation system. Eight categories of actors have been identified: international cooperation, resource managers, politic policy etc. Thanks to the matrix notation systems, we have been able in a participative way to classify these eight categories of actors into four types: dominant actors, relay actors, autonomous actors and dominated actors. Thus, the MACTOR method allowed us to identify actors who played a role in the development of ecotourism projects in Tunisia and to be able to diagnose their balance of power. This allowed showing the multidisciplinarity and complexity of the sector as well as the strong influence of certain actors such as international cooperation and public decision-makers. To conclude, the MACTOR analysis of the ecotourism actors in the protected area of Ichkeul and Cap Negro-Jbel Chitana enters into a methodology of prospective territorial analysis in this area to understand the points that caused the failure of several experiments.

Mapping the Social-Norms Literature: An Overview of Reviews

The theoretical literature on social norms is multifaceted and at times contradictory. Looking at existing reviews, we aimed to offer a more complete understanding of its current status. By investigating the conceptual frameworks and organizing elements used to compare social-norms theories, we identified four theoretical spaces of inquiry that were common across the reviews: what social norms are, what relationship exists between social norms and behavior, how social norms evolve, and what categories of actors must be considered in the study of social norms. We highlight areas of consensus and debate in the reviews around these four themes and discuss points of agreement and disagreement that uncover trajectories for future empirical and theoretical investigation.

Strategic Framing of Adat in Land-Acquisition Politics in East Sumba

This article is about the strategic use of adat arguments in the politics of large-scale land acquisition. While customary (adat) communities are commonly depicted as small local minorities living in the forests and being guardians of the environment, in many situations such communities occupy a majority position within the district. Majority adat communities are internally differentiated into categories of actors with varying and conflicting interests. This article focuses on Sumba in eastern Indonesia, where state and adat powers are not opposed but historically aligned. We analyse how five common ways of framing adat in Sumba are currently being deployed in land-acquisition politics, in situations supporting plantation land acquisition or protesting against farmers’ land dispossession. We draw attention to what we call ‘strategic adat framing’ as a political activity. The article calls for analysing the historical and social context of local deployments of adat for understanding the impact of current government pro-adat policies.

The Quagmire of Return and Reintegration: Challenges to Multi‐Stakeholder Co‐ordination of Involuntary Returns

AbstractThe institutional aspect of return migration has received little attention in the theoretical and empirical literature on return migration. This research fills the apparent lacuna by unearthing institutional challenges to multi‐stakeholder coordination, at different spatial levels in crisis situations and negative effects on reintegration of forcibly returned migrants. We use the evacuation of Ghanaian migrants from Libya who occupied very low socio‐economic positions, experienced racism and discrimination, including physical attacks and arbitrary arrests in 2011, as a case study to understand institutional challenges to forced return when migrants’ carefully tailored plans are thrown into disarray and they are forced to return unprepared. This study employed mainly qualitative research methods among six different categories of actors and engaged an adaptation of Cassarino's “returnee's preparedness framework” to expand theoretical understandings of return migration from the institutional perspective and to highlight what can go wrong when institutions are unprepared for involuntary returnees.

INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF MECHANISMS OF MINIMIZATION OF RISKS OF ECONOMIC ACTUALIZATION OF HUMAN POTENTIAL

Goal. The article is devoted to the study of ways to minimize the risks of reducing human potential in the environment of increasing global competition for it and the new recombination of human capital requirements. Methods. Historical and risky approaches, index analysis, system modeling, and institutional analysis were used to address the research objectives. Results. A possible variant of minimizing the risks of human potential reduction in Ukraine is revealed on the basis of its economic actualization by means of anti-risk public policy and institutionalization of human capitalization mechanisms for the benefit of its carrier. Institutions for constructively balancing the interests of different categories of population and institutional actors should become instruments for shaping and implementing such policies; territorial-hierarchical systems of public procedures for fixing the basic parameters of human development and its social capitalization; mechanisms for minimizing the risks of national public policy for the economic actualization of human potential, etc. Scientific novelty. A logical and descriptive model of institutionalization of mechanisms for minimizing the risks of economic actualization of human potential is proposed. Practical importance. Implementation of anti-risk public policy and institutionalization of human capitalization mechanisms will allow its bearers to achieve the desired self-realization, increase the public's inclination to adopt new and entrepreneurial sustainable growth strategies, and ensure the inclusive nature of the transformation of the Ukrainian economic system.

Working for an Algorithm: Power Asymmetries and Agency in Online Work Settings

Drawing on interviews with 77 high-performing eBay business sellers in France and Belgium, this article investigates the power asymmetries generated by customers’ evaluations in online work settings. Sellers revealed a high degree of sensitivity to negative reviews, which, while infrequent, triggered feelings of anxiety and vulnerability. Their accounts exposed power asymmetries at two levels: the transactional level between sellers and customers and the governance level between sellers and eBay. Our findings highlight three main mechanisms underlying power asymmetries in this context. First, online customer evaluations have created a new form of employee monitoring in which power is exercised through the construction of visibility gaps between buyers and sellers and through an implicit coalition between buyers and the platform owner, who join together in the evaluation procedures. Second, by mediating and objectifying relations, algorithms reproduce power asymmetries among the different categories of actors, thereby constraining human agency. Third, online customer evaluations prompt sellers to exploit their practical knowledge of the algorithm to increase their agency. Through the lived experience of working for an algorithm, our findings contribute new understandings of power and agency in online work settings.

Actors in transition: shifting roles in Swedish sustainable housing development

In planning for a future that fulfils sustainability goals, there is a need to explore how roles taken in socio-ecological transitions are perceived among different types of actors. Empirical insights from interviews with diverse actors involved in Swedish housing development are presented, addressing the roles, conflicting logics and power relations between different sectoral categories of actors and at different organizational levels. Key aspects that emerge relate to the shift from state to market in contemporary Swedish housing development, where private companies emphasize their role in shaping societal development as inherent to working with sustainability. Conflicting logics can be found between short-term economic interests and long-term planning and policy, as well as intra-organizational differences in competency and leadership. Conclusions point to that the role of third sector or community actors in pushing agendas and norms to bring about transitions could be acknowledged further. Yet there is a need to examine the power relations currently reproduced, and how these could be challenged in future housing development. This includes critically assessing the potential for new types of actors and cross-sectoral collaborations, but also instigating more fundamental discussions of the kind of society strived for, and the radical transitions needed.

Transport Infrastructure Development in Kenya: How Connectivity Impacts Eastern Africa Regional Integration

The study examined Kenya’s transport infrastructure by assessing strengths, opportunities, challenges and initiatives aimed at enhancing existing systems and mitigating gaps towards more connectivity, mobility and reduced costs. Specific objectives of the study included evaluating the current state of transport infrastructure in Kenya, examining milestones in Kenya’s transport infrastructure development in the last decade and determining whether planned transport infrastructure development projects in Kenya would enhance regional integration. This study was significant to policy handlers, development partners and scholars in the region as findings will inform targeted planning and programming for improved transport connectivity. Target population was 150 individuals drawn from the categories of related actors with a sample size of 75 individuals, which was arrived at exclusively and objectively by researcher. The study established that the transport structural gap was a serious handicap to growth and poverty reduction in eastern Africa and that transport connectivity had a direct link to any country’s competitiveness because it weighs on cost of doing business and living. The study recommended sector reforms and innovation towards optimum level of connectivity as a result of the upgraded transport system, with eastern Africa reaching greater regional integration. The study adopted descriptive approach in analysing quantitative and qualitative data as variables under investigation were described.

INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF MECHANISMS OF MINIMIZATION OF RISKS OF ECONOMIC ACTUALIZATION OF HUMAN POTENTIAL

Goal. The article is devoted to the study of ways to minimize the risks of reducing human potential in the environment of increasing global competition for it and the new recombination of human capital requirements. Methods. Historical and risky approaches, index analysis, system modeling, and institutional analysis were used to address the research objectives. Results. A possible variant of minimizing the risks of human potential reduction in Ukraine is revealed on the basis of its economic actualization by means of anti-risk public policy and institutionalization of human capitalization mechanisms for the benefit of its carrier. Institutions for constructively balancing the interests of different categories of population and institutional actors should become instruments for shaping and implementing such policies; territorial-hierarchical systems of public procedures for fixing the basic parameters of human development and its social capitalization; mechanisms for minimizing the risks of national public policy for the economic actualization of human potential, etc. Scientific novelty. A logical and descriptive model of institutionalization of mechanisms for minimizing the risks of economic actualization of human potential is proposed. Practical importance. Implementation of anti-risk public policy and institutionalization of human capitalization mechanisms will allow its bearers to achieve the desired self-realization, increase the public's inclination to adopt new and entrepreneurial sustainable growth strategies, and ensure the inclusive nature of the transformation of the Ukrainian economic system.

Actor social networks as knowledge sharing mechanisms in multi-stakeholder processes: a case of coffee innovation platforms of Uganda

ABSTRACTPurpose: This study examined knowledge sharing mechanisms in coffee IPs and their effect on actor linkages in four districts of Uganda.Design/methodology/approach: Thirty one respondents from the public and private sector were interviewed using a qualitative approach. Data were analyzed using the Atlas ti qualitative software version 7.5.18 to generate themes for information sources, types and channels. Social network analysis was used to measure the actor centrality positions and influence in the IP network.Findings: Results revealed seven main categories of actors in the Coffee IPs who shared information on coffee inputs, agronomic practices, processing and markets through three main channels. Level of cohesion was less than 10% which had negative implications on the knowledge flow, trust and collaboration among the actors. Influential positions were occupied by the processors and farmer leaders in IPs in the southern districts of Luwero and Rakai, while nursery operators were most influential in IPs of the western districts of Ntungamo and Bushenyi. Weak linkages within the social networks indicated that initiatives of the actors were fragmented, as each actor acted as an individual detached from the platform activities limiting inter-actor knowledge sharing.Practical implications: Innovation intermediaries should focus on integrated systemic and innovative approaches to strengthen actor social linkages for knowledge sharing and better platform performance.Theoretical implications: Actor positions and relationships in innovation networks are critical tenets for fostering knowledge exchange and performance. In an innovation platform, diverse actors are multiple sources for accessing information within a given social and institutional context.Originality/value: The study contributes to existing debate and knowledge on institutional change in agricultural innovation systems.

Legitimacy Accounts no Debate sobre a Reforma dos Tribunais de Contas Brasileiros

Resumo O objetivo desta pesquisa foi investigar o processo político-cultural relacionado ao debate em torno da reforma dos Tribunais de Contas brasileiros (TCs), organizações de aplicação da lei responsáveis pelo controle de recursos públicos. A pesquisa centrou-se em analisar como legitimacy accounts conduzidos por diferentes categorias de atores se manifestaram no debate acerca da reforma dos TCs brasileiros no período de 2000 a 2017. Foram coletados dados de fontes documentais como discursos parlamentares, audiências públicas, debates e notícias. Também foram realizadas entrevistas com representantes de diversas categorias de atores, incluindo corporações profissionais, mídia, academia e sociedade civil organizada. Por meio da análise do processo de mobilização e dos argumentos centrais que apelaram para a legitimidade da reforma (legitimacy accounts), os resultados apontaram para: (a) a centralidade das corporações profissionais, tanto na mediação e tradução do debate, quanto no desenho de estratégias de intervenção no campo organizacional, e; (b) a identificação de aspectos organizacionais, relacionais, processuais, jurisdicionais e responsivos ligados à multidimensionalidade da legitimidade dos TCs. Os resultados contribuem para as áreas de estudos organizacionais, de administração pública e de administração da Justiça. JEL Code: D73, E6, H83