Commission Officials Research Articles

Interests groups access in the EU's portfolio-based governance

The European Union emphasizes transparency and accountability as fundamental pillars of democracy, with the European Transparency Register serving as a clear example of the efforts made in this regard. These principles are crucial for preventing corruption, fostering citizen participation, and ensuring effective decision-making, all of which are vital for maintaining public trust in EU institutions. This study explores the meeting patterns between the European Commission and registered interest groups, seeking to establish a relationship between the economic or social nature of the portfolios and the interests represented by the entities they meet with. It hypothesizes a correlation between the economic nature of Commission officials' portfolios and their frequent meetings with interest groups defending material interests. Conversely, officials overseeing social portfolios are expected to meet more frequently with organizations that advocate for immaterial interests. Using a longitudinal analytical-descriptive approach, this study analyzes 24,587 registered meetings from November 2014 to October 2023, covering two legislative terms of the European Union. The results reveal that European Commission officials, regardless of portfolio type, predominantly meet with groups representing material interests, contradicting the expectation that social portfolios engage more with immaterial groups. This underscores the strong influence of economic interests on EU policy.

A formação da “pródiga filha alada” de Getúlio Vargas e suas primeiras façanhas em um conflito mundial (1941-1945)

The participation of the Brazilian Air Force in World War II left indelible marks on the Force organization. In 1941, it was composed of the naval and military aviations as major elements in its formation, which also had elements of the Sao Paulo Security Force in its constitution. It was a dramatic experience for its commissioned and non commissioned officers because they experienced a sudden change of employment and doctrine to meet the needs of the European conflict which, even in a situation of collapse, offered an insane and terrible resistance to its adversaries. This work presents the political circumstances of the Brazilian alignment to Allied Forces in the early 1940s, coinciding precisely with the creation of the Ministry of Aviation and its armed wing - the Brazilian Air Force. Thus we seek to resolve the lack of a historical non institutional military production which portrays our air fighters and their accomplishments not only in the Brazilian airspace but also in the South Atlantic and in Europe, besides knowing their employment and the elements that composed the heroic memory of the Force.

Media and the Case of State Capture in South Africa: How Independent Outlets Aided Whistleblowers in Communicating their Messages

State capture, which is when private actors influence the state through illegal and non-transparent forms, significantly impacted South Africa’s socio-political landscape during Jacob Zuma’s presidency. This transpired largely because of an unethical nexus that formed around Zuma, those in government loyal to him, and the powerful business family – the Guptas. These revelations came to the fore because of independent media, which focused on exposing the illicit relationships driving state capture. Independent media was reliant on whistleblowers to communicate a complete narrative, which resulted in a mutually beneficial collaboration between independent media and whistleblowers. A qualitative research approach employing two methods was utilised to examine this collaboration. The dominant source of information arose from semi-structured interviews conducted with whistleblowers and independent media outlet affiliates. This data was further supplemented with document analysis. This study found that independent media played a crucial role in providing support to state capture whistleblowers. Support occurred in three forms, namely: defensive; emotional; and offensive support. Defensive support entailed legal, financial and security aid. Emotional support was provided in the form of informal counselling. Offensive support entailed using media exposure to make the whistleblowers’ narratives public, as well as mediating between whistleblowers and official commissions of inquiry.

European Parliament-Commission Relations and International Agreements

This article studies the practices of interaction between the European Parliament (EP) and the Commission during the negotiation of international agreements. The Commission negotiates on behalf of the EU and since 2009, the EP can veto the ratification of most agreements. While the EP has sometimes leveraged its veto power through various activities, it is unclear how the EP and the Commission interact in practice. Therefore, this article asks: how do the EP and the Commission interact during the negotiation of international agreements? I rely upon twenty-nine semi-structured interviews with EP and Commission officials in six policy fields. I distinguish six practices and three types of EP-Commission interactions, which differ depending on the policy field. First, trade displays very dense, maximalist interactions. Second, justice and home affairs, and environment and climate, episodically display practices going beyond information provision. Third, other policy fields display only practices of informing the EP. These results confirm the distinctiveness of the policy field of trade, show the fragmentation of the EU’s political order regarding international agreements and the potential instability of practices of interaction. Taken together, the article demonstrates the value of analysing EP-Commission interactions, rather than focusing solely on the perspective of the EP’s assertion.

Effect of Work Life Balance and Job Stress on Turnover Intention with the Mediating Effect of Job Satisfaction: A Study of Commissioned Officers in Sri Lanka Military Forces

Employee turnover has been an important research area in social science over the past involving the discipline of human resource management. But these types of studies in the military are very few. This paper makes use of quantitative research methods to assess the effect of work life balance and job stress as predictor variables on job satisfaction which is intervening variable towards the turnover intention as the outcome variable in the schematic diagram of the study. Data were collected from 327 Commissioned Officers of the military in Sri Lanka through a structured questionnaire and processed those data by using correlation and regression analyses. The results of the analyses indicated that the survey was reliable, and the study model is significant. Data analysis of the research study revealed that the correlations among turnover intention, job satisfaction, job stress and work life balance are highly significant. As per the regression results, both work life balance and job stress affect both job satisfaction and turnover intention of Commissioned Officers. But job satisfaction doesn’t mediate the relationships between work life balance and turnover intention as well as job stress and turnover intention. The fallouts indicated that job stress and work life balance are the determinants of the turnover intention of commissioned officers although there is no significant mediating relationship of job satisfaction between them. Based on the study, it is suggested that remedial actions should be proposed to reduce the job stress in order to mitigate the turnover intention while encouraging work life balance practices. Moreover, it is suggested that management needs to put more emphasis on improving the counselling and stress reducing aspects while enhancing working conditions to minimize the turnover intention among military officers.

Value-Awareness Leadership: A Paradigm for Enhancing Ethical Practices in Teacher Education

Leadership that shares values in educational institutions can be essential in the effective promotion of ethical values and practices. Nonetheless, the use of this leadership to enhance ethical practices in teacher education has not been thoroughly explored and needs additional study. The purpose of this research is to analyse how value-awareness leadership can enhance ethical practices in primary teacher colleges in Kenya by applying philosophical methods of phenomenology and analysis. In the context of phenomenology, interviews were conducted with 35 participants. Purposively chosen participants included 7 Principals, 7 Deputy Principals, 7 Deans of students, 7 top Student leaders; all from public teachers training colleges (TTCs), 4 regional Quality Assurance and Standards Officers (QASOs), and 3 regional Teachers Service Commission (TSC) officers. Semi-structured interview schedules were used to collect qualitative data, which was later analysed using thematic analysis. The findings revealed that value-awareness leadership fostered a value-based culture which augmented ethical behaviours in TTCs. The research also suggests a philosophical model of value-awareness leadership that entrenches ethical practices based on moral duty and moral goodness.

Exploring the Readiness for Electronic Voting (E-Voting) in Emerging Economies: Evidence from Dodoma, Tanzania

There has been a lot of research on e-voting recently. Most studies assume that the implementation of e-voting is not merely about technology but also relates to several critical factors, such as the readiness of human resources and infrastructure, public trust, and others. This study explored the readiness for e-voting in developing countries, a case study of Tanzania. Specifically, the study aimed to examine the challenges of the current voting system, establish the e-voting readiness status in Tanzania, and find out factors for establishment of e-voting system in Tanzania. This study was quantitative in nature and obtained data from 196 respondents selected from Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officers and voters in Dodoma using purposive and convenient sampling techniques. Data was obtained from questionnaires distributed to officers and voters. The obtained data were analysed through descriptive statistics by the help of MS excel. The results show that the current voting system is faced with several challenges including limited safety, lack of trust, threat and insecurity vulnerability to mention but a few. It was further revealed that respondents were ready to adopt and use e-voting because it improves voters’ trust, ease voting procedures, reduces transportation costs on election materials/equipment and saves time. The study recommends the Independent National Election Commission of Tanzania, through various stakeholders see the possibility of establishing e-voting to achieve free and fair elections.

Mariology in the Documents of Ecumenical Dialogue and Christian Unity

Ecumenical dialogues that seek to bring all followers of Christ closer to unity face many difficulties. One of them is the wrong understanding of ecumenism (doctrinal, spiritual and practical). Also an obstacle is the lack of distinction between the unity of Christians and the unity of the Churches. This article undertakes the presentation of another such difficulty in the path of Christian unity, which is the Mariological (doctrinal) and Marian (worship/devotion) issues. Ecumenical meetings, therefore, do not avoid such difficult topics concerning the Mother of the Lord, such as her virginity, Immaculate Conception, Assumption or her role as Mother of the Church. Many Christian traditions have different interpretations of these truths. Catholic and Orthodox communities even consider them an inalienable part of their spiritual heritage, while most Protestant communities have a more nuanced approach and do not accept these truths as binding, but reject them. A compilation of the documents to date relating to the Mother of God proves to be a big, positive surprise. Of course, these are writings of varying degrees of validity, as they come as much from international mixed official commissions as from national bilateral bodies or local debates. Nevertheless, both their prominence and impact, as well as their quantity, make it clear that the person and action of the Mother of Jesus nevertheless animates and strengthens the difficult rapprochement of the followers of her Divine Son.

Mitigating Negligence in Regulatory Enforcement: Analyzing the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 and the Criminal Procedure Code

The Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 is pivotal in regulating Malaysia's communications and multimedia industry. While the Act gives Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission officers enforcement rights, it excludes the ability to make arrests, which is a privilege reserved for police officers under the Criminal Procedure Code. This paper examines the practical implications of this division of arrest authority, focusing on potential negligence in enforcement. The study examines the intersection of regulatory enforcement and the tort of negligence by reviewing relevant laws and case studies. The study found that incorporating accountability measures into the enforcement process can help maintain transparency and uphold the integrity of regulatory actions. Recommendations based on the findings suggest strategies for mitigating negligence in enforcement actions. Understanding this intersection is crucial for ensuring lawful and responsible law enforcement actions in the communications and multimedia industry.

Avoiding future surprises after acute shocks: long-term flood risk lessons catalysed by the 2021 summer flood in the Netherlands

In summer 2021, the Dutch Province of Limburg faced an acute high-water event caused by two days of heavy rainfall, resulting in €383 million worth of damage. Afterwards, various policy actors organised a number of evaluations. This study analyses these evaluations and the long-term lessons drawn from this flood event. Dealing with climate change requires insights into how lessons from acute shocks such as floods can stimulate the anticipation of climate change and solutions that can cope with future extremes. This study therefore applies policy learning theory—single, double and triple loop learning—to different layers of flood safety to analyse the extent to which governments prepare for future events and how.The results show that pre-2021 water and flood risk management policies—our point of comparison to derive what lessons emerge after the 2021 flood—focused mostly on flood prevention (layer 1) and from 1996 onwards with the start of the Room for the River programme also on spatial planning (layer 2), without paying much attention to crisis management (layer 3). Based on the 2021 flood, the official evaluation committee recommends adding two more layers to the multilayer flood safety approach: increasing water awareness (layer 0 as a base layer for the other layers) and focusing on climate-robust recovery after floods (layer 4) to improve long-term robustness. Based on our research, triple-loop learning as the deepest type of learning appeared in the form of applying the Room for the River approach to the tributary brooks systems. To prepare for the future, policy evaluations recommend improving stress tests to better deal with climate change. Futures scenarios and visions for the future are also recommended. Creating future visions can help to steer changes in existing land use and re-think areas to build or to use for water retention, for example. Governments are advised to strengthen their anticipatory capacities as part of their crisis management response and recovery systems. Furthermore, governments will need to apply the different layers for multilayer safety in an integrated way to ensure that regions are able to prepare for future floods.

The Impact of GCG, Internal Audit Eliminates Corruption and Improves Performance Company 2024

State performance and company performance will be better if corruption can be eliminated by implementing GCG and Internal Audit. The phenomenon of corruption has become entrenched, many public officials have been arrested and imprisoned for corruption cases by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and other law enforcement officials (Attorney General and Police). Even the chairman of the Corruption Eradication Commission (Firly Bahuri) was deactivated and questioned by the police over the alleged extortion case of the former Minister of Agriculture (Yasin Syahrul Limpo). In this context, we are interested in discussing the impact of GCG and Internal Audit on reducing corruption and improving performance.

Intraorganizational mobility and employees’ work-related contact patterns: evidence from panel data in the European Commission

Abstract Programs to encourage staff to move within public-sector organizations have become increasingly widespread in recent decades. Yet, although there are some anecdotal accounts, the effects of such intraorganizational mobility remain largely unexplored. Building on insights from organization theory and social psychology, we argue that intraorganizational mobility entails an important trade-off: it undermines movers’ depth of work-related contacts within the (new) department, while it increases the breadth of their work-related contacts outside it. Our empirical analysis evaluates this trade-off using a two-way fixed effects model for a longitudinal dataset of movers (N = 149) and stayers (N = 473) across two survey waves among European Commission officials in 2014 and 2018. Our main findings confirm that intraorganizational mobility is connected in opposing ways to employees’ intra- and extra-departmental work-related contact patterns. In line with theoretical expectations, we find these relationships to be stronger for employees who have previously experienced intraorganizational moves (“repeat-movers”).

Exploring the Contributory Factors of Homicide Victimization within the Province of Pampanga, Philippines

In the province of Pampanga, Philippines, particularly from 2019-2022, homicide victimization is considered the third highest crime category in the region. This study aimed to address this gap by exploring and evaluating the factors contributing to homicide victimization in Pampanga during the specific years. The descriptive research design was employed using the survey questionnaire and secondary data sources to answer the objectives of the study. A survey questionnaire was distributed purposively to 101 Police Commissioned Officers (PCO) and Police Non-Commissioned Officers (PNCO) stationed at various police stations in Pampanga. The study revealed that the homicide incidents in the province of Pampanga, Philippines from 2019-2022 occurred often in the evening and midnight during the first quarter. Homicide incidents can occur in public and private places and the perpetrators were sometimes under the influence of alcohol/liquor, and the weapons often used were guns/firearm, knives, and other blunt/bladed instruments. The motives of the perpetrators are usually out of anger or hatred, heated argument and revenge, and the often modus operandi were shooting the victims and stabbing or hacking the victims. Furthermore, the study also revealed that the crime prevention programs to prevent the occurrence of homicide incidents in Pampanga, Philippines were always implemented. Positive correlations were observed to the time of occurrence, involvement of perpetrators, weapons used, motives and community involvement.

HISTORICAL STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT AND PROBLEMS OF PROVIDING ARCHITECTURAL ACCESSIBILITY OF SPORTS FACILITIES

The work analyzes the relationship between the development of sports for people with disabilities and the formation of sports buildings accessible to people with reduced mobility. It was established that the development of sports and the involvement of people with disabilities was the primary factor in the development of sports facilities and centers adapted to the needs of people with disabilities. The formation of the architecture of sports facilities accessible to people with reduced mobility has become a secondary issue of this problem, aimed at ensuring the parameters of the subject-spatial environment and accessibility requirements for athletes with disabilities.The main stages of the history of the development of architectural accessibility of sports facilities and the characteristic features of each of the stages are determined. In the history of the development of architectural accessibility of sports facilities, three stages can be distinguished, each of which had its own characteristic features. The first stage (20-50s of the 20th century) – "clinical sports" – the introduction of sports into the system of medical rehabilitation and, accordingly, sports facilities into the structure of medical institutions; adaptation of existing facilities to the needs of people with disabilities. The second stage (60-90s of the XX century) – "professional sports" – the establishment of official international sports committees and competitions for people with disabilities, the holding of the Paralympic Games, the creation of new sports facilities for professional sports of people with disabilities. The third stage (from the beginning of the 21st century) – "sport for all" – the development of amateur sports; designing sports facilities on the basis of universal design with free and equal access for all categories of users, including people with disabilities.The main problems of ensuring the architectural accessibility of sports facilities for people with disabilities in Ukraine are analyzed. It was determined that the main problem of the development of adaptive and amateur sports in Ukraine is the "architectural inaccessibility" of sports buildings erected during the 20th century, during the times of the former USSR, when neither the issues of barrier-free architecture nor the issues of sports for people with disabilities were paid attention to. The majority of such sports buildings in Ukraine. Therefore, the most urgent issue today in the field of inclusive sports facilities is the analysis of accessibility conditions for people with disabilities in existing sports buildings, as well as the development of recommendations for their adaptation and reasonable adjustment.

Sending Signals or Building Bridges? Digital Sovereignty in EU Communicative and Co‐Ordinative Discourse

AbstractThis article studies the role that ‘digital sovereignty’ performs in the EU's digital policy discourse comparing speeches by high‐level European Commission officials and Members of the European Parliament (MEPs). It indicates that the concept of digital sovereignty is not mentioned very frequently, neither in the European Parliament (EP) nor in the public statements of top EU officials. It is furthermore not closely linked to specific policy ideas, not even to the idea of promoting European values in the world as a way of openly projecting digital sovereignty outward. EP actors mainly refer to policy‐related aspects of digital sovereignty, and these show systematic affinities to parties' ideologies – primarily along an axis of economic development versus protecting personal rights – and to EP committees. Hence, digital sovereignty does not seem to mainly serve as normative idea directed at the public sphere but emerges as a common denominator to which different relevant actors within the EU decision‐making system can equally relate.

“Should I stay or should I go”: experience does not make the expert in police snap decision-making

PurposeWe analyse the role of subject matter experts' experience in establishing performance benchmarks for ambiguous and unstructured police tasks.Design/methodology/approachParticipants included 156 students in the final week of their training to become commissioned officers of a police force (78.8% male, aged 21 to 54); 55.8% had previous experience as police officers, with 5–39 years of service (expert group). Participants completed an online questionnaire providing demographic data and responded to three written vignettes presenting critical high-ambiguity, time-pressure, and life-threatening situations.FindingsHaving prior police experience or being familiar with the situations presented in the vignettes did not impact the decisions made in two of the three vignettes. In the vignette where differences appeared, there was no clearly preferred option among the experts. Experts provided shorter and less elaborate justifications for their decisions compared to novices.Originality/valueOverall experience and personal familiarity with situations do not appear to be sufficient conditions for identifying someone as an expert in this type of tasks. Results are discussed in relation to the difference between knowing what one should do and what one does due to stress and the moral or “sacred” values prevalent in police forces.

The role and the place of physical training in the system of military education of officers of the armed forces of the Republic of Korea

The article devoted to the system of military education of commissioned officers in the Armed Forces of the Republic of Korea, which provides the basic needs in qualified specialists in all types of armed forces and troops branches, and also allows maintaining the staffing of the armed forces and their reserve components at the level necessary to solve the tasks facing before the state. Considerable attention in educational process is paid to combat, operational and physical training, as well as to the study of foreign languages. Operational and combat training in the Armed Forces is aimed to improve the ways and methods of managing troops in all types of defensive and offensive operations, achieving high combat capability, mastering the techniques of modern combined arms combat, and acquiring the necessary tactical, special and shooting training skills for the military personnel. Physical training in the Armed Forces of the Republic of Korea is one of the main ways to develop the personality of a future commander. This requires theoretical knowledge in the field of physical education, the ability to apply them in practice, the ability to manage the process of physical education of troops, as well as personal physical qualities and spiritual strength. At regular classes, commissioned officers study physical training management, physical training pedagogy, martial arts (taekwondo), which is the most widespread form of martial arts in the Armed Forces of the Republic of Korea.

TRADITIONAL DOWRY IN REPRESSING PAPUAN WOMEN’S POLITICAL REPRESENTATION JAYAPURA CITY LEGISLATIVE 2014-2019

This research investigated the impact of traditional dowry payments on the low political representation of indigenous Papuan women in the Jayapura City legislature from 2014 to 2019. Despite the election of four indigenous Papuan women to the Jayapura City legislature in 2014, there remains a significant gap in representation. This qualitative research gathered data through interviews with 30 respondents, including seven influential community figures, seven husbands of indigenous Papuan women, six Papuan students, two lecturers, three members of political parties, two female Papuan legislators, one representative from the General Election Commission, one member of the Papuan People’s Council, and the head of the Population and Civil Registry Service. Observational data were gathered from the General Election Commission Office and the indigenous Papuan community in Jayapura City. Documentation review further supplemented the research, focusing on legislative representation data, voter turnout, and customary dowry payment records for indigenous Papuan women. The data underwent rigorous re-validation to ensure the analysis accurately reflected the reality of how traditional dowry practices hinder the political participation of indigenous Papuan women in the Jayapura City legislature during the specified period. The findings reveal that the obligation for indigenous Papuan women to adhere to their husbands’ directives, a consequence of dowry payments, significantly limits their ability to engage in political activities, including legislative candidacy and community campaigning. This restriction was exemplified in the 2019 election, where only one indigenous Papuan woman was elected to the Jayapura City legislature.

The principles of physical training organisation of US Army officers

The article is devoted to the analysis of the principles of physical training organization of commissioned officers of the US Army, their implementation and effectiveness in the context of ensuring a high level of combat readiness. The US Armed Forces uses advanced technologies and scientific researches to continuously improve the physical training system, which includes the use of special training programs, monitoring of physical indicators and the development of new training methods based on scientific researches. The importance of an individual approach in training process training, as well as the integration of officers' physical training, is considered. The main goal is to understand and define the most effective and modern principles that ensure the optimal physical readiness of officers to perform their combat tasks. The article contains recommendations on optimizing the process of physical training, with the aim of increasing the functional capabilities of officers and ensuring their readiness to perform combat and training tasks in various conditions. The considerable attention is paid to the individual needs and capabilities of the US Armed Forces officers. The training programs can be adapted to specific needs and capabilities of officers, ensuring an efficient and safe physical fitness process. Physical training in the US Army is based on a high level of professionalism and motivation. This is stimulated by a system of recognition and awards, career development and provision of optimal conditions for training.

Ethiekondersteuning in zorgvoorzieningen

Ethics support in care facilities Two interrelated paths for supporting ethics in care facilities are proposed. The first path concerns the committees or working groups on ethics. The legal provisions for official medical ethics committees are discussed, as well as the search for concrete ways of operating in the practice of care facilities. Ethics committees or working groups have, in the opinion of the author, 4 tasks: advising on research projects, formulating general care opinions, giving individual advice on cases and finally organizing ethical education and awareness for care providers. The second path involves moral deliberation in the workplace. It is described how care providers can be supported to reflect themselves on ethical questions in their work situation, using an ethical method. Exploratory and analytical methods for moral deliberation are distinguished and the method ‘values in dialogue’ is elaborated. This method has strong ethical foundations and involves a value test. An important condition for these 2 paths of ethics support is the appointment of ethics reference persons who have ethics expertise, help realize the tasks of the ethics committee or working group and accompany moral deliberation in the care facility.