Economic Arrangements Research Articles

Beyond Participatory AI

The ‘participatory turn’ in AI design has received much attention in the literature. In this paper, we provide various arguments and proposals to move the discussion of participatory AI beyond its current state and towards stakeholder empowerment. The participatory AI literature points to Arnstein’s understanding of ‘citizen power’ as the right approach to participation. Although we agree with this general idea, we argue that there is a lack of depth in analyzing the legal, economic, and political arrangements required for a genuine redistribution of power to prioritize AI stakeholders. We highlight two domains on which the current discourse on participatory AI needs to expand. These are (1) the legal-institutional background that could provide ‘participation teeth’ for stakeholder empowerment and (2) the political economy of AI production that fosters such power asymmetries between AI developers and other stakeholders. We conclude by offering ways forward to explore alternative legal arrangements and ownership models for participatory AI.

Microbes and marginalisation: ‘Facing’ antimicrobial resistance in bedridden patients in a peri-urban area of Thailand

Reducing human-microbial encounters through improved infection prevention and control (IPC) is widely acknowledged to be critical for reducing the emergence, transmission and burden of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). However, despite its centrality in the Global Action Plan (GAP) on AMR and adoption as a goal in National Action Plans around the world, there has been limited progress on reducing the incidence of antimicrobial resistant infections globally. In this paper, we argue that closer attention to different faces of AMR could propel progress in this area, with a focus on bedridden people situated in liminal spaces in the Thai health system and suburban economy. Our ethnographic fieldwork followed the cases of 16 bedridden people through the eyes of their carers and medical staff. We 'descended into the ordinary' to encounter individuals living - and dying - in the shadows of the labour-intensive suburbs of Bangkok. Here, AMR and IPC protocols are operationalised in the context of competing priorities and pragmatic decision-making. Focussing on three ethnographic vignettes, we use the analytic frames of precarity and care to consider how particular (bedridden) bodies are differentially exposed to AMR infections in the context of economic, social, and political arrangements that structure embodied vulnerabilities and forms and foci of care. Whilst the political work of calculating the burden of AMR may be oriented around galvanising support through a sense of magnitude and generalised risk, this research serves as a reminder that the faces of AMR include those who disproportionately shoulder the global burden of AMR, making it at once exceptional and ordinary.

Child Marriage in “Hitaw” and Mādīyān

Abstract Child marriage, the union between a child below the age of consent and a spouse who is the same age or older, remains a prevalent practice in Iran. Often these marriages involve young girls betrothed to much older men as a result of economic arrangements between the girl’s guardian and the groom. This practice imposes numerous physical and psychological hardships on the child bride, whose domestic and reproductive labor becomes bound to a man she chose not to marry. By analyzing “Hitaw” (1973), by Ali Ashraf Darvishiyan, and Mādīyān (1986), directed by Ali Zhakan, this article aims to examine the perceptions and portrayals of these girls and their sexuality within the realm of art and literature. Through this analysis it seeks to contribute to a deeper understanding of the social, cultural, and political dynamics that perpetuate child marriage and impact the lives of young girls in Iran.

Theory building and technical innovations for spatial planning of China's metropolitan areas: insights from planning of Greater Shanghai Metropolitan Area

Based on limited theoretical applicability of metropolitan area concept under China’s circumstances and the planning practice in Greater Shanghai Metropolitan Area, this article proposes a Chinese understanding on the concept of “Metropolitan Area”, which extends its core connotation from a commuting area to a multi-functional area. It further proposes to utilize the preparation of spatial plans as means to promote high-quality development of metropolitan areas and to achieve coordinated regional development. Metropolitan area planning takes spatial planning as its basic attribute, and simultaneously embodies the contents of economic and social arrangements. It could become a binding contract based on consensus among member cities. In terms of technical innovations in planning practice, this article firstly suggests using a “problem-based, goal-targeted, action-driven, space-oriented and implementation-guided” approach to form a framework of “objective (indicator)-strategy-action-mechanism” to realize collaborative goals. Secondly, the spatial plan should focus on “bottom line factors” as well as “collaborative factors”, establishing a technical framework for regional spatial organization from multiple dimensions such as ecological pattern, city function, spatial structure, and conduction mechanism which drive transformations in regional governance modes.

Study of Canada’s Economic System from a System Thinking Perspective

This article analyzes Canada’s economic system from a systems thinking perspective. The content includes patterns of public choice (party system and power distribution), organizational framework of decision-making arrangements, information provision and coordination mechanisms, property rights system, incentive system, and welfare system. Canada’s economic system significantly influences the development of the Canadian economy, and its economic system arrangements hold reference significance for other developed and developing countries.

Settlement and stress analysis in stabilized slab- and pile-supported embankment based on double-equal settlement plane

PurposeThe soft stabilized slab and pile-supported (SSPS) embankment is an improvement technique to increase the efficiency of resources in road construction. To capture the effects of stabilized slabs on the stress transfer mechanism, the differential settlements and the lateral displacement of the embankment completely. A theoretical model of SSPS is proposed by considering the effect of soil arching and the interaction between the embankment fill, stabilized soil, pile, foundation soil and bearing stratum.Design/methodology/approachIn the theoretical model, the stress and strain coordination relationship of the system was analyzed in view of the minimum potential energy theory and equal settlement plane theory. Subsequently, the theoretical method was applied to field tests for comparison. Finally, the influence of the elastic modulus and the thickness of the stabilized slab on the stress concentration ratio and foundation settlement were examined.FindingsIn addition to the experimental findings, the method has been revealed to be reasonable and feasible, considering its ability to effectively exploit the stabilized slab effect and improve the bearing capacity of soil and piles. An economical and reasonable arrangement scheme for the thickness and strength of stabilized slabs was obtained. The results reveal that the optimum elastic modulus was chosen as 28 MPa–60 MPa, and the optimum thickness of the stabilized slab was selected as 1.5 m–2.1 m using the parameters of field tests, which can provide guidance to engineering design.Originality/valueAn optimization calculation method is established to analyze the load transfer mechanics of the SSPS embankment based on a double-equal settlement plane. The model’s rationality was analyzed by comparing the settlement and stress concentration ratios in the field tests. Subsequently, the influence of the elastic modulus and the thickness of the stabilized slab on the stress concentration ratio and settlement were examined. An economical and reasonable arrangement scheme for the thickness and elastic modulus of stabilized slabs was obtained, which can provide a novel approach for engineering design.

Pedagogical Leadership in Finnish Early Childhood Education and Care through the Lens of Practice Architectures

This research examines how practice architectures, i.e., cultural-discursive, material-economic, and social-political arrangements both enable and constrain the pedagogical leadership practice of early child-hood education (ECE) center directors (N = 3). The data were collected by a qualitative shadowing method and analyzed deductively using the theory of practice architectures. The findings revealed that social- political arrangements were fundamental for directing pedagogical leadership practice, affecting both material- economic and cultural-discursive arrangements. The social- political arrangements of pedagog-ical leadership were grounded in the municipality’s organizational structure; in turn, this structure organ-ized daily pedagogical leadership practices. Social-political arrangements were narrated as the directors emphasized the importance of national guidelines, legislation, and implementation of the national and local curricula. These were related to the material-economic arrangements because they required organizing time for discussion and further training of personnel. The national guidelines combined material-economic and social-political aspects as well as cultural-discursive arrangements in leadership practice, as pedagog-ical development aligned with legislation and national curriculum demands in a wide range of leadership functions in ECE centers. The essence of pedagogical leadership practice was the focal point of joint dis-cussions regarding pedagogy and the implementation of curriculum in the ECE centers. Most significantly, the quality of these discussions could enable or constrain pedagogical leadership and were influenced by cultural-discursive arrangements and leadership philosophy of the center directors alike.

Cambodian Green Economy Transition: Background, Progress, and SWOT Analysis

A green economy is not a common economic practice. This leads the governments in many countries to focus on institutional arrangement and policy development. The institutional arrangement is one of the main significant factors, while green economy policies have to be well developed to support stakeholders and put less pressure on local communities. Hence, this research aims to understand green economic development in Cambodia by focusing on institutional arrangements and green economic development policies. Thus, this research’s priority was to evaluate their background and progress, and a comprehensive SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis was conducted based on their progress/transition. This research conducted background, progress, and SWOT analyses based on (i) the government’s documents, including the code, laws, royal decrees, sub-decrees, prakas, policies, strategic plans, roadmaps, and reports; (ii) development partners’ reports from reliable sources, such as UN agencies, UN Programs, ASEAN, the Asian Development Bank, and the World Bank; and (iii) existing literature. This research presented the results and discussed the findings encompassed by political and economic conditions, institutional arrangement and capacities, policy development and coordination, and participation of the public and stakeholders, as well as global green cooperation and funding, which were conditioned by the experiences from the COVID-19 pandemic and the uncertainties resulting from global geopolitical conflicts, such as the Russian–Ukrainian conflicts. Moreover, this research discussed weaknesses against strengths and threats against opportunities to suggest solutions or implications.

Acting on climate change concerns: lay perceptions of possibility, complexity and constraint

ABSTRACT How citizens think about, and relate to, climate change and possibilities for addressing it are sociologically important questions, sharpened in the current context of extensive climate change concern. Social science approaches generally have shown the profound importance of context and the social embeddedness of lay perceptions. More specifically, theories of social practice focus analytic attention away from individuals and onto the economic, energy and social arrangements which drive people’s habituated carbon intensive everyday practices. However, there has been a growing interest in how citizens may, at junctures, be more or less reflexive, evaluative and critical of practices which they carry or adapt. Interested in how citizens engage with possibilities for addressing climate change, we report on new UK-based qualitative research and analyse participants’ accounts of (in)efficacy, responsibility, constraint and affect in acting on climate. We explore contextual variation in the meanings participants bring to acting on climate change, and affective aspects of acting, or feeling situated, ‘against the grain’ of normalised practices. The evidence offers insights into the diverse meanings people bring to the possibility of acting on climate and the ways in which such meanings are enmeshed with, but also often critically evaluative of carbon intensive practices.

Commodification of urban space in the Atlixcáyotl-Lomas de Angelópolis corridor in Puebla, Mexico

ABSTRACT Market-oriented urban development has reconfigured social life in Mexican metropolises in recent decades. The Atlixcáyotl-Lomas de Angelópolis corridor in Puebla illustrates how neoliberal policies stimulate the commodification of urban space, as the current physical, economic, and social arrangements in this corridor result from a state-led planning strategy that has mainly benefited private actors. The extended urban corridor—approximately eight miles long—in the southwest area of the metropolis was enabled by an ambitious regional plan in the 1990s that created a new crucial centrality known as Angelópolis developed over a land reserve of approximately 1,000 ha of expropriated agrarian social land (ejidos). The paper explores the role and impact of urban policies supposedly created for “public interest” to encourage the provision of affordable housing, green areas, public infrastructure, and social facilities, which, in contrast, have fostered elite residential horizontal and private developments, financial capital investments, and private facilities.

Racial capitalism and COVID-19

The aim of this article is to revisit the racial disparities in health outcomes from COVID-19 and to problematize the overly simplified attribution of these numbers to race. This article calls for a deeper understanding of society’s wider economic arrangements in which these racial disparities are produced. It considers why a proposed public-policy measure that targeted racism—though without substantively accounting for the underlying form of capitalism through which it materializes—in an effort to remediate the differential health outcomes from COVID-19 between whites and racialized others was problematic and incomplete. Such an approach neither sufficiently accounted for structural conditions that led vulnerable racial minorities to develop comorbidities at a much higher rate than the local white population nor did it explain the labor market dynamics that resulted in vulnerable racial minorities being more likely to be employed in low-paid, frontline work as compared to white workers, which made the most effective way by which to avoid contracting the virus (i.e., physical distancing) all but impossible. This article finds that should the unsettling numbers related to the racial health disparities that unfolded during the pandemic be analyzed from a critical perspective, it would show how race is a cog in the machinery of neoliberalism, which culminates in racial capitalism. Specifically, racial capitalism fosters the economic stratification necessary to yield the consequences it had in terms of disparities in health outcomes from COVID-19. This article uses COVID-19 to illuminate how racism and capitalism function symbiotically to organize society, and responding to the former is perfunctory without interrogating the latter.

Standing against racial capitalism: Reconsidering psychology's role in dismantling systemic racism.

The American Psychological Association's resolutions on dismantling systemic racism represent a watershed moment in our discipline, yet confusion remains as to what it means to "dismantle" racism given psychology's emphasis on changing individual beliefs. This submission will review the tension between "idealist" interpretations of critical race theory emphasizing individual beliefs and "realist" perspectives contextualizing racism within political economic arrangements. Psychology's adoption of an "idealist" framework will be shown to privilege a neoliberal project emphasizing individual change and symbolic performances of racial justice instead of structural changes benefitting people of color's material existence. Drawing on a decolonial critique of racial capitalism, we propose an alternative framework to challenge our discipline to broaden its political imagination by supporting evidence-based policies to dismantle racism as a structural and political force. This includes universal policies to reduce racial and economic inequality and population-specific policies such as reparations for African Americans predicted to stimulate economic growth. Urgently, the decolonial lens challenges psychology to theorize racism not as a primarily individual phenomenon but a political force that divides and conquers while enriching white economic elites. To fulfill the promises of the American Psychological Association's resolutions, we must directly challenge the political economic interests that benefit from racism and contribute to the common good as a form of "loving care." (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

IOT BASED AUTOMATIC SMART TRAIN PLATFORM CROSSING SYSTEM

The objective of this paper is to provide an automatic railway gate at a level crossing replacing the gates operated by the gatekeeper. It deals with two things. Firstly, it deals with the reduction of time for which the gate is being kept closed, and secondly, to provide safety to the road users by reducing the accidents. By the presently existing system once the train leaves the station, the stationmaster informs the gatekeeper about the arrival of the train through the telephone. Once the gatekeeper receives the information, the closes the gate depending on the timing at which the train arrives. Hence, if the train is late due to certain reasons, then gate remain closed for a long-time causing traffic near the gates. By employing the automatic railway gate control at the level crossing the arrival of the train is detected by the sensor placed near to the gate. Hence, the time for which it is closed is less compared to the manually operated gates and also reduces the human labor. This type of gates can be employed in an unmanned level crossing where the chances of accidents are higher and reliable operation is required. Since, the operation is automatic; error due to manual operation is prevented. Automatic railway gate control is highly economical microcontroller-based arrangement, designed for use in almost all the unmanned level crossings in the country. Key Words: Railway gate; level crossing; unmanned; gate; microcontroller etc.

Foreign Policy as Compensation: Why Brexit Became a Foreign and Security Policy Issue

Abstract Exogenous reform demands can put leaders in a tight spot where change runs up against structural impediments. Yet, where asymmetries in reform costs occur across domains, leaders can seek to re-frame the impetus of change from one domain to another. Such compensatory behavior is commonplace but is not adequately captured by existing research on linkage politics, forum shopping, or diversionary conflict. This article develops the concept of compensatory foreign policy, whereby leaders use foreign policy change to compensate for unviable economic reforms when they have greater capacity and choice in the former domain. Empirically, we use elite interviews to reconstruct the politics of security policy in the post-Brexit United Kingdom, showing how party leaders focused on foreign policy change when beneficial economic arrangements were precluded. Our argument contributes to recent research on linkage politics by demonstrating the conditions under which leaders seek foreign policy reforms to compensate for economic weakness.

On China’s Navigation Rights and Interests in the Tumen River and the Japanese Sea

To achieve the goals of the Polar Silk Road strategy and boost Northeast China’s economy, China should focus on economic and trade cooperation in the Japanese Sea. Despite not being a coastal State, China can still expand its navigation rights and interests within the region. The Japanese Sea has not been fully utilized by China due to its lack of direct access, and the surrounding States’ unstable political conditions have hindered long-term economic development arrangements. This paper proposes that China should develop its right of access to the Japanese Sea through the Tumen Region and assert the navigation rights and interests of third States. China can use current agreements and international law principles to uphold its right of access to the Japanese Sea through the Tumen River. It can also invest in overseas ports and improve transportation networks to implement the strategy of "accessing the sea through harbors of other States." Furthermore, China can strengthen its presence and use of shipping routes in the Japanese Sea by strengthening regional trade routes, connecting shipping routes with the Arctic, and expanding the abroad shipping of domestic goods. Moreover, this paper suggests that China should analyze the navigation rights and interests of third States in the territorial sea, exclusive economic zones, and straits surrounding the Japanese Sea to develop its sea routes. By doing so, China can realize its goals of the Polar Silk Road strategy and revitalize Northeast China’s economy.

The Use of Economic Indicators as Early Signals of Stock Market Progress: Perspectives from Market Potential Index

The progress of financial markets depends on the way world investors foresee the market potential of the country of choice. Countries that are associated with favorable economic incentives are able to motivate investments in their respective stock markets. The objective of this paper is to examine the role of the many economic components which constitute the Market Potential Index in enhancing stock market progress. The methodology goes through testing and estimation. The tests include linearity versus nonlinearity (RESET), normality, and cointegration. The estimation includes cointegration regression and discriminant analysis to distinguish between high and low stock market progress. This study examines unbalanced panel data that covers the years 1996–2022 for 54 countries where a stock market exists. The results show the following: (a) increases in people’s expenditure result in decreases in consumption of investment in financial securities; (b) the investments in infrastructure technology is positively associated with stock market progress; (c) the positive effect of economic freedom indicates that further adaptive trading regulations are beneficial to stock market progress; (d) increases in imports consume large proportions of people’s income, coming at the expense of investment in financial securities; (e) stock markets that are associated with high country risk are characterized by a positive risk–return tradeoff, i.e., a high risk premium; (f) the stock markets listed in the MPI can reach high progress by improving three indicators, namely commercial infrastructure, market receptivity, and country risk. This paper offers a thorough and unique examination of the institutional arrangements and stock market progress. The paper offers a guide to policy makers about how economic institutional arrangements can be promoted in order to reach high stock market progress.

A spanish colony made of foreigners: Transimperial Trinidad during the age of revolutions

ABSTRACT This article analyzes the initial transformation of the island of Trinidad into a transimperial contact zone during the final decades of the Eighteenth century and how it became a particularly revealing space for colonial experimentation. This process began two decades before the British invasion of 1797 and originated from the core of the Spanish reformist state that sought to experiment with new political, legal, and economic arrangements for its American domains. The intensification of complex transimperial and transcolonial networks that connected imperial agents in Spain, colonial officials in the Venezuelan coast, local residents in Trinidad, and potential French and Irish Catholic migrants in the Lesser Antilles gave shape to the transformation of Trinidad. This article contributes to the history of the transimperial Atlantic by analyzing the initial phase of Trinidad’s transformation into a plural slave-based colony.

An Exploration and Description of the Impact of COVID-19 on Women's Employment in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa

The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have highlighted the issue of gender inequality in the labour market in relation to greater risks of unemployment and financial vulnerability. The shift to remote work altered responsibilities for domestic labour among partnered couples and single parents, as did the impact of closed schools, child care centres, and more. Disruptions to economic and social arrangements of South African women were no different than what other women in similar situations experienced in other countries. This study sought to explore the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on women, with respect to employment, work-life balance and family responsibilities. A qualitative study within a constructivist paradigm, with a multisite, instrumental case study design was used. Data were collected from participants using both a survey questionnaire and a structured interview. A sample size of 172 was sought for the questionnaire and 26 qualitative interviews were conducted guided by data saturation. Quantitative questionnaire data were analysed using SPSS (version 27) for descriptive and inferential statistics. Thematic analysis of the qualitative interviews was done using NVIVO for coding and categorising. Black women, particularly from the informal sector, were found to be more adversely affected than those in formal employment by the COVID-19 pandemic. This study contributes to understanding the effects the COVID-19 pandemic had on women’s employment, work-life balance and family responsibilities.

Developing selection criteria for harmonious co-living: la Maison des Babayagas and beyond

Abstract With an ever-increasing pace of change, dwindling resources, and an aging population, modern societies face harsh questions regarding effective governance systems. Moreover, with lingering problems brought on by COVID and ongoing inflationary pressures, the situation for growing numbers of aging women who have outlived their partners and are living on their own is increasingly grim. In Canada, when the elderly cannot manage independently, even the least expensive full-care retirement home options can have a formidable cost, which can be a heavy burden for many. Therefore, it is of utmost importance for society to support independent living as long as possible. Independent living models are being developed with various constraints and often with profit in mind. However, we were interested in the most economically feasible and socially acceptable solution. One such development is La Maison des Babayagas in Paris, France. This innovative government-subsidized housing project has been developed for retired independent women who pay rent for small apartments according to their means. The residents live in independent units and support one another in an economic and social arrangement that promotes friendships, fights loneliness, and helps each maintain a healthy outlook. This research aimed to gather data to create an inventory questionnaire to select independent retired women in Canada to live together harmoniously in a housing project based on the successful model developed in Paris. The questionnaire is based on analyzing the Babayagas House charter and resident journals and an extensive review of related inventories and questionnaires. The criteria retained will be explained, and examples of the questions will be presented.

Sustainability in Latin America and the Caribbean

How do socioeconomic and political arrangements relate to sustainability? Based on a sample of 24 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, between 2011 and 2019, this study examines the hypothesis that better performance in socioeconomic and political variables is associated with higher levels of sustainability. Here, this concept is measured through the Social Progress Index (SPI) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 10, "Reduced Inequalities", and 11, "Sustainable Cities and Communities". The research design considers correlation tests, panel data regression, and an empirical description of the Chilean and Brazilian contexts. The results show that performance in the SPI and the SDG 11 is primarily associated with economic arrangements, while the SDG 10 is more closely linked to the political dynamics of the state. Furthermore, by analyzing Chile and Brazil, this study identifies that the countries also have particular effects on the indices. The conceptual impact of these results enriches socioeconomic and political interventions for sustainability and provides valuable insights for future research.