Governance Instruments Research Articles

Emergence and evolution of aquaculture sustainability certification schemes

Nongovernmental private organizations have used certification as a governance instrument to advance the socioenvironmental and ethical sustainability of industrial aquaculture. Though started by organic pioneers, the landscape of aquaculture certification has rapidly altered since the late 1990s with the emergence of nonorganic initiatives accelerated by socioeconomic and environmental crises affecting aquaculture production. However, evidence regarding when, how, and why various schemes have emerged and evolved is scarce. Informed by the path-dependence perspective, this study chronicles the emergence and evolution of four organic and six nonorganic transnational nongovernmental aquaculture certification schemes. Drawing on archival records, this study notes that the dynamics of markets, politics, and ideas have played a decisive role in the creation and proliferation of schemes, species-specific standards, and certification programs. By dividing the evolutionary period into two timescales, 1970–1999 and 2000–2021, this study documents the intense competition among certification agencies spurred by the demand for farmed seafood in international markets. A nonorganic certification scheme was dissolved because of a credibility crisis and criticisms, whereas other schemes continue to thrive. However, the recent consolidation of major nonorganics and their growing involvement in the wild fishery industry put the aquaculture certification field in a state of uncertainty. This study provides important insight into the advancement of program-level harmonization initiatives and how the limits of those measures can be overcome to resolve confusion and duplication of certification schemes.

Des Herrschers neue Kleider. Rekonzeption des zhǔ 主 bzw. jūn 君 und seiner Herrschaft im klassischen und Neuen chinesischen Legalismus

Abstract This essay re-interprets the ruler and their rulership in classical Chinese Legalism (Fǎjiā 法家) and its main work, the Hán Fēizǐ 韓非子 attributed to Han Fei 韓非 (c. 280–233 BCE). The re-interpretation takes late 19th and early 20th century New Legalism’s (Xīn Fǎjiā 新法家) focus on the ruler’s instruments of governance as a starting point. My essay raises this instrumental idea to a new level by re-conceptualizing the ruler (zhǔ 主 or jūn 君) as a dynamic figure and office. First, the legalist ruler becomes procedural. Their rulership is not a static property vested in a fixed unit. Rather, the ruler must create and sustain their office by applying the three action modes: fǎ 法 (general, standardized, public laws), shì 勢 (positional power surrounding the ruler), and shù 術 (administrative tactics kept internal and secret). Secondly, the ruler becomes relative. Their rulership is not an absolute feature pertaining to one single institution or person. Rather, every unit in state hierarchy – whether monarch, minister (chén 臣), or citizen (mín 民) – can turn into a ruler with respect to other units acting as its ministers. This re-conception of rulership renders Han Feis 2,200-year-old theory of rulership a neither out-of-date nor authoritarian analytical framework. Using this framework developed by my essay, prospective analyses can potentially apply Chinese Legalism not only to Ancient China but also to other epochs and other countries, and that in various disciplines.

On mapping values in AI Governance

We propose here a conceptual framework by which to analyze legal-regulatory problematics of algorithmic decision-making systems, focusing on mechanisms of value production in their design and deployment. An aim of our intervention is to develop an investigative model for application to algorithmic decision systems with regulatory effects, including predictive artificial intelligence applications and recommender systems that filter data and suggest courses of action. Technical systems that integrate complex algorithmic techniques perform critical and sensitive functions that are both object and instrument of regulatory governance, functions such as predicting behavior, steering information flows, assessing risk, etc. These functions, however, are not simple or static phenomena, but rather contextual, partial performances of complex socio-technical dynamics. One of our interests is to discern what is valorized in this new regulatory ecology. Accordingly, we are sketching a framework to target terms and tokens of value as they are produced, reproduced, incorporated, and translated among design processes, legal practices and background conditions structuring their use. Rather than asking which values AI should satisfy in contested governance contexts, we address conceptually prior questions concerning how values manifest and ‘map’ among context-sensitive computational and social processes in the first place. Furthermore, current research often takes for granted that an AI application is produced against the backdrop of a stable and pre-defined set of values and legal practices. Existing research does not yet adequately account for the ways in which laws and values as produced in and through the ecology of the AI application differ from idealized presuppositions assumed to preexist development of the latter. For the purpose, our contribution engages three broad lines of inquiry: one, we take forward calls for a materialized study of law, such as put forward broadly by Alain Pottage, and as put forward more recently and specifically with respect to computational technologies by Mireille Hildebrandt, among others; two, we contribute to the elaboration of a critical practice for AI, in the tradition of Philip Agre; and three, our attention to assemblages potentially contributes to debates over techno-regulation or regulation by design.

Private Governance of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services: Findings From Nordic Forest Companies

This study examines the role of business organizations in co-governing biodiversity and ecosystem services (BES) using a phenomenon-based approach and bridging business management literature, ecosystem services literature and environmental governance literature. The empirical analysis includes twelve Nordic forest corporations considered market leaders in Finland, Sweden and Norway. Using content analysis of corporate sustainability reports and managerial interviews, we recorded 127 company-led measures addressing BES and we categorized them into seventeen types (e.g., land use planning and restoration, mobilization of financial resources for conservation, partner auditing, capacity building and consultation with stakeholders). For each BES measure, we also identified the BES issues being addressed (e.g., climate regulation, soil maintenance, cultural values); company motivation (i.e., compliance, strategic, profit-seeking); the stakeholders/beneficiaries involved (e.g., employees, forest owners, experts, local communities, public administration, NGOs); and the private governance instruments used for implementing the measure (i.e., regulatory, economic, information and rights-based instruments). The findings suggest that practices such as monetary valuation, biodiversity offsets and green bonds are emerging as profitable or strategically interesting options for Nordic forest companies. However, well-established practices, such as forest inventory, partner auditing and land sparing, continue to be the backbone of private BES governance among the leading companies examined. Although not directly motivated by compliance, private governance measures are largely nested in legislation. The contribution of this study includes reflections of relevance for both the scholarly and managerial realms. From a scholarly perspective, we further elaborate an understanding of BES management and governance from an organizational perspective. From a managerial perspective, we provide and discuss an overview of potential measures that forest companies can implement to address biodiversity and other socio-ecological issues at the land-use level.

Implementation of the Halal Product Guarantee Law in Indonesia by the Department of Industry and Trade Cooperatives of Bima City

The obligation to register a halal certificate is stated in Article 4 of The Halal Product Guarantee Laws "Products that enter, circulate, and are traded in the territory of Indonesia must be certified halal". Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explain the mandatory implementation of halal certification carried out by the Department of Cooperative Industry and Trade of the Bima City for its Small & Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs), because it is one of the government instruments authorized to accommodate those who wish to register a halal certificate. The research method used in this research is descriptive qualitative, to support this research it takes several parties as respondents from the Department of Industrial and Trade Cooperatives and SMEs (DISKOPERINDAG) and so that this research can produce data that can provide conclusions regarding the implementation of mandatory halal certification by the Department of Cooperative Industry and Trade of the Bima City for its SMEs. From this research, it can be concluded that DISKOPERINDAG has carried out socialization in the form of seminars and training and provided information through the official website of DISKOPERINDAG Bima City. In addition to socialization, DISKOPERINDAG also provides assistance in procuring halal certificates for UMKM in the Bima City, it makes SMEs feel helped in registering halal certificates

Factorial Structure Determining The Intention To Vote Ecology

The political system in which it is possible to observe the similarities and differences between groups for and against presidential candidates based on processes of negotiation, mediation, conciliation and arbitration around the management and administration of Information Technologies and Communication is known as governance. This is a growing phenomenon as local or federal elections approach and digital networks are exacerbated as instruments for the promotion or dissuasion of a candidate. In this sense, the objective of the study was to optimize the Governance instrument of the Cyber Political Culture of Carreón (2016) in order to pay the reliability and validity of it; explore the relationship between preferences and expectations regarding voting intentions in a non-probabilistic sample of students using digital networks. From a structural model it was found that the consensus expectation factor determined the intentions to vote. The scope and limits of the exploratory factor analysis of main axes with a simple and oblique promax rotation regarding the confirmation of an orthogonal structure are discussed

Discovering Urban Governance Parameters for Online Learning in Saudi Arabia During COVID-19 Using Topic Modeling of Twitter Data

Smart cities are a relatively recent phenomenon that has rapidly grown in the last decade due to several political, economic, environmental, and technological factors. Data-driven artificial intelligence is becoming so fundamentally ingrained in these developments that smart cities have been called artificially intelligent cities and autonomous cities. The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the physical isolation of people and consequently escalated the pace of human migration to digital and virtual spaces. This paper investigates the use of AI in urban governance as to how AI could help governments learn about urban governance parameters on various subject matters for the governments to develop better governance instruments. To this end, we develop a case study on online learning in Saudi Arabia. We discover ten urban governance parameters using unsupervised machine learning and Twitter data in Arabic. We group these ten governance parameters into four governance macro-parameters namely Strategies and Success Factors, Economic Sustainability, Accountability, and Challenges. The case study shows that the use of data-driven AI can help the government autonomously learn about public feedback and reactions on government matters, the success or failure of government programs, the challenges people are facing in adapting to the government measures, new economic, social, and other opportunities arising out of the situation, and more. The study shows that the use of AI does not have to necessarily replace humans in urban governance, rather governments can use AI, under human supervision, to monitor, learn and improve decision-making processes using continuous feedback from the public and other stakeholders. Challenges are part of life and we believe that the challenges humanity is facing during the COVID-19 pandemic will create new economic, social, and other opportunities nationally and internationally.

The Value of Truth and Citizens’ Panels - from Philosophical Roots to Practical Consequences of the Governance Concept

In recent years, instruments of governance, including citizens’ panels (citizens’ assemblies) have gained interest all over the world, including Poland. The danger of its application stems from the fact that they assume the desire to allocate more and more political power to partners at the expense of legitimate authorities. Hence, the purpose of this article is to examine the axiological foundations of the instruments of governance, focusing on the value of truth. In the conclusion of the research, it was stated that the implementation of the citizens’ panels in Gdańsk leads to violations of the value of truth, one of the pillars of Latin civilization.

Influence of governance instruments on supply chain quality: a qualitative investigation in the dairy industry

PurposeThis paper aims to explore the formal (i.e. contracts, standards, processes, and structure) and informal (i.e. social structure, norms, information sharing, and value system and culture) governance instruments used in supply networks and their influence on quality.Design/methodology/approachThis research is qualitative-exploratory in nature, involving semi-structured interviews with 20 managers from three essential layers in the dairy industry's supply chain: companies that supply essential inputs to milk producers; milk producers; and milk cooperatives.FindingsAnalysis of the generated data show that formal governance instruments have a strong and/or weak influence on products' and operations' quality in the dairy industry context; informal instruments have a strong and/or weak influence on quality, as a counterpart to formal instruments; and the integration of verified governance instruments positively influences the quality of products and operations.Practical implicationsThis paper offers several managerial and practical implications. The first is to encourage suppliers of primary inputs and milk producers to invest in the formal structure, primarily in formal contracts with each other. The second implication suggests the relevance of creating different training and qualification courses with members from all organizational levels. Third, there is a need for cooperatives, encompassing all industries, to consider several informal instruments, complementary to contracts and standards currently used for processes.Originality/valueGovernance instruments can lead to desired supply chain outcomes, including those related to quality. Although previous supply chain studies have investigated the relationship between governance instruments and the supply chain, and quality management and the supply chain, studies on governance instruments' influence on supply chain quality are limited.

Mining for Sovereignty? Norwegian Coal Companies and the Quest for Supremacy over Svalbard 1916-1925

At the outbreak of the First World War there was virtually no Norwegian coalmining activity on the Spitsbergen archipelago. The handful of small coal companies that were formed in Norway around the turn of the century were either idle or had been bought up by foreign interests after a few years. During the war, however, several new private companies were established, most notably the Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani in 1916. Two years later, in 1918–1919, the Norwegian government stated its desire to acquire full sovereignty over the archipelago. The wish was granted by the treaty of 9 February 1920 that came as a result of the peace negotiations in Paris. This paper reviews the role of the Norwegian coal companies in Norway’s quest for supremacy over Svalbard during and after the First World War. Were private enterprises an instrument of the Norwegian government’s ambitions or was it the other way around? It is argued that private companies were instrumental in moving the political authorities from a passive to an active stance regarding sovereignty during the last phase of the war and through the peace conference in 1919. Their primary concern was to protect their own vested interests. However, as soon as sovereignty was secured in 1920, it was the government that actively used the companies as instruments to improve Norway’s position on the archipelago before implementing the treaty and settling the property rights.
 Note: I use the official toponym ‘Svalbard’, although before 1925 ‘Spitsbergen’ was more commonly used.

Space as an enabler for sustainable digital transformation: The new space race and benefits for newcommers

Disruptive events are the ones that have historically transformed our world. COVID-19 has forced governments and companies to seek transformation in particular in the field of digital. Space has been an enabler for a number of sectorial policies e.g. agriculture, defence, maritime. Digital transformation requires connectivity providing “anything”, “anytime”, “anywhere”. Space as an enabler for digital transformation has become a centerpiece for socioeconomic sustainability and growth. Mega constellations provide telecom services globally and will directly compete with the terrestrial telecom operators, in the next years while the telecom operators should concentrate on the investment of 5G infrastructure. The most promising mega constellation is the one planned by Starlink, which will consist of more than 40,000 satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), with service coverage of the whole surface of Earth. It is to be highlighted that there is no European project of this scale. The strong point of the Starlink mega constellation is the complete vertical integration: satellite design, manufacturing, launching, control, operation and telecom service provision by a single group of companies. The economies of scale which would be achieved could lower the retail prices of the telecom service to levels which will not be viable for the terrestrial telecom operators. Thus a strong dependency of European telecommunications with the non-European mega constellation like Starlink is expected. The European Union is to develop the next flagship programme in the field of connectivity, following the announcement of Commissioner Breton on 15 July. The Commissioner stated that “… we already need to look beyond 5G. I am talking about starting to prepare for 6G of course, but not only. The next paradigm shift is about linking connectivity with space to provide high-speed connectivity everywhere in Europe”. This has been confirmed by the 22 March Action Plan placing it as the next European flagship after Galileo and Copernicus. It will build on Govsatcom, European Quantum Communications Infrastructures. Small countries like Greece have been taking a step by step approach in ensuring the digital transformation of the country. These steps have been at the level of policy, governance, programmatic and financial instruments. The much higher data rates available would change the transmission of data to and from locations. An opportunity arises for new architectures where satellites can provide internet connectivity blend with terrestrial wireless or wired networks. The service to the user will be seamless and unaware of switching between the different infrastructures. This paper will provide an overview how Europe and small member states have been preparing its space related activities in combination with non-space activities for the digital transformation of the country.

A Framework for Comparative Assessment of Indigenous Land Governance

Indigenous peoples are increasingly important players in the management and use of land and natural landscapes, bound in spiritual and traditional practices that endure and pre-date colonisation. This also extends to the aspirations that Indigenous traditional owners may have to generate income from land and to sustain business and employment opportunities that enable reinvestment in local communities. The paper draws from a study undertaken while the authors were at the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) that involved 13 countries. It presents a framework to compare Indigenous land governance, to activate economic development opportunities across different legal and institutional contexts. The three-part typology allows us to assess the level of autonomy granted to Indigenous groups by law and identify key governance and regulatory instruments that they can employ to protect their cultural practices and activate commercial potential from land and waters. Varying autonomy levels can co-exist within a same country, since Indigenous groups may have different rights, aspirations, and capabilities. The typology allows us to conduct comparative analyses around progress and learnings that can support the self-determination of Indigenous peoples and promote regional well-being.

Preferences for and use of oral anticoagulants for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation under real-world conditions in Germany: A survey among physicians

In Germany, there is little real-world evidence on physicians’ choice of oral anticoagulants (OACs). Our study aimed at assessing preferences for and prescribing patterns of treatment options for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation in clinical practice in Germany.We conducted a nationwide quantitative online survey among office-based physicians in Germany. Physicians were asked about their preference for and use of treatment options as well as factors influencing their choice of a specific OAC.A total of n = 953 physicians was surveyed in September and October 2020 (general physicians: 36.0%; internists: 37.3%; cardiologists: 23.7%; neurologists: 10.5%; multiple specialties possible). Preference and use were highest for non-vitamin K oral anticoagulants (NOACs); followed by vitamin K antagonists (VKAs). Most preferred OACs were apixaban (39.3%), rivaroxaban (28.5%) and edoxaban (14.7%). Most used OACs were apixaban (24.3%), rivaroxaban (21.2%) and phenprocoumon (21.4%). NOACs were preferred more often than used (85.6% > 68.6%). VKAs were preferred less often than used (9.6% < 23.5%). OAC attributes and patient characteristics related to efficacy and safety, as well as patients’ kidney function were most important when selecting a specific OAC. Federal and regional governance instruments likely influenced treatment decision-making.We found a high divergence between preferences for and use of available treatment options in clinical practice. Further exploration of the importance of OAC attributes, patient characteristics as well as federal and regional governance instruments for physicians’ choice of a specific OAC may help to further optimize the healthcare of patients with atrial fibrillation in the long-term.

Linking Tweets Towards Geo-Localized Policies: COVID-19 Perspective.

COVID-19 pandemic is taking a toll on the social, economic, and psychological well-being of people. During this pandemic period, people have utilized social media platforms (e.g., Twitter) to communicate with each other and share their concerns and updates. In this study, we analyzed nearly 25M COVID-19 related tweets generated from 20 different countries and 28 states of USA over a month. We leveraged sentiment analysis and topic modeling over this collection and clustered different geolocations based on their sentiment. Our analysis identified 3 geo-clusters (country- and US state-based) based on public sentiment and discovered 15 topics that could be summarized under three main themes: government actions, medical issues, and people's mood during the home quarantine. The proposed computational pipeline has adequately captured the Twitter population's emotion and sentiment, which could be linked to government/policy makers' decisions and actions (or lack thereof). We believe that our analysis pipeline could be instrumental for the policymakers in sensing the public emotion/support with respect to the interventions/actions taken, for example, by the government instrumentality.

How to promote residents’ collaboration in destination governance: A framework of destination internal marketing

Mobilizing residents' collaboration in destination governance has become imperative for local governments to achieve the success and sustainability of a destination. However, few studies have explored residents' collaboration from the perspective of governance strategies and instruments. Based on a case study of Hangzhou, China, this paper adopts the grounded theory method to inductively construct a new destination governance framework of destination internal marketing to promote residents' collaboration. The findings reveal: (1) In the framework of destination internal marketing, residents are regarded as critical collaborators, playing the roles of achievement sharers, power holders, and responsibility undertakers. (2) Six governance instruments—supply optimization, substitutive compensation, constructing participation systems, participation supports, sharing field creation, and value communication are utilized for mobilizing residents’ collaboration. (3) Through destination internal marketing, a government–resident collaborative relationship based on mutual trust, equal status, and shared goals could be developed. The findings have theoretical and practical significance for effective governance in destinations.

Evolution of policy instruments for food safety risk management: Comparing China and Western countries

Using text mining and instrument qualification techniques based on 605 policy instrument texts issued by the China government from 1985 to 2019, this study quantitatively analyzes the total number, type structure, specific composition, and evolution of policy instruments for food safety risks governance. Overall, 1,193, 459, and 95 of these instruments were compulsory, mixed, and voluntary, respectively. The results found that the evolution of these instruments in China exhibits a strong similarity to those in Western countries. They both started with compulsory instruments alone, then turned to a combination of compulsory and mixed instruments, and eventually progressed to a mixture of compulsory, mixed, and voluntary instruments. The internal logic of this evolution is that the instrument type structure changes continuously in response to the changes in the stakeholder relationships among government, market, and society. However, unlike Western countries, China still relies heavily on the role of government, which results in the dominance of compulsory instruments and insufficiency of mixed and voluntary instruments, reflecting high path dependence. Implications are discussed. • Using text mining and instrument qualification techniques. • The internal logic is with the relationship among government, market, and society. • The evolution of instruments in China is similar in Western countries. • China exist structural imbalance among instruments.

Feasibility Study of Canned Smoked Fish as the Micro Enterprises in South Sumatra Province, Indonesia

This paper analyzes several aspects (technical, marketing, economic, social, and financial) of canned smoked fish (Pangasius) as a micro-industry in South Sumatra Province, Indonesia. This article adopts mix-methods. A quantitative method is used to explain technical, marketing, economic, and financial aspects, while the social aspect is explained using a qualitative method. The author collects the Pangasius species sample from nine districts in South Sumatra Province for the technical aspect. This sample transformed into canned smoked fish using several steps: preparation, making and cooking, filling process, exhausting, sealing sterilization, and cooling process. The author also collects secondary data and interviews several key informants to analyze the non-technical aspect of the canned smoked fish industry. A canned smoked fish (Pangasius) has excellent potential to develop as a micro-enterprise in South Sumatra, Indonesia. In the long-term, it could be an instrument for the local government to increase citizens' well-being based on local resources and penetrate the ASEAN free trade area. In a short time, it could be an instrument for the local government to manage the economic effect of COVID-19 in South Sumatera, Indonesia. This study could be a baseline for the government to create a policy for developing the smoked fish industry. The result of this study could be a second opinion in planning capital investment within the smoked fish industry at the SSP for the investor and the entrepreneur.

Collaborative governance platforms and outcomes: An analysis of Clean Cities coalitions

AbstractCollaborative efforts across sectors, scales, and government levels have been effective in addressing the goals to reduce petroleum use and mitigate environmental issues in the U.S. While community contexts shape local collaborative governance, diverse local interests do not necessarily translate into collaborations without proper facilitating efforts. This study expands the theoretical discussion on the concept of collaborative platforms, which is understudied despite their wide use as a governance instrument to catalyze local collaboration. Specifically, the way platforms mediate to create local collaborations among diverse local‐level interests and improve outcomes has not been studied much to date. Using data on the Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Cities program to promote local collaborative governance related to alternative fuels, this paper examines the way collaborative platforms create, scale, and affect the outcome of supplying alternative fueling infrastructure. The results of multi‐level mixed‐effects models indicate that the collaborative platform integrates local interests to create and scale local collaboration, and achieves better outcomes leveraging local interests.

Institutionalizing the Blue Economy: an examination of variations and consistencies among Commonwealth countries.

The Blue Economy is a catch all term that is used to describe a wide variety of development approaches and priorities in the ocean and coastal areas. A number of distinct, and sometimes conflicting discourses have emerged in relation to the Blue Economy, which are distinguished by the degree to which they prioritize different development objectives. This paper explores the range of Blue Economy interpretations, governance strategies and implementation approaches that exist across Commonwealth countries. Key Blue Economy policy statements and governance instruments are analysed in order to ascertain the way the Blue Economy is being institutionalized at a national level, with reference to the Sustainable Development Goals and the Commonwealth Blue Charter. High-level Blue Economy objectives appear to prioritize economic and environmental objectives, with limited engagement with equity objectives including food security and gender equality. Blue Economy objectives are primarily being institutionalized through a diverse array of strategies, plans and policies with limited information on mechanisms for implementation. Finally, there are signs that the Blue Economy may be facilitating a greater degree of integration across sectoral management, with the emergence of range of boundary-crossing arrangements in a number of the countries examined. This article is part of the theme issue 'Nurturing resilient marine ecosystems'.

Deep Journalism and DeepJournal V1.0: A Data-Driven Deep Learning Approach to Discover Parameters for Transportation

We live in a complex world characterised by complex people, complex times, and complex social, technological, economic, and ecological environments. The broad aim of our work is to investigate the use of ICT technologies for solving pressing problems in smart cities and societies. Specifically, in this paper, we introduce the concept of deep journalism, a data-driven deep learning-based approach, to discover and analyse cross-sectional multi-perspective information to enable better decision making and develop better instruments for academic, corporate, national, and international governance. We build three datasets (a newspaper, a technology magazine, and a Web of Science dataset) and discover the academic, industrial, public, governance, and political parameters for the transportation sector as a case study to introduce deep journalism and our tool, DeepJournal (Version 1.0), that implements our proposed approach. We elaborate on 89 transportation parameters and hundreds of dimensions, reviewing 400 technical, academic, and news articles. The findings related to the multi-perspective view of transportation reported in this paper show that there are many important problems that industry and academia seem to ignore. In contrast, academia produces much broader and deeper knowledge on subjects such as pollution that are not sufficiently explored in industry. Our deep journalism approach could find the gaps in information and highlight them to the public and other stakeholders.