Individual Actions Research Articles

Влияние проблемы мухаджирства на историческую память российского общества

Currently, against the background of the desire of individual political actors to falsify history, the study of the phenomenon of historical memory in the political dimension is of particular importance. The article analyzes muhajirism as a factor of historical memory influencing the current state of Russian society. The features of the reflection of the problem of muhajirism in the scientific literature of various historical periods are considered. A content analysis of social network materials (platforms) was conducted, aimed at identifying the attitude of Russian-speaking users to the problem of muhajirism. The main categories of comments reflecting user reactions to the topic of the resettlement of the highlanders are identified. The content analysis showed that the problem of muhajirism fuels nationalistic sentiments of certain categories of citizens, therefore, it can be used as an instrument of pressure on Russian society in order to disunite it. It is noted that there is a demand in society for reliable and accessible information on the topic of muhajirism, in connection with which such studies are of particular relevance.

Guiding entrepreneurial ecosystems towards sustainability: identifying key changes and future research directions

PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to identify the necessary transformations required to evolve entrepreneurial ecosystems (EEs) into sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystems (SEEs) and to explore the primary challenges involved. By addressing these aspects the study establishes a foundation for future research directions.Design/methodology/approachThe paper adopts a conceptual analysis based on the semi-systematic literature review of the concepts of EEs and SEEs.FindingsAn SEE intentionally addresses all three dimensions of sustainability—social, ecological and economic. This requires, on the one hand, a genuine will and effort from individual actors to increase their sustainability, and, on the other, an establishment of systemic conditions that will make this transformation easier and allow for a fair distribution of its costs.Originality/valueThe paper bridges the research concerning limited studies on SEEs by presenting a model that delineates the conditions for the development of SEE and identifies the requisite changes necessary to foster sustainability within the EE. Furthermore, the paper outlines potential avenues for future research to explore the conceptual advancement and practical implementation of the SEE concept.

Radical networks and terrorist action: the importance of social relationships and network positions

ABSTRACT In most models on terrorism, interaction with other radicals is a key factor. However, systematic empirical evidence that radical ties affect behaviour is scarce. Our access to detailed police information allows us to apply Social Network Analysis (SNA) on a Dutch Salafi-Jihadi network and analyse the social relationships and network positions of 80 actors, out of whom 20 turned to terrorist acts. The results suggest that ties to leaders and terrorist offenders, co-attendance of radicalising settings and greater structural embeddedness relate to the likelihood of individual actors to turn to acts of terrorism. However, we also find some individual attributes that may offer competing explanations. In this paper we discuss our findings and address how future research may provide further insights into an important issue for agencies involved in countering terrorism: which radical actors, if any, are more likely to turn to acts of terrorism?

The influence and configuration effect of content characteristics on customer input in the context of short video platforms

PurposeThis study focuses on the influence of content characteristics on customer input on short video platforms (CISVP) and the mediating role of groundedness, fun and customer inspiration as well as the asymmetric relationships among these variables.Design/methodology/approachThis study used structural equation modeling (SEM) to test the research model. Then, fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) was conducted to test the asymmetric relationships.FindingsSEM shows that content originality and relevance have a direct positive effect on CISVP. Groundedness and customer inspiration partially mediate the relationship between content relevance and CISVP, and customer inspiration also partially mediate the relationship between content originality and CISVP. However, the mediating effect of fun is not significant. FsQCA reveals three configurations for high levels of CISVP. Some fsQCA results align with the SEM results but also offer additional interesting findings.Originality/valueThis study makes an important contribution to the literature on interactive marketing, short video marketing and content marketing. It also contributes to the theory of groundedness, customer inspiration and fun. Furthermore, this study has implications for individual influencers, organizational actors and platforms to encourage more CISVP.

From Model Reform Country to Critic: Chile and its cooperation with the USA in urban planning and housing under Eduardo Frei Montalva (1964–1970)

ABSTRACT As Latin American cities grew rapidly from the mid-twentieth century onwards, most governments in the region took up the challenge of providing sufficient housing in urban areas, following developmentalist convictions. In Chile, this urban planning trend was promoted by US programmes and organizations, most notably the Alliance for Progress, which in the aftermath of the Cuban Revolution funded infrastructure measures to prevent the spread of leftist ideologies. However, favoured by this influx of financial means, personnel and expertise, Chile, as one of the prime targets of US involvement in the 1960s, soon developed its own institutions and approaches to tackling the housing shortage. While US engagement and housing policies in Chile in the 1960s have mostly been looked at individually, this article argues that the latter, especially for the first half of the decade, can only be fully grasped by considering inter-American relations. It therefore focuses on select institutional and individual actors from the USA, active in the field of urban planning in Chile, and examines the institutions and approaches that developed on the ground under the Christian Democratic President Eduardo Frei Montalva (1964–1970). Lastly, it analyzes the reasons for the end of the initially close US-Chilean cooperation in housing.

Stigma Management within and between Levels

AbstractWe respond to recent calls to connect our understanding of stigma across and between levels of analysis by investigating how stigma management strategies to the same stigma vary and relate in nested industry, organizational, and individual actors. Drawing on data collected from 61 interviews with various workers in the coal industry in Australia, we find evidence of commonalities across individual, organizational, and industry stigma management strategies as well as substantial distinctions. Furthermore, we find evidence of cross‐level influence efforts that aim to increase the probability that specific tactics will be more likely adopted or effective. While individual, organizational, and industry actors can all be ‘labelled’ by the same stigmatization, the present study is, to our knowledge, the first that explores whether and how actors at different levels manage the same stigma.

How do policy belief and policy learning influence perceived policy effectiveness in a local CPM policy network?

This article studies policy implementation of arts-led community development catalyzed by the Creative Placemaking (CPM) policy as a complex policy network. This article uses the social influence model and qualitative interview analysis to investigate the relationship between policy beliefs and policy learning of structurally interdependent policy actors and their perceived effectiveness of the CPM policy. Hypotheses are tested using survey and interview data collected from policy actors involved in the East Franklinton Creative Revitalization project in Columbus, OH. The findings suggest that, with the network attributes of individual policy actors being controlled, broad policy core beliefs have a more significant impact on shaping perceptions of policy effectiveness than context-specific secondary beliefs. Strategic alignment in core policy beliefs and strong confidence in the local task environment both contribute to perceived policy effectiveness in economic growth. The study underscores the importance of social learning over technical learning in enhancing perceived policy effectiveness.

Liquid Fear, Agency and the (Un)conscious in Securitisation Processes: The Case of the UK’s Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic

Scholarship on securitisation in International Relations is stratified into different strands of research that compartmentalise fear into narrow logics that focus on either its agential or unconscious aspects. We take Zygmunt Bauman’s notion of ‘Liquid Fear’ to develop a framework that offers a conceptualisation that allows for a more complex and nuanced understanding of the intricate relationship between the emotion of fear and agency, intentionality and unconscious. We argue that pre-existing affective dynamics outside of individual actors’ control are instrumental for securitisation to occur. Actors can attempt to stir and instrumentalise these dynamics by channelling them into particular objects, whereas every channelling always entails the risk of overflowing and unintentional side effects. We demonstrate the analytical utility of our approach through the case study of the securitisation of COVID-19 in the United Kingdom which we argue can only be understood by accounting for agential and unconscious aspects.

A Great Leap Forward: Changing Landscape of Shadow Energy-Maritime Economy Off the Coast of Nigeria

The Atlantic coast of Nigeria, especially the Niger Delta corridor is a dynamic energy-maritime space. The region witnesses a trend in continuous evolution, propelled by the intersection of the upper world and underworld economic activities, with several individual and institutional actors at its core. The underworld end of the socio-economic spectrum on which this coastal region of Nigeria is anchored is known for its robustness and has attracted significant scholarly attention. In furtherance of scholarly interrogation of the region’s informal economy, this paper critically analyses the pervasiveness, entrenchment, and dynamics of shadow energy activities in the Niger Delta. Primarily, in a theoretical construction, the study discusses trends, patterns, and overlaps in the transition of energy-maritime shadow activities in the region. The study adopts a qualitative research method; combining primary data with a synthesis of the extant literature on the region’s shadow economy and the involvement of organised crime in the region’s energy-maritime landscape. The objective of the study flows from the fact of a great leap forward in shadow economy in the region through different social realities- grievance, greed, illegality, and organised crime. The paper develops a hybrid theory of crime; enterprise-value chain as an analytical archetype to explain the latest stage in the evolution of the underworld, shadow energy-maritime activities off the coast of Nigeria.

The Audience Chimera: On Platforms, Publics, and Power

Abstract A central question in recent scholarship on public music theory has been understanding its purpose and its relationship to traditional academic theory. However, one recurring weakness of these sorts of analyses is a tendency to view public music theory as a monolithic entity with a coherent identity and a singular purpose. In this paper, I argue that public music theory is better viewed as a decentralized collection of individual actors and communities whose actions must be understood in reference to the specific audiences they serve and the specific platforms through which they distribute their work, rather than to each other or to the academic world. I explore the power structures that shape the goals (and membership) of these various communities as they relate to their various publics, and I develop a framework to describe the flow of consumptive power in order to explain the observable differences between most forms of public music theory and the academic discipline they represent.

CEOs' narcissism and opportunistic insider trading

Narcissism is a multifaceted personality trait that profoundly influences individuals' cognition, emotions, and actions. This study investigates the relationship between narcissistic CEOs and their engagement in opportunistic insider trading. Utilizing a quantitative measure of CEOs' narcissism derived from textual analysis, we find that CEOs with a higher level of narcissism engage in opportunistic insider trading more intensely. To mitigate endogeneity concerns, we employ various rigorous approaches, including matching, instrumental variable, Heckman's two-step sample selection model, and falsification tests. Through cross-sectional analysis, we find that the impact of CEOs' narcissism on opportunistic insider trading is more pronounced among CEOs with limited legal knowledge, facing weaker external and internal monitoring pressure, working at larger firms, and being male. In addition, we demonstrate that the insider trades of narcissistic CEOs are less profitable and less informative than those of non-narcissistic CEOs, as evidenced by subsequent stock performance.

Prize court politics and regional ordering in the Caribbean

Abstract This article analyzes the practices and politics of Caribbean prize courts at the turn of the nineteenth century, in order to better understand the dynamics of these peculiar legal institutions on the ground in one of the most volatile inter-imperial maritime spaces of the period. The focus is on the daily operation of the courts, the relationship between different regional courts (within and between empires), and, importantly, on their role within wider Caribbean networks. The article asks how knowledge about these courts was shared within the trans- imperial networks of the region. Court shopping was a common practice and claimants would often go out of their way to take captures or cases to specific courts, either within a single empire or even in a different imperial jurisdiction, but how did potential claimants come to be so familiar with the characteristics of individual administrations and magistrates? And how did they disseminate this information? The story of Caribbean prize courts is the story of order-making at different, sometimes clashing, levels. While the legal regime around prizes can be seen as an ordering mechanism for interactions between empires, the Caribbean saw its own order-building project driven less by decision-­makers in faraway metropoles and more by individual actors within the region, equally likely to exploit, support, or circumvent the legal mechanisms set up by officials. These regional groups were especially likely to act against the prize regime when it posed a challenge to the sanctity of their private property, be it goods or enslaved.

Measuring behavioral synchronization and spatial cohesion in the activity budgets of three adult white-handed gibbon (Hylobates lar) dyads in Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary, Thailand.

Individual behavior of primates living in small groups is often seen to represent behavior of all group members due to close spatial cohesion. However, given that females expend more energy on reproduction than males (including lactation and infant carrying), females and males may exhibit different behaviors even when maintaining spatial proximity, particularly in highly seasonal or resource-poor environments. We collected 187 hours of data from three dyads (n= 6 individuals) of white-handed gibbons (Hylobates lar) living in a fruit-poor environment in western Thailand during the period of fruit scarcity. We calculated activity budgets, dyad behavioral synchronization, and dyad spatial cohesion. We hypothesized that activity budgets would differ significantly between sexes or pairs would engage in behaviors independently to provide females with an opportunity to obtain more resources. We also hypothesized that pairs would remain in close proximity. Overall, activity budgets exhibited significant variation when analyzed by sex (X2= 27.693, P ⩽ 0.001) and group (X2= 119.584, P ⩽ 0.001). Females spent less time resting and vocalizing and more time traveling compared to males. Percentages of synchronized behavior were lower than expected with only 55% of records synchronized (group B: 58.6%; group D: 58.5%; group L: 49.7%). Spatial cohesion, however, was relatively high overall with adults in the same or adjacent trees in 67.1% of paired records but significantly variable across groups (B: 89.4%; D: 73.1%; L: 48.2%; X2= 190.111, P ⩽ 0.001). We suggest that behavioral synchronization and spatial cohesion may be indicators of pair bond strength, not just the result of pair living. Given differences in activity budgets, low behavioral synchronization, and variable amounts of time pair mates spent apart, we conclude that pair mates should be considered individual actors who engage in behaviors independently from one another, particularly when coping with challenging ecological conditions.

Ideation, deviation, persistence, and implementation – Six decades of pedestrianization in Antwerp’s urban core

ABSTRACT This paper focuses on the process behind the post-war pedestrianization of the urban core of Antwerp, Belgium and specifically the role of the urban design imaginary of pedestrianized public spaces in this process. It investigates how pedestrianization as an urban design concept and image first arrived in Antwerp, how it evolved over time, and how it contributed to the implementation of pedestrian projects across the urban core. The research underscores the persistence of the idea of pedestrianization beyond individual actors, across time, and through political processes. The eventual pedestrianization of Antwerp’s urban core and its main shopping street the Meir represents the realization, maturation and evolution of the urban design idea that had persisted and circulated for decades. This research stands as an example of how urban design concepts are shared, adapted, and localized across national, ideological, and professional divides. The process of pedestrianization in Antwerp provides generalizable case study of how urban design concepts may adapt and be realized in pluralistic stakeholder settings over time. Though the conceptual roots of pedestrianization are grounded within modernism, its implementation process evolved into something much more tactical and flexible than the original modernist comprehensive plan.

The effects of sport-specific training on individuals action strategies while avoiding a virtual player approaching on a 45° angle while completing a secondary task.

Sports provide varying scenarios where athletes must interact with and avoid opposing players in dynamic environments. As such, sport-specific training can improve one's ability to integrate visual information which may result in improved collision avoidance behaviours. However, improved visuomotor capabilities are highly task dependent (i.e., athletes must be tested in sport-specific settings). The current study examined whether sport-specific training influenced individuals' collision avoidance behaviours during a sport-specific task in virtual reality. Untrained young adults (N = 21, 22.9±1.9 yrs, 11 males) and specifically trained athletes (N = 18, 20±1.5 yrs, 7 males) were immersed in a virtual environment and were instructed to walk along a 7.5m path towards a goal located along the midline. Two virtual players positioned 2.83m to the left and right of the midline approached participants on a 45° angle at one of three speeds: 0.8x, 1.0x, or 1.2x each participant's average walking speed. Participants were instructed to walk to a goal without colliding with the virtual players while performing a secondary task; reporting whether a shape changed above either of the virtual players' heads. Results revealed that athletes had a higher percentage of correct responses on the secondary task compared to untrained young adults. However, there was no group differences in the average time to first avoidance or average minimum clearance, but athletes were more variable in their avoidance behaviours. Findings from this study demonstrate that athletes may be more adaptive in their behaviours and may perform better on attentionally demanding tasks in dynamic environments.

Unilateral Action on Climate Change and the Moral Obligation to Take Leadership

ABSTRACTWe claim that a moral obligation to take climate leadership by means of unilateral mitigation depends on the existence of a plausible follow‐the‐leader mechanism whereby unilateral mitigation by some increases the probability of sufficient mitigation by others to avert catastrophic climate impacts. By understanding these mechanisms, we can better articulate the obligation for climate leadership across various sectors, from government to individual actors, in the fight against climate change.

Middle Leadership in Educational Teams: Practices and Effects on the Development of Learning Communities

In a new context of management and teaching action, framed by the organisation of the school into educational teams, middle leaders can play a key role in promoting learning communities, teacher development and improving teaching. Therefore, it seems relevant to understand the practices of these leaders that make their leadership effective. To this end, we adopted a qualitative research paradigm, operationalised through a case study, combining a quantitative and qualitative approach. Thus, we articulated data analysis processes based on descriptive statistics, which we subjected to structural and semantic analysis and interpretation, with a qualitative approach, essentially based on content analysis, to delve into some unique contexts and the perspective of individual actors. After analysing the data, we conclude that educational team coordinators play a fundamental role in facilitating the interpersonal characteristics of learning communities, involving teachers in a more collaborative and collegial working environment. However, their role in facilitating teacher learning is weaker, which hinders their contribution to deepening teacher learning and changing classroom practices.

Middle Leadership in Educational Teams: Practices and Effects on the Development of Learning Communities

In a new context of management and teaching action, framed by the organisation of the school into educational teams, middle leaders can play a key role in promoting learning communities, teacher development and improving teaching. Therefore, it seems relevant to understand the practices of these leaders that make their leadership effective. To this end, we adopted a qualitative research paradigm, operationalised through a case study, combining a quantitative and qualitative approach. Thus, we articulated data analysis processes based on descriptive statistics, which we subjected to structural and semantic analysis and interpretation, with a qualitative approach, essentially based on content analysis, to delve into some unique contexts and the perspective of individual actors. After analysing the data, we conclude that educational team coordinators play a fundamental role in facilitating the interpersonal characteristics of learning communities, involving teachers in a more collaborative and collegial working environment. However, their role in facilitating teacher learning is weaker, which hinders their contribution to deepening teacher learning and changing classroom practices.

Ideas and Methods of Cognitive Science in the Studies of International Relations and Foreign Policy

International studies have recently witnessed a renaissance of interest in the study of decision-making patterns related to the influence of individual and group actors and the resulting need to understand their deep psychology, the nature of their incentives and motivations. Such studies update the application of behavioral and cognitive sciences in the field of international relations and foreign policy, and encourage the adaptation of the methodology of specialized disciplines to solve complex socio-political problems. The present paper is an attempt to inventory key research subject areas and related literature, as well as to demonstrate the application of existing theories to the analysis of current political issues.

National biodiversity strategies under-utilize the potential for individual behavior change

Biodiversity conservation is increasingly recognized as a main challenge for the sustainability agenda. With humans at the epicenter of the biodiversity crisis, conserving nature requires changes in individual behavior. This study reveals gaps regarding the incorporation of behavior change into national biodiversity policy. A total of 1306 policy actions proposed by ten National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) from all world regions were coded for target actors, target behavior and responsible agents as well as the policy options, intervention types and behavioral determinants listed in the Behavior Change Wheel (BCW) framework. Results show that only 11 % (n=148) of the policy actions specified individual behaviors and 10 % mentioned individual actors to be targeted. Only 3 % (n=36) of the policy actions were specific about how interventions and policies could enable individual behavior change. Policy actions targeting individual behavior change were aimed mostly at increasing people’s capabilities (i.e., providing information) or providing opportunities (i.e., resources), and rarely addressed the motivation of individuals. More attention and specificity regarding behavior change and better incorporation of the behavioral sciences can improve the effectiveness of national biodiversity strategies.