Institutional Adaptation Research Articles

The effects of digitalisation on the labour market: the case of Russia

This article looks at the mechanism of formation of new institutional traps in the labour market under conditions of digitalisation of the economy. In particular, the effects of coordination, training and pairing, as well as cultural inertia and lobbying, are analysed as structural elements of institutional traps, which in the labour market create prerequisites for the consolidation of specific social norms that reduce the overall efficiency of the economic system. It proposes that, when all the effects are implemented synchronously, they complement each other in such a way as to contribute to the formation of institutional traps in the labour market when digital technologies are introduced. This leads to an escalation of risks in the labour market, against the background of an aggravated contradiction between supply and demand, leading to a self-sustaining structural imbalance associated with the introduction of digitalisation tools. The article draws attention to inertia in the process of adaptation of public institutions, which prevents the optimal institutional set up being reached, as there is a contradiction between the previously formed model of behaviour of economic agents and the system of management.

Діяльність прокурора під час застосування особливих порядків кримінального провадження

Зміни кримінального процесу висунули нові вимоги до українського суспільства та держави. Після адаптації нових інститутів, які з'явилися у кримінальному процесуальному законодавстві країни, та внесення необхідних змін та доповнень, спрямованих на їх поліпшення, у кримінальному провадженні з'явилися нові глави та розділ, присвячені застосуванню особливих порядків кримінального провадження. Не оспорюючи їх значущість та необхідність (наприклад, інститути угод та кримінальних проступків покликані суттєво спростити та зменшити обсяг кримінальних проваджень, а введення інституту суду присяжних підкреслює народовладдя у сфері правосуддя та зміцнення прав людини в Україні), зазначимо, що вони є недо-слідженими, без напрацьованої практики застосування, що досі призводить до правових невизначеностей та іноді сприймається суспільством неоднозначно, що суттєво ускладнює їх уживання. Наприклад, інститут кримінальних проступків досі не запроваджений та повинен вступити у дію лише з 1 липня 2020 р.
 Намагання ж законодавця під час упровадження особливих порядків кримінального провадження поєднати англосаксонську (ґрунтуючись на правовій практиці Великобританії та США) та романо-германську (враховуючи практику та законодавство усіх країн континентальної Європи) правові системи не завжди були вдалими та сприяють завданням кримінального провадження, а подекуди створюють труднощі у застосуванні нових інститутів. Отже, навіть після восьми років дії прийнятого КПК України необхідність змін та доповнень, розроблення методики до застосування нових інститутів, які регламентують особливі порядки кримінальних провадження, не зникла.
 Тому у статті вивчено питання впорядкування норм, які стосуються особливих порядків кримінального провадження у Кримінальному процесуальному кодексі України (далі -КПК України), необхідності перенесення в один розділ КПК України усіх спеціальних норм, що регламентують здійснення особливих порядків кримінального провадження, та виходу за межі стандартного порядку провадження [1]. Проаналізовано діяльність прокурора під час застосування особливих порядків кримінального провадження. Наведено досвід європейських країн із питань застосування особливих порядків кримінального провадження.

Менеджмент освіти та якість професійної підготовки студентів у ВНЗ

Methodological aspects of the modern paradigm of higher education institution which justifies the scientific basis for the adaptation of education institutions in the sphere of market relations reveals in the article. Scientific novelty study presents a new paradigm of higher educational establishment of the position of the subject and the needs to introduce market principles in business management higher education of institution. The aim of this article is to carry out a thorough theoretical analysis, systematization and synthesis of scientific provisions on management and management education with a view to revealing the laws of their origin, development and application in the real sector of the economy. In the article essence of concept «management» and «management» are examined in a pedagogical theory and practice. The different aspects of descriptions of these definitions are distinguished in control system by modern educational establishments. The article deals with such educational management functions as: planning, organizing, motivating, regulating, controlling. The article is devoted to the study of the state and problems of education quality and educational activity management in Ukraine. The conceptual approaches to quality control of a higher education and principles of qualities which were gobed up in the international standards ISO 9000 are uncovered. The model of a management system of quality of higher education on the basis of the reviewed principlesis offered in the article. The article focuses on the topicality of the problem of education quality and the key role of management to ensure it. Based on the analysis of domestic and foreign scientists’ works, and regulatory documents, the essence of the notions of «quality», «education quality» and the existence of different view points of scientists on their interpretation have been revealed. The practical significance of the article is that the theoretical positions of the study have been brought to the level of specific methods and recommendations.

Institutional Adaptation of Long term Prisoners

Institutional Adaptation of Long term Prisoners

Criminological Policy in the Field of the Crime Prevention: Problems and Promising Directions

The article examines theoretical approaches to the issue of crime prevention, underlines specific features of social structure as the factors determining the choice of this or that criminological strategy. It lays stress on importance of adaptation of the social security institutions to new realities. In this regard, the authors point at the criminological policy as a complex of the most efficient and at the same time the most humane tools of crime prevention. The authors pay special attention to the basic principles of the criminological policy; they bring forth a structural overview of the criminal situation analysis and implementation of the crime prevention methods.

Современное состояние системы адаптации персонала в государственных и муниципальных учреждениях

The relevance of scientific research of personnel adaptation problems is concluded in the urgent need to make qualitative changes in this process. The purpose of the changes is to systematize and improve this process. The object of the study are the features of the process of adaptation of personnel of state and municipal institutions. The subject of the study is the technology to improve the system of personnel adaptation, contributing to the constructive implementation of job functions. The purpose of the work is to analyze and improve the system of personnel adaptation of state and municipal institutions, as well as on the basis of the analysis to develop recommendations for managers to optimize the process of adaptation of employees. A conscious and well-built system of personnel adaptation will stabilize the personnel composition and its qualitative renewal, which will contribute to the efficiency of state and municipal institutions. The scientific novelty of the study is to expand, Supplement and clarify scientific views on management activities and analysis of the system of personnel adaptation and opportunities for its improvement. The practical significance of the results is to substantiate, firstly, the possibility of optimization at the present stage of the process of personnel adaptation in the organization, and secondly, the main directions of improving the system of personnel adaptation of state and municipal institutions.

Accounting professionalization, the state, and transnational capitalism: The case of Iran

We examine accounting professionalization in Iran to understand state-controlled adaptation of Iran’s professional accounting organization in response to transnational pressure. Using a neo-Gramscian theory of hegemony, the study shows that Iran’s accounting occupation as an element of civil society was re-constituted through the interplay of shifting state ideology and transnational capitalism over the past five decades. The state’s desire to integrate Iran with the global financial system in recent decades drove changes to Iran’s accounting professional organization for alignment with transnational norms. The adaptation occurred amidst local resistance to transnational preference for granting regulatory powers to an autonomous professional accounting body. The study highlights professional autonomy as a contested ideational site of struggle in this process. The state preserved standard setting authority within the state apparatus, granted statutory audit and professional certification powers to an ideologically-trusted professional body, and relegated an accounting association construed as espousing neoliberal ideology to the politically less sensitive responsibility of offering professional education. We interpret this regulatory role specialization of the occupational groups as a product of the state’s selective co-optation of the groups on ideological grounds. The study highlights the role of a country’s ideological distance from neoliberalism in shaping adaptation of regulatory institutions for alignment to transnational norms.

The State of Smart Cities in China: The Case of Shenzhen

China is at the midpoint of its urbanisation—the largest scale in human history. The recent smart city movement is influencing the discourse and practice of China’s urbanisation, with numerous cities claiming to build smart cities and/or adopting some forms of smart city strategies and initiatives. A so-called ‘latecomer’s advantage’ is being exploited to advance their pursuit for a smart city status, not only to catch up with overseas counterparts, but to overtake them and become international leaders. This local-level enthusiasm strikes a chord with the central government’s strategy of building an ‘innovative nation’ to drive its economic transformation towards a knowledge economy. This converging central-local interest is creating a ‘smart city mania’ across the nation, which, however, has not received due attention in the international literature, and thus deserves critical examination and reflection to inform policy debates. To address this gap, this study investigates the state of smart cities in China, based on a case study of Shenzhen, China’s fastest-growing, experimental city. Shenzhen grew from a fishing village into an international metropolis in 40 years, and has now won a nickname of ‘China’s Silicon Valley’ or ‘China’s smartest city’. This study analyses the state of Chinese smart cities and the pursuit for a smart Shenzhen from the perspectives of the smart city as a concept, as an urban development paradigm, and as an urban regime, drawing upon the international smart city literature. It concludes that a technology-centric approach to smart cities in China, as illustrated by the Shenzhen case, have advanced innovation capacity and economic growth through capitalising on a ‘latecomer’s advantage’. However, this ‘latecomer’s advantage’ may translate into a ‘latecomer’s disadvantage’ for this approach’s lack of institutional adaptation, and for its insufficient attention to social and environmental problems covered under the shiny economic boom. This latecomer’s disadvantage is likely to impact the long-term sustainability of Chinese cities.

ЄВРОПЕЇЗАЦІЯ ОСВІТИ УКРАЇНИ: СУТНІСТЬ ТА НАСЛІДКИ ВПЛИВУ

The article reveals the essence of the process of Europeanization of education in Ukraine. It examines the concept of «Europeanization», analyzes the mechanisms of Europeanization («vertical» and «horizontal» Europeanization), the main political actors of Europeanization (the Council of Europe and the EU). The typology of ‘Europeanization’ is applied within four broad categories: as an historical process; as a matter of cultural diffusion, as a process of institutional adaptation; and as the adaptation of policy and policy processes. The article studies the mechanisms of Europeanization which are basically differentiated between ‘vertical’ and ‘horizontal’ Europeanization. Vertical mechanisms demarcate the European level where policy is defined (mainly European Union and the Council of Europe) and the domestic level, where policy is implemented. Horizontal mechanisms involve a different form of adjustment to Europe based on the market or on patterns of socialization.Europeanization is connected with the European dimension in national arenas of politics and policies: common policies (tariff union, competition regulations of the common market, monetary policy, trade) and of shared competence (social policy, agriculture etc.).In the article the main political actors in education policy - Council of Europe and EU - are analysed. The Council is determined by three fundamental democratic values: human rights, pluralist democracy and the rule of law. Themes of the Council’s activities in education have focused on five areas: education policies and reforms, education for democratic citizenship, modern languages, history teaching. The European dimension includes the following issues: European identity and European citizenship; student mobility, school links and exchanges; non-formal education; intercultural education; interfaith dialogue, in-service teacher training.An overview about four broad phases in an economic and social context is presented: 1957–1971 – ‘Pre-History’ of Education and Training; 1971–1992 – the Foundation Years for Cooperation in Education; 1992-2000 - the Emergence of the Concepts of Lifelong Learning and KnowledgeBased Society; 2000-2006 - the Lisbon Strategy for 2010 and Lifelong Learning.The eight competences are identified which include: communication in the mother tongue; communication in foreign languages; basic competences in maths, science and technology; digital competence; learning to learn; interpersonal, intercultural and social competences, and civic competence; entrepreneurship; and cultural expression. The last part of the article is about education for sustainable development. It looks at the perspective of the EU through meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.

The Adaptability Paradox: Constitutional Resilience and Principles of Good Government in Twenty-First-Century America

Faith in the resilience of the US Constitution prompts many observers to discount evidence of a deepening crisis of governance in our day. A long history of success in navigating tough times and adapting to new circumstances instills confidence that the fundamentals of the system are sound and the institutions self-correcting. The aim of this article is to push assessments of this sort beyond the usual nod to great crises surmounted in the past and to identify institutional adaptation as a developmental problem worthy of study in its own right. To that end, we call attention to dynamics of adjustment that have played out over the long haul. Our historical-structural approach points to the “bounded resilience” of previous adaptations and to dynamics of reordering conditioned on the operation of other governance outside the Constitution’s formal written arrangements. We look to the successive overthrow of these other incongruous elements and to the serial incorporation of previously excluded groups to posit increasing stress on constitutional forms and greater reliance on principles for support of new institutional arrangements. Following these developments into the present, we find principles losing traction, now seemingly unable to foster new rules in support of agreeable governing arrangements. Our analysis generates a set of propositions about why the difficulties of our day might be different from those of the past in ways that bear directly on resilience and adaptability going forward.

Democratization, globalization, and institutional adaptation: the developmental states of South Korea and Taiwan

This paper concurs with Hamilton-Hart and Yeung that in South Korea and Taiwan, the predominance of global production networks, growth of private enterprises, and democratization have placed developmental state institutions under pressure. However, despite the reorganization of the pilot agency and state bureaucracy, new institutions have emerged to take on the functions of policy consultation and coordination. These institutions continue to control ample financial and regulatory resources, which allow state elites to coordinate industrial transformation and mediate global engagement. South Korea and Taiwan, however, differ in their ability to appease sociopolitical conflict and find common ground to defy neoliberal tendency. Moreover, they differ in their preexisting industrial structures, modes of engaging with the global market, and security considerations with respect to mainland China. Given path dependency, the two cases differ in their success in launching new industries and facilitating defensive globalization. Due to this divergence, the two economies hold disparate positions in the global division of labor: lead firms in South Korea, contract manufacturers in Taiwan, and aspiring platform leaders in both cases. Enterprises from these two economies also weave disparate types of production networks, with those from South Korea exhibiting a higher level of functional diversity and geographical expansion.

Rethinking critical juncture analysis: institutional change in Chinese banking and finance

China’s response to the global financial crisis and its post-2008 stimulus package and credit surge marked a critical juncture for its state-directed banking system. One result was the subsequent growth of the shadow banking sector marked by incremental ‘informal institutional adaptation’ and a greater role for markets. We employ historical institutionalist (HI) theory to help explain these developments but critique its current approach to critical junctures which has a limited, temporarily specific and overly static account of institutional change; one which overlooks the importance of changes on either side of the critical junctures and which is unable to integrate its emphasis on critical junctures with alternative theories, such as incremental accounts of institutional change. Using the empirical case of the evolution in China’s post-GFC banking and finance, a revised institutional approach is developed which is able to bridge these theoretical divides.

Crescimento econômico e instituições sob uma perspectiva evolucionária

O objetivo deste estudo é promover a ampliação da compreensão sobre a relação entre o crescimento econômico e a atuação do Estado sob uma perspectiva evolucionária. Para isso, foi feita uma revisão de literatura buscando aspectos essenciais da teoria evolucionária capazes de explicar o crescimento econômico. Essa literatura mostra que as firmas, ao produzirem, são influenciadas por diferentes instituições e tecnologias sociais, de modo que a atividade produtiva demanda a coordenação de diferentes agentes. A mudança tecnológica não ocorre de forma contínua, estando sujeita a mudanças abruptas que demandam a adaptação das instituições e das tecnologias sociais. A capacidade de adaptação dos países às mudanças tecnológicas explica as maiores taxas de crescimento econômico apresentado por alguns países em detrimento dos demais. A presença de problemas de coordenação implica o surgimento de espaço para a atuação do Estado, o qual fica responsável por promover as mudanças institucionais e por dotar o sistema econômico de maior capacidade de adaptação, conseguindo assim promover o maior crescimento econômico.

Politizando as escalas urbanas: jurisdição, território e governança no Estatuto da Metrópole

Resumo O Estatuto da Metrópole (lei n. 13.089/2015) é objeto de análise exploratória neste artigo. O diploma tem potencial para promover uma reconfiguração político-jurídica nos sentidos da governança interfederativa. Por isso mesmo, mobiliza atores assimétricos que disputam o reescalonamento da política urbana. Tanto assim que o Estatuto já sofreu substanciais supressões quanto aos prazos para adequação institucional e respectivas sanções em caso de descumprimento. Tomando esse processo como um caso emblemático, os autores defendem a rentabilidade teórica do conceito de “política da escala” para a compreensão da natureza dos conflitos suscitados e fazem uma reflexão crítica sobre os dispositivos escalares em sua relação com os novos instrumentos disponíveis para o trato da metropolização brasileira.

Риски становления социального государства в РФ в условиях современных технологий организации взаимодействия власти и населения

The study discusses the impact of the latest tech-nology on the interaction between the authorities and people in the post-industrial society. The pa-per focuses on the fact that communication technology poses serious risks to the welfare state in the Russian Federation. The institution of the welfare state has resulted from the increased con-flicts and risks of social relations in the early industrial society. As humanity evolved and there was a gradual shift to the fifth technological para-digm, it became possible to make a great break-through in communication technology. On the one hand, communication technology has undermined society’s stability and sustainability resulting in the phenomenon of dispersed power and questioned the effectiveness of the social and political institutions of the early industrial era. On the other hand, this technology has made it pos-sible to considerably transform the institution of the welfare state that gets novel opportunities to become the institution of social cooperation and its citizens’ solidarity. However, a new e-infrastructure of society-government cooperation poses the following risks and threats to the establishment of Russia’s welfare state: information resource is a substitute for real management practices in relation to people-government interac-tion; people gain social benefits and rights be-cause of their allocation rather than a dialog with the authorities based on economic expediency and the threat of social upheaval; administrative bodies depend on the position of the most active and selfish minorities on different issues. Other risks are considered as well. Nevertheless, the au-thors conclude that further development of Russia’s welfare state implies the adaptation of social and political institutions to new contexts in-stead of the abolition of new technology.

Adaptation to climate change in Afghanistan: Evidence on the impact of external interventions

Climate change is a significant obstacle for farmers in the least developed countries like Afghanistan and adaptation support is exceptionally scarce. This paper provides evidence on the impact of the agriculture-related external support on farmers’ adaptation to climate change in the Central Highlands of Afghanistan. To this end, we collected primary data from 1434 farmers whom we interviewed across 14 districts in Bamiyan, Ghazni, and Diakundi provinces. We employ quasi-experimental econometric methods, including an endogenous switching regression analysis, to estimate the treatment effects on various adaptation-related outcomes. We find significant impacts of support interventions on the use of improved types of seeds and farmers’ access to irrigation water. Further impacts on the risk of flood, economic and financial as well as government and institutional adaptation constraints appear to be significant, but sensitive to the existence of unobserved factors. We conclude that farmers perceived changes in the climate, and most of them tried to adapt by employing measures available to them. The impact of external support has been partially effective in addressing immediate and short-term farming challenges related to climate change and extreme weather events. They, however, have not been effective in treating long-term fundamental climate change-related risks. Based on our analysis of the past treatments and farmers’ self-reported priorities, we provide a list of policy recommendations for adaptation to climate change in farming communities in Afghanistan.

Inter-observer variability in target delineation increases during adaptive treatment of head-and-neck and lung cancer

Introduction: Inter-observer variability (IOV) in target volume delineation is a well-documented source of geometric uncertainty in radiotherapy. Such variability has not yet been explored in the context of adaptive re-delineation based on imaging data acquired during treatment. We compared IOV in the pre- and mid-treatment setting using expert primary gross tumour volume (GTV) and clinical target volume (CTV) delineations in locoregionally advanced head-and-neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) and (non-)small cell lung cancer [(N)SCLC].Material and methods: Five and six observers participated in the HNSCC and (N)SCLC arm, respectively, and provided delineations for five cases each. Imaging data consisted of CT studies partly complemented by FDG-PET and was provided in two separate phases for pre- and mid-treatment. Global delineation compatibility was assessed with a volume overlap metric (the Generalised Conformity Index), while local extremes of IOV were identified through the standard deviation of surface distances from observer delineations to a median consensus delineation. Details of delineation procedures, in particular, GTV to CTV expansion and adaptation strategies, were collected through a questionnaire.Results: Volume overlap analysis revealed a worsening of IOV in all but one case per disease site, which failed to reach significance in this small sample (p-value range .063–.125). Changes in agreement were propagated from GTV to CTV delineations, but correlation could not be formally demonstrated. Surface distance based analysis identified longitudinal target extent as a pervasive source of disagreement for HNSCC. High variability in (N)SCLC was often associated with tumours abutting consolidated lung tissue or potentially invading the mediastinum. Adaptation practices were variable between observers with fewer than half stating that they consistently adapted pre-treatment delineations during treatment.Conclusion: IOV in target volume delineation increases during treatment, where a disparity in institutional adaptation practices adds to the conventional causes of IOV. Consensus guidelines are urgently needed.

From apartheid to Ubuntu: Transition, transaction and transformation in South Africa’s post-apartheid foreign ministry

ABSTRACTSouth Africa’s democratic transition had direct bearing on the country’s participation and status in the international arena. The transformation of South Africa’s foreign ministry from the period of apartheid to that of Ubuntu signifies one of the unique cases of institutional adaptability in the wake of regime change. To support this claim, the adaptive strategies of South Africa’s foreign ministry (whether under the moniker of the Department of Foreign Affairs or that of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation) since 1990 are analysed by focusing on the various shifts in emphasis (especially, to the African Agenda and the diplomacy of Ubuntu), changes in political and bureaucratic leadership, the ministry’s institutional restructuring and transformation, and new emphases on inter-governmental relations and co-operative governance.

Strategic adaptation of city-regions in federal systems: comparing Canada and the United States

ABSTRACT The paper investigates the institutional resilience and adaptability of industrialized mid-sized city-regions nested within multitiered federal systems. The wider context of the discussion is the complex and shifting boundaries of subnational territorial politics as spaces of governance, and the attendant dynamic political organization of space amidst ongoing economic shifts and perturbations. The empirical focus is an in-depth comparative case study of two city-regions in Canada and the United States to explore the mechanics of institutional adaptation in the face of economic changes over the past few decades. Revisiting the concept of path dependency as a framework for understanding regional economic development governance, the discussion shifts the analytical focus from explaining stability to accounting for change. It also expands the analytical scope of urban policy governance platforms to shed a greater light on the complex multitiered institutional infrastructure of city-regions nested within federal systems as they seek to navigate through the challenges and opportunities of socioeconomic change.

‘I have no love for such people, because they leave us to suffer’: a qualitative study of health workers’ responses and institutional adaptations to absenteeism in rural Uganda

BackgroundAchieving positive treatment outcomes and patient safety are critical goals of the healthcare system. However, this is greatly undermined by near universal health workforce absenteeism, especially in public health facilities...