Institutional Conditions Research Articles

The market of academic texts in Russia (according to a qualitative survey)

In Russia, there exists a market where academic texts are sold and bought, from student qualification papers to scientific articles and dissertations. Although its existence violates the formal norms and values of the scientific community, it functions sustainably. The authors analyze the established practices of writing academic texts on demand (with an emphasis on the study of the social behavior of actors) as part of a specific organizational field, a kind of market. The study is based on semi-structured interviews with six direct actors, so-called scriptors (or ghostwriters) and four experts representing NGOs in the field of science and higher education. Destructive entrepreneurship in the system of higher education and science is characterized as a complex system, the actors of which are not only informally “self-employed” scriptors, but also formal organizations that provide contact between customers and performers of academic work. The stability of quasi-scientific texts market in Russia is associated at the macro level with the high demand for higher education and scientific degrees as a status attribute, as well as with a significant supply from scientific and pedagogical workers, thus compensating for the limited opportunities for legal academic entrepreneurship by informal destructive entrepreneurship. At the meso level, the institutional conditions are the rigidity of Russian universities, which continue to be primarily educational institutions, where legal academic entrepreneurship of an innovative type is developing very modestly, and low salaries of staff members. At the micro level, it is an attempt to impose publication activity as the main criterion of academic success in conditions where a significant part of university staff perceive themselves as teachers, not researchers, and do not seek (or do not have the opportunity) to change this situation.

Постиндустриальная парадигма промышленной политики в современной России: перспективы и противоречия реиндустриализации

The article analyzes the contradictions and prospects of the process of re-industrialization as an expression of industrial policy in the modern Russian state. The article compares the conceptual approaches to the interpretation of the essence of post-industrial economic development that have been developed in the Western tradition. The concepts of “post-industrialism” and “re-industrialism” are characterized as close in meaning and origins, but at the same time containing fundamental differences. They are related to the globalist neoliberal orientation of the theory of post-industrial society, which questions the value and content of the sovereign national way of economic and political development. The author of the article proposes a number of imperatives of re-industrialization, following which will ensure the continuity and efficiency of import substitution, as well as the restoration of industrial potential, taking into account the introduction of the latest scientific and technological domestic developments. The key point of the state industrial policy, based on the understanding of the role of knowledge in production and social sphere, is to provide institutional conditions for reindustrialization, its legal strengthening and development of a system of risk mitigation for private business as a way to stimulate investment in innovation.

Меры государственной поддержки для развития потенциала туризма в Казахстане

To transform tourism into a dynamically developing and highly profitable sector of the economy, measures are needed to support the potential of the tourism industry. This is the creation of appropriate institutional conditions: legislative norms and management structures, which would be the basis for creating an effective mechanism for the functioning of the industry. The purpose and main directions of the research are to study the relevant institutional conditions: legislative norms, management structures and the definition of state support measures for the development of the industry's potential. The article provides an analytical review of measures of state support for tourism in Kazakhstan. The analysis of the current legislation in the field of tourism and other measures to stimulate tourism entrepreneurship in Kazakhstan has been carried out. The main source of the analysis was the laws and regulations governing the activities of the tourism sector in the Republic of Kazakhstan. The study used a descriptive method and comparative analysis. The field of application of the research results is the activity of subjects of the tourism industry at all levels. The results of the study will help to use the huge tourism potential of Kazakhstan by increasing the activity of entrepreneurs in tourism. The tourism sector should become attractive for doing business. The research results presented in the article can be applied in the development of plans for the development of the tourism industry. All this, in turn, will enhance the socio-economic situation of the regions of Kazakhstan.

How “baked in” ideas hinder ideational robustness: the International Monetary Fund and “fiscal space”

Abstract This paper brings insights into ideational robustness to bear on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) fiscal policy thinking. It advances understanding of both the IMF and the concept of ideational robustness by focusing on economic ideas as they are put into practice by expert economic institutions. The IMF has traditionally enjoyed a reputation as a hawkish enforcer of neoliberal doctrine and conservative fiscal discipline, foregrounding deficit bias and fiscal sustainability concerns. Capitalist crises, notably the 2008 crash and COVID, have seen public debt increase while rendering growth and stability increasingly elusive. This turbulence has spurred some rethinking of Fund fiscal ideas. The IMF has added the new concept of fiscal space to its policy commentary and advocacy. Fiscal space seeks to reconcile economic stabilization and supporting growth to the Fund’s overarching concern to maintain fiscal discipline and sustainability. A focus on how ideas are put into practice shows that long-standing Fund fiscal priorities are hardwired into operational frameworks, curtailing the new emphasis and adaptions. Thus, key to the institutional conditions of IMF fiscal policy actions are “baked in” economic ideas. These are operationalized through economic models, analytical tools, fiscal evaluation frameworks, and standard operating procedures. The “politics of economic method,” in the form of deliberation and contestation over different normative ideas that can underpin alternative constructions of such policy frameworks, plays an important role in shaping which economic ideas come to matter, and how, for the IMF. The Fund’s “fiscal space” episode can be interpreted as a quest for ideational robustness (through increased flexibility), which thus far remains unrealized due to the crucial role of these mechanisms, institutional conditions, and ideational path dependencies.

FEATURES OF THE ORGANIZATION OF ONLINE INTERACTION OF PRIMARY AND BASIC SCHOOL TEACHERS IN THE SYSTEM "TEACHER – GROUP OF TEACHERS"

The article describes the online interaction of elementary and basic schoolteachers in the system "teacher – a group of teachers" based on a site that combines thematic training modules in Google Class. The stages of formation of teaching staff research competencies on the example of educational materials, involving the organization of research activities of students involved in inclusive learning. It reflects a single principle of building the content of online training modules, each of which contains theoretical material on the chosen didactic problem; a video demonstrating the practical application of the knowledge gained in practice in the working conditions of an educational institution; Google Forms to test the learned material by each teacher and course coordinator. The features of the organization of professional online interaction of teachers in the system "teacher – group of teachers," including: the possibility of the course coordinator for users of consultative video meeting based on Google meet; establishing feedback between course coordinators and teachers who perform test tasks through the use of Google Forms; combining teachers based on Google Class into a virtual room for practical research tasks based on electronic educational resources. It is noted that the most common among them in the practice of primary and basic schoolteachers are Wizer.me, Learning.aps, Kahoot, wordwall, Liveworksheets, which allow individual online work of the teacher to combine with the group work of all course participants and combine self-learning with mutual learning. The results obtained for experimental and control groups of teachers are analyzed: levels of formation of reflexive, methodical, managerial and communicative factors of their research competencies. Based on the obtained data, it is proved that the online interaction of primary and basic schoolteachers when using Google Class is effective, which is confirmed by high and sufficient levels of formation of research competencies of teachers who were part of the experimental group.

Формы профессионального самоопределения и самореализации обучающихся в системе дополнительного образования детей (из опыта работы ГБУ ДО «Дворец творчества детей и молодёжи Минпросвещения КБР)

The article examines the possibilities and conditions of institutions for additional education in the formation of professional self-determination of children and youth in the process of pre-professional training, analyzes issues on the organization of professional selfdetermination. Examples of forms and methods of career counselling are given, a wide range of variable educational programs focused on deep research and creative work with children is analyzed. Revealing the potential of additional education, the author identifies positions that assist students in choosing a profession, and also concludes that the use of additional classes in various types of creative activity is an important condition for professional self-determination of students and development of positive personality qualities. Early career counselling helps the child to determine his place in the future and succeed as a person.

ПОДХОДЫ К СИСТЕМАТИЗАЦИИ БИОЛОГИЧЕСКИХ ЗАИМСТВОВАНИЙ В ЭКОНОМИКЕ

The article discusses approaches to describing economic patterns, describing the behavior and strat-egies of economic entities, the influence of institutional conditions on them using biological analogies, and also proposes criteria for systematizing approaches using biological borrowings

What makes randomized controlled trials so successful—for now? Or, on the consonances, compromises, and contradictions of a global interstitial field

Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are a major success story, promising to improve science and policy. Despite some controversy, RCTs have spread toward Northern and Southern countries since the early 2000s. How so? Synthesizing previous research on this question, this article argues that favorable institutional conditions turned RCTs into “hinges” between the fields of science, politics, and business. Shifts toward behavioral economics, New Public Management, and evidence-based philanthropic giving led to a cross-fertilization among efforts in rich and poor countries, involving states, international organizations, NGOs, researchers, and philanthropic foundations. This confluence of favorable institutional conditions and savvy social actors established a “global interstitial field” inside which support for RCTs has developed an unprecedented scope, influence, operational capacity, and professional payoff. However, the article further argues that the hinges holding together this global interstitial field are “squeaky” at best. Because actors inherit the illusio of their respective fields of origin—their central incentives and stakes—the interstitial field produces constant goal conflicts. Cooperation between academics and practitioners turns out to be plagued by tensions and contradictions. Based on this analysis, the article concludes that the global field of RCT support will probably differentiate into its constituent parts. As a result, RCTs may lose the special status they have gained among social science and policy evaluation methods, turning into one good technique among others.

Justification of a set of measures for forming an institutional environment and a management system for defense industry complex diversification

The wave-like nature of the state defense order confirms the need to diversify the defense enterprises’ activities as a way to improve their sustainability and development, which allows them to maintain the required level of the country’s defense capability and economy mobilization readiness. Diversification into the civilian goods sphere makes it possible to use the defense industry complex competencies and resources to strengthen the country’s technological sovereignty and move towards technological leadership. The purpose of the study is to substantiate a set of measures for forming institutional environment and management system of defense-industrial complex diversification. The article considers the foreign experience of defense industry diversification and identifies the principles of interest for Russian enterprises. The systemic difficulties of defense industry complex diversification of methodological, institutional, organizational, socio-economic nature have been revealed. The fundamental bases for its effective implementation have been substantiated, including institutional conditions formation with a special administrative and legal regime, strategic technology transfer system organization, scientific and technological forecasting and planning system, the creation of a defense-industrial complex diversification three-level management system and a legal framework. The basis for the latter should be the federal law “On Diversification of the Defense Industrial Complex Organizations’ Activities”, and the first step should be the preparation of the Defense Industrial Complex Organizations’ Activities Diversification Concept.

СОЦІАЛЬНО-ПЕДАГОГІЧНІ УМОВИ МОДЕРНІЗАЦІЇ ПОЧАТКОВОЇ ОСВІТИ: ВИКЛИКИ ТА ПЕРСПЕКТИВИ

The article considers pedagogical conditions necessary for the perception of European values in the educational process. The author analyzes the impact of cientifically proven humanistic interactive technologies that train the skills and qualities of a "modern European". Special attention is paid to changes in the professional activity and thinking style of educators. The article examines the components of teachers' readiness to perceive European values: goal-motivational, substantive, operational and integration. The author emphasizes the importance of studying the dynamics of changes in the readiness of educators and the impact of pedagogical measures on their personal and professional growth. The main conditions for training educators on European integration in the vocational education and training system, which contribute to the formation of their readiness to perceive European values and improve the quality of education, are highlighted. The article analyzes the complex of components of teachers' readiness to perceive European values, in particular goal-motivational, substantive, operational and integration. The article discusses the role of the vocational training system in expanding and improving the knowledge and skills of educators, acquired in previous training and practice, with a focus on the formation and development of personal and professional approaches to issues of European integration. It is noted that the cognitive component of this process includes in-depth knowledge of European culture, education, economy and the history of relations between Ukraine and Europe. Special emphasis is placed on innovative approaches and methodologies that help to form such qualities as self-development, professional self-actualization, cognition and creative development in educators. The importance of creating favorable conditions in educational institutions and methodical centers to ensure effective self-development of the individual, aimed at integration with the European educational space and formation of readiness for the perception of European values, is highlighted. Key words: European values, pedagogical conditions, professional primary education, humanistic interactive technologies, teachers' readiness.

The Role of Quota Systems in Realising Planetary Boundaries

Abstract A strong vision of sustainable development requires respect for the limits imposed by the functioning of the planet to ensure its resilience. The framework of planetary boundaries is increasingly relied on to design quantifiable objectives that can guide policy- and decisionmakers to enact measures to ensure such a sustainable society. Yet, to effectively guide, the framework requires a reformulation to make it applicable to human activities. Concretely, planetary boundaries need to be transposed into planetary quotas, which express the maximum absolute quantity of emissions, withdrawals or use that is admissible so as not to exceed the planetary limits. Furthermore, the achievement of planetary quotas depends on the fair allocation of national, sectoral, or even individual quotas. In this context, we question whether and under which institutional conditions environmental quotas could be an appropriate tool to implement planetary boundaries. This article proposes a legal and political theory of quota systems and applies it to the establishment of planetary quota systems in international environmental law.

Mengintegrasikan Nilai-nilai Pancasila dalam Pendidikan untuk Membentuk Pemimpin Masa Depan

The aim of this research is to find out how future leaders can apply Pancasila values in education, which include: 1. Belief in the One and Only God; 2. Just and civilized humanity; 3. The unity of Indonesia; 4. Democracy guided by the inner wisdom in the unanimity arising out of deliberations among representatives; and 5. Social justice for all Indonesian people. Character education is an effort to realize the values of Pancasila and the preamble of the 1945 Constitution. However, the evolving conditions in educational institutions today hinder character education. Therefore, it is crucial to embed Pancasila principles in future leaders to ensure they uphold and promote these fundamental values, fostering a strong national identity and moral integrity.

The structuring conditions of local government financialisation in Europe: A comparative perspective

Local governments across Europe are increasingly engaging in ‘local government financialisation’, involving the use of bonds, derivatives and financial assets in their governance. However, the extent to which local governments use financial instruments varies across countries. Moreover, local governments engage in financialisation in the context of ‘structuring conditions’ that are largely beyond their control. This paper systematically investigates these political-economic conditions and provides a high-level comparative analysis of their relevance for financialisation in local governments. The study examines data from 22 European countries between 2000 and 2019, finding that economic, financial and institutional conditions, along with financial subordination, are critical in shaping local government financialisation. Specifically, greater decentralisation, a more developed financial sector, and, to some extent, more intense austerity are associated with higher levels of financialisation. In contrast, financialisation tends to be lower in the Southern and Eastern European peripheries. Through its country-comparative approach, the paper contributes a new perspective to recent debates on the role of the local state in financialisation.

Economic policy uncertainty and capital structure in Europe: an agency approach

Motivated by the unprecedented levels of economic policy uncertainty (EPU) recently experienced in Europe, we study how EPU affects capital structure and whether cultural, institutional, and financial conditions and corporate diversification moderate this relationship in a sample of 3175 firms from eleven European countries. Firstly, our results indicate that financial leverage is positively related to EPU, with this relationship being moderated by uncertainty avoidance, institutional quality, and financial development. Secondly, corporate debt is positively related to corporate diversification. This relationship is stronger for unrelated than for related diversification. In addition to the direct effect, both types of diversification indirectly moderate the positive influence of EPU on leverage, with this effect being stronger for unrelated diversification. Our results show that debt and uncertainty avoidance, institutional quality, and financial development work as substitute mechanisms to alleviate the agency costs caused by EPU and that corporate diversification reduces the informational gap between firm insiders and outside investors exacerbated by EPU.

Pension Reform Policy in Latin America: A Fuzzy-Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis

Latin American countries have been at the forefront of pension privatization and since 2008 they have also pioneered reform reversals. Previous studies have focused on single cases or a small number of them, given that pension reform is a complex phenomenon arising from the combination of different causes. Using fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA), the article analyzes a set of 32 pension reform cases in eight countries from the early 1990s until 2021. It finds four different pathways that combine institutional, structural and policy legacy conditions. It demonstrates that fsQCA is a useful tool for broader comparative policy work.

Assessment of Children in Conflict with the Law Institutional Facilities in Cabanatuan City, Philippines

This is a qualitative-case study that used a self-made interview guide validated by experts. Data gathered from eight participants were collated, themed, analyzed and interpreted. The findings revealed that the prevailing conditions of both institutions as to the crime causations were peer influence, poverty, dysfunctional family, and curiosity. The most common crimes committed were theft, carnapping, drug related cases and attempted homicide. There were also various intervention programs. The challenges encountered were deviant behaviors and physical facilities which were addressed through numerous actions taken. Lastly, the needs identified were provisions of physical facilities, knowledge empowerment, skills enhancement, recreations and necessities. As to the findings, the following conclusions were drawn; both correctional facilities have a common denominator as to CICLs crime causations, crimes committed and various intervention programs. The challenges encountered by both correctional institutions have similarity on deviant behaviors while they slightly differ on physical facilities. The actions taken to address the challenge encountered were in unison focused on activities that aims to reform and rehabilitate the CICL. Finally, there is a need for big help or intervention from other various agencies or organizations to address the voluminous needs identified from the basic needs up to their empowerment.

Authorship, activism and creative struggles: Peter Watkins’ The Journey revisited

Based on research in the archive of the Swedish Peace and Arbitration Society in Stockholm, this article sheds light on the complex production history behind Peter Watkins’ fourteen-and-a-half-hour documentary Resan (The Journey) (1987). Set in a dozen countries around the world, the film presents a complex web of thematic tropes about global peace, consistently highlighting the connection between the local, national and international. The way in which the film subverts documentary form – in terms of both scope and aesthetic strategies – raises questions concerning the institutional conditions within which it was made. Although Watkins’ authorial position between avant-garde and documentary film culture has been investigated in-depth, particularly from a textual point of view, little attention has been afforded the creative struggles permeating the production and circulation history behind this epic documentary. Bridging the gap between the scholarly fields of media activism, useful cinema and documentary film, this study zooms in on the Swedish Peace and Arbitration Society, Scandinavia’s largest peace movement, and their fundraising drive for this film. In doing so, the article provides new information about the negotations that shaped the relationship between Watkins, the activists and the organization that made this film possible.

The forest policy outputs of regional regimes: a qualitative comparative analysis on the effects of formalization, hegemony and issue-focus around the globe

International regimes, defined as sets of norms and rules around which members’ expectations converge, are providing structures for facilitating cooperation in a given issue area. Two main lines of environmental regime scholarship prevailed thus far: one on structural design aspects of international institutions and one on their effects and effectiveness. However, questions on how such effects are achieved in detail largely remain unanswered. Against this background, this study aims to analyze the institutional design conditions under which regional regimes produce strong or weak policies. We do so by qualitatively comparing, using a fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA), nine regional regimes across the world towards their ability of producing regime forest policies as an illustrative issue area. Three structural conditions were identified as being influential on regime policy: (i) The degree of formalization (ii) The existence of hegemonic/powerful member state(s) and (iii) Scope or issue specificity bearing the identity of a regime. Our results showed that no one condition on its own was necessary to produce either strong or weak regime forest policy. However, all three conditions, through three different configurations, created a robust pathway for producing strong regime policy. In addition, the combination that showed the presence of all three conditions was related to weak regime policy. These results open several prospects for future research on the relationship between regimes´ structures and regime policy.

Volumetric pricing in rural Central America: Drivers of adoption and potential effects on water delivery

In rural and peri‑urban areas of Central America, community water organizations (CWOs) provide water to 60 % of the population, thereby playing a pivotal role in achieving multiple Sustainable Development Goals. However, the underlying environmental, climatic, and institutional factors explaining the adoption of volumetric pricing from these water providers and its effect on service delivery are typically overlooked in the literature. In this paper, we address two issues. First, we test whether volumetric pricing affects the service water delivery in a rural setting, drawing on a random sample of cross-sectional data on 154 CWOs in Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Nicaragua. We find that volumetric pricing is associated with substantially more successful water delivery, even when conditioned on institutional capacity, environmental attributes, climatic conditions, and country-fixed effects. Despite this strong relationship, volumetric pricing has yet to be widely adopted, particularly in Nicaragua and Guatemala. Therefore, as the second goal, we try to identify the institutional and socio-ecological conditions in which volumetric pricing is adopted. We find that volumetric pricing is more likely used when communities (1) experience adverse environmental and climatic conditions associated with water scarcity and (2) have greater institutional capacity. Our results highlight the importance of examining the social-ecological system to assess the performance and adoption of water management institutions

Institutional conditions for governments working on sustainability transitions

Abstract The literature on societal transitions offers many policy recommendations. The implicit assumption is that the civil servants can follow these recommendations and design policies to accelerate transitions. This article shows that governmental transformation is needed to enable civil servants to act upon these, which is currently far from straightforward due to institutional constraints. We used a research-by-design approach with four design groups of civil servants working on transitions within a Dutch ministry. By studying how they interacted and designed alternative scenarios for resolving real-life, deeply rooted institutional constraints, we identified twelve preliminary institutional conditions for a government working on sustainability transitions. The institutional conditions relate to working with uncertainty, implementing operational management, implementing interdependent stewardship, and detaching from the current system.