Kinds Of Actors Research Articles

How Do Pre-existing R&D Activities in a Region Influence the Performance of Cluster Initiatives? The Case of French Competitiveness Clusters

This article explores the diversity of 66 French competitiveness clusters, which were all accredited in 2005 according to the same specifications, by characterizing the initial context in which they emerged and taking a close look at the link between this initial context and their current performance. Since French competitiveness cluster policy is based on state co-funding of R&D projects, we establish a typology based on a multiple component analysis and a hierarchical ascending classification of the R&D potential of the cluster's territory, the respective R&D efforts of companies and academic laboratories, the kinds of actors setting up the cluster and their pre-existing relationships. We then measure the differences among the five classes relating to their clusters' capacity to obtain state funding for their projects. Our results show that initial context can partially explain competitiveness clusters' performance. Competitiveness clusters in territories possessing significant R&D resources, and involving large companies capable of organizing projects, are the most efficient in obtaining state funding. In contrast, competitiveness clusters without prior cooperation experience perform poorly.

Troubling Methods in Qualitative Inquiry and Beyond

This present paper troubles and literally ‘shakes’ the idea of methods as the founding ground of qualitative inquiry. It does so by addressing the real-time messiness of research and the retrospective character of research reports. While the paper is not as such opposed to methods, it does suggest that many actual research practices do not follow defined and regular plans as the terminology of methods inclines. However, rather than seeing the messiness as a bias to be eliminated, a more constructive approach is suggested. With the intention of inviting more creative and thought-provoking research within qualitative inquiry, three specific ‘messy’ research strategies are suggested in the paper. These are: 1) Searching for associations between actors, of both human and non-human kinds, 2) following the traces of many kinds of actors and 3) doing a theoretical re-working of materials. The overall suggestion is that these open-ended and flexible strategies allow for an innovative approach to the development of a qualitative psychology while also serving to trouble (at least for a moment) the current popularity of methods in research.

THE ACTORS OF A WIND POWER CLUSTER: A CASE OF A WIND POWER CAPITAL

Raahe is a medium-sized Finnish town on the western coast of Northern Finland. It has declared itself to become the wind power capital of Finland. The aim of this paper is to find out what being a wind power capital can mean in practice and how it can advance the local industrial business. First, the theoretical framework of this systematic review study was formed by searching theoretical information about the forms of industrial clusters, and it was then examined what kinds of actors take part in these types of clusters. Finally, the actors of the case area were studied. The core companies of wind power clusters are the wind turbine manufacturers, component manufacturers, developers of the wind farms, wind power operators, and service and maintenance organizations. Understanding of the wind power cluster structure may help decision makers to develop the best possible conditions for the emergence of clusters.

THE ACTORS OF A WIND POWER CLUSTER: A CASE OF A WIND POWER CAPITAL

Raahe is a medium-sized Finnish town on the western coast of Northern Finland. It has declared itself to become the wind power capital of Finland. The aim of this paper is to find out what being a wind power capital can mean in practice and how it can advance the local industrial business. First, the theoretical framework of this systematic review study was formed by searching theoretical information about the forms of industrial clusters, and it was then examined what kinds of actors take part in these types of clusters. Finally, the actors of the case area were studied. The core companies of wind power clusters are the wind turbine manufacturers, component manufacturers, developers of the wind farms, wind power operators, and service and maintenance organizations. Understanding of the wind power cluster structure may help decision makers to develop the best possible conditions for the emergence of clusters.

Architecture for Multi-Technology Real-Time Location Systems

The rising popularity of location-based services has prompted considerable research in the field of indoor location systems. Since there is no single technology to support these systems, it is necessary to consider the fusion of the information coming from heterogeneous sensors. This paper presents a software architecture designed for a hybrid location system where we can merge information from multiple sensor technologies. The architecture was designed to be used by different kinds of actors independently and with mutual transparency: hardware administrators, algorithm developers and user applications. The paper presents the architecture design, work-flow, case study examples and some results to show how different technologies can be exploited to obtain a good estimation of a target position.

New Actors and the State: Addressing Maritime Security Threats in Southeast Asia

Over the past two decades, maritime security threats such as piracy, illegal fishing and maritime terrorism in Southeast Asia have attracted greater attention and concern. Responding to these threats and ensuring national security have long been seen as the responsibility of governments. This is reflected in much of the literature on Southeast Asian security issues, which focuses largely on state responses to threats. However, the notion of the state as the sole provider of security is being increasingly challenged in many parts of the world, with actors such as non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and private businesses playing ever more important roles in providing security. To gain a comprehensive understanding of the security sectors of Southeast Asian countries and security governance in the region, it is important to ask if this trend can also be observed in Southeast Asia. This special issue of Contemporary Southeast Asia (1) demonstrates that in recent years new actors have become involved in addressing national and regional security threats in Southeast Asia. The focus is on three distinctive types of actors--for-profit actors, not-for-profit actors and multilateral institutions--in responding to maritime security threats such as smuggling, piracy and illegal fishing. This issue investigates the ways in which new actors address these threats and considers how their participation has affected the role of the state as the primary provider of maritime security. It therefore offers insights into alternative methods for tackling contemporary maritime security threats in Southeast Asia, including hybrid forms of maritime security governance. Significantly, by revealing the contribution of new actors in Southeast Asia, a region where government responses and sovereignty have long played a central role, it demonstrates how and why established patterns of security governance in Southeast Asia are changing. This paper first situates our discussion in the broader theoretical debate that focuses on the rise of new actors in security governance around the world. The second section narrows the lens to Southeast Asia. It provides a brief overview of contemporary maritime security threats in Southeast Asia and discusses state responses to these threats. The third section elaborates our analytical framework, identifying the new actors discussed in this special issue and the nature of their responses to maritime security threats. It also examines the distinctive, often complex inter-relationships between these actors and the state across the region. Changes in Security Governance Economic, political and social problems such as financial crises and climate change that have emerged since the end of the Cold War seriously challenge existing state institutions worldwide. As a result, new actors have emerged that offer a wide range of governance responses to current problems at sub-national, national and international levels. (2) One area where new actors play an ever more important role is in responses to national and international security threats. Indeed, it has become increasingly clear that many contemporary non-traditional security threats, such as terrorism or transnational crime, cannot be addressed by existing national agencies or individual states alone. As a result, the line between national and international security has become blurred and security challenges are today met by a range of new actors. Three kinds of actors are arguably most important in addressing security challenges: (1) for-profit actors; (2) not-for-profit actors; and (3) multilateral institutions. The nature and scale of these actors' involvement depends on their motivations, capacities and interests. Their involvement can also be regarded in different ways. On the one hand, the involvement of new actors can be seen as ineffective in addressing security problems or as problematic --as exemplified by, the controversy and scandals that followed the large scale employment of private security firms in Iraq. …

Social Housing in the European Union

The following article summarizes the findings of the report «2012 Housing Europe Review» (Pittini and Laino, 2011), published by the European Social Housing Observatory – the research department of the international not for profit organisation CECODHAS Housing Europe. This Review focuses on social housing in the European Union and aims at providing a clearer picture of the way social housing systems are structured across the EU, while identifying the main recent developments in the sector. In this article we attempt a brief analysis of the social housing sector from different perspectives: the diversity of definitions at the national level and common characteristics across Europe, the size of the sector, which kind of actors are involved in social housing provision, who can benefit from a social dwelling in the different national contexts, how the sector is financed and what are the most significant trends and challenges.

La fin de l'aide publique au développement : les enjeux de l'action hypercollective

Résumé Au cours de la dernière décennie, une transformation radicale du nombre et du type d’intervenants s’est produite dans les industries de l’aide au développement, de l’humanitaire et des biens publics globaux, tant dans les pays dits « donateurs » que dans les pays dits « bénéficiaires ». Cette double tendance à la prolifération (l’augmentation du nombre d’intervenants) et à la fragmentation (l’éparpillement de l’activité des bailleurs) est caractéristique du glissement de l’action collective vers ce que nous appelons « l’action hypercollective ». Si l’on peut se réjouir de l’énergie et des ressources supplémentaires permises par cette évolution, une importante perte d’efficacité en résulte. Nous soutenons dans cet article que le défi majeur pour la gouvernance des politiques publiques globales au cours des prochaines décennies consistera non pas à réduire la complexité, mais l’orienter vers plus d’efficacité. La Déclaration de Paris représente la première tentative d’envergure de traiter les défis de l’action « hypercollective », mais ne constitue pas une base suffisamment solide pour l’action hypercollective qu’exigent les politiques publiques globales en plein essor. Il convient d’élaborer un nouveau cadre conceptuel et développer des processus incitant la convergence d’actions initiées de façon décentralisée par de nombreux intervenants. Classification JEL : O10

Gridlock and Innovation in Global Governance: The Partial Transnational Solution

AbstractThe political institutions that manage transborder problems are changing, offering new avenues around the inadequacies of the existing multilateral order. Several trends in global politics – for example the emergence of new powers, the growing challenge of collective action problems and the complexity of institutions that seek to address them – have made it increasingly difficult to govern transnational problems through multilateral cooperation. Global priorities ranging from climate change, to the Doha trade round, to financial stability are faced with gridlock. But even as ‘traditional’ intergovernmental institutions stall, new kinds of transborder institutions are emerging alongside them. These institutions bring new kinds of actors, public and private, into global governance, and deploy innovative governance ‘technologies’ to make rules and provide public goods. We evaluate these new institutions in the areas of financial and environmental governance. While no panacea, we argue that innovative institutional forms offer a partial solution for the challenges of contemporary interdependence.Policy Implications Gridlock in many international negotiations and multinational institutions can hobble intergovernmental agreements. New kinds of governance arrangements may help meet some of the governance gaps that multilateral institutions are failing to fill. Scholars have only begun to catalogue the new forms of global governance that play an increasingly prominent role in world politics. We must also strive to explain these changes and study their implications. Together, these tasks form an important future research agenda. Policy makers should familiarize themselves with the full range of transborder governance institutions. These include transgovernmental networks, multistakeholder initiatives, voluntary regulations and innovative tools for adjudication and financing. Such instruments may offer functional benefits over more ‘traditional’ governance arrangements, especially when political factors constrain the latter. While new governance institutions may represent at best a partial solution to the challenges of transborder cooperation, their adaptability and flexibility suggest a significant contribution nonetheless.

Les biocarburants en Argentine : facteurs et enjeux de la production de biodiesel de soja

In 2006, Argentina has sanctioned a national law to regulate biofuel production and consumption. Since 2007, soybean actors started producing biodiesel for international market -especially to Europe- and the country quickly became the major biodiesel exporter. In 2010, around twenty processing units started supplying the domestic market. Diesel sold in Argentina contained 5% of biodiesel. The obligation to add 5% of biodiesel to diesel has passed to 7% and the goal is to increase this percentage. The State support and soybean biodiesel competitiveness have been important for biodiesel chain development but some doubts could appear about the kind of actors that could have the benefits.

Sustainability transitions in the making: A closer look at actors, strategies and resources

Attention is drawn to the dynamic interaction between what different kinds of actors do and what can be observed at the system level. It aims to provide a closer look at how strategies, resources and capabilities of individuals, firms and other organizations impact the overall system and trigger transformation processes, and how these changes at the system level feed-back into the observed strategies at the actor level. This is important, not in the least because the particularity of sustainability transitions is that they are often purposefully initiated (or supported) and directed in the sense that long-term future visions are supposed to guide these transitions.While guidance of distributed actors is essential, it has been acknowledged that future visions as well as the means to achieve these visions are contested, with different actor groups claiming and advocating different interests. As we improve our understanding of the dynamic interplay of different actors involved in innovation and transition processes, we will be able to untangle some of the complexities of transitions unfolding at the system level. To contribute to this general line of reasoning, our special issue calls particular attention to the strategies and resources of actors in sustainability transitions. In this introduction we will concentrate on the following questions knowing that these can only shed light on some of the complex issues at hand: – What strategies do actors adopt to shape sustainability transitions and what resources do they mobilize and deploy in the realization of these strategies? – What kinds of different actors play a role in these transformation processes and how can and do they align their strategies (and resources) to achieve common goals?

Innovative Judicial Procedures and Redefinition of the Institutional Role of the Argentine Supreme Court

This article addresses the way in which the Argentine Supreme Court has set out to redefine its own institutional role through its procedures and decisions, since its institutional reform in 2003. It shows that the Court has developed innovative ways of judicial intervention in public policy and rights issues, which include the participation of new kinds of actors and entail an emerging new relationship between the Court and civil society organizations in Argentina. The article argues that this change can be understood as a way for the Court to rebuild its institutional legitimacy, and that the reform is connected to the presence of strong nongovernmental organizations whose claims for a change in the Court’s composition and procedures gained momentum in the aftermath of the social and political crisis of 2001–2002 in Argentina. Resumen: Este trabajo analiza el modo en que la Corte Suprema Argentina, a partir de su reforma en 2003, ha comenzado a redefinir su rol institucional a traves de sus procedimientos y decisiones. Se muestra como la Corte ha desarrollado formas innovadoras de intervencion judicial en el area de politicas publicas y derechos, que incluyen la participacion de nuevos tipos de actores e implican una redefinicion de las relaciones entre la Corte y las organizaciones de la sociedad civil en la Argentina. El trabajo argumenta que estos cambios pueden ser entendidos como un modo para la Corte de reconstruir su legitimidad institucional, y que esto esta relacionado con la presencia de prominentes organizaciones no gubernamentales, cuyos reclamos por un cambio en la composicion y en los procedimientos de la Corte adquirieron una inusitada relevancia en el contexto posterior a la crisis social y politica de 2001–2002 en la Argentina.

Healthcare system as a value network

Healthcare system is consisted of many different kinds of actors with varying interests and purposes. This forms a complex set of relationships, which can be seen as a network. The interesting question is how to balance in the network the needs of the patient as the customer and the purposes of the provider to operate effectively. We argue that a value network analysis is a key for this question, as it is able to reveal the different actors of the network, their roles and purposes, and the central value functions of the network. To elaborate this interesting issue, we have conducted a large-scale case study from healthcare sector. The study includes interviews, observation and secondary data, e.g., quantitative data in the form of organisations’ statistics. In the paper, we will present our value network analysis of the case and the results that increase the understanding of the actors, value functions and value creation potential of a healthcare system.

SPIℂA'S MULTI-PARTY NEGOTIATION PROTOCOL: IMPLEMENTATION USING YAWL

A supply chain comprises several different kinds of actors that interact either in an ad hoc fashion (e.g. an eventual deal) or in a previously well-planned way. In the latter, how the interactions develop is described in contracts that are agreed on before the interactions start. This agreement may involve several partners, thus a multi-party contract is better suited than a set of bi-lateral contracts. If one is willing to negotiate automatically such kind of contracts, an appropriate negotiation protocol should be at hand. However, the ones for bi-lateral contracts are not suitable for multi-party contracts, e.g. the way to achieve consensus when only two negotiators are haggling over some issues is quite different if there are several negotiators involved. In the first case, a simple bargain would suffice, but in the latter a ballot process is needed. This paper briefly presents our negotiation protocol for electronic multi-party contracts which seamlessly combines several negotiation styles. It also elaborates on the main negotiation patterns the protocol allows for: bargain (for peer-to-peer negotiation), auction (when there is competition among the negotiators) and ballot (when the negotiation aims at consensus) and presents other patterns that can be built on these basic ones. Finally, it describes an implementation of this protocol based on Web services, and built on the YAWL Workflow Management System.

Science-Policy Interface: Beyond Assessments

In their Policy Forum “The biodiversity and ecosystem services science-policy interface” (4 March, p. [1139][1]), C. Perrings et al. frame the new Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) as a body responsible primarily for assessment. They consistently base their elaboration of the work of IPBES on the experiences of past assessments (such as the Millennium Assessment, the Global Biodiversity Outlook, and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) and interpret the Busan outcome [recommendations made by a 2010 intergovernmental conference ([ 1 ][2])] solely through the lens of how scientific knowledge is assessed. We believe that the blueprint suitability of previous assessments for the IPBES process is very limited. Strengthening the (mainly global-scale) scientific knowledge base behind assessments is important, but the goals of IPBES should be expanded. First, we should move beyond conventional scientific knowledge assessments that legitimize, almost exclusively, only peer-reviewed material. Knowledge established across all scales (especially the knowledge of local and indigenous peoples) and validated in multiple ways must be eligible for inclusion in IPBES processes. Changes in biodiversity are first experienced locally and thus many forms of local expertise have particular relevance for biodiversity issues ([ 2 ][3]). Second, we should link IPBES assessment results to decision-making at multiple spatial scales (including tackling biodiversity loss at the grassroots level). Both of these goals require all aspects of capacity-building, including empowerment of different kinds of actors, to be reflected in the structural design of IPBES. To achieve this much broader set of objectives as laid out in the Busan outcome, including the explicit incorporation of local and indigenous knowledge, the IPBES structure should knit together existing multiscale networks ([ 3 ][4]) of scientific, policy, and stakeholder communities. 1. [↵][5] United Nations Environment Programme, “Busan Outcome,” Busan, Korea, 7 to 11 June 2010 ([www.unep.org/pdf/SMT\_Agenda\_Item\_5-Busan\_Outcome.pdf][6]). 2. [↵][7] 1. W. Reid et al. , Eds., Bridging Scales and Knowledge Systems: Concepts and Applications in Ecosystems (Island Press, Washington, DC, 2006). 3. [↵][8] Leipzig Workshop Recommendations for a Knowledge-Policy Interface for Biodiversity Governance, 4 October 2006 ([www.ufz.de/data/leipzig\_recom\_final4614.pdf][9]). [1]: http://www.sciencemag.org/content/331/6021/1139.full [2]: #ref-1 [3]: #ref-2 [4]: #ref-3 [5]: #xref-ref-1-1 View reference 1 in text [6]: http://www.unep.org/pdf/SMT_Agenda_Item_5-Busan_Outcome.pdf [7]: #xref-ref-2-1 View reference 2 in text [8]: #xref-ref-3-1 View reference 3 in text [9]: http://www.ufz.de/data/leipzig_recom_final4614.pdf

Strategies of Territorial and Functional Interests: Towards a Model of European Interest Intermediation?

Research on interest representation in EU governance has addressed different kinds of actors in somewhat different and independent discourses. This contribution will start from the specific requirements is demanding as well as opportunities the European multi-level system is offering to territorial and functional interest representation. The main question will be whether differentiations or similarities can be found in the comparison of functional and territorial interest representation. The contribution will elaborate on this question in the following section and assume that there are more similarities than differences within the use of strategies by territorial and functional interests. The contribution elaborates two explanations for the similarities and differences found. Empirical evidence is given in the second part of the contribution. It will be shown that we even find convergence within territorial and functional interest intermediation and how actors have learned from each other. In addition it will be revealed that other factors than the type of interest are responsible for persistent differences. A third short chapter points out that both types of interests work with complementary strategies to succeed within the European multi-level system. All in all, the contribution will speculate about whether it is possible to identify certain elements of a European model of interest intermediation across the different actor categories.

A systematic approach to the one-mode projection of bipartite graphs

Bipartite graphs are common in many complex systems as they describe a relationship between two different kinds of actors, e.g., genes and proteins, metabolites and enzymes, authors and articles, or products and consumers. A common approach to analyze them is to build a graph between the nodes on one side depending on their relationships with nodes on the other side; this so-called one-mode projection is a crucial step for all further analysis but a systematic approach to it was lacking so far. Here, we present a systematic approach that evaluates the significance of the co-occurrence for each pair of nodes v, w, i.e., the number of common neighbors of v and w. It turns out that this can be seen as a special case of evaluating the interestingness of an association rule in data mining. Based on this connection we show that classic interestingness measures in data mining cannot be applied to evaluate most real-world product-consumer relationship data. We thus introduce generalized interestingness measures for both, one-mode projections of bipartite graphs and data mining and show their robustness and stability by example. We also provide theoretical results that show that the old method cannot even be used as an approximative method. In a last step we show that the new interestingness measures show stable and significant results that result in attractive one-mode projections of bipartite graphs.

Creating and shaping innovation systems: Formal networks in the innovation system for stationary fuel cells in Germany

The development and diffusion of novel technologies, e.g. for decentralized energy generation, crucially depends on supportive institutional structures such as R&D programs, specific regulations, technical standards, or positive expectations. Such structures are not given but emerge through the interplay of different kinds of actors. In this paper, we study the role of formal networks in creating supportive structures in the technological innovation system for stationary fuel cells in Germany. Our findings are based on an in-depth study of five selected innovation networks. The analysis shows that the networks were strategically set up to support the creation of a variety of elements including public R&D programs, modules for vocational training, technical guidelines, standardized components, or a positive image of the technology. These elements have been reported to generate positive externalities in the field, e.g. as they help to establish user–supplier linkages in the emerging value chain. We conclude that, from a firm perspective such elements may represent strategically relevant resources made available at the innovation system level. This view opens up a link to the literature of strategic management, thus highlighting the importance of strategic action and cooperation in emerging technological fields.

Political Competition and Unequal Social Rights

AbstractMajor social reforms affect the extent to which social rights are granted widely and equally or selectively and in a manner re-enforcing social stratification. Thus, they affect the amount of institutionally sanctioned inequality in a welfare state. This paper seeks to explain the politics of making decisions about unequal social rights. It emphasizes the importance of studying the substantive contents of the policy changes that are on the reform agenda; the kind of actors involved in reform controversies; and the kind of demands they raise. Which actors involved prevail in these controversies, however, is a function of the dynamic of political competition at the time of legislative decision-making. That dynamic tends to be centrifugal; it empowers groups at strategic positions in the political constellation. The paper develops analytical categories for capturing both typological distinctions of substantive policy contents and the empowering dynamic. It demonstrates the significance of this model by analyzing four instances of major welfare reform in Germany.

A Social Movement Generation

This project explores cohort and period trends in political participation in the United States between 1973 and 2008. We examine the extent to which protest attendance and petition signing have diffused to different kinds of actors across multiple generations; we test claims central to understanding trends in social movement participation. Using aggregated, cross-sectional survey data on political involvement from 34,241 respondents, we examine changes in the probability of ever having attended a protest or signed a petition over time periods and across cohorts using cross-classified, random-effects models. We find a strong generational effect on the probability of ever having attended a protest, which explains much of the observed change in self-reports of protest behavior. More than half of this generational effect is a result of compositional change, but we find little evidence that protest attendance diffused to new types of actors. We compare these findings with a less confrontational form of protesting, petition signing, which shows more period than cohort effects. We argue that social movement activities have not become a widespread means of civic engagement.