Members Of Representatives Research Articles

Megaprojects in austerity times: Populism, politicisation, and the breaking of the neoliberal consensus

Drawing on the literature on neoliberalism and populism this paper examines the potential of contentious politics that target iconic megaprojects for promoting societal politicisation and effectively challenge the neoliberal consensus over the necessity of sustained growth and competitiveness, in a context of enduring austerity. Using the case of Valencia as an entry point, it looks at how, just as decision makers and global architects alike had mobilised iconic megaprojects and events to generate consent for the city’s neoliberal urban policy, opposition movements, with less economic resources but in innovative ways, provided an alternative narrative to interpret the urban policy and its social consequences. Empirically, this paper draws upon 35 semi-structured research interviews and a press coverage analysis of national and regional newspapers. Interviews were conducted with urban environment professionals, members of business associations, members of political parties, elected politicians, journalists, community representatives and members of the social movements involved. From both theoretical and empirical perspectives, the case of Valencia raises important questions regarding the potential of populist strategies to foster politicisation and challenge the neoliberal post-political consensus.

Perbedaan Pandangan Terhadap Pembatasan Hak Dipilih Antara Putusan Mahkamah Konstitusi Dengan Putusan Mahkamah Agung

In general elections, the public has the right, namely, not to vote, and the right to be elected. The right to be elected is the right of citizens to be elected as members of deliberative bodies or representatives of the people in a general election. Article 240 paragraph (1) letter g of the General Election Law regulates restrictions on the right to vote for former corruption convicts. Regarding the norms in this article, the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court have different views. This is formulated in the Constitutional Court Decision Number 87/PUU-XX/2022 and the Supreme Court Decision Number 46P/HUM/2018. This article analyzes the views of Constitutional Justices and Supreme Court Justices regarding the norms in article 240, paragraph (1) letter g. The purpose of this article is to find out how voting rights are limited for former corruption convicts. This article uses a normative juridical research method. The research results found that first, restrictions on the right to vote for former convicts may be carried out in the interests of ensuring the freedom of disadvantaged groups. Second, in deciding a decision, the judge is obliged to explore, follow and understand the legal values ​​and sense of justice that exist in society as well as pay attention to the juridical aspect.

Why are the laws approved in congress? Socio-legal analysis of the creation of rules

The proposed thesis maintains that the bills or legislative acts that are processed in the Congress of the Republic of Colombia have a greater chance of being approved, in a way that is quite significant, depending on the status position of the parliamentarian who presents the legislative initiative or work as speaker of the same This implies that the members of parliament, senators and representatives to the chamber, are not equal to each other, since there would be congressmen with greater power and prestige than others, according to their status. The content of a project is important, but in many cases it can lose relevance, if it does not have the support represented in the authority that emanates from the power and prestige of the parliamentarian who postulates it. The research identifies which status systems have decisive influence and seeks to understand their origin and the reasons behind their influence. The investigation was carried out with the help of observing parliamentary activity and conducting in-depth interviews with congressmen and personnel from the UTL Legislative Work Units.

Research of technological interaction methods between expert structures and political institutions

The article analyzes the current state of interaction between political institutions and the expert community. This scientific research was conducted in the form of an interview. The respondents were members of expert communities, both non-governmental structures and representatives of expert structures under state authorities, as well as representatives of political institutions. Interview questions reveal a set of competencies that are necessary in order to be fully called a professional expert, attracted by political institutions to build a dialogue and help in the formation of effective public policy. The questions also related to the current situation with the rotation of the composition of experts in expert structures. The opinion of experts and representatives of political institutions was studied on what improvements and mechanisms should be implemented and adjusted to build productive and effective interaction between expert communities and representatives of political institutions. The relevance of the research lies in the analysis of the answers to these questions. The logical purpose of the work is to form an understanding of a number of modern problems faced by both experts and representatives of political institutions at the current stage of development of their interaction in the formation of public policy.

Политико-культурные аспекты при взаимодействии экспертных сообществ с политическими институтами

The subject of this article is the study of the peculiarities of domestic political and cultural aspects in the interaction of expert communities with political institutions. This research study was conducted in the form of an interview. The respondents were members of expert communities and representatives of political institutions. The relevance of the article lies in the fact that, after analyzing the answers provided to the questions asked during the interview regarding the experience of becoming respondents as members of expert communities, interaction with expert communities, if the respondent is a member of a political institution, questions regarding the processes of selection and search for experts in expert communities, as well as questions about the current role of the participation of expert communities in the formation of public policies. The conducted research will indicate what political and cultural problems exist in the interaction of expert communities with political institutions of power and will help form the current vision of this situation through a survey of direct participants in such interaction.

The Humanitarian Diplomacy of Indonesian President, House of Representatives, and Minister of Foreign Affairs on Rohingya Humanitarian Crisis in Myanmar in 2015–2021

Violence against the Rohingya ethnic in Myanmar has caused thousands of deaths, hundreds of thousands of people evacuated, thousands of houses burnt to ashes, and innumerable value of destroyed properties. Myanmar appears to ignore the Rohingya crisis, leaving it without any concrete resolution. This condition undoubtedly triggers Indonesia’s responses. In responding to the Rohingya humanitarian crisis, Indonesia engaged in humanitarian diplomacy that consists of four fundamental principles: humanity, impartiality, neutrality, and independence. Indonesian president, minister of foreign affairs, and members of DPR RI (the house of representatives of Indonesia) serve as the spearhead of humanitarian diplomacy, representing the Indonesian people. This article aims to describe the four principles of humanitarian diplomacy and to see which principle is mainly used by these three state elements (i.e., DPR RI, president, and Minister of Foreign Affairs). The content analysis result of the news on statements of the members of DPR RI, the president, and the minister of foreign affairs showed that these three elements prioritized the principle of humanity over the other three principles.

Assessing Uncertainties in Climate Change Adaptation and Land Management

The entire cascade of scenario generation, global and regional climate modeling, as well as concrete measures towards climate adaptation are subject to uncertainties. An exact prediction of how the climate will change in the coming years, and how it will affect land use, is not possible. There is thus a perceived need to identify ways via which uncertainties can be addressed. Based on the need to address the research gap in this area, this paper reports the findings of a study on uncertainty in a climate change adaptation context, and how it is perceived. It consists of a multi-stakeholder survey among climate change professionals, including academic staff at universities, representatives from international agencies, members of NGOs, policymakers, and representatives of industry from 50 countries, including a balanced representation of industrialized and developing nations. The results obtained suggest that uncertainties are often a hindrance to engagement in climate change adaptation efforts, and to land management. Furthermore, there is a range of tools to reduce climate change adaptation uncertainties, whose deployment may help to address them. The paper concludes by providing a list of lessons learned and suggestions as to how uncertainty can be better communicated, and by doing so, how a reduction in the levels of climate change vulnerability may be achieved, and how land management may be fostered.

Analiza korištenja aktivnog i pasivnog biračkog prava pripadnika nacionalnih manjina u Hrvatskoj: primjer izbora za vijeća i predstavnike nacionalnih manjina 2015. i 2019. godine

The basic law governing minority rights in the Republic of Croatia was adopted by The Constitutional Act on the Rights of National Minorities (CARNM) in 2002. Among other things, it provides for the election of representatives of members of national minorities in accordance with a special election act. The unified election act – Act on the Election of Councils and Representatives of National Minorities (AECRNM), which regulates the election of members of national minority councils and representatives of national minorities in local and regional self-government units, entered into force on 14 March 2019, 17 years after the adoption of the CARNM. The first elections held under the provisions of that act were the elections of representatives and members of Councils of National Minorities, held in 2019, on 5 May (first round) and 19 May (second round). The 2019 elections went unnoticed by the Croatian press, with the exception of the involvement of some local media in areas with a larger population of members of national minorities. Apart from invisibility, another problem of the 2019 elections was the low voter turnout, from 10 to 24 percent, depending on the level of the self-government unit at which the elections were held. The empirical analysis of election results and Government Reports on the implementation of the CARNM seeks to answer the questions of the extent to which national minorities were politically active in the previous election cycle (2015–2019) and whether more generous funding of political activities affects voter turnout. The evaluation of the results is also an answer to the question of whether the adoption of the new act is a step forward in promoting the political rights of national minorities in Croatia and a guide for election participants to prepare activities for the new election cycle.

Trust, Reputation and the Small Firm: Building Online Brand Reputation for SMEs

Social media provides numerous opportunities for small businesses to promote their products and services, build brand communities and reach diverse market niches. An important factor in seizing these opportunities is developing trust and creating reputation among consumers. This qualitative study examines how a group of Australian small business managers utilize social media websites to connect to, communicate with and maintain their customer base. For the purpose of this paper we are using case studies of four companies physically based in Victoria, Australia. These businesses have a high presence in online consumer groups, being both active members of communities and representatives of their businesses. The duality of their role as participant and company representative imposes difficulties in creating reputation among community members. We have used in-depth interviews as a primary research method, additionally monitoring their activities on social media sites such as forums, social networking services, blogs and micro-blogs. We have identified practices helpful for developing trust, building reputation and create a brand image in online communities.

Examining National Privacy Laws in the Context of International Trade

In recent years, multiple government officials, members of civil society, industry representatives, and academic scholars have suggested that a direct relationship exists between a country’s data privacy framework and international trade prospects. However, quantitative research in this field is still nascent. Therefore, this thesis explores the relationship between countries’ data privacy laws and annual commercial services exports and imports. I hypothesize that a positive correlation exists between privacy laws and international trade: I predict that countries or territories with stronger national privacy laws are likely to see higher levels of commercial services exports and imports, holding constant various control factors. Using demographic and international trade data from the World Bank and the World Trade Organization, I adopt linear and fixed-effects regression models to analyze national data privacy frameworks from 202 countries or territories between 2005 and 2018. I find that the results of this study generally support my hypothesis, although I underscore the limitations of these findings, including missing data and uncontrollable confounding variables. Finally, I offer conclusions and policy recommendations based on my preliminary analysis and offer support for further research into this topic.

Achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA): A Conceptual Review of Normative Economics Frameworks

Background: The health status of the Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries is well below that of the rest of the world. Coupled with low per capita income, these countries have agreed and committed themselves to raising their health status equitable standard by addressing United Nations (UN) Sustainability Development Goal number 3 (SDG3) by 2030. Addressing SDG3 requires increased and equitable funding for universal health coverage, healthcare infrastructure, efficient resource allocation, improved priority setting, reduction in corruption, and other strategies. However, what is urgently needed to improve priority setting processes or meaningful health system reform, among other things. There is therefore a need for the exploration of the economic and non-economic (which includes social justice) explicit criteria that ought to form the normative framework for Decision Making. These explicit criteria include efficiency, burden of disease, equality (strict egalitarianism), equity, and explicit criteria.Methods: The ultimate aim was to identify explicit values/principles/criteria that can be used to formulate an ideal normative framework to be used to guide decision Making so as to improve SDG3 in SSA. We synthesized selected literature on the normative frameworks for priority setting processes in health in SSA was undertaken, and the explicit criteria which, ought to guide these frameworks were identified. The form of the Social Welfare function and its principles was identified.Results and Conclusions: The framework and its explicit criteria for priority setting in the SSA countries that ought to be adopted in order to improve their SDG3 was identified—Non-Welfarist framework. This framework allows utility, health and other important social values/attributes/principles to enter the normative SWF. It is argued that such a framework ought to be specified empirically and concurrently by the decision-makers and members of the community representatives. Community representatives ought to be recognized as legitimate claimants of the resources determined, and should therefore be allowed to have a role in specifying the arguments in the SWF and what weights to be attached to the stated arguments. This implies that the selection of options in decision-making should focus on maximizing benefit and minimizing the opportunities forgone as stated in the framework.

Identifying best approaches for engaging patients and family members in health informatics initiatives: a case study of the Group Priority Sort technique

BackgroundPatient engagement strategies in health service delivery have become more common in recent years. However, many healthcare organizations are challenged in identifying the best methods to engage patients in health information technology (IT) initiatives. Engaging with important stakeholders to identify effective opportunities can inform the development of a resource that addresses this issue and supports organizations in their endeavors. The purpose of this paper is to share our experience and lessons learned from applying a novel consensus-building technique in order to identify key elements for effective patient engagement in health IT initiatives. This will be done through a case study approach.MethodsPatients, family members of patients, health professionals, researchers, students, vendor representatives and individuals who work in health IT roles in health organizations were engaged through a one-day symposium in Toronto, Canada in September, 2018. During the symposium, the Group Priority Sort technique was used to obtain structured feedback from symposium attendees in the context of small group discussions. Descriptive statistics and a content analysis were undertaken to analyze the data collected through the Group Priority Sort as well as participant feedback following the symposium.ResultsA total of 37 participants attended the symposium from a variety of settings and organizations. Using the Group Priority Sort technique, 30 topics were classified by priority to be included in a future resource. Participant feedback pertaining to the symposium and research methods was largely positive. Several areas of improvement, such as clarity of items, were identified from this case study.ConclusionsThe Group Priority Sort technique was an efficient method for obtaining valuable suggestions from a diverse group of stakeholders, including patients and family members. The specific priorities and feedback obtained from the symposium will be incorporated into a resource for healthcare organizations to aid them in engaging patients in health IT initiatives. Additionally, five important considerations were identified when conducting future work with the Group Priority Sort technique and are outlined in this paper.

Survey on ART and IUI: legislation, regulation, funding and registries in European countries: The European IVF-monitoring Consortium (EIM) for the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE).

STUDY QUESTIONHow are ART and IUI regulated, funded and registered in European countries?SUMMARY ANSWEROf the 43 countries performing ART and IUI in Europe, and participating in the survey, specific legislation exists in only 39 countries, public funding (also available in the 39 countries) varies across and sometimes within countries and national registries are in place in 31 countries.WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADYSome information devoted to particular aspects of accessibility to ART and IUI is available, but most is fragmentary or out-dated. Annual reports from the European IVF-Monitoring (EIM) Consortium for ESHRE clearly mirror different approaches in European countries regarding accessibility to and efficacy of those techniques.STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATIONA survey was designed using the online SurveyMonkey tool consisting of 55 questions concerning three domains—legal, funding and registry. Answers refer to the countries’ situation on 31 December 2018.PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTINGS, METHODSAll members of EIM plus representatives of countries not yet members of the Consortium were invited to participate. Answers received were checked, and initial responders were asked to address unclear answers and to provide any additional information they considered important. Tables of individual countries resulting from the consolidated data were then sent to members of the Committee of National Representatives of ESHRE, asking for a second check. Conflicting information was clarified by direct contact.MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCEInformation was received from 43 out of the 44 European countries where ART and IUI are performed. Thirty-nine countries reported specific legislation on ART, and artificial insemination was considered an ART technique in 35 of them. Accessibility is limited to infertile couples in 11 of the 43 countries. A total of 30 countries offer treatments to single women and 18 to female couples. In five countries ART and IUI are permitted for treatment of all patient groups, being infertile couples, single women and same sex couples, male and female. Use of donated sperm is allowed in 41 countries, egg donation in 38, the simultaneous donation of sperm and egg in 32 and embryo donation in 29. Preimplantation genetic testing (PGT) for monogenic disorders or structural rearrangements is not allowed in two countries, and PGT for aneuploidy is not allowed in 11; surrogacy is accepted in 16 countries. With the exception of marital/sexual situation, female age is the most frequently reported limiting criteria for legal access to ART—minimal age is usually set at18 years and maximum ranging from 45 to 51 years with some countries not using numeric definition. Male maximum age is set in very few countries. Where permitted, age is frequently a limiting criterion for third-party donors (male maximum age 35 to 55 years; female maximum age 34 to 38 years). Other legal constraints in third-party donation are the number of children born from the same donor (in some countries, number of families with children from the same donor) and, in 10 countries, a maximum number of egg donations. How countries deal with the anonymity is diverse—strict anonymity, anonymity just for the recipients (not for children when reaching legal adulthood age), mixed system (anonymous and non-anonymous donations) and strict non-anonymity.Public funding systems are extremely variable. Four countries provide no financial assistance to patients. Limits to the provision of funding are defined in all the others i.e. age (female maximum age is the most used), existence of previous children, maximum number of treatments publicly supported and techniques not entitled for funding. In a few countries, reimbursement is linked to a clinical policy. The definition of the type of expenses covered within an IVF/ICSI cycle, up to what limit and the proportion of out-of-pocket costs for patients is also extremely dissimilar.National registries of ART and IUI are in place in 31 out of the 43 countries contributing to the survey, and a registry of donors exists in 18 of them.LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTIONThe responses were provided by well-informed and committed individuals and submitted to double checking. Since no formal validation was in place, possible inaccuracies cannot be excluded. Also, results are a cross section in time and ART and IUI legislations within European countries undergo continuous evolution. Finally, several domains of ART activity were deliberately left out of the scope of this ESHRE survey.WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGSResults of this survey offer a detailed view of the ART and IUI situation in European countries. It provides updated and extensive answers to many relevant questions related to ART usage at national level and could be used by institutions and policymakers in planning services at both national and European levels.Study funding/competing interest(s)The study has no external funding, and all costs were covered by ESHRE. There were no competing interests.ESHRE Pages are not externally peer reviewed. This article has been approved by the Executive Committee of ESHRE.

PENERAPAN IPTEKS UNDANG-UNDANG NOMOR 20 TAHUN 2001 TENTANG PEMBERANTASAN TINDAK PIDANA KORUPSI

Devotion this was done in the title of the application of IPTEKS the act number 20 year 2001 on corruption eradication that was done on tuesday on 11 july 2017 in the vicinity of the candidates and the member of a Party City Hanura Jayapura and on wednesday, on 12 july 2017 who held at the candidates and the member of a Party District Keerom Hanura. Activity is done due to lack of understanding about the importance of conducting corruption eradication for candidates and party members in the neighborhood hanura party because of the ignorance the council of representatives and prospective members of representatives particularly dilingkungan hanura party leadership council branches and the city of jayapura leadership council district branch keerom have understanding for better and can take the lesson from from cases of corruption that has happened and can do prevention at a later date so that corruption not continue to grow and become culture particularly in papua province. Output from devotion this is steps and for better understanding is good about the law no.20 in 2011 on corruption eradication for the and members of representatives especially in hanura party leader council Jayapura the city and the board head branch of Keerom District. Keywords : Crimes, Corruption, Eradication

Conducting an Effective Quality and Patient Outcomes (QPO) Conference: A Tertiary Care Center Experience

Introduction: M&M (Morbidity & Mortality)/ QPO (Quality and Patient Outcomes) conferences in gastroenterology play a crucial role in Quality Improvement (QI) and fellowship training. Gastroenterology societies have long advocated regular review of endoscopic complications, with few replicable models or references published so far. We propose a QPO conference format that is useful in monitoring the quality of patient care and adherence to quality indicators, while also enhancing trainee education. Methods: Gastroenterology faculty, fellows and endoscopy staff voluntarily report all observed procedural adverse events through a standardized electronic reporting system available on all computer terminals or a cellphone application. Documented events or irregularities included un-anticipated interventions in the endoscopy suite, unplanned admissions, and ED referrals. A detailed prospective database is used to capture of all these events. Reported events are evaluated monthly by a committee which includes nursing staff, a GI fellow, and a faculty member, who directs the GI division's QPO conference. At the meeting, all reported events are discussed and the contributing factors identified. A scoring system is used to rate the type of adverse events (Image 1). The most serious adverse events are presented at the GI division's quarterly QPO conference, attended by members of GI division and representatives of the risk-management team. Results: Regular analysis of the prospective database and discussions at QPO conference enables the review committee to focus on areas of quality improvement, either related to provider care and/or to system issues, allowing existing policies to be revised or new protocols to be developed. Since implementation of this M&M/QPO approach, we developed closed loop communication strategy between endoscopy staff and respiratory therapy personnel thereby reducing respiratory events. We have also identified sedation related corneal injuries and developed preventative measures. Conclusion: With the increasingly procedural nature of GI practice, QPO conferences play a vital role in monitoring and improving patient care, fellowship education, and identifying quality improvement opportunities. We believe that our current QPO conference model is unique with dynamic electronic reporting and creation of a systematic prospective database to track all adverse events. This can be replicated and further expanded to improve quality of care in both academic and nonacademic institutions.1100_A Figure 1. QPO /M&M Scoring system1100_B Figure 2. QPO /M&M Flow chart

STRATEGIES FOR ATTAINING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES IN SOUTH-SOUTH GEOPOLITICAL ZONE OF NIGERIA

This study investigated strategies for achieving sustainable inclusive education in South-south Geopolitical Zone of Nigeria. A survey of two hundred (200) participants comprising of key actors of Sustainable Development Goals such as Desk Officers Ministry of Education, members of National Assembly and House Representatives, etc. from South-south Geopolitical Zone of Nigeria selected through expert sampling technique. Three null hypotheses were formulated to direct the study. A twenty (20) item questionnaire with a four point rating scale and reliability coefficient of 0.76 was used to canvass opinions of these stakeholders on the effectiveness of strategies such as establishment of National Commission on Sustainable Development for Persons with Disabilities, workable follow up mechanisms and disaggregated data by disability so to establish a link between these strategies and achievement of sustainable inclusive education. The data collected were statistically analyzed using Pearson Product Moment Correlation Analysis. The findings revealed that these strategies are effective and significantly related with achievement of sustainable inclusive education. It was recommended that the government should establish workable follow up mechanisms at federal, state and local government levels to monitor, evaluate and hold key national SDGs actors accountable for implementation of the development agenda

Collaborating for Global Action on Hearing Loss

Figure: iStock/vgajicA great challenge faces the ear and hearing community today. Even as we struggle to provide accessible and affordable care to people with ear diseases and hearing loss, the numbers requiring this care are constantly going up. The increasing trend of listening to loud music over prolonged periods is putting the hearing of over a billion young people at risk. At the same time, demographic trends predict an increase in the number of older adults, one-third of whom are likely to have hearing loss. In addition, there are other persisting risk factors, including ear infections, infectious diseases such as rubella and meningitis, birth complications, occupational noise exposure, and injudicious use of ototoxic medicines.Figure: Shelly Chadha, PhDThese predictions underline the fact that we face an imminent, exponential rise in hearing loss. Imagine a world where every fourth person is hearing impaired, which may well become a reality. As a professional community, we must answer these questions: How can this looming epidemic be prevented? And how can access to care be ensured for people with ear and hearing problems across the world?Figure: Alarcos Cieza, PhDThese questions cannot be answered by any single entity acting in isolation even with the best of intentions. Concerted public health action at a global level is required to combat the emerging risks and to prepare for those that we can't. Such global action has to be carried out with a single vision and the participation of all stakeholders in the field of ear and hearing care. Everyone—clinicians, researchers, academicians, members of professional groups, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), governmental agencies, health organizations, civil society, or industry representatives—has to contribute toward this effort. If we are to meet this challenge effectively, we must move out of our “individual zones” and work together. STAKEHOLDERS’ CONSULTATION To identify the multiple aspects of such global action through a collaborative approach, the World Health Organization (WHO) organized the first Stakeholders’ Consultation in July 2016 (WHO, 2016 http://bit.ly/2qTtcuz). This was done with the aim to develop a shared vision and identify synergies among different stakeholders. Different sectors involved in hearing care were represented at this meeting, which reviewed trends in hearing loss and identified mechanisms to raise awareness of hearing loss through World Hearing Day (March 3). Key developments have taken place in the year that followed. The World Health Assembly (WHA), which is the supreme decision-making body in global health, is in the process of discussing a proposed resolution to draw the attention of its member states towards hearing loss. The WHO has advanced its initiative, “Make Listening Safe,” which aims to reduce the risk of hearing loss due to recreational exposure. World Hearing Day has been established as an annual advocacy event, and was observed across the globe in 2017 with the theme “Action for hearing loss: Make a sound investment.” MOVING FORWARD Carrying forward the work initiated last year, WHO is inviting stakeholders for another consultation. These include experts in ear and hearing care and in public health from across the six WHO regions, international NGOs and civil society groups, WHO collaborating centres and partner academic institutions, manufacturers of hearing devices, and researchers in the field. Following on the heels of the WHA, this consultation at the WHO headquarters in Geneva is expected to define a roadmap for global action on hearing loss and outline the roles various stakeholders can play in this action. This global action must be promoted through evidence-based, holistic, and collaborative strategies. Most importantly, all stakeholders must be committed to driving this agenda to face and overcome the looming threat of a hearing loss epidemic.

Supporting public involvement in interview and other panels: a systematic review.

BackgroundMembers of the public are increasingly being invited to become members of a variety of different panels and boards.ObjectiveThis study aimed to systematically search the literature to identify studies relating to support or training provided to members of the public who are asked to be members of an interview panel.Search strategyA systematic search for published and unpublished studies was carried out from June to September 2015. The search methods included electronic database searching, reference list screening, citation searching and scrutinizing online sources.Inclusion criteriaWe included studies of any design including published and unpublished documents which outlined preparation or guidance relating to public participants who were members of interview panels or representatives on other types of panels or committees.Data synthesisResults were synthesised via narrative methods.Main resultsThirty‐six documents were included in the review. Scrutiny of this literature highlighted ten areas which require consideration when including members of the public on interview panels: financial resources; clarity of role; role in the interview process; role in evaluation; training; orientation/induction; information needs; terminology; support; and other public representative needs such as timing, accessibility and support with information technology.Discussion and conclusionsThe results of the review emphasize a range of elements that need to be fully considered when planning the involvement of public participants on interview panels. It highlights potential issues relating to the degree of involvement of public representatives in evaluating/grading decisions and the need for preparation and on‐going support.

Process of Emergence of Smart Specialisation in Pomeranian Voivodeship in Poland

The European Commission puts a growing emphasis on the smart specialization as a tool of regional development. This term is present in a number of strategic development documents in the European Union, including Europe 2020, published by the European Commission in 2010. It implies the need for countries and regions to specialize as well as focus the development of innovation on areas that are consistent with their endogenous potentials.Objectives of this paper are: (1) to present the method and results of the process of identifying smart specialization in Pomeranian Voivodship; (2) to analyse evolution of the fields of smart specialization; (3) to identify problems and challenges which occurred during this process. In this research, following methods have been applied: (1) analysis of existing documents including application forms for the competition of Pomeranian smart specialization, (2) individual in-depth interviews with members of partnerships and representatives of the Voivodeship Marshal's Office, (3) authors’ observations while participating in this process. The authorities of the Pomeranian Voivodeship see the smart specialization as an area with high potential, relevant to the development of the Voivodeship, based on the unique resources of the Region and their innovative use. It is assumed that, among others, implementation of R & I is contributing to the development of existing economic specialization and having an impact on the growth of competitiveness of the Pomeranian Region on the national and international arena. The process of identification of smart specialization has been implemented in three phases.

Governing in the shadow of Bologna: return of the state in higher education quality assurance policy

The Bologna process emerged as a voluntary network of higher education systems, but within a few years it has gradually transformed into a new form of governance closely linked to the EU. This implies the return of executive power, though by using new tools and arenas. The article aims to analyse to which extent this shift in governing in the Bologna process is evident in higher education of Estonia. The analysis revealed similar developments in higher education quality assurance at both European and domestic levels, characterised by strengthening of executive agencies which govern by data and quality standards. Semi-structured interviews demonstrated that executive actors are better adjusted to the new situation of governance compared to legislative actors. While members of parliament and interest group representatives commonly failed to distinguish between the Bologna process and the EU Lisbon agenda, executive actors efficiently used the European agenda to advance domestic quality assurance reforms. Moreover, in contrast with parliamentary representatives, civil servants understood the need to reconfigure existing policy networks that may eventually further strengthen the position of executives in higher education policy.