Traditional Activities Research Articles

Disrupting Development? A Situated Perspective on Technology and Innovation in Global Development

This article analyses the growing ubiquity of radical technologies and disruptive methodologies in global development. Accelerated by the broad nature of the Sustainable Development Goals, disruption and its related notions of innovation and technology have gradually made it to the centre of attention in development, shaping public and private actors and interventions alike. The article employs a situated analysis of disruption in development to show that as the concept is moving into the field of global development, its meaning and practice is continually—and even contradictorily—reconstructed in constant negotiation with its possible effects. We argue that, beyond a simple buzzword, disruption is employed strategically by different by actors to pursue certain political goals, revealing current movements and lines of discord in the field of global development. While emerging actors use it to challenge the legitimacy of existing donors, more traditional or established actors employ it with a view to remaining relevant in the field, pushing back against the challenge from emerging ones. These interpretative struggles thus are not just isolated ones determining the legitimacy of individual actors but are important for the way they set markers for what development is today, who can legitimately contribute to it and the purposes for which development is pursued.

Introducción: a los 50 años de la Ley General de Educación de 1970

The commemorative opportunity is only a circumstance that prompts to investigate the General Education Act (LGE) of 1970 fifty years after its approval. Another more essential reason invites its study: to investigate with new analyzes and new perspectives on what the LGE meant for the modernization of the country and for the transition between Franco's education and constitutional education. This requires examining the precedents of the 1970 Law and paying attention to the place that the LGE has occupied in educational historiography, in which an evolution towards current historiographic trends is visible. In these highlights the study of international influences in the process of educational modernization, the different iconographic discourses with which the LGE is represented, the protagonism of some of its traditional actors, the rereading of timeless themes present in the Law, and the debates that this generates in the collective memory. These questions are addressed here from the historian's workshop, which are enriched on this occasion with testimonies of individual memories, protagonists in the gestation, development and application of the 1970 Law.

The problems of popularization of science in the Russian Federation in the context of amendments to the legal regulation of educational activity

The subject of this research is the relevant issues pertaining to popularization of science in the Russian Federation. The goal of this article lies in determination of the currently existing key issues of popularization of science in the Russian Federation: 1) the absence of effective response to the transformation of the traditional field of scientific promotion activity (distribution of new forms and methods of such activity); 2) imperfection of the new legal regulation of educational and scientific promotion activity, which may implicitly lead to negative consequences. The conducted research involves in theoretical conceptualization of scientific promotion activity in the digital age the novelties of legislative regulation of educational activity adopted in April 2021 (the so-called Law on Educational Activity). Unlike other works dedicated to the analysis of this law, this article assesses its basic provisions from the perspective of the effectiveness of achieving the goals set in the context of its impact upon the state of popularization of science in the Russian society. It is established that the model for preventing deterioration of the quality of educational content proposed in the Law on Educational Activity is not effective enough and may further reduce the quality of scientific promotion activity. Therefore, the purpose of imposed restrictions may fail to be achieved. The author believes that the more effective way would lie in intensification of the activity of traditional actors of popularization of science, rather than restriction of the activity of nontraditional actors of popularization of science.

What factors shape surgical access in West Africa? A qualitative study exploring patient and provider experiences of managing injuries in Sierra Leone

IntroductionSurgical access is central to universalising health coverage, yet 5 billion people lack timely access to safe surgical services. Surgical need is particularly acute in post conflict settings like Sierra...

Patterns of actorship in legitimation of educational changes: The role of transnational and local knowledge

This paper examines how different meanings of knowledge (transnational, comparative, statistical, local, and personal) relationally stabilise the agential position for the legitimation of educational reform across state and non-state actors. Analysing the materiality and systems of reason of proposals to reform education in the pre-election debates in the Czech Republic, the focus is placed on different patterns of legitimate and legitimating actorship, assembled from global and local relations. Through an ecological conceptualisation the research identifies the problematisation and decomposition of actorship into contradictory assemblages of both traditional actors (teachers and politicians) and relatively new ones (NGOs). The relationship of the civil sector and the state structures allowed the emergence of new non-state, non-professional actors (NGOs) who aggregate their expertise from transnational data and legitimate both their position as experts and the particular educational change. This has consequences for non-experts as politicians and teachers. The transnational and European context penetrated into the Czech educational sphere not through an elite class of system actors but through the representatives of NGOs. Rhetorically saving education from degradation, NGOs engage in spreading the transnational data and externalise the legitimation of educational reform and thus become the bearers (although agentially limited) of the European space.

(Is) African spring in Chinese foreign policy (?)

The basis of China’s relations with African countries dates back to the 1950s. Especially in 1955, the Bandung Conference, in which China and African countries came together, provided an excellent opportunity for these countries to establish bilateral relations. While China did not have diplomatic relations with Africa in the pre-Cold War period and had limited relations with the continent in the context of the developments in the international system during the Cold War period, a critical revival was observed in China’s relations with Africa in the 1990s. The 2000s were the years when this vitality reflected on economic indicators. Apart from these emphases, China’s policies in the framework of soft power strategy have a significant impact on the positive progress of China’s relations with African countries. China’s interest in Africa has been directly influenced by changes in China and the international system for nearly seventy years covering the specified period. Both its economic potential and the need to provide the resources, China has developed commercial and economic cooperation and partnerships with other states. This situation inevitably leads China to relate to different geographies. With its political and military power, which has developed in parallel with its increasing economic power, China has become one of the major players in the international system. In this study, it is revealed how China’s foreign policy towards Africa adapts to the changes and transformations witnessed in the country and international system. It is emphasized that China tries to develop different strategies from traditional actors who are active in the continent since the colonial period. In this direction, the main question of the study is whether Africa is a competition area for China or a clear trade area. The apparent hypothesis is a developing Chinese presence in Africa and its discovery. For this reason, China’s existence in Africa was tried to be tested in the historical perspective.

Decentralization as a Strategy to Scale Fit-for-Purpose Land Administration: An Indian Perspective on Institutional Challenges

Many countries grapple with the intractable problem of formalizing tenure security. The concept of ‘fit-for-purpose land administration’ (FFPLA) offers a way forward by advocating a shift towards a more flexible, pragmatic and inclusive approach for land rights recording. Inherently, the process and outcome of implementing FFPLA will have significant socio-political ramifications but these have not received much attention in the literature; additionally, few papers have considered this in the context of decentralization, an endorsed strategy for implementing FFPLA. This paper contributes to this gap by critically analyzing three land formalization initiatives in India which have employed flexible recording approaches and where decentralization is used to scale implementation. The cases show how quickly decentralization can kickstart implementation at scale via collaborations with local governing bodies and partnerships with non-state actors. An institutionalist approach highlights ensuing political contests between new and traditional land actors that inhibit political authority, and the challenges of coordinating a network of public and private actors without clear formal collaborative governance structures to ensure democratic outcomes. In doing so, we contribute to governance knowledge around FFPLA implementation so that it is ‘fit-for-people’ and better able to support policies and processes to secure land rights at scale.

Comparative Analysis of Digital Communications of Traditional and New Party Actors in Russia, 2020

Comparative Analysis of Digital Communications of Traditional and New Party Actors in Russia, 2020

Digital unionism as a renewal strategy? Social media use by trade union confederations

Traditional actors such as trade unions are inevitably challenged by digital technologies, not only from the perspective of labor relations, but also in relation to outreach and communications strategies. In fact, as online and offline realities become increasingly intertwined, the presence of organized labor institutions within the Internet’s current networked environment is unavoidable. This article debates digital trade unionism as a strategy for trade union renewal, particularly the implications of using social media platforms to connect and interact with a broader audience beyond the labor movement. Through a comprehensive comparative analysis of the Facebook pages of six trade union confederations from Brazil, Canada, Portugal, and the UK, we find that despite the possibilities for horizontal dialogue enabled by the new digital communication and information technologies, trade union confederations maintain an outdated ‘one-way’ model of communication, hindering opportunities to reach and engage with both union and non-union actors.

Actor–observer asymmetry in perceptions of parole board release decisions

In the current study, the actor–observer effect is tested with both mock parole board members and the public evaluating the responsibility of parole board members for a decision resulting in a parolee reoffending and committing a murder. Participants (two samples with a combined N = 1317) were randomly assigned to act as a mock parole board member and make a decision (which ended in the parolee reoffending) or as a member of the public who read a story about the same parole decision and outcome. Findings suggest that the traditional actor–observer asymmetry emerged across blame and responsibility concepts, emotion and moral judgments. Overall, the public held harsher judgments than the mock parole board members. Implications regarding self-enhancement, methodology and attribution theory are discussed.

Regulating the Urban Commons: A Romanian Case Study of Improving Building Facades

This paper examines the effect of build environment regulations for facades emergency repairs and embellishment, as implemented by the city of Cluj-Napoca, the second largest municipality in Romania. The scope was to identify to what extent the over taxation measure was efficient in generating compliant behaviour and what secondary effects it may have generated in people’s attitude towards the local authorities. We conducted structured interviews with 25 homeowners targeted by the policy. The qualitative analysis uncovers structural issues on how the policy was implemented and communicated to the population. It further acknowledges difficulties in managing mixed property and collective actions. We interpret the findings as a first step towards building a more comprehensive research framework focused also on included behavioural insights, as captured by our recommendations. Namely, they illustrate that homeowners were critical about the measure, both in its rationale and its implementation, and were unable to act upon a cost-benefit analysis given the ambiguous available information. The findings further acknowledge difficulties in managing mixed property and collective actions, but they also hint favourably towards the role of peer effects, expressed here as compliant neighbours’ behaviour. We interpret the results of this exploratory case study as a first step towards building a more comprehensive approach to serve as a toolkit in examining the development of innovative local policies in post-communist environments, through a combined research framework including also the significant contribution of behavioural insights, next to the traditional rational actor theories. Naturally, the usual limitations of the method also apply to our study, in the sense of non-generalizable conclusions. This fuels up the need for further research on similar regional and urban challenges in an extended multiple-case study scheme.

Autonomous underwater vehicle path planning based on actor-multi-critic reinforcement learning

The environmental adaptability of autonomous underwater vehicles is always a problem for its path planning. Although reinforcement learning can improve the environmental adaptability, the slow convergence of reinforcement learning is caused by multi-behavior coupling, so it is difficult for autonomous underwater vehicle to avoid moving obstacles. This article proposes a multi-behavior critic reinforcement learning algorithm applied to autonomous underwater vehicle path planning to overcome problems associated with oscillating amplitudes and low learning efficiency in the early stages of training which are common in traditional actor–critic algorithms. Behavior critic reinforcement learning assesses the actions of the actor from perspectives such as energy saving and security, combining these aspects into a whole evaluation of the actor. In this article, the policy gradient method is selected as the actor part, and the value function method is selected as the critic part. The strategy gradient and the value function methods for actor and critic, respectively, are approximated by a backpropagation neural network, the parameters of which are updated using the gradient descent method. The simulation results show that the method has the ability of optimizing learning in the environment and can improve learning efficiency, which meets the needs of real time and adaptability for autonomous underwater vehicle dynamic obstacle avoidance.

Transdisciplinary knowledge production in mainstream journals: from the perspective of the participation of social actors in Mexico

Contemporary scientific production can no longer be explained with traditional actors and procedures. We conducted a transdisciplinary bibliometric study to identify and analyze the participation of social actors in the publications in mainstream journals with a Mexican affiliation during 2015, in the Web of Science. 22,331 articles were obtained with at least one Mexican authorship. More than one hundred different social actors were identified, grouped into 49 categories. The actors were segmented into (1) academic actors (79.15%), affiliated to universities and research centers; and (2) non-academic actors (20.85%), who do not have knowledge production within their main activities. Academic actors have greater participation in the fields of life sciences, engineering, and physical sciences, while non-academics affect the field of health and life sciences. Mexico City contains the most significant number of affiliations (41.87%), which a high academic contribution (65.21%). Most of this production corresponds to articles (72.56%) written in English (81.94%) and published in scientific journals located in the first two JCR quartiles (57.85%). The results show differences when comparing academic and non-academic actors. We conclude that the participation of a broad group of social actors with different patterns of knowledge production has been identified with empirical evidence.

Study on Consumer Product Supplier Evaluation Method Based on Actor Analysis Thinking

This paper, based on the existing results of studying supplier evaluation indexes and Actor Analysis Thinking, and by combining the characteristics of consumer product suppliers, first establishes a consumer product supplier evaluation index system covering 10 indexes including product price, product quality, product performance, product series, timeliness of delivery, response capability, collaborative capacity, technical support capability and service attitude; then, refines the traditional Actor Analysis Method, reasonably converts some non-economic factors into economic factors, and improves the scientificity of the non-economic factor evaluation method by using comprehensive weighted average method; and finally proves the feasibility of the method proposed herein with practical application cases. The consumer product supplier evaluation method based on Actor Analysis Thinking proposed herein is scientific, rational, simple and easy to operate, and can provide technical support for enterprises and research institutions to carry out supplier evaluation, supply chain management, etc.

Rise of the Machines? Examining the Influence of Social Bots on a Political Discussion Network

The growing influence of social bots in political discussion networks has raised significant concerns, particularly given their potential to adversely impact democratic outcomes. In this study, we report the results of a case study analysis of bot activity in a recent, high-profile political discussion network. Specifically, we examine the prevalence and impact of bots in a Twitter network discussing the Special Counsel investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. elections. Using this discussion network, we conduct a “before-and-after” analysis to examine the prevalence of social bots in the discussion network as well as their influence on key network features such as (1) network structure, (2) content/messaging, (3) sentiment, and (4) influentialness. Our findings suggest that bots can affect political discussion networks in several significant ways. We found that bot-like accounts created the appearance of a virtual community around far-right political messaging, attenuated the influence of traditional actors (i.e., media personalities, subject matter experts), and influenced network sentiment by amplifying pro-Trump messaging. The results of this analysis add to a growing body of literature on the use and influence of social bots while at the same time uniquely examining their influence in a nonelectoral, political setting.

Russia, BRICS and Cyber Power:

When one thinks about powerful and influential traditional actors of the International system, Russia cannot be ruled out of this select group. Despite the oscillations by which the State had been through in the post-Cold War period, the international community witnessed, since the beginning of the 21st century, the recovery of its status quo as an influential power among both the developed countries and, mainly, the developing countries, and the BRICS is perhaps the greatest expression of this rise. As the dynamics of power within the system become more flexible on the threshold of the 21st century, moving from a traditional range of military resources to covering new demands linked to new technologies, especially the internet, Russia seeks to use them as a resource of power. Thus, this paper aims to understand how cyber resources takes part of the Russian strategy to rebuild its power in the International System and how significant these resources are to the new understanding of the State capacity of the Russian Federation. It's then believed that cyber resources act as a profitable power tool for Russia’s reentering the international arena. It is supported by the concept of “strategic deterrence” assumed in the country’s Military Doctrine (2014), which sustains military (conventional and nuclear) and non-military tools (political, economic, scientific measures). Keywords: Russia. Power. Cyber Resources.

State Appropriation of Traditional Actors and Oral Narratives in Timor-Leste

In Timor-Leste, the lia na`in (lian = word; na`in = lord, master) – leaders of customary practice – are becoming key to tradition, to “kultura” (culture), an emerging area of public cultural policies. Traditionally associated with the local communities and the mountains, they are the ones that know and pronounce the words that uncover the origin of the world, and the relationship between mankind, nature, and ancestors. Since 20 May 2002, when political power was handed from the United Nations to the Timorese authorities, several episodes have illustrated that the involvement of the lia na`in has shifted from their traditional local contexts to national ones. From small-scale sociopolitical agents, the lia na`in became a resource as buffers of conflict or of reconciliation, as council members of the suco, the smallest administrative division, and as actors in national state ceremonies, taking part in the process of (re)creating the nation’s cultural identity. The purpose of this article is to discuss the role assigned to lia na`in in state affairs and the nation, particularly the role concerning conflict resolution. The argument, I propose, is that the participation of the lia na`in, as a ritual authority, in state-sponsored ceremonies has become a major resource of credibility to the new national authorities.

Dealigned but mobilized? Insights from a citizen science study on youth political engagement

ABSTRACT Existing research on youth political engagement indicates that adolescents have become dealigned from politics. However, according to cognitive mobilization theories, adolescents may not have turned away from politics per se, but found new avenues for political engagement. We involved adolescents in a citizen science project and investigated the roles of different societal actors in providing such new avenues. A total of 67 adolescents searched for political participation calls in their environment (N = 285). They documented and evaluated each observation via an online coding tool. As each observation is nested within individuals, we ran multilevel regressions. In line with the dealignment hypothesis, the participants rated participation offers from political candidates and parties as least interesting and least identified with such actors. By contrast, they highly identified with citizen movements and perceived their issues as most relevant. High identification with the actor and perceived issue relevance significantly increased the likelihood of participation. In line with cognitive mobilization, adolescents may thus not lack political motivation. However, traditional actors fail to respond to their identity needs and interests.

Оnline практики публічної політики в Литві та Україні.

The article examines the influence of online practices of interaction between state power and civil society on the process of public policy formation on the example of the transition systems of Lithuania and Ukraine.It is determined that the introduction of online practices in public policy in Lithuania provides for the modernization of the public administration process in accordance with the new conditions of institutional development; contributes to increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of institutions of government and the state; conditions are created for open and transparent public administration, as well as the possibility of sustainable feedback between government and business and citizens.It was found that Ukraine is actively involved in the interactive process, which can be attributed to the positive effects of institutionalization of public policy. The introduction of electronic technologies in the field of public administration and the expansion of information space allows public authorities not only to provide better services, but also to decentralize, while strengthening horizontal links between the bureaucratic system, strengthen feedback between government officials and citizens and have in order to ensure constant adjustment of the activities of the authorities taking into account the wishes and requests of the population.The tendencies of institutionalization of public policy practices in the online space are clarified, the specifics of the virtual activity of actors in the public space and the degree of their influence on politics are revealed. It is proved that new information technologies web 2.0 and web 3.0 changed the practice of social communication in general and public policy in particular, led to the emergence of new interactive institutional forms of cooperation, which expanded the public space and complicated the management system. It is noted that the level of e-government development, which ensures active public participation in public administration, is of great importance in building public policy from the bottom up. Online tools have given impetus to the inclusion of new mechanisms of networking – for both traditional actors and newcomers, created conditions for the inclusion of more citizens in the political process, provided platforms for communication, led to new innovative institutionalized forms of partnership between civil society and government, filled new ideological content of public policy.

Place leadership in emerging product-service systems

Some manufacturing systems are entering trajectories of territorial servitisation. In such cases, traditional business actors might be replaced by new ones, such as the providers of knowledge intensive business services. The dis-alignment of interests between traditional firms and the new entrants increases the risks of high transaction costs. Here, an appropriate place leadership would play an important role and trigger territorial servitisation trajectories. This paper proposes a conceptual framework that seeks to unveil how different types of place leadership could support territorial servitisation processes and contribute to achieve sustainable (effective) product-service system configurations. An open place leadership would support strong territorial servitisation opportunities and coordinated solutions among conflictual views and interests. If instead place leadership is weak or based on a closed club of private interests, weak or unstable trajectories amid lock-ins and impending decline become more probable.