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Demographic ageing in Europe is leading to an increasing need for care and a serious challenge for the sustainability of our social and healthcare systems. Informal carers across the EU currently provide over 80 per cent of all care. If not adequately supported, caring can have many difficult consequences for carers. Carers should not be socially and economically penalised as a result of their caregiving activities. Measures designed to support them should therefore aim to recognise them and their vital role in society, provide them with the essential information and counselling they need, give them access to allowances that offset the costs they face and truly values their contribution, develop flexible working arrangements and care leave schemes to allow them to maintain an active life, and improve the provision of equitable and accessible formal care services to ensure carers can rely on professional alternatives to informal care. This policy paper makes clear why it is necessary to address the challenges faced by young carers. It briefly discusses different forms of support measures and makes recommendations for better support for Young Carers

As the cradle of cultivating talents, universities are facing great opportunities and challenges in their education. Among them, IPE (ideological and political education), as an important foundation for the future growth of university students, is of great significance. This paper discusses the relationship between IPE and psychological fitness education in university teaching. This paper expounds the necessity and feasibility of playing the role of psychological fitness education in IPECU (ideological and political education in colleges and universities). Based on this, this paper gives the strategy of infiltrating psychological fitness education into IPE. This paper combines NN (neural network) method to construct an assessment model of IPE quality. In this paper, MATLAB is used for simulation and comparative analysis. The final experiment shows that the RMSE of this algorithm is 0.512, MAE is 1.089, and the accuracy of the algorithm is 0.958.

Hands-off data-driven learning is a data-based, student-oriented learning model characterized by inquiry and discovery. English context vocabulary teaching is the key to English teaching in colleges and an important indicator to evaluate the quality and level of college English teaching, which is a language teaching paradigm focusing on the language environment. Combining the two approaches can give students a more realistic, practical, and meaningful language learning experience. This paper analyzes the vocabulary learning level of two non-English major undergraduate classes at Southwest University of Political Science and Law before and after the application of the context experiment. The positive effect of context vocabulary teaching in the control groups is verified by comparing and analyzing the influence of context teaching based on hands-off data-driven learning on their scores and learning results between the experimental and control groups. It shows that the combination of context in English vocabulary teaching with hands-off data-driven learning can help to improve students' ability to understand, absorb, and apply English vocabulary.

Social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Instagram, etc have received the attention of the scholars in Media and Communication Studies, Political Science, Public Administration and other cognate academic disciplines. From the academic literature produced thus far, it is clear that social media is not uniformly understood even by those who research, write and publish from a common epistemic vintage point, which is largely dominated by Westernised consciousness. As such, this desktop paper employs Afrocentricity as an alternative and contextual lens to dissect Shepherd Mpofu’s recent Facebook roar. The latter is complimented by a few rants featured on other platforms including but not limited to WhatsApp and Twitter. The main argument of this paper is that due to their less regulated nature, Facebook and other social media platforms have become useful tools for nursing the tortured consciousness of Mpofu and et al whose egos have been injured by what appears to be an invalidation of their past intellectual contributions on Gukurahundi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a growing awareness that the condition of the built environment has a substantial impact on health. Systematic housing conditions surveys are a method for developing information about the physical condition of housing. This paper introduces the Center for Economic Information's (CEI) Neighborhood Housing Conditions Survey (NHCS). We discuss the history and implementation of the NHCS in light of other academic and civic housing conditions surveys. The paper also reviews the history and method of the NHCS. We find that housing conditions surveys are generally designed from scratch for each new research program, translating survey results into policy remains underdeveloped in the scholarly literature, and heterogeneity between surveys reduces the ability to compare observations across space and time. The NHCS may address some of these issues, suitable as an "off the shelf" template, adjustable to suit programmatic needs, and providing a baseline consistency across space and time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the role of the dark knight archetype in the theory of sovereignty. The dark knight archetype has repeatedly emerged in popular culture, but has never been fully explored in jurisprudence and political theory. The aim is to develop a new visual method to bridge the distance between the theory and the tropes that have historically been used to create and justify the notion of sovereignty. Sovereignty is understood here not only as a founding concept of modern legal theory, but also as a trope: a special kind of narrative, illustrated, capable of being modernized, and yet maintaining its initial trends; one that is foundational and colonial, and capable of institutionalizing subjects and sovereigns. Strategically following the works of Agamben, Benjamin, Jung and Warburg, this paper analyses – in a psychoanalytical sense – the unconscious dimensions of sovereignty from evidence collected in popular culture and political history. From fallen medieval knights to Zorro; from fascist Blackshirts to Darth Vader, this paper examines the pervasive repetition of dark knight figures in Western tropes of sovereignty and its consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This concept paper explores possible collective identities for a future wildland fire workforce. Taking inspiration from the work of futurists who foresee an end to the dominant fire exclusion/suppression paradigm, and assuming that an emerging fire restoration/resilience paradigm shift replaces it, this paper engages in speculative explorations of the process and product of this paradigm shift with respect to the future collective identities of a workforce conducting ecological fire management. Social constructionist assumptions from symbolic interactionist sociological theory, Gramscian political theory's concept of hegemony, and new social movement theory's concept of collective identity all provide the intellectual foundations for the discussion. This concept paper argues that in order to actualize a paradigm shift, more than advances in scientific research or reforms of government policies will be required—the wildland fire community will need to become (or join) a social movement engaged in collective actions. An imaginary social movement, the "Greenfire revolution," is invented to help illustrate how the selected theories and concepts might apply in the social construction of ecological fire management and the collective identities of its future workforce. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Russias invasion of Ukraine in 2022 triggered a conflict that has transformed international relations through drastic impacts on policymaking, energy politics, and alliances. Such impacts have produced severe multi-dimensional consequences for African countries that have yet to be sufficiently interrogated in the literature. In response to this gap, this paper examined the security implications of the conflict for African countries to offer a comprehensive analysis that considers the intersection of the conflict with contemporary economic, human, social, and political issues confronting Africa. In discourse using a qualitative approach and rooted in a theoretical perspective drawn from the Copenhagen School, the paper underlined the security implications as evident in the areas of food security and governance, buttressing that the proxy conflicts and power struggles associated with this war have exacerbated existing challenges related to food availability and interfered with the consolidation of democracy in Africa. The paper concluded that the war's multi-dimensional impact potentially compounds political instability vectors. It generates dynamics capable of eroding social cohesion and fomenting social unrest in Africa, meriting its designation as an issue of great concern to African policymakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reviews and summarizes current reproduction and replication practices in political science. We first provide definitions for reproducibility and replicability. We then review data availability policies for 28 leading political science journals and present the results from a survey of editors about their willingness to publish comments and replications. We discuss new initiatives that seek to promote and generate high-quality reproductions and replications. Finally, we make the case for standards and practices that may help increase data availability, reproducibility, and replicability in political science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to gain a better understanding of contemporary political realism, as well as of the theories of two classical political philosophers, this paper argues that the methodological roots of a contextualist model of realism can be found, among others, in the writings of Aristotle and Machiavelli. It is argued that the methodological assumptions of contextualist political realism can be formulated through two main notions: 1) the experiential basis – analysis of politics through reliance on experience from political practice; and 2) contextualism – avoiding universal claims as much as possible, i.e., making claims about politics always within a socio-historical context. Using those lenses, the paper points out the methodological elements of Aristotle’s and Machiavelli’s political theories that are in line with this version of political realism, claiming both of them could be perceived as forerunners to a certain degree. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a review of the existing research on governments' role towards sustainable development. The paper applies a literature review method and focuses first on general issues of sustainable development, followed by a more in-depth review on governments' role in promoting sustainability. Finally, the study addresses the assessment of governments' challenges and proposes actions towards sustainable goals. The paper also highlights the connection between sustainability and sustainable development. This study finds that governments are the main actors that can create and successfully promote a sustainable society. Governments, however, face many challenges in attempting to achieve this goal. One of the main challenges is the coordination between different actors that are part of the implementation of SDGs. These obstacles are of environmental, social, economic, and institutional in nature. Yet, governments are one of the main driving forces that organize and motivate all other responsible factors in promoting a sustainable society. Regardless of the enormous attention in academia towards sustainability and sustainable development, studies on governments' role and challenges towards SDGs are still limited. In this context, this paper provides an overview of the role of governments in sustainable development, and it also describes the challenges to be overcome in achieving sustainable goals. Finally, suggestions on future research areas are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to offer an interpretation of Ham Sok Hon's views on the dynamic relationship between religion and politics. While considerable discussion has already taken place in the Korean academic community across various fields, including philosophy, theology, and political science, many of which propose ssial philosophy as the metaphysical foundation of his political thoughts, there still remains a need for a more systematic understanding of their relationship, which I argue is closely linked to his concept of jeonilhwa gwajeong (the process of unification/integration). By exploring Ham's unique analysis, particularly in relation to the notion of ipcheseong (stereoscopic/multi-dimensional), this paper will underscore their shared roots and objectives across different spheres of life: one pertaining to salim (human affairs) seeking the pursuit of fairness and equality, and the other dealing with spirituality, aspiring to grasp the sublime aspects of human existence. Both religion and politics, as these movements are termed, are mutually dependent, with their culmination promising peace and harmony in historical reality. Through highlighting Ham's integrated perspective on religion and politics, I will ultimately suggest a specific discourse—civil religion—as a theoretical framework to effectively unravels Ham's viewpoints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to introduce a new theory, techno-realism, which is derived from political realism, to help comprehend the complex connections between technology and politics. According to techno-realism, technology serves as a means of power, with the innate drive for survival in human nature shaping the formation of identity. The research question at the core of this study revolves around the extent to which technology influences contemporary political science and whether it truly serves as a means of power. Three concepts are introduced: identity establishment, technology as the central source of power, and non-state actors in politics. The primary case study focuses on the complexity of the issue in Xinjiang, examining the application of cyberpolitics in the region. The second case study explores technology’s role in Indonesia’s political power struggle, as evidenced by its 2024 elections and the abuse of information and electronic transaction law effectiveness to control freedom of speech. Additionally, this paper introduces a case study on the Indo-Pacific regional power dynamics in confronting “digital authoritarianism”. This paper underscores the imperative for a new theoretical framework, adapted from political realism, which despite being subject to considerable criticism, has the potential for further development, placing technology at the core of analysis. Recognising the central roles of technology, identity formation, and non-state actors, techno-realism offers valuable insights for navigating complex political landscapes and informing strategic responses to emerging challenges. However, further research is needed to understand completely its applicability and limitations across different contexts, as demonstrated by the case studies presented in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A substantial aim of political communication is to engage specific groups of citizens through pragmatic policies and various media channels to convey messages and gain the audience's acceptance effectively. This study investigates political communication as a form of discourse that occurs within political contexts, which involves the exchange of messages among political actors to address and resolve political issues. It is an interdisciplinary field encompassing aspects of psychology, economics, culture, society, and linguistics. This paper aims to give a satisfactory explanation for the question concerning effective communication characteristics: how might politicians utilize them in their speech to be more effective? This pragmatic study in discourse is devoted to analyzing the various effective syntactic structures that arise within political interactions according to Sperber and Wilson's Theory of Relevance. The contribution of this study is evident as guidelines for further understanding the correlation between language and cognition. The researchers find that politicians seek to cognitively take advantage of the tendency of the audience to strive for relevance. In this way, expectations and attitudes are to be recognized and met by either interlocutors. The focal point of the study is the linguistic and inferential aspects of communication (verbal and non-verbal forms), represented in explicatures and implicatures. The study's findings exhibit the politicians' efforts in crafting their utterances optimally to meet the audience's expectations of relevance, which could be used as an influential method for further studies concerning discourse and communication. This research paper aims to pragmatically exploit the effectiveness of the political interactions (extracts) in the House of Commons (UK parliamentary debates). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A unifying setup for opinion models originating in statistical physics and stochastic opinion dynamics are developed and used to analyze election data. The results are interpreted in the light of political theory. We investigate the connection between Potts (Curie–Weiss) models and stochastic opinion models in the view of the Boltzmann distribution and stochastic Glauber dynamics. We particularly find that the q-voter model can be considered as a natural extension of the Zealot model, which is adapted by Lagrangian parameters. We also discuss weak and strong effects (also called extensive and nonextensive) continuum limits for the models. The results are used to compare the Curie–Weiss model, two q-voter models (weak and strong effects), and a reinforcement model (weak effects) in explaining electoral outcomes in four western democracies (United States, Great Britain, France, and Germany). We find that particularly the weak effects models are able to fit the data (Kolmogorov–Smirnov test) where the weak effects reinforcement model performs best (AIC). Additionally, we show how the institutional structure shapes the process of opinion formation. By focusing on the dynamics of opinion formation preceding the act of voting, the models discussed in this paper give insights both into the empirical explanation of elections as such, as well as important aspects of the theory of democracy. Therefore, this paper shows the usefulness of an interdisciplinary approach in studying real world political outcomes by using mathematical models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indian water rights settlements have been the primary mechanism to resolve water conflicts between tribal governments and state, municipal, and non-governmental parties. Although scholars have for decades roundly criticized settlements for their many shortcomings, this paper suggests that a combination of forces has altered the conditions for Indian water rights settlements. Settlement remains a difficult process, but a new moment for Indian water rights settlement may have arrived. This paper explains how political conditions have changed and makes a novel legal argument to supply a strategy for tribal governments to advance their bargaining position in settlement discussions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rise in global sea levels poses a substantial, sometimes existential threat to coastal cities around the world, such as Bangkok, Lagos, or Jakarta. Adaptation projects range from hard infrastructure to nature-based solutions or 'planned retreat', often having severe implications in terms of equity and equality. Given the threat of urban flooding and submergence, this paper asks how 'the future' for these cities is imagined, and how sociotechnical imaginaries of climate futures inform policymaking. Using insights from poststructuralism and Science and Technology Studies (STS), I argue that the way of 'seeing' and 'knowing' sea level rise is constitutive of the rationalities that undergird the governing of rising water around the world. I trace the discrete operations of the discursive formations and imaginaries that have evolved globally around the issue of sea level rise, with their own distinctive logics. Analyzing a variety of globally circulating policy documents and local adaptation projects, I show how the governance of sea level rise is based on a very specific 'expert' knowledge that allows re-designing sinking cities 'from above'. This kind of knowledge, provided by a depoliticizing global network of consultants, designers, and development banks, privileges imaginaries of modernity and control using technology and engineering, as well as ideas on how populations in flood-prone areas are expected to govern themselves in the advent of rising sea levels. These imaginaries tend to marginalize alternative local adaptation practices, lead to unintended outcomes, and often discriminate against those who are already vulnerable to climate change impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many have argued that discrimination against pit bulls is rooted in the breed's association with Black owners and culture. We theoretically and empirically interrogate that argument in a variety of ways and uncover striking similarities between the racialization of pit bulls and other racialized issues (e.g., poverty and crime) in public opinion and policy implementation. After detailing the reasons to expect pit bulls to be racialized as Black despite dog ownership in the U.S. generally being raced as white, the article shows: (1) Most Americans associate pit bulls with Black people. (2) Anti-Black attitudes, in general, are significant, independent, predictors of both anti-pit views and of preferring other breeds over them; (3) stereotypes of Black men as violent, in particular, are significant, independent, predictors of both anti-pit views and of preferring other breeds over them. (4) Implicit racialization through a national survey experiment further eroded support for legalizing pits, with the treatment effect significantly conditioned by respondent's race. And (5) state-level racial prejudice is a significant negative predictor of enacting legislation to preempt breed-specific bans. We conclude with our findings' broader insights into the nature of U.S. racial politics. Michael Tesler, mtesler@uci.edu , corresponding author, is Professor of Political Science at UC Irvine; Mary McThomas, mary.mcthomas@uci.edu , is Associate Professor of Political Science at UC Irvine. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the American Political Science Association's annual meeting. We thank Maneesh Arora, Rachel Bernhard, Nathan Chan, Louis Pickett, David Sears, DeSipio, Adam Duberstein, Jane Junn, Claire Kim, Jessica Manforti, J. Scott Matthews, Justin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In an era of increasing political polarization, its analysis becomes crucial for the understanding of democratic dynamics. This paper presents a comprehensive research on measuring political polarization on X (Twitter) during election cycles in Spain, from 2011 to 2019. A wide comparative analysis is performed on algorithms used to identify and measure polarization or controversy on microblogging platforms. This analysis is specifically tailored towards publications made by official political party accounts during pre-campaign, campaign, election day, and the week post-election. Guided by the findings of this comparative evaluation, we propose a novel algorithm better suited to capture polarization in the context of political events, which is validated with real data. As a consequence, our research contributes a significant advancement in the field of political science, social network analysis, and overall computational social science, by providing a realistic method to capture polarization from online political discourse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces three new scales to measure left- and right-wing radical as well as general extremist attitudes that can be applied across Western European countries. We therefore propose a thorough conceptualization of extremist attitudes that consists of two dimensions: general extremism, by which we understand attitudes that oppose the constitutional democratic state, and another dimension that differentiates between right- and left-wing radicalism by which we understand people who take far-reaching but often one-sided positions on political issues (e.g., on nationalism or anti-imperialism) by advocating fundamental socio-political change. Based on data from Germany, Great Britain, and the Netherlands (n = 6,201) we created short indices for general extremism and left- and right-wing radicalism. We check for convergence validity by assessing the psychometric properties of the extracted indices, i.e. their internal coherence and the degree to which a scale is able to distinguish strongly extremist and non-extremist individuals. Finally, we correlate the scales with various constructs that are likely related to extremist attitudes in order to assure external or construct validity. The results indicate that the three scales are highly valid and applicable across three Western European countries. Overall, we find that about two to four percent of citizens in each country hold left-wing or right-wing extremist attitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to explore the complex and sometimes controversial relationship between social media and politics. The correlation between these two areas of research has always been less linear than a simplistic narrative might suggest, mainly because of the involvement of different scientific disciplines, such as sociology, political science, communication, social psychology and computer science. The decision to explore this topic is motivated by the persistent relevance of social media platforms in the current era. This growing centrality is also due to the accelerated digitization process that occurred during the pandemic phase in the digital ecosystem. In particular, the pandemic has contributed to a significant evolution of the concept of social networks. The methodology used is based on secondary data, and the work seeks to highlight the expansion of digital space resulting from the shift from a simple place of interaction to a digital space that reconfigured the mobilization and political action of Campania's governor Vincenzo De Luca. In conclusion, the study reveals important findings on the president's use of social media. For example, active citizen engagement strategies through direct interaction, timely information sharing, and mobilization of online resources are evident. Therefore, it becomes necessary to ask and understand whether the potential of new social technologies is being used to cultivate critical and massive citizen participation in democratic processes or whether it is being distorted for the sole purpose of increasing or consolidating consent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to evaluate whether features of the public sphere are present in the activities of Iranian Twitter users. To achieve this objective, the paper provides a synthesis of computational social sciences, network analysis, and Habermas’s approach to the public sphere. The data comes from all Iranian users, including those who are actively engaged in political issues on Twitter. This method of data collection focuses on the computational aspects of the users. Added information on how they conducted networking and facilitated public opinion, which resulted in increased user interaction, would complete the datagathering process to align with the theoretical claims. It also indicates that Twitter was a platform on which Iranian users fulfilled the requirements of the public sphere. Some of the findings indicate that there were 48,076 users connected with 25,534,713 edges, and together, they formed three communities. While one of the communities focused solely on social issues, the other two engaged in a rival political challenge. It seems that this situation exemplified the main characteristic of the public sphere, namely, the freedom to express political views and the formation of diverse communities with competing ideas [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to analyse how the theory of economic and institutional liberalism applies to the Three Seas Initiative (3SI) and its Investment Fund (3SIIF), particularly in the context of Ukraine, which was attacked by Russia in February 2022. The study integrates theoretical perspectives from security studies, political science, and international relations with the practical implementation of the 3SI and 3SIIF. It uses scholarly literature on liberalism along with official 3SI and 3SIIF documentation. By comparing the theoretical principles of liberalism with the operational practices of the 3SI, the article draws conclusions about the alignment of these practices with liberal theory. The findings indicate that the theory of liberalism can be used to explain and describe forms of regional cooperation such as the 3SI, which reflects its relevance across various operational and conceptual dimensions. The acceptance of Ukraine as a participating 3SI partner was one of the signals to Russia that Ukraine is a part of the Western world, where goals are achieved through voluntary integration, trade and investment cooperation, free market, and democratic principles, and not through dependency, violence, and military action. Finally, the paper illustrates the application of liberalism theory to the geopolitical realities of the 3SI and draws attention to its effectiveness in achieving economic and regional security goals. The research may influence future regional policies and strategies, especially in the context of Ukraine’s integration into Western structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brazilian writer Paulo Coelho's works are generally known for inspiring readers and using literary symbols to narrate complex philosophical concepts. Out of the seventeen works of Coelho, By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept describes the conflicts faced by two lovers who are brought together by fate after eleven years. Re-joined, they set out for an excursion together as the issues in their relationship emerge again. Though Coelho explicitly uses water as a literary symbol in the novel, this paper closely analyses how the female characters in the same novel are also symbolised, making them symbols of self-submission. It thereby probes the complexity of the connection between female characters and water as literary symbols within the same context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to highlight the key parameters of the parliament capacity as an institution of the political system as illustrated by studying the process of exercising state power in modern Ukraine. The strengthening of threats to the national security of Ukraine, which occurred since the beginning of the full-scale armed aggression against our state, has actualized, among other things, the problems of the institutional stability of its political system and the institutional capacity of its legislative power institution. To date, as an important component for completing the democratic transformation of the political system, mainly the institutial capacity of civil society institutions is considered in the Ukrainian research space, as highlighted in the articles by M. Stasyshyna, A. Kostenko, K. Petrenko et al. Methods used in the study: the analysis of the specified components of institutial capacity can be implemented based on the application of the research directions provisions of the new institutionalism of political science: international institutionalism, normative institutionalism and sociological institutionalism; and institutional capacity – based on the application of the research directions provisions of institutional studies in economics and political science and the new institutionalism of political science: classical (old) institutionalism, structural institutionalism and economic institutionalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the discipline of International Relations (IR), the study of International Peace Settlements (IPS) for the organization of postwar international orders has thus far primarily been the purview of realist, liberal, and constructivist approaches. To date, Marxist approaches have tended to either ignore the significance of IPS in the formation of new global orders or have been inscribed into longer-term overarching processes--namely, the reified consequences of the development of capitalism. These proclivities have had the unwelcome effect of subsuming the role historical agents have played in the devising of international ordering strategies under preordained universal 'laws of motion' and downplaying the broader efficacy of foreign policymaking in the building of world order. This paper proposes to rectify this Marxist lacuna by highlighting how adopting an approach that elaborates on the principles of Geopolitical Marxism (GPM) in IR can overcome these shortcomings. The paper argues that a radical historicist methodology for analysing these important world- historical junctures retrieves the significance of contextualized agency within the historical materialist tradition and overcomes the issues beholden to structuralist Marxist approaches. Keywords: Peace Conferences, World Order, Foreign Policy, Geopolitical Marxism, The Congress of Vienna, Introduction The perception that Marxism was unable to provide a theoretical account of the emergence of the modern state-system stems from Marx and Engels' own lack of engagement with the [...]

Copyright of Estudios de Derecho is the property of Estudios de Derecho and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista Derechos y Libertades is the property of Dykinson SL and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Small area estimation methods have been considered in various fields, especially medicine, agriculture, economics, social sciences, and political science. These methods have many applications in providing reliable statistics for smallsample or non-sample statistical areas. In estimating the small area, there are two approaches: the basic design and the basic model. In this paper, a model-based approach to labor force indicators is considered using a multinomial mixed Logit model. The practical application of the method proposed in this article is to estimate the total number of employees, unemployed and unemployment rate using household income and expenditure data for Semnan province by cities; Semnan, Shahroud, Damghan and Garmsar concerning the period 2011-2016. Finally, we have found the estimates of unemployment rate for Garmsar (9.14), Semnan (9.84), Damghan (11.29), and Shahroud (12.40) in 2016. The more distance from Tehran (the Iranian Capital), the more is the unemployment rate!. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Studia Iuridica Lublinensia is the property of Maria Curie-Sklodowska University in Lublin and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper aims to analyze the problems resulting from the voivode's use of a recommendation tool issued for local government administration bodies, as well as recommendations issued for local government bodies. It investigates the characteristics of the dualistic system of local administration, along with a discussion of its structure and the importance of the connections resulting from centralization or decentralization. It explores problems related to determining the final nature of orders issued by the voivode for government administrative bodies and local government bodies. The study also encompasses the premises enabling the voivode to issue a recommendation and the positions of representatives of the doctrine on how to understand the concepts of protection of public security and order. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to investigate the prevalence of corruption in Ghana to understand how and why it has turned public procurement into a mere money-making scheme instead of a means to provide needed public goods and services. Design/methodology/approach: The study focuses on Ghana as a case study and mobilizes the monetization of politics lenses. Data are collected via interviews with key officials across the procurement sector (including the government, donors and civil society), documents, documentaries and news articles. Findings: The findings suggest that the increasing costs of elections and political financing coupled with the costs of vote-buying, which has become informally institutionalized, intensify corruption practices and, consequently, turns public procurement into a mere source of cash for political ends. Political appointments and legalized loopholes facilitate this by helping to nullify the safeguard accounting and other control institutions are designed to provide. Likewise, enduring poverty and rising inequality "force" citizens into a vote-buying culture which distorts democratic premises that may drive out unscrupulous politicians; thus, perpetuating capture schemes. Civil society's efforts to remedy these have had little success, and corruption and inequality remain rife. Practical implications: The main practical implication of the study lies in the need for a gradual demonetization of elections, and the consideration of the fundamental function of public procurement as a policy instrument embedded in economic, social, cultural and environmental plans. Additionally, given the connectedness of the various corruption issues raised, a comprehensive system-based approach in dealing with them would be more effective than a piecemeal approach targeting each issue/problem in isolation. Originality/value: While extant literature has examined the issue of endemic corruption in developing countries using state capture, few have attempted to explain why it remains enduring, particularly in public procurement. This study, therefore, contributes to the literature on corruption and state capture theoretically and empirically by drawing on monetization of politics from political science to explain why corruption and state capture endure in certain contexts (with Ghana as an illustrative example) which reduce public procurement to a cash-milking scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relevance of the study is due to the lack of proper legal regulation in the field of legal determination of the procedure for executing a court decision under which a foreign state (aggressor or occupier) acts as a debtor. The purpose of the study is to develop a mechanism for effective protection of the rights of Ukrainian recoverers in cases of compensation for damage by the state aggressor through the prism of proper enforcement of court decisions in these categories of cases. In the course of the study, a number of general scientific and industry methods are applied, in particular, the method of analysis and synthesis, system, structural-functional, dialectical, historical, and hermeneutical methods. The paper analyses the legal positions of the European Court of Human Rights regarding the right to appeal to the court in cases of debt collection from a foreign state as compensation for material and/or moral damage caused to individual applicants. The study examines the practice of the national courts of Ukraine in cases of claims of individuals - citizens of Ukraine against a foreign state for compensation of material and (or) moral damage caused by the invasion of the territory of Ukraine. It is established that a state cannot be allowed to use the doctrine of sovereign immunity as a shield for its violations of other doctrines of international law, such as international law on armed conflicts. The expediency of applying the model of functional (limited) immunity, which is becoming increasingly widespread and recognised by advanced countries of the world, is justified, considering its practicality and compliance with modern requirements for the development of society and leading trends in the development of international law. The results of the study can be used for further scientific developments of the outlined problems in the rule-making process, both in the conclusion of international treaties and in national legislation and in the law enforcement process in the implementation of legal proceedings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the architectural and demographic dynamics of Jerusalem, examining public discourse to determine the presence of neo-colonial ethnic segregation and socio-spatial divisions. Furthermore, it aims to discern the underlying motivations influencing urban architecture and to identify challenges within Jerusalem's demographic and architectural frameworks. Approach of the study encompasses an extensive review of academic publications, news articles, and both qualitative and quantitative data. The study includes documentation and archival research published in both international and national journals. Significant focus is placed on studies from global and regional organizations such as UNESCO, ICOMOS, the UN, IPCC, the EU, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES), UNICEF in the State of Palestine, and various urban delineation and conservation projects by TIKA across the Jerusalem (al-Quds) metropolitan region. The paper critically assesses the city's evolution into a space characterized by ethnonational divisions, heightened militarization, and increasing violence, which suggest a shift from an ethnocracy' to an 'urban apartheid.' Finally, this paper proposes transitioning from ethnocracy' to 'democracy' as a solution for achieving a truly modern and democratic Jerusalem metropolis. Keywords: Urban Apartheid, Demography, Ethnocracy, Cultural Heritage, Jerusalem, Introduction Jerusalem stands as a city emblematic of profound historical, religious, and cultural significance, yet it is also a locus of intense geopolitical contestation. This unique city not only captures [...]

This paper delves into an assessment of the impact of Turkey's quest for status since the 2000s on changes in its foreign policy. In other words, how has Turkey's search for status influenced its foreign policy stances since the 2000s? And can we consider the changes in Turkey's foreign policy change transformational or transactional in essence? In this vein, this paper will make essential contributions to the existing literature on Turkey's status-seeking strategies by using specific cases to link them to changes in Turkey's foreign policy and assessing the extent to which they are transactional or transformational. The examination of this topic is all the more important in light of internal developments in Turkey, such as democratic backsliding and economic crisis, as well external factors such as its tense relationships with the EU, its rapprochement with Russia and China, and its increasingly proactive profile in regional crises. This paper critically assesses the pattern of Turkey's foreign policy change from transformational and transactional perspectives. Keywords: Turkish Foreign Policy, Status Politcs, Internatonal politcs, Foreign policy change, Introduction The first decade following the arrival in power of the Justice and Development Party's (Adalet ve Kalkinma Partisi, AKP) witnessed Turkey's continuous status-seeking efforts in foreign policy. As a [...]

How do national stories shape voter behavior? Do they affect all voters equally, or are some groups more influenced by these narratives? This article examines the impact of "boundary national stories," which highlight clear distinctions between "us" and "them" in national identity, on voting patterns for populist radical right parties (PRRPs). Using original representative election surveys conducted in four Western democracies, we find that voters who embrace a Boundary national story are more likely to vote for Populist Radical Right Parties (PRRPs) than those who do not hold such stories, and that the electoral effect of such stories is more salient for marginalized groups in society. Our findings demonstrate that, while national stories can foster cohesion, they can also drive us apart and polarize our politics. We conclude by discussing the broader implications of these findings for the study of populism in political science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Company Law universally requires shareholders to participate in meetings in order to formulate a set of corporate acts. Although provisions allowing the possibility for virtual shareholder meetings have already been implemented in many legislations, the COVID-19 crisis has given this relative legal novelty a status of paramount regulatory importance. The post-crisis regulatory development of the field in light of the process of digitalisation is the subject of this paper. The paper firstly gives an overview of the academic debate on the subject with a focus on the pandemic. Then, it continues to produce a comparative overview of virtual general meetings regulations in selected jurisdictions, namely Switzerland, Italy, Germany, U.S. state of Delaware and the European Union Company Law. Prior to the pandemic, the Croatian Company Law encompassed the possibility for hybrid virtual general meetings of shareholders if stipulated in company bylaws. The aforementioned possibility was used in Croatia for the first time during the outbreak of the COVID-19 crisis. The conclusions of the paper produce general recommendations for regulatory policy in this field with an emphasis on the European and the Croatian Company Law de lege ferenda.

International business research is usually focused on various aspects of foreign direct investment (FDI) by non-European emerging-market multinational enterprises (EMNEs) without attention to non-traditional factors pulling them into host countries. The objective of this paper is to examine the investments of EMNEs from two source countries, China and Russia, within the Visegrad Four (V4) economies. Based on interviews and a qualitative document analysis, it explores the main characteristics of their investments into the V4, including host-country determinants by focusing on macroeconomic, institutional and political factors. The paper finds that these factors do influence EMNEs’ investment practices, and that they correlate with the changing quality of political relations, but this influence needs to be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

The Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) field is evolving in Canada, with CVE teams offering psychosocial disengagement interventions in the provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, Saskatchewan and Quebec. This article is written as a case study to detail the evolution of the city of Toronto’s CVE program, called Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA), housed in the community mental health centre Yorktown Family Services (“Yorktown”). Toronto – the largest Canadian city, provincial capital of Ontario, and one of the most multicultural cities in the world – has seen several high-profile cases of violent extremism and terrorism over the past few years. For example, there were two “Incel” attacks that together killed eleven people, including nine women, in 2018 and 2020. In 2022, hate crime occurrences reported to the Toronto Police Service were 74% higher than pre-pandemic levels, and 40% higher than the 10-year average. Clearly, there was a need for a structured and multi-sectoral response which led to the inception of ETA in 2020. Against this backdrop, this paper outlines ETA’s program components and operational design. Various data points such as client age range, ideological affiliation, and services rendered are provided to demonstrate trends for the period of April 2022 to March 2023. As this paper will demonstrate, ETA’s services are grounded in engagement, outreach, case management (multi-agency service delivery), psychotherapy, religious counselling, peer support and forensic consultation, which is reflected in the evolving CVE literature and evidence-base.

In the domain of PVE as well as reintegration, the most interesting studies are arguably based on material collected first-hand from the individuals involved in the phenomenon of political violence or terrorism. As more individuals from the 2013-2016 wave of foreign terrorist fighters are exiting the criminal justice system, young individuals with no memory of that period are sympathizing with ISIS and others again are joining right-wing groups with violent agendas. Understanding the motives behind such engagement will always lead a portion of the scholars to pursue interview-based studies. This paper describes the research protocol used for a study which dealt with politico-ideological mobilization and violence in relation to causes and conflicts in the Arab World. More than one hundred interviews were conducted in Lebanon, Switzerland and Canada with individuals involved in politico-ideological mobilization or violence of different ideological orientations. Besides interviews, complementary material in the form of ethnographic fieldnotes and voice recordings via instant messaging were collected. The data was compiled into a MAXQDA database and coded according to the principles of Grounded Theory, using open, selective, axial and theoretical coding. The paper further discusses epistemological and ethical considerations.

This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the challenges and advancements in Moldova’s justice system reform, particularly in the context of achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It delves into the pivotal role of the Moldovan justice system in governance and societal well-being, highlighting how its efficiency, transparency, and accessibility are essential for democracy, reducing corruption, and building public trust. The paper examines Moldova's ongoing struggles with judicial independence, corruption, and resource limitations, exacerbated by its post-Soviet transition and the need for alignment with European standards. The relevance of SDG 16, which focuses on promoting peaceful and inclusive societies, access to justice, and building effective institutions, is underscored as a key framework for Moldova’s judicial reforms. The paper argues that aligning Moldova’s justice system with SDG 16 is not only strategically necessary but also an ethical obligation. Improving the judicial system could lead to significant advancements in reducing corruption, enhancing public trust, and creating a stable legal environment conducive to economic growth and societal well-being. The paper also highlights the well-established link between an effective justice system and broader sustainable development goals in the literature. It includes a thorough literature review, analysis of justice financing in relation to SDGs, a discussion of Moldova's specific challenges, and concludes with policy recommendations and future research directions. This exploration aims to provide a nuanced understanding of Moldova's justice system reforms and their critical role in the nation’s journey towards sustainable development.

At present, financial auditing in the Republic of Moldova is supported by a legislative framework in line with international best practices and the EU acquis. However, the changing nature of services in the domestic audit market and the current challenges of meeting new quality management requirements are of interest for scientific research in this field. This paper aims to investigate the opportunities for modernization of the profession in the context of the attested reforms regarding the supervision of audit activity in the Republic of Moldova. The aim of the investigation is to highlight the importance of legislative reforms in order to increase the prestige and recognition of the professionalism of financial audit activities in the Republic of Moldova. In addition, this paper includes a study of professional qualifications in auditing and an analysis of the activities carried out by audit entities in recent years of monitoring the audit market by the supervisory authority. The issue of reforming the regulatory framework for the audit of financial statements in line with international good professional practice is considered. The investigation used the qualitative research method and the observation technique based on the analysis of national and international normative acts. The results indicate a good harmonization of the regulatory framework of the financial audit activity in the Republic of Moldova with the international practices in this field, which will contribute to the development of the domestic process of regulating the profession and at the same time will provide opportunities for modernization of the system of supervision of the quality of audit activity in the country.

This paper examines the persistent issue of corruption in Albania, which continues to plague crucial areas of higher education such as learning assessment. Emphasising the significant impact of political influence on student evaluations, the article draws on survey results to address the issue. It suggests that this influence stems from historical factors and current political dynamics. In addition, the paper analyzes the exploitation of anti-corruption rhetoric in higher education as a tool for political control, and discusses the considerable challenges which anti-corruption campaigns face due to political interference and institutional resistance. In conclusion, the paper argues that a holistic approach, considering historical, institutional, and political contexts, is essential for effectively observing corruption in higher education.

Recent empirical research in policy design has shown the relevance of micro-level components, particularly specification and calibration, in shaping policy outcomes. Additionally, research highlights the importance that understanding the mechanisms underlying the policy process has for effective policy design. Yet, a gap persists in how to effectively calibrate and specify policies for specific cases, with a theoretical grounding and guidance for practitioners. This paper addresses this need by applying a process theory of change to delineate the key episodes that constitute the mechanisms of a plausible pathway for an effective Program for Ecosystem Services (PES), an incentives-based instrument focused on conserving forests producing carbon sequestration, biodiversity protection, and water infiltration, among other services. Specifically, the paper uses the well-documented Mexican PES to illustrate how to derive the mechanisms and use them for calibration and specification. The paper provides valuable theoretical insights drawn from the case study, contributing to the field of micro-policy design with a mechanistic approach.

This paper analyses Latin America’s role in an international system in flux, with high levels of uncertainty and transformations that signal a shift in the geoeconomic and geopolitical landscape across the world. Against this backdrop, the paper examines the challenges (both old and new) the region must face, focusing on the impact of global changes on regional dynamics and the capacity of the different countries to find answers both to the international situation and old and new internal problems. In addition, as an introductory paper to this monograph entitled “Geopolitics from Latin America: a change of cycle and multipolarity”, it identifies the fulcrums of these changes, their impact, the main actors involved and the processes underway.

There has been a change in international politics since the 2008 financial crisis, thanks to a greater spread of economic resources and military capabilities. For many, it is a radical transformation that could spell the end of US hegemony in Latin America. This paper examines the proposition, beginning with a review of the concept of hegemony, which rather than being viewed as a structural characteristic is conceived of here as a “nuanced hegemony”, in other words a network of asymmetric and hierarchical relations. We can observe not just one transformation then, but the emergence of a hemispheric context that could be described as “differentiated hegemony”. The United States still occupies a central position, but its foreign policy is marked by subregional fragmentation and the externalisation of electoral priorities. The paper explores the effects at subregional level, focusing on the opportunities and challenges it presents to Latin American countries.

This paper examines how regional contextual factors influence Eurosceptic voting in Eastern Central and Western Europe. It employs a theoretical framework of multidimensional regional periphery and relative deprivation to explore how economic, spatial and demographic factors can generate collective feelings of deprivation among regional inhabitants. This relative deprivation is supposed to manifest as political discontent expressed at the EU level, either by attributing responsibility for regional peripherality to the EU or by blaming national institutions, potentially spilling over to the EU level. Based on an integrated dataset encompassing economic, spatial and demographic indicators as well as election data from the European election 2019 for 1169 NUTS 3 regions within the EU, the findings support the hypotheses. Poor economic performance in a region, relative to the national average and historical levels, increases Eurosceptic voting, and the impact of an ageing population is significant. Spatial infrastructure conditions have minimal direct but moderating effects: Eurosceptic parties benefit more from economic underperformance, if the infrastructure is also poorly developed. The paper further shows differences in cue -taking between Eastern Central Europe and Western Europe suggesting that citizens in Eastern Central Europe consider the EU more often as saviour than as creator of regional deprivation. The paper underscores the importance of regional contextual factors and infrastructural effects, and highlights the need to avoid one-size-fits-all explanations for Euroscepticism in Eastern Central and Western Europe.

Considering climate change problems that European countries are currently struggling with, the aim of this paper is to examine the behavioural factors that affect corporate environmental sustainability (CES). Based on the relevant academic literature and reports behavioural barriers and enablers for corporate environmental sustainability are identified using the ABCD (attention-belief formation-choice-determination) framework. Selected issues are further investigated in a survey among a representative sample of 350 small and medium-sized Polish enterprises and discussed in a broader European context. Our research reveals what goals and motivations Polish SMEs employ to make green investments, how they asses their environmental efforts compared with peer companies, what sources of environmental information they consider as trustworthy, as well as what factors they believe most strengthen the firm’s determination for sustainable development. The contribution of this paper lies in shedding light on the starting dispositions of entrepreneurs as targets of public policies promoting environmental goals in the EU. Such insights are instrumental in designing and implementing effective policy interventions.