Search

Advocates of women's rights in many Muslim countries have long demanded the formation of state-level institutional structures that promote and protect women's rights, in turn contributing to democratization and development. The design and impact of such structures, collectively referred to as national women's machineries (NWMs), has, however, varied across contexts. This paper advocates analysis of the actors and factors that impact the design, influence, and function of NWMs, with an emphasis on the role of state gender ideology. It argues that NWMs, as formal state institutions, are never conceptualized and formed in a vacuum, with various competing interests impacting their design and function especially in non-democratic and unrepresentative contexts. Through a case study of NWMs in the Islamic Republic of Iran, it shows that despite efforts for cabinet-level women's rights policy-making since the early 1990s, throughout the past decades such gains have faced backlash and reversal as a result of conservative ideological shifts, at times rendering such institutions illegitimate in the eyes of the Iranian feminist movement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ghana discovered crude oil in 2007 and started oil production in 2010. Ghana, consequently, enacted the Petroleum Revenue Management Act (PRMA) to regulate the oil revenue and ensure the optimal utilisation of the oil revenue. To this end, several state institutions have been assigned duties under the PRMA. Quality institutions aid the management of resource revenue. Ghana's constitutional architecture permits a new President to appoint new heads of state institutions. To this end, state institutions meant to serve as a check on executive authority have been found wanting. This article investigates the quality of state institutions with responsibilities under the PRMA concerning their functions to ascertain whether they possess the characteristics of strong institutions. The article argues that executive influence dominates Ghana's PRMA, leading to the institutions making decisions based on political expediency. This shows weak institutional structures. This article argues for the development of state institutions to serve as a check on the executive power. The article thus recommends constitutional amendment regarding the power of appointment of heads of state institutions to be vested in the President and the Public Services Commission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on research conducted with users and librarians of the National Library of Romania, this article discusses specific forms of integration of marginal people in Bucharest: young adults with no stable employment and pensioners. Some come to have access to information; others want to self-educate, enrich themselves culturally, and benefit from the library staff's support. The article argues that libraries should partner with other private and public stakeholders to empower librarians to deal with complex situations and foster further forms of inclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The very existence of the Constitutional Court is interpreted as a constitutional tribunal, which then becomes a new branch of power included in the judicial power. The model for appointing judges to the Constitutional Court may affect the independence and impartiality of the judiciary. In order to implement changes and improvements in the appointment of judges in Indonesia, we need to look at the model of appointment of constitutional judges in other countries. The aim of this research is to analyse the model of constitutional judges' appointment in Indonesia and compare it with the models of constitutional judges' appointment in other countries. The research method used is normative legal research by examining primary and secondary legal materials related to the appointment of constitutional judges. The research results show that there are several models of constitutional judge appointments in different countries, namely models involving the executive and legislative branches, models involving only the legislative branch, models involving all three branches of government, and models conducted by special institutions. Indonesia itself uses a model involving all three branches of government. This research also compares the system for appointing constitutional judges in Indonesia with other countries such as Germany, Austria and South Korea. The conclusion of this research is that the mechanism for appointing constitutional judges must be carried out in a transparent, independent and accountable manner in order to guarantee the independence of the Constitutional Court. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poverty remains a persistent issue within the socio-political landscapes of Africa. This study explores the income, food, and multidimensional nature of poverty in South Africa. The study found that economic, social, and political factors are not only responsible for poverty, but they perpetuate poverty in South Africa. These factors include weak institutions, unemployment, service delivery issues, corruption, security challenges and dysfunctional family settings. The study adopted the state fragility theory to demonstrate how weaknesses in state institutions affect their ability to discharge their functions as expected and how they manage the dynamics associated with these expectations. The study utilised the qualitative research method based on literature search from secondary sources. These included journal articles, books, institutional documents, and newspaper articles. Data were descriptively analysed. The study recommends strong state institutions to coordinate stemming the threat these poverty drivers pose to the well-being of South Africans. It also recommends commitment through good values demonstrated by the political class, bureaucracies, and the citizens.

Nigeria has grappled with poverty for decades despite the abundance of natural and human resources. This study explores poverty from the income and multidimensional perspectives and reconnoitres some contemporary challenges that might potentially perpetuate poverty and snowball its level in Nigeria. This study is anchored on the state fragility theory. The study utilised the qualitative research method based on literature search from secondary sources including journal articles, books, institutional documents, and newspapers. Information was also sourced from verified internet materials, while data was descriptively analysed. Contemporary issues like weak state institutions, inflation and weak local currency, unemployment, gaps in infrastructure, corruption, poor access to health, and security challenges are conduits to keep the majority of Nigerians in poverty, and dip more people into poverty. The study recommends that government should strengthen state institutions to address these contemporary issues to alleviate poverty in Nigeria. Positive attitude towards challenges through adherence to good values and value re-orientation is also recommended.

The dataset contains 11 measurable indicators for the website evaluation from different points of view. These indicators were collected for 60 websites of the Slovak state institutions. It provides information about the directly measurable variables, which may affect or reflect the usability, popularity and visibility of the website. Most variables were measured by online tools. The dataset is a mixture of binary, ordinal, discrete numeric and continuous numeric variables, which gives many opportunities to analyze the relations between the measurable websites’ indicators. It can be used to find the structure consisting of latent variables, which cannot be directly measured (such as usability or popularity of the website). Another use is to find subgroups of state institutions, which have similar websites from some point of view.

The idea of democratic state-building constituted the basis of the peace promotion engagement of the United Nations and other international agencies in Timor-Leste. Yet, this process of internationally assisted socio-political reconstruction has produced mixed results in terms of achieving a liberal democratic transformation. In accounting for these outcomes, the existing scholarship highlights the ways in which the intensifying power struggles between different competing social groups gave rise to a socio-political order where clientelist, neo-patrimonial governance structures and practices co-exist with those of the Western Weberian state. This article draws on social conflict theory to examine the underlying political economy dynamics of these governance outcomes. It concludes that the process of socio-political ordering experienced in Timor-Leste is not a deviation from the liberal democratic blueprint. It rather results from it, reflects the balance of power between competing groups in society, and develops in such a way that serves the interests of particular social forces while marginalising others. Following from this premise, the article emphasises the point that the analysis of the political environment in Timor-Leste should consider the state-society complex rather than focusing on the quality of state institutions misguidedly insulated from societal interest and influence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the underlying political economy context of the uneven development outcomes in post-conflict Timor-Leste. We use a modified version of a structural political economy approach that is situated in a Gramscian understanding of the state-society relationship. This approach conceptualises development as a process of historically specific class-based and gender-based contestations over the distribution of resources that result in particular forms of socio-political orders maintained through a combination of institutional and ideological mechanisms of wealth generation. Our analysis of whose interests have been prioritised and marginalised in post-independence Timor-Leste is based on a systematic examination of three major factors: regulation of class relations, organisation of gender relations, and the governance of the petroleum industry. We conclude that despite some important improvements in the formation of formal democratic institutions in Timor-Leste, the processes of the distribution of power and access to resources remain far from being inclusive prioritising a class-based group of male-dominant elites that manipulates institutions to advance their interests and use a hegemonic gender ideology to justify and maintain these existing unequal arrangements in the prevailing socio-political order. Thus, the development outcomes in Timor-Leste are strongly connected to the political-economic processes from a larger historical perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inspired by Bourdieu's field theory and utilising the case of Zambia, this article aims to enhance the understanding of the intricate relationship between Chinese private investors and sub-Saharan state institutions. The study proposes an epistemological framework that integrates sociological, anthropological and neo-institutional approaches to development studies. Through extensive fieldwork and over 75 interviews with both Chinese and Zambian stakeholders, we explore various contexts in which group-actors related to foreign capital in Zambia operate. We argue that three separate habiti – inhabited by the Zambian political class, Chinese investors and 'ordinary' Zambians – are crucial for comprehending private foreign capital operations in this sub-Saharan state. The ordinary Zambians and Zambian political class fields converge primarily during elections, while interactions between ordinary Zambians and Chinese investors have remained very limited (predominantly employee–employer relations), creating an ideational structure of hostility. In contrast, the Zambian political class and Chinese private investor fields crosscut and are mutually constitutive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Tikrit University for Humanities is the property of Republic of Iraq Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MOHESR) 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 Polityka Spoleczna is the property of Institute of Labour & Social / Instytut Pracy i Spraw Socjalnych 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.)

After the Lithuanian National Revival in 1988 and the restoration of independence in 1990, the public on their own initiative searched for the remains of fallen anti-Soviet Lithuanian partisans (1944-1953), excavating the burial sites of partisan remains, their bunkers and dugouts. Such excavations prompted the need to establish regulations and procedures for the exhumation and transfer of the remains of victims of 20th-century conflicts and occupation regimes. Government resolutions adopted in 1992 obliged prosecutors, archaeologists, anthropologists and forensic medical experts to be involved in the exhumation procedure and to carry out the exhumation in accordance with the basic requirements of archaeological research. Owing to the restoration and destruction of authentic partisan bunkers and dugouts, the increase in archaeological investigations at 20th-century conflict sites, as well as the emergence of a distinct field of modern conflict archaeology, the 2022 revision of the Archaeological Heritage Management Regulation stipulated the necessity to carry out archaeological research prior to any excavation works at all 19th- and 20th-century conflict sites. Between 1995 and 2022, a total of 171 permits for archaeological excavations at 20th-century conflict sites were issued. Investigations were mostly carried out at the burial sites of Wehrmacht and Polish Home Army (Armia Krajowa) soldiers of the Second World War and Lithuanian partisans. Partisan bunkers, dugouts, campsites, battlefields also received considerable attention. Today, more than 1700 20th-century conflict sites have legal protection in Lithuania. These include Lithuanian Partisan War sites (mainly sites of death and burial), burial sites of soldiers from the First and Second World Wars, sites of massacres and burials of Jews, and other sites associated with the Soviet and Nazi occupation regimes. This article focuses on 20th-century conflict sites in Lithuania, examining issues of their protection, heritage conservation and archaeology, as well as current trends in archaeological research methodology.

Evaluation plays a vital role in the management of non-financial assets in public sector institutions, which explains the significant interest of researchers in finding ways to improve it, analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of different approaches to evaluation, and studying the evaluation practice according to International Evaluation Standards. The purpose of the article is to reveal the features of evaluation as an element of management of non-financial assets of state institutions, as well as to analyze the features and approaches to assessing non-financial assets depending on their types and conditions of use. The structure of national and international evaluation standards was revealed. In the wartime and the post-war recovery of Ukraine's economy, it is advisable to rely on the results of evaluation conducted by the International Evaluation Standards, which are fundamental when making investment decisions, preparing financial statements, and ensuring regulatory lending requirements. Thus, the European integration of Ukraine is only possible with the implementation of the International Evaluation Standards, which can be implemented in several ways: full or partial application, as well as the development of national evaluation standards based on international ones. Valuation is not only one of the elements of the accounting method; valuation is an independent system consisting of such elements as the object and subject of evaluation, the subject matter of evaluation, and the subjective and objective side of evaluation. The article discloses certain aspects of the evaluation of non-financial assets of state institutions. Special attention is focused on justifying the expediency of choosing one or another approach to evaluation. It was determined that applying the cost approach to the evaluation of non-created non-financial assets is the most appropriate, which, however, does not exclude the possibility of combining it with other approaches in practice. Implementing International Valuation Standards in Ukrainian legislation will avoid opaque methodology and manifestations of subjectivism in selecting approaches to the valuation of non-financial assets of state institutions.

This article aims to identify the conditions under which state-owned enterprises can be beneficial to a modern capitalist economy. These enterprises face two major issues: multiple financial and non-financial objectives and their assessment; and rent-seeking by politicians. The analysis is based on a critical review of the contemporary literature and on empirical research into state ownership. The fundamental preconditions for efficiency and innovation of state-owned enterprises, and their positive impact on economic growth, are high quality state institutions and good ownership policy. Absent that and rent-seeking by politicians will inevitably lead to a decline in efficiency.

Copyright of Rouya Turkiyyah is the property of Insight Turkey 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.)

Observing the follow-up of state law-forming institutions (House of Representative and President) after the Constitutional Court Decision is a wise step for the development of legal knowledge. This study uses a normative juridical approach. The results of the study: (i) legal order (injunction) in the ruling section, while legal order (advice) contained in legal considerations and, (ii) follow-up to legal order (injunction) contained in the Constitutional Court's rulings that have been implemented. and some have not been implemented because it has not reached the specified time limit. Meanwhile, the legal order (advice) of the related Constitutional Court decision has been implemented. In the end, it can be concluded that in a decision of the Constitutional Court there are two categories of legal order, namely injunction and advice, which have been implemented by the legislators. Although some have not been implemented because it has not reached the specified time limit.

Copyright of Accounting & Finance / Oblìk ì Fìnansi is the property of Institute of Accounting & Finance 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.)

The Cahul County Museum operates in an administrative building from the 19th century, having a rich historical past and of an undeniable value for the cultural heritage of Cahul, but also for the national material patrimony. The edifice was built between 1852–1857 and had initially, until the earthquake in November 1940, two floors, illustrated in two postcards from the 1920s and 1930s. The building is mentioned in George Sion’s work “Travel Souvenirs in Southern Bessarabia” published in 1857, but also in several documents from the National Archive of the Republic of Moldova: the reports of the Ismail county administrator from October 29, 1887 and September 11, 1897, and the act of evaluation of the building on October 18, 1888. Over time, the two floors host different state institutions: The Prefecture, the County Committee and the Court (during the Romanian administration period, 1857–1878); the City Hall, the Commissariat, the County Committee and the County Prison (after the re-annexation of southern Bessarabia to the Russian Empire, 1878); the Cahul County Court, the boys’ High School “P. Rumeantev” (later called “Ioan Voievod” Boys’ High School), City Hall, Command of Border Guard Troops (in the 20th century); and since 1960 until now it hosts the Cahul County Museum. Also, the building was visited by famous personalities who worked in Cahul or were passing through the Cahul lands, for example: Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu, Teodor Serbănescu, Dumitru Crăciunescu, King Ferdinand I.

At present, Albania lacks original studies that examine the role of safety and security as an important factor in the competitiveness of a tourist destination. In order to fill this gap, the article aims to measure the perception level regardi ng the recognition of the Safety and Security pillar and its standards, to assess the role of the image of Albania as a significant component in tourism development and to analyse the relationship of the image of Albania to security and performance of the state institutions. The methodology used combines information collected from interviews of the actors contributing to the Albanian tourism sector with the related official documentation and literature reviews. The paper supports application of the factor analysis method regarding perception of the actors and interest groups involved in the tourism secto r. The findings indicate that the Safety and Security pillar standards are not familiar to the actors contributing to the sector of tourism i n Albania. The main performance components in the tourism sector are the security and performance of the state institutions.

Modern societies are confronted with a plethora of issues that have far-reaching socio-political ramifications. The negative effects of diversity are primarily the result of state policies. Where societies were not homogenous, attempts were made to bring desperate populations together to advance official nationalist projects. Pakistan, being dominantly a Muslim state, has religio-cultural and ethnic diversity where minority groups have raised their voices against the unjust state's policies. This study examines how these issues evolved over the course of Pakistan's history. The paper attempts to answer the question 'why has Pakistan's plurality become unmanageable?' The results demonstrate that a high degree of centralization of authority, the adoption of Urdu as a national language, a sense of domination of the central institutions by the Punjabis, underrepresentation of ethnic minorities in state institutions, and controlled society has aggravated the position of diverse groups in Pakistan, with colossal consequences to national economy and social harmony. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article deals with the problem of the Lithuanian Council of Lords institutionalization on the basis of the analysis of legal documents and everyday office work of the principality. The work used such documents as privilege (law), judicial records, statutes, documents of the Grand Duchy Chancellery (metrics), etc. Special attention is paid to the study of the practical institutionalization of the Council, i.e. its transformation into a real functioning authority. The author examined this process in various aspects, questioned the framework of the Council formation as state power institution adopted in historiography. The author argues for the complexity of institutionalization, which depended on a number of domestic and foreign policy circumstances and factors, as well as the peculiarities of the state system, the political situation, administrative-territorial division, interaction between the central and local political elites of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

Since the institution of public legal entities plays an important role in contemporary society, both in the state and in the economic development of countries, there is a need to clear up its legal status and specifics. The lack of a clear, universally accepted classification criterion for distinguishing between legal entities under public law and legal entities under private law leads to difficulties in determining their legal status and resolving civil disputes involving public law entities. An evaluation of the current theoretical provisions regarding legal entities is required for the development of their further improvement, as well as for their adaptation to market relations and free entrepreneurship. This study aims to identify: the specific features of legal entities in public law; the main peculiarities that can be used to distinguish legal entities established under public law from legal entities established under private law; the criteria underlying the selection of legal entities; as well as the status of research on the institution of public law legal entities in France, Germany and Ukraine. The result of this scientific paper is elucidation of the significance of the classification of legal entities under public law as participants in civil legal relations. This research highlights the importance of clearly defining and consolidating legal entities under public law in regulatory documents to streamline litigation processes, using the notion of their purpose as a comprehensive classification criterion and drawing on the benefits observed in the exhaustive lists of public-law entities in France and Germany.

The present study sought to investigate how two elements of subjective well-being (life satisfaction and positive and negative affects) relate to the mental health of university professors in their workplace. The sample consisted of 176 professors belonging to public higher education institutions (HEIs) in the areas of Social, Exact, Human, and Health Sciences. The Subjective Well-being Scale (EBES) and the Mental Health Scale - SF36 were used as collection instruments. Descriptive statistics, correlations, and multiple regression analysis were performed regarding the analytical part. The results show that teachers' general life satisfaction is related to health, vitality, and positive affects, and that sociodemographic factors did not show significant associations with the variables under study. Furthermore, it was observed that there was no positive association between negative affects and satisfaction with life and with teachers' mental health in their workplace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 'middle class' has become the subject of euphoric narratives of growth and improving standards of living around the globe, and the object of government interventions and social engineering. Government interventions may be ineffective, have unintended outcomes, or be left barely articulated. Yet the place of the middle classes as embodying national success, stability and modernity has taken on the power of common sense. Modern states have long made middle classes, and in turn been legitimated by them. Indeed, 'state' and 'middle class' are sharply normative concepts – bound up with ideals as much as ideas. They represent interrelated, morally loaded projects of demarcation, distinction and recognition. This special issue examines how state institutions make middle classes through such normative commitments, and how they are made by them in turn. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recently re-branded and highly digitalised Bolivian Tax Office, Servicio de Impuestos Nacionales (SIN), works to consolidate various socio-economic groups, such as the Aymara bourgeoisie (wealthy traders who identify as all or part indigenous), into a new middle class. SIN's motivations to do so are bound up in broader international financial logics where the development of an archetypal European middle class – the so-called backbone of society – is considered key to a healthy tax profile. The efforts to forge a new middle class involves the deliberate projection of SIN as an accountable, effective, and 'modern' organisation, with the aim of promoting a broader fiscal culture that embodies these same characteristics; targeted education of the populace about taxpaying as an ethical act in line with highland indigenous values; and, policy-making that encourages income tax over VAT (value-added tax). However, these new middle classes experience the temporality and individualising effects of SIN's system as incompatible with the money flows and values of their own economic lives. Specific areas of contention include the rhythms of incomes and the ethics of risk- and profit-sharing. In exploring this incompatibility, I argue that fiscal systems are key to the production and imaginations of middle-classness, both as they succeed and fail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the prevalence of traditional institutions and the growing official and academic need to 'recognize,' 'empower' and incorporate them in the state system, competition and harmony between the two persists. There are seventysix officially listed ethnic groups in Ethiopia, and there exists a great plurality of livelihoods, social organizations, belief systems, and political and legal systems in the country. Notwithstanding the human right issues, traditional institutions operating outside the state are the dominant form of conflict prevention and resolution in Ethiopia. However, the relationship between traditional institutions and state institutions remains unclear. Previous researches either focus on the constitutional set-up and legal framework of states, or their scope is too specific relating to local case studies and their relationship with the state local institutions. This relationship does not, however, only involve legal issues or concerns at the bottom, but it is also an issue of governance and political structure. This article is based on content and document analysis and examines the harmony and competition between the state and traditional institutions in Ethiopia. I argue that despite their practical prevalence, the policy, legal and institutional frameworks in Ethiopia do not plainly address the relationship between the state and traditional institutions. Although de facto recognition seems to exist, the practice shows that the state that envisages the importance of traditional institutions undermines their role in case of conflict with state institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the article, the author examines the monograph by Tatyana Alekseeva. “The Spanish Head of State: A History of Constitutionalization”. The author notes the relevance of the study by Tatyana Alekseeva Institute of the Head of State, as relevant in modern conditions. The author notes that this historical and legal study has every reason to claim recognition in constitutional and legal comparative studies, as well as in the science of constitutional law in a broad theoretical sense. The author analyzes the role of the monarchy as an institution, on the one hand, exerting a restraining effect on the state of society, and on the other, serving as the basis, including for a democratic social order, based on the force of law. Research by Tatyana Alekseeva proves that free and careless treatment of state and legal institutions is costly for people, estates and nations.

At present, Albania lacks original studies that examine the role of safety and security as an important factor in the competitiveness of a tourist destination. In order to fill this gap, the article aims to measure the perception level regardi ng the recognition of the Safety and Security pillar and its standards, to assess the role of the image of Albania as a significant component in tourism development and to analyse the relationship of the image of Albania to security and performance of the state institutions. The methodology used combines information collected from interviews of the actors contributing to the Albanian tourism sector with the related official documentation and literature reviews. The paper supports application of the factor analysis method regarding perception of the actors and interest groups involved in the tourism sector. The findings indicate that the Safety and Security pillar standards are not familiar to the actors contributing to the sector of tourism in Albania. The main performance components in the tourism sector are the security and performance of the state institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article considers the features of the state institutions activities related to their organizational structure, areas of their activity and the composition of objects under control. It defines the main directions of internal control in the budgetary sphere and reveals the features of the budget process management. The author highlights the topical issues related to the necessity of strengthening the regulation of the state institutions activities and improving the internal control system. The purpose of the research is to analyze the procedure for organizing internal financial control in the state institutions and determine the main directions for its improvement. In the course of the research, the methods of analysis, synthesis, comparison, deduction, logical thinking, and the dialectic method of cognition were used. The peculiarities of the organization of internal control in state institutions are related to the fact that they face a dual task. On the one hand, it is necessary to ensure the rational use of budget funds and resources allocated for the maintenance of their apparatus. On the other hand, it is necessary to ensure control over the rational distribution and effective use of budget funds in subordinate organizations. The actuality of considering the issues of internal control regulation is determined by the necessity of creating a cross-cutting risk-oriented internal control system aimed at the effective use of public resources provided for organizations. The results of the research include the development of a methodological approach to improving the mechanisms of organizing internal financial control in federal executive bodies. It is concluded that strengthening the regulation and unification of internal control in the state institutions contributes to improving the quality of public resource management.

Pennsylvania citizens who were residents of Pennhurst, a state institution opened in 1908 for the "feeble-minded" of society, had unique life experiences. These experiences might seem ordinary but are extraordinary until one considers the setting in which they occurred or when one grasps the profound meaning of what happened there. Interviews with survivors of life in this institution, along with close examination of available archival records about others who lived at Pennhurst, yielded stories and memories that unveiled surprising realities about people with disabilities, both yesterday and today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A train left Greenwood Station outside Philadelphia on April 20, 1897. It carried 153 people from the Pennsylvania Training School for Feeble-Minded Children (now Elwyn) to the first government-operated facility for people with intellectual disabilities in Pennsylvania: the State Institution for Feeble-Minded of Western Pennsylvania at Polk (now Polk Training Center). Since 1852 Elwyn, a privately operated school, served as the only long-term out-of-home option in Pennsylvania designed specifically for people with intellectual disabilities. Over the ensuing decades, Polk became part of a statewide institutional system that during the 1960s housed over 13,000 people. Written amidst the context of these state institutions closing in recent years, this article details their beginnings and the lives of the 153 people on that train. Previously unexamined Elwyn and Polk archival material present these stories in the context of the emergent clinical, economic, moral, and political forces that promoted the institutional model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper addresses the interplay between economics and the politics of state-owned enterprises confronted with changes concerning the value of environment under post-1990 transformations. It examines the value of the environment as a result of state-public firm relations grounded on the multiple and often conflicting demands within the changing context and requirements of the EU environmental policy. By process-tracing two Romanian SOEs in the coal energy industry, the paper looks into: i) the hierarchical coordination and negotiation systems of state and SOEs in relation to the environment; ii) how the economic and political elites deal with the competition on free markets and use various mechanisms to empower the survival of SOEs that eventually translate into economic performance and environmental behavior. The findings suggest the salient decapitalization of SOEs due to the state behavior embedded in confusing procedures and actions that made room for political maneuvering. Also, the organizational culture of working in a "closed circle" may have strengthened the liabilities accrued to SOEs and undermined their capacity to deal with environmental requirements. Hence, a double-layered "dissonant" environment stems from the opposition between the requirements of the EU environmental policy and the commitment of domestic economic and political elites to support the survival of energy SOEs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The wide adoption of the Internet gave rise to populism, which is regarded as a critical threat to deliberative democracy. This paper was a cross-national panel study to explore the Internet's populist impacts on deliberative democracy. It had two specific objectives. One was to examine whether or to what extent Internet penetration has populist impacts on deliberative dimensions, including reasoned justification, common good, respectful counter arguments, range of consultation, and engaged society. The other was to examine how Internet penetration moderates a country's formal deliberative process, referring to the interaction among state institutions, the public sphere, and civil society. Using data from Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) and the United Nations, we run panel analyses with a sample of 3,173 units in 167 countries from 2000 to 2018. The results showed that Internet penetration increased calls for the common good, disrespected counter arguments, narrowed the range of consultation, and expanded engagement in public deliberation. In addition, Internet penetration strengthened the effects of public sphere on reasoned justification and range of consultation, but weakened the effects of civil society on reasoned justification, common good, respectful counterarguments, and range of consultation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quality of opposition and penetration possibilities are also altering in the rapidly changing world. In parallel with the technical and technological development, it seems that in pre-war, wartime and postwar proceedings, the informative and psychological components, if are not pushed to the forefront, do not concede to the military actions with their significance of influencing the opponent. The second war of Artsakh, which lasted from September 27 to November 9 in 2020 and the military crimes carried out by the Turk-Azerbaijani tandem during the war, shows that the policy towards Armenians implemented by both Turks and Azerbaijani has not been changed over a century. That is, since 1918, all the tools with the military, informational, and psychological components used by Azerbaijan are initially targeted not only at the azerbaijanization of the territories but also against the statehood of Artsakh and human rights. In this regard, it is imperative for the Armenian side to clearly and objectively convey the available information of inhuman policy against Armenians to the international community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research background: Scholars used to equate trust and distrust with a person's statement of trust in the intentions and motivations of others. Other studies focused on trustor conduct based on favorable expectations about a trustee's course of action. Starting from these premises, the present article aims to discuss the role of awareness and the perception of trust among students, from a multifaceted perspective, namely from the individual (i.e., representatives) to the institutional level. There is a growing awareness of the crucial role that trust plays in every aspect of life. Whether we are talking about everyday life or considering the educational process or making decisions, trust is an essential concept for the success of any type of adapting process. Amid the pandemic crisis (Covid-19), trust (in the authorities, in the messages they sent, in specialists' opinions, in the political leaders) has often made the difference between life and death. The trustor can rest assured that their expectations will be fulfilled based on confidence in the other party's benevolence, honesty, openness, reliability, and competence. Also, in the post-truth period, trust seems to matter less and less. In this context, the citizen's trust in public authorities and their own elected parliament is to a low level. Purpose of the article: The study aims to explore the role that trust has in the relationship with relatives and institutions. Methods: An online survey among the students from the University Center of Bacau, Romania (N=633) was conducted in November 2021. The survey aimed to highlight the role that trust plays in forming opinions among students about the relationship with colleagues, friends, and family, but also how this relates to various state authorities, such as: parliament, government, mass media, NGOs, health system, universities, specialists, army. Findings & Value added: The findings indicated that trust could be influenced by the gender. Furthermore, there is a significant link between people with a high level of trust in the institutions and in the representatives of the institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]