Suchergebnisse

Elektroniskā versija nesatur pielikumus ; Anotācija Promocijas darba teorētiskais pienesums ir inovatīva pieeja, ar kuras palīdzību pētīt piederību nacionālajai kopienai, nosakot, kādi faktori uzrāda korelāciju ar piederību integrācijas kontekstā. Izmantojot datus no Latvijas krievvalodīgās kopienas 2004. un 2010.gadā, tiek analizēta piederības sajūtas veicinošo faktoru ietekme un tas, kā integrācijas politikas nostādnes sekmē piederības sajūtas attīstību. Darbā tiek secināts, ka pastāv neatbilstības starp valsts izvirzītajiem mērķiem piederības veicināšanā un tās integrācijas politikas pieeju, jo galvenais uzsvars tiek likts uz valodu un kultūru, kas promocijas darba empīriskajā analīzē neuzrāda neapšaubāmu korelāciju ar piederības sajūtu Latvijai. Promocijas darbā tiek pētīts arī dalītās piederības fenomens un radnieciskās valsts piederības ietekme, kā arī empīriski norādīts, ka pārāk maz uzmanības tiek veltīts Krievijas piederības ietekmei uz krievvalodīgajiem Latvijas iedzīvotājiem un integrācijas centieniem kopumā. Atslēgas vārdi: Latvija, krievvalodīgie, integrācija, piederības sajūta, kopienas piederības teorija, radnieciskās valsts ietekme. ; Abstract The theoretical contribution of the work is in identifying an innovative approach to the study of social integration and a sense of belonging. The framework is tested through secondary data analysis of Russian language speaking youth survey data from 2004 and 2010 in Latvia, in order to identify what factors show a consistent correlation with expressed belonging and how social integration impacts feelings of belonging. The work concludes that there is a serious misfit between policy and the stated goal of integration to foster a sense of belonging to Latvia, as the main focus of policy is on language and culture which in the empirical analysis showed an inconsistent correlation with belonging. The dissertation also examines the phenomenon of transnationalism and external homeland, and empirically shows that too little attention is afforded to the influence external homeland belonging has on Russian language speaker perception of the sense of community indicators and Latvian integration efforts. Keywords: Latvia, Russian speakers, integration, sense of belonging, sense of community theory, external homeland

Angélica Gorodischer is a contemporary Argentine writer of international renown. However, the initial period of his literary production, dominant SF (Science Fiction), remains largely unknown. Beyond their undeniable literary quality, these texts and deserve to be highlighted for thinking they trigger the social relations of domination, some paradoxes of political action but also a period of intense conflict of Argentine History (political and social conflicts, dictatorships and 1966 1976) .We use for this analysis tools developed by sociocriticism theory supplementing them with the use of gender studies and studies utopia and SF. This first question the periodization established by literary criticism to be able to identify gender issues that shape the early works of the writer. We then extend the analysis by taking into account the consubstantiality of social relations and examining the questioning of the idea of nature. Finally, we consider the work as an open and critical encyclopedia that promotes the utopian impulse. Texts and invite the person reading to meditate on the characteristics of an ethics of ambiguity guiding its political and promoting social equity share. ; Angélica Gorodischer est une écrivaine argentine contemporaine de renommée internationale. Pourtant, la période initiale de sa production littéraire, à dominante SF (Science-Fiction), demeure encore amplement méconnue. Au-delà de leur indéniable qualité littéraire, ces textes méritent ainsi d'être mis en valeur pour la réflexion qu'ils déclenchent sur les rapports sociaux de domination, sur certains paradoxes de l'action politique mais aussi sur une période particulièrement conflictuelle de l'Histoire argentine (conflits politiques et sociaux, dictatures de 1966 et de 1976).Nous utilisons pour cela les outils d'analyse développés par la théorie sociocritique en les complétant par le recours aux études de genre et aux études sur l'utopie et la SF. Il s'agit tout d'abord de questionner la périodisation établie par la critique littéraire pour ...

The role of the lawyer is in transition and the formerly predominantly homogeneous profes-sion has become a heterogeneous group of lawyers with diverging perceptions of the lawyer's identity and of the main characteristics of the profession. The European Union has extended the perception of democracy and the fundamental rights to include more collective rights, social concerns, global responsibility and sustainability. The dissertation's main question is: How can the identity and competences of lawyers be developed so that they can practise sustainable and proactive lawyering in the European Union? Theoretically as well as methodologically this research constitutes an interdisciplinary study, where legal science meets sociology and social learning theories. Identity development is perceived as a reflective project; there is a range of lifestyle choices which contribute to a composed but constantly shifting maintenance of self-identity in relation to democratic principles and the ideal of justice connected to the role of lawyers. The study builds on Anthony Giddens's structuration theory. This involves looking at how lawyers connect the questions 'What to do?' (societal level) and 'How to act?' (professional level) with 'Who to be?' (personal level). The study depicts a European identity ideal based on legal sources while empirical data from focus groups and individual interviews makes it possible to identify six different identities among Danish practising lawyers. It is possible to recognise the following identities: lawyer-businessman, lawyer-performer, lawyer-entrepreneur, lawyer-humanist, lawyer-integrator and lawyer-statesman. The fragmentation of the profession, with greater demand for specialist knowledge, in-creased individualisation and participation in new communities of practice, requires each lawyer to reflect on their identity and establish criteria for what, when and how they will use their lawyering skills. For this to succeed, lawyers' identities and competences will depend more on self-directed learning and individual learning plans, where the legal identity combines (global) societal responsibility with job satisfaction, authenticity and adherence to personal values.

Studies on the mental health of female military service members have mostly examined risk factors for negative outcomes rather than exploring what promotes psychological well-being. The theory of 'salutogenesis', or, 'the origin of health', strives to understand why many individuals are able to remain well amidst stressful conditions (Antonovsky, 1996). The present research explored how female soldiers engage in mental health maintenance. In Study 1, associations between negative psychological outcomes and social support, coping strategies, and spirituality/religious attendance were examined in a representative sample of female service members in the Canadian Forces. Differences from men with respect to these relationships were also investigated. Results showed that social support was the only protective correlate for multiple outcomes in women, while both social support and active coping were psychologically beneficial for men. Spirituality, avoidance coping, and self-medication were all associated with an increased likelihood of several outcomes in women, and the pattern of findings was similar overall in men. In Study 2, semi-structured interviews were conducted with active duty female members in the Canadian Forces in order to understand how women who had been on at least one deployment and who had not received mental health services in the past year, a proxy for current mental health, made sense of their military experiences. Transcripts were analyzed for nine participants using narrative analysis. A sense of belonging was found to be of utmost salience to the women, with several participants negotiating and constructing places that felt like home base to them, and with different degrees of attachment to the military versus civilian world. The findings of this work are discussed within the context of focusing prevention and intervention efforts on increasing belongingness, social cohesion, and a sense of home in the military for female service members. ; October 2014

Government agricultural extension officers in Kenya are mandated with providing agricultural information to farmers. ICTs have the ability to provide better linkage between agricultural experts and farmers for timely and appropriate technical advice to enhance agricultural productivity. Several models have been developed by various researchers to explain ICT adoption in various fields. The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) was developed by consolidating eight famous Models/Theories in the Information Systems discipline. This study aimed at investigating the factors that influence use of ICTs by government agricultural extension officers within Kiambu County of Kenya by utilizing the UTAUT model. To achieve this, four hypothesis were proposed to test the relationship between the independent and dependent variables. The variables of the study were Performance Expectancy, Effort Expectancy, Facilitating Conditions and Social Influence. The research undertook a survey where a census of agricultural extension officers in Kiambu County was done. Questionnaires were utilized on the target population where 144 questionnaires were distributed and 104 were used in analysis. Correlation analysis was used to analyze the data and determine relationships between variables with the major determining factors being the correlation (R) and the p-value of significance. The results show that there were statistically significant, strong positive relationships between Improved Productivity, Facilitating Conditions and Management support and that of usage of ICTs. Based on the findings of this study, it is recommended that for success in implementation of ICT projects in the Extension Directorate, the extension workers need to be sensitized on ways ICTs could lead to higher productivity at their work places in addition to training on basic ICT technologies that they could easily utilize in their line of work. Further, it is recommended that the Ministry rolls out appropriate ICT infrastructure and ICT support staff in the Extension offices. This will go a long way in encouraging utilization of ICTs.

Tulisan ini mengajukan argumentasi bahwa modal sosial masyarakat, partisipasi komunitas-komunitas agama di suatu wilayah merupakan salah satu faktor pendukung bekerjanya instrumen hukum dan kebijakan. Tulisan ini mengambil studi di Kota Metro yang mayoritas masyarakatnya adalah suku Jawa dan juga memiliki beragam pemeluk agama. Filosofi hidup Rumongso Melu Handarbeni yang diyakini oleh masyarakat Jawa dalam prakteknya ikut mendukung berbagai program Pemerintah Kota Metro. Di sisi lain keberadaan berbagai komunitas agama yang ada di Kota Metro sesungguhnya memiliki potesi yang besar dalam mendukung Kota Metro yang berwawasan lingkungan. Agama dengan ajaran tentang kepedulian lingkungan akan dapat menjembatani proses bertemunya modal sosial dan kebijakan pemerintah dalam mengatasi permasalahan lingkungan khususnya sampah di Kota Metro. Agama Islam dan Kristen dapat menjadi prototype dalam membangun kesadaran lingkungan antarpemeluknya. Pada konteks inilah usaha Pemerintah Kota Metro dalam membentuk sebuah produk hukum daerah sebaiknya memperhatikan modal sosial masyarakat. Hal ini harapanya akan mampu mendukung proses transformasi Kota Metro menuju Kota yang berwawasan lingkungan.This article discribes about social capital behold, the participate of religion communities in the region is one of the supporting factor to operation of legal instruments and the policy.This paper a study in Metro when the major of Javanese and also has a variety of faiths. The Philosophy of life RumongsoMelu handarbeni believed with Javanese to supporting the various programs of Metro's Government. Therefore, the existence of the religion communities in Metro actually has a great potention to be support of Metro's environmentally concept. Religion with theory about environmental concerns will be able to bridge the convergence of social capital and government policies to superintend environmental issues specially of waste in Metro. Islam and Christianity can be a prototype to build environmental awareness among its adherents. In this context, the Metros' Government efforts to arrange a legal product should be attention the community's social capital. It can be to support the process of transformation Metro City of environmentally concept.

There exist different ways for defining a welfare function. Traditionally, welfare economic theory foundation is based on the Net Present Value (NPV) calculation where the time dependent preferences of considered agents are taken into account. However, the time preferences, remains a controversial subject. Currently, the traditional approach employs a unique discount rate for various agents. Nevertheless, this way of discounting appears inconsistent with sustainable development. New research work suggests that the discount rate may not be a homogeneous value. The discount rates may change following the individual's preferences. A significant body of evidence suggests that people do not behave following a constant discount rate. In fact, UK Government has quickly recognized the power of the arguments for time-varying rates, as it has done in its official guidance to Ministries on the appraisal of investments and policies. Other authors deal with not just time preference but with uncertainty about future income (precautionary saving). In a situation in which economic growth rates are similar across time periods, the rationale for declining social optimal discount rates is driven by the preferences of the individuals in the economy, rather than expectations of growth. However, these approaches have been mainly focused on long-term policies where intergenerational risks may appear. The traditional cost-benefit analysis (CBA) uses a unique discount rate derived from market interest rates or investment rates of return for discounting the costs and benefits of all social agents included in the CBA. However, recent literature showed that a more adequate measure of social benefit is possible by using different discount rates including inter-temporal preferences rate of users, private investment discount rate and intertemporal preferences rate of government. Actually, the costs of opportunity may differ amongst individuals, firms, governments, or society in general, as do the returns on savings. In general, the firms or ...

Для создания новой теории, интерпретирующей гуманистические основания порядка формирования государственных органов, осуществлена экстраполяция идеи конвергенции. С помощью конвергенционного подхода проанализированы направления сближения объективной и субъективной форм гуманизма порядка формирования государственных органов. Рассмотрен гуманизм порядка формирования государственных органов с учетом его общего цивилизационно-культурного начала, а также его особенной этнонациональной, политико-правовой и национально-государственной основы. Сделаны выводы о том, что конвергенционный гуманизм порядка формирования государственных органов является феноменом глобализирующейся человеческой цивилизации, а ось «субъективный объективный» гуманизм представляют собой естественные полюса его развития. Благодаря действию субъективной и объективной форм как основных механизмов конвергенционного гуманизма он может позиционироваться в качестве радикального и естественного средства преодоления кризисных явлений в сфере институционализации и воспроизводства государственных органов, что является еще одним доказательством становления нового интегрального порядка формирования государственных органов. ; Extrapolation of an idea of convergence with an intent to create a new theory interpreting the humanistic foundations of the government bodies formation order is carried out. The directions for rapprochement of objective and subjective forms of humanism in the government bodies formation order are analyzed by means of the convergence approach. The paper considers such phenomenon as humanism in the government bodies formation order with the consideration of its general civilizational and cultural principles, along with its ethnonational, political, legal, national and state foundations. It was concluded that convergence humanism in the government bodies formation order is a phenomenon of globalizing human civilization, while the axis «subjective-objective» humanism implies natural poles of its development. Owing to the fact that subjective and objective forms are the main mechanisms of convergence humanism, it can be considered as a drastic and natural remedy intended to overcome crisis phenomena in institutionalization and reproduction of government bodies. Such concept proves establishment of a new integral order of the government bodies formation.

Anotācija Promocijas darba teorētiskais pienesums ir inovatīva pieeja, ar kuras palīdzību pētīt piederību nacionālajai kopienai, nosakot, kādi faktori uzrāda korelāciju ar piederību integrācijas kontekstā. Izmantojot datus no Latvijas krievvalodīgās kopienas 2004. un 2010.gadā, tiek analizēta piederības sajūtas veicinošo faktoru ietekme un tas, kā integrācijas politikas nostādnes sekmē piederības sajūtas attīstību. Darbā tiek secināts, ka pastāv neatbilstības starp valsts izvirzītajiem mērķiem piederības veicināšanā un tās integrācijas politikas pieeju, jo galvenais uzsvars tiek likts uz valodu un kultūru, kas promocijas darba empīriskajā analīzē neuzrāda neapšaubāmu korelāciju ar piederības sajūtu Latvijai. Promocijas darbā tiek pētīts arī dalītās piederības fenomens un radnieciskās valsts piederības ietekme, kā arī empīriski norādīts, ka pārāk maz uzmanības tiek veltīts Krievijas piederības ietekmei uz krievvalodīgajiem Latvijas iedzīvotājiem un integrācijas centieniem kopumā. Atslēgas vārdi: Latvija, krievvalodīgie, integrācija, piederības sajūta, kopienas piederības teorija, radnieciskās valsts ietekme. ; Abstract The theoretical contribution of the work is in identifying an innovative approach to the study of social integration and a sense of belonging. The framework is tested through secondary data analysis of Russian language speaking youth survey data from 2004 and 2010 in Latvia, in order to identify what factors show a consistent correlation with expressed belonging and how social integration impacts feelings of belonging. The work concludes that there is a serious misfit between policy and the stated goal of integration to foster a sense of belonging to Latvia, as the main focus of policy is on language and culture which in the empirical analysis showed an inconsistent correlation with belonging. The dissertation also examines the phenomenon of transnationalism and external homeland, and empirically shows that too little attention is afforded to the influence external homeland belonging has on Russian language speaker perception of the sense of community indicators and Latvian integration efforts. Keywords: Latvia, Russian speakers, integration, sense of belonging, sense of community theory, external homeland

In Feminist Queer Crip, Alison Kafer endeavours to re-politicise disability and its relations to gender and sexuality. This entails a thorough examination of the ways in which time can be or become 'crip' – a critical term for 'imagining bodies and desires otherwise' – with a focus on those bodies that won't grow, age, labour or reproduce according to normal standards of growth and productivity. Kafer also examines bodies that are visually reproduced, or omitted, to facilitate the production of a political agenda, and how the continual reproduction of the able-bodied norm may be challenged or undone. She writes with an acute awareness of intersectionality and her understanding of reproductive politics repeatedly challenges ableist notions of care, future, and productivity. She first identifies problems with the medical model of disability, which constructs a timeline that can only lead to cure or failure, and with the social model, which risks ignoring the lived realities of pain until 'cure becomes the future no self-respecting disability activist or scholar wants' (p. 7). Kafer then arrives at a political and relational stance, one which prioritises coalition over diagnosis and which recognises that disability 'does not occur in isolation' (p. 8). Her relational model takes into account partnerships with carers and attendants and assisting animals, and a focus on political allegiance allows room for Robert McRuer's theory of a 'non-disabled claim to crip': an expansive identity politics which extends beyond diagnostics and towards the deconstructive principle that everyone is, has or will be disabled, and so has a stake in dismantling the ablebodied ideal. The bounds of these relations move from the social to the temporal – Feminist Queer Crip suggests that disability occurs in time, or out of it, and is often marked by a rupture in the rhythm of ableist lifetimes.

This article examines the home based factors that influence the academic performance of the girl child from poverty stricken households in Masvingo province, Zimbabwe. With the prevailing economic hardships faced by the majority of the people in Zimbabwe since 1990, the number of girl children living in poverty is continually increasing and it has become a growing issue. A qualitative phenomenological design was used incorporating focus group discussions, interviews and observations as data collection instruments with ten girl children, six parents and four teachers at two secondary schools, one rural and another urban in Masvingo province. The participants comprised girl students doing form three, their parents and also some of their teachers. The study is informed by Bronfenbrenner's ecological theory. This study established that the girl child's academic performance is affected by multiple contexts including family, home, neighbourhood and school. The study concluded that family income, parental level of education, gender, home circumstances, and family size influenced academic achievement of girls in secondary schools. The home circumstances of girls from poor backgrounds were observed to be not conducive to learning because of a lack of lighting, spending much time on domestic chores, having no desk or table to work at, or not having books at home. The girl learners also did not get basic needs met like food, sanitary pads and school fees. Recommendations are that the government should sensitize parents on the need and importance of supporting the education of girls and on the importance of providing for the needs of the girl child. Finally, every effort must be made to ensure that the affected children have stable, preferably home/family based care and adequate social support. Various policies and interventions can help to attenuate poverty's negative influence on child development. DOI:10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n6p223

We apply stochastic process theory to the analysis of immigrant integration. Using a unique and detailed data set from Spain, we study the relationship between local immigrant density and two social and two economic immigration quantifiers for the period 1999–2010. As opposed to the classic time-series approach, by letting immigrant density play the role of 'time' and the quantifier the role of 'space,' it becomes possible to analyse the behavior of the quantifiers by means of continuous time random walks. Two classes of results are then obtained. First, we show that social integration quantifiers evolve following diffusion law, while the evolution of economic quantifiers exhibits ballistic dynamics. Second, we make predictions of best- and worst-case scenarios taking into account large local fluctuations. Our stochastic process approach to integration lends itself to interesting forecasting scenarios which, in the hands of policy makers, have the potential to improve political responses to integration problems. For instance, estimating the standard first-passage time and maximum-span walk reveals local differences in integration performance for different immigration scenarios. Thus, by recognizing the importance of local fluctuations around national means, this research constitutes an important tool to assess the impact of immigration phenomena on municipal budgets and to set up solid multi-ethnic plans at the municipal level as immigration pressures build ; This work is supported by the FIRB grants RBFR08EKEV and RBFR10N90W. EA and AB acknowledge also partial financial support by GNFM-(INdAM) via Progetto Giovani 2013 (AB) and 2014 (EA). RS is grateful to the project Competition, Adaptation and Labour-Market Attainment of International Migrants in Europe (CALMA)? granted by the VI National Plan for Scientific Research, Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (CSO2012-38521), for partial financial support.

In the past decades, the growth of consumer credit has led to increased debt problems of private households, and many economically advanced countries have responded to this new social risk of consumer over-indebtedness by adopting consumer bankruptcy laws that enable insolvent individuals a financial 'fresh start' via discharge of debts. The study describes, compares and classifies the legal rules and underlying norms of consumer bankruptcy in fifteen advanced economies and makes three contributions to comparative politics, sociology and law: First, it develops conceptualizations of consumer bankruptcy and its actors, aims and components that are precise, theoretically informed and transnationally applicable. Second, it offers a systematic and detailed comparison of consumer bankruptcy regimes from a wide range of legal, economic and social-political traditions, which exhibits similarities and differences regarding the substantive rules of consumer debt relief. Third, the study provides an empirical classification of consumer bankruptcy systems based on a theory-driven framework, a new comparative dataset and hierarchical clustering. This classification identifies a common core of consumer bankruptcy as well as four distinct models of debt relief, which differ in their legal, economic and social-political orientations and their resultant understandings of debtors, creditors, markets, social problems and the public order: (1) a 'market model' that offers a quick 'fresh start' for insolvent individuals; (2) a 'restrictions model' that imposes economic, political and civil restrictions on debtors; (3) a 'liability model' that emphasizes the debtor's responsibility for debt repayment; and (4) a 'mercy model' that focuses on the debtor's deservingness for debt relief. In sum, the study creates solid conceptual and empirical foundations for comparative consumer bankruptcy research and connects the field to political economy, sociology, consumer policy, public policy, social policy and welfare state research.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of social media in communication discourse in the Islamic Middle East and North African (MENA) countries.Design/methodology/approachBy applying the theory of social networks and a method known as critical discourse analysis (CDA) this study investigates the role of social media in the recent waves of popular unrest in the MENA region.FindingsThis study finds that social media not only played an important role in citizens' participation in communication discourse and mobilization, but also that these media activities intensified in part because of the authorities' failing rationales against protesters, as shown in the four‐part CDA validity test.Research limitations/implicationsThis study is limited to a particular time frame covering the recent democratic discourse in the MENA region for the period 2009‐2011. While this research is limited to the case study of the MENA region, the author believes that lessons learned from this case study can be applied to other developing countries across the globe.Practical implicationsSocial media tools available via the internet have provided web users across the globe effective tools and services to share and disseminate information by interactively collaborating with each other in digital communities through blogs, social networking and video sharing sites. In this context, social networks are considered to be effective media for communication discourse. The intensive use of social media networks among citizens' of the MENA region indicate that the internet has the potential to be a multivocal platform through which silenced and marginalized groups can have their voices heard.Originality/valueWhile the existing literature focuses largely on deploying Habermasian critical discourse analysis to media discourse within the context of democratic and well developed nations, this paper presents one of the few studies that extends the CDA method to non‐democratic countries. As such it contributes to the existing knowledge and understanding of the mobilizing effects of social media in communication discourse.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine voluntary risk disclosures within annual reports in four key South‐East Asian countries' (Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Australia) manufacturing listed companies over the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) 2007‐2009 financial years.Design/methodology/approachLongitudinal and cross‐country analyses test the veracity of agency theory to predict the level of firms' risk disclosures. A comprehensive risk disclosure index (RDI) checklist is created with key predictor variables (country, company size, managerial ownership and board independence) tested to explain the dissemination of CSR information over time.FindingsThe findings show that the communication of risk data stays relatively consistent (26‐29 per cent across the three GFC "crisis" years). This is arguably a low level of communication from a social responsibility corporate lens. Multiple regression analysis provides evidence that country, size and board independence are positively significantly associated and leverage is negatively significantly associated with the extent of voluntary risk disclosure. Interestingly, Indonesia, the least developed country with arguably the highest business risk factors, consistently has statistically lower levels of risk disclosure compared with their three neighbours.Research limitations/implicationsThe sample frame is selected from the stock exchange population of manufacturing companies in key South‐East Asian countries. However, for complete generalization the findings should be tested in other countries and other industries.Practical implicationsThe study findings are useful for firm self‐evaluation and benchmarking of risk communication by other corporations across countries.Social implicationsThe study shows relatively low levels of risk disclosure over the GFC crisis time period. Communication of these items are influenced by key firm characteristics and economic drivers. Arguably, higher risk disclosure leads to better understanding of a company's social responsibility stance.Originality/valueThis is a critically important time span to investigate risk disclosures as it encompasses those years most directly impacted by the global financial crisis (GFC).