scholarly journals Towards a Ius Commune on Elections in Europe? The Role of the Code of Good Practice in Electoral Matters in “Harmonizing” Electoral Rights

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 247-254 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristina Fasone ◽  
Giovanni Piccirilli
Keyword(s):  
Good Practice ◽  
Ius Commune

scholarly journals Working with community researchers to enhance rural community engagement around Private Water Supplies: an exploration of the benefits and challenges

2020 ◽  
pp. 146879412097888
Author(s):  
Rachel Creaney ◽  
Mags Currie ◽  
Paul Teedon ◽  
Karin Helwig
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Community Engagement ◽  
Rural Community ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Good Practice ◽  
Duty Of Care ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Water Supplies ◽  
Employment Opportunities

This project employed community researchers as a means of improving community engagement around their Private Water Supplies (PWS) in rural Scotland. In this paper, we reflect on working with community researchers in terms of the benefits and challenges of the approach for future rural research that seeks to improve community engagement. The paper (1) critiques the involvement of community researchers for rural community engagement, drawing on the experiences in this project and (2) provides suggestions for good practice for working with community researchers in rural communities’ research. We offer some context in terms of the role of community members in research, the importance of PWS, our approach to community researchers, followed by the methodological approach and findings and our conclusions to highlight that community researchers can be beneficial for enhancing community engagement, employability, and social capital. Future community researcher approaches need to be fully funded to ensure core researchers can fulfil their duty of care, which should not stop when data collection is finished. Community researchers need to be supported in two main ways: as continuing faces of the project after the official project end date and to transfer their newly acquired skills to future employment opportunities.

Rethinking early years: how the neoliberal agenda fails children

Soundings ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 76 (76) ◽  
pp. 128-157
Author(s):  
Celia Burgess-Macey ◽  
Clare Kelly ◽  
Marjorie Ouvry
Keyword(s):  
Good Practice ◽  
Early Learning ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Formal Curriculum ◽  
Small Children ◽  
Children’S Learning ◽  
Early Years Education ◽  
Education And Care ◽  
Children's Learning

Early years education in England is in crisis. This article looks at what is needed to better provide the kind of education and care that young children need outside the home, from birth to school-starting age. It explores: the current arrangements and varieties of provision and approaches in England; educational and developmental research about young children's development and early learning; the current national early years curriculum and how it contrasts to other international models and pedagogical approaches; the importance of play-based learning; the role of adults in observing, recording, assessing and supporting young children's learning; and the holistic nature of children's learning - which makes education and care inseparable in young children's lives. Neoliberal governments have had little interest in these questions: they have been focused instead on marketising the sector, which has led to great inequality of provision; and they have been unwilling to provide the necessary funding to train staff and maintain appropriate learning environments; most fundamentally, they have engaged in an ideological drive to impose on very small children a narrow and formal curriculum that ignores all the evidence about good practice in the sector, and is focused on making them 'school ready' - that is, ready to fit into the rigid frameworks they have already imposed on primary school education.

scholarly journals Political Parties and Participative Approaches to Democracy

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristiano Gianolla
Keyword(s):  
Social Movements ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Participatory Democracy ◽  
Good Practice ◽  
Representative Democracy ◽  
Political Movements ◽  
Five Star Movement ◽  
Representative Model ◽  
The Relationship

Representative democracy is currenty facing strong social criticism for its incapacity to envolve people in a way that makes them part of the decision-making process. An existing gap between the representatives and the represented is hereby emphasized. In this space, the role of political parties is central in order to bridge society with institutions. How much are parties concerned about this issue? How and in which context do they interact more with their electorate and the wider society? Participatory democracy is emerging throughout the world in different forms and with different results, but the dominant pattern of democracy remains the liberal western democratic paradigm in which people can contribute barely through electing candidates. In order to achieve what Boaventura de Sousa Santos calls ‘democratisation of democracy’ the role of political parties is therefore fundamental in particular to achieve a more participative democracy within the representative model. This article approaches this theme through a bibliographic review comparing social movements and political parties with a focus on the innovation of the Five Star Movement in Italy. Finally, it provides a reading of the relationship between political parties andparticipation, including good practice and perspectives.KEYWORDS: Participation, political parties, social movements, political movements, representative democracy, participatory democracy.

scholarly journals Business to business digital content marketing: marketers’ perceptions of best practice

2014 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 269-293 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geraint Holliman ◽  
Jennifer Rowley
Keyword(s):  
Information Needs ◽  
Good Practice ◽  
Digital Content ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Theoretical Understanding ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Inbound Marketing ◽  
Business To Business ◽  
Content Marketing

Purpose – This paper aims to draw attention to the emerging phenomenon of business to business (B2B) digital content marketing, offers a range of insights and reflections on good practice and contributes to theoretical understanding of the role of digital content in marketing. B2B digital content marketing is an inbound marketing technique and hence offers a solution to the declining effectiveness of traditional interruptive marketing techniques. Design/methodology/approach – Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 key informants involved in B2B content marketing in the USA, UK and France, in five industry sectors. Findings – B2B digital content marketing is an inbound marketing technique, effected through web page, social media and value-add content, and is perceived to be a useful tool for achieving and sustaining trusted brand status. Creating content that is valuable to B2B audiences requires brands to take a “publishing” approach, which involves developing an understanding of the audience’s information needs, and their purchase consideration cycle. Valuable content is described as being useful, relevant, compelling and timely. Content marketing requires a cultural change from “selling” to “helping”, which in turn requires different marketing objectives, tactics, metrics and skills to those associated with more traditional marketing approaches. The article concludes with a theoretical discussion on the role of digital content in marketing, thereby contextualising the findings from this study within a broader exploration of the role of digital content in marketing and relational exchanges. Originality/value – As the first research study to explore the use of digital content marketing in B2B contexts, this research positions digital content marketing with regard to prior theory, and provides both an agenda for further research, and suggestions for practice.

Just design: Healthy prisons and the architecture of hope

2018 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
pp. 319-338 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yvonne Jewkes
Keyword(s):  
Cancer Care ◽  
Good Practice ◽  
Memorial Lecture ◽  
Healthcare Environments ◽  
The Future ◽  
Fit For Purpose ◽  
Architecture And Design ◽  
The University ◽  
Public Lecture

This article develops the notion that institutional places and spaces are layered with meaning and that their architecture and design have a profound psychological and physiological influence on those who live and work within them. Mindful of the intrinsic link between ‘beauty’ and ‘being just’, the article explores the potential ‘healing’ or rehabilitative role of penal aesthetics. As many countries modernise their prison estates, replacing older facilities that are no longer fit-for-purpose with new, more ‘efficient’ establishments, this article discusses examples of international best (and less good) practice in penal and hospital settings. It reflects on what those who commission and design new prisons might learn from pioneering design initiatives in healthcare environments and asks whether the philosophies underpinning the ‘architecture of hope’ that Maggie’s Cancer Care Centres exemplify could be incorporated into prisons of the future. The article was originally presented as a public lecture in the annual John V Barry memorial lecture series at the University of Melbourne on 24 November 2016.

The role of cultural diplomacy in nation branding

2016 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 80-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian J. Hurn
Keyword(s):  
Soft Power ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Cultural Diplomacy ◽  
Good Practice ◽  
Training And Development ◽  
Nation Branding ◽  
Critical Examination ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to emphasise the importance of effective cultural diplomacy in increasing influence abroad, both commercially and politically. It covers the institutions used to advance cultural diplomacy and focuses on their use in nation branding as a form of “soft power”. Design/methodology/approach – Review of the various key institutions involved, with examples. Findings – Increasing use of cultural diplomacy by companies and nations to enhance their profile to assist in gaining competitive advantage in exports, foreign trade, attracting inward investment and tourism. Emphasises its value and methods as an important part of training and development. Research limitations/implications – Selective review of recent good practice. Practical implications – Highlights key areas of success and also examines areas where success has been tempered by altered circumstances at a later date. Originality/value – The review is backed by critical examination and analysis of the recent use of institutions involved.

We are much more than watchdogs:

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 568-589 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danielle Morin ◽  
Mouna Hazgui
Keyword(s):  
A Priori ◽  
Good Practice ◽  
Public Affairs ◽  
Discussion Groups ◽  
Apparent Paradox ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Organisational Identity ◽  
Agents Of Change ◽  
The Uk

Purpose Three decades ago, the National Audit Office (NAO) in the UK acquired the powers to evaluate the extent that the British Administration was managed with economy, efficiency and effectiveness. The NAO has since adopted a dual mission: to help Parliament hold government to account and to improve public service. This study aims to investigate value-for-money (VFM) auditors’ internalisation of a dual organisational identity: “obstructive” actions as representatives of a Supreme Audit Institution (SAI) and “enabling good practice”, induced by a will stated in the mission that the NAO authorities have adopted. Design/methodology/approach The organisational identity held and promoted by VFM auditors working at the NAO was explored in this research project. The authors specifically examined the understanding of those who claim to be serving both Parliament and organisations audited in their quest for performance improvement. The authors prompted the auditors to explain how they manage to reconcile these seemingly incompatible roles, namely, that of guardians and watchdogs who must publicly report gaps noted and that of assistants in government’s learning process. To this end, the authors conducted a field study at the NAO in September 2012 during which 21 auditors were interviewed individually and as part of two discussion groups. Findings The findings indicate that the auditors interviewed do not perceive a dichotomy in NAO’s double mission, which they believe to be congruent with their audience’s expectations. They draw meaning and usefulness from their role of monitoring the Administration if they believe they have contributed to improve public affairs management. In their view, the singular role of guardian no longer suffices. The authors conclude that VFM auditors’ recently acquired identity of “moderniser” reflects a self-efficacy expectation that prevents them from recognising the apparent paradox within their dual identity and that lets them fantasise about their real influence on the Administration. Research limitations/implications Admittedly, the limited number of auditors interviewed and who took part in discussion groups is not conducive to generalisation of the conclusions to all auditors in the NAO or to other SAIs. However, although modest in number, the auditor respondents have accumulated many years of VFM audit practice and have contributed to the production of many reports. The respondents could therefore rightfully speak of their work as VFM auditors and as representatives of an institution such as the NAO. Practical implications This study contributes to the debates about the place and role of SAIs in the control environment of Administrations. By soliciting testimonials from the actors working within the NAO, the authors could thus question certain a priori assumptions held by stakeholders in the political and administrative world for whom auditors are mere “watchdogs” of Administrations, and nothing more. Originality/value The dual mission that the NAO has adopted (similar to many other SAIs) has been formally and publicly stated. It was therefore worth investigating how experienced auditors such as those interviewed had internalised this mission. The authors argue that this dual mission, perhaps inspired by the managerialist culture that has shaped changes to the British Administration (and many other occidental Administrations) since the early 1980s and that is seemingly encouraged by Government, twists the legislator’s intentions, which are to consider SAIs’ auditors as guardians and watchdogs of Administrations, not as agents of change and improvement.

The Important Role of Green Supply Chain Management in the Context of Land-Sea Overall Strategy

2013 ◽  
Vol 694-697 ◽  
pp. 3571-3574
Author(s):  
Min Jie Kang ◽  
Wei Xin Luan
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Marine Environment ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Bohai Sea ◽  
Environmental Problem ◽  
Good Practice ◽  
Green Supply Chain ◽  
Chinese Enterprises ◽  
Environment Management

This paper explores the mechanism between supply chain and marine environment, describes the concepts and elements of GSCM, and discusses the prospects of implementation of GSCM, conclude that GSCM would be a good practice for Chinese enterprises to improve both their economic and environmental performance, it would play an important role in marine environment management, prospectively it would be a possible way to solve the Bohai sea environmental problem in the context of land-sea overall strategy.

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