scholarly journals Presenting an Archaeology for Everyone: Changing our approach to publicly funded archaeological investigation in Scotland

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kirsty Owen ◽  
Rebecca Jones
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Sustainable Communities ◽  
Publicly Funded ◽  
Archaeological Investigation ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Benefit ◽  
Landscape Reconstruction ◽  
National Body ◽  
Ancient Diet ◽  
Definition Of

We explore the idea of the 'public benefit' of archaeology and argue that our definition of what this means needs to be broadened, so that those that fund and consume archaeological information, and those that currently do not, can better understand the full breadth of its importance and significance. Archaeological information is relevant to, and in many cases actively contributes to, climate change, the promotion of diversity, the construction of sustainable communities and the appreciation and understanding of place. We will present and discuss some of the range of projects that are currently being supported through Historic Environment Scotland's Archaeology Programme, which is now focused on the delivery of Scotland's Archaeology Strategy. Many of these projects bring together professional archaeologists and members of the public, but how do we get a greater variety of people interested? It will be argued that one of the key roles of a national body is to bridge the gap between people's day-to-day lives and archaeology, making clearer why it is important to everyone. There are clearly challenges inherent in this approach, and we will present these to EAC members for discussion. We argue that different forms of media can be used to amplify the relevance of archaeological information, and that this could be done more effectively. At present, archaeological information is largely consumed as an academic text-based narrative, hard to understand by the general public, and its relevance to everyday life is rarely clearly conveyed. We are seeking to improve this through better, more relevant, stories and imagery. The scientific endeavours of archaeologists, varying from landscape reconstruction to analysis of ancient diet are often relevant to contemporary issues – this could be better explored and promoted.

Educación y comunicación para el cambio climatico. Un punto de vista critico de los obstaculos y resistencias

2009 ◽  
pp. 48-74
Author(s):  
Edgar Gonzŕlez-Gaudiano ◽  
-Cartea Pablo Meira
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Social Practice ◽  
Daily Life ◽  
Environmental Literacy ◽  
Coastal Areas ◽  
Political Interest ◽  
The Public ◽  
Scientific Disciplines ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Epistemological Complexity

- Climate change has become a recurring issue not only in media, but also in common citizens' daily life. Several phenomena - shortage and consequent high cost of food, increased vulnerability of coastal areas, desertification, etc - are ascribed to its effects. The public and political interest around climate change has reinforced the importance of environment in the national and international agenda after the silence followed to the Rio '92 Conference. Climate change presents extreme epistemological complexity because it condenses the multiple contents that scientific disciplines use to keep separated. It also calls for a new definition of environmental literacy: not a simple acquisition of information about the environment, but a process lean on a political and ethical substratum, and on a critical social practice, referring to the idea of citizenship.

Reclaiming the Atmospheric Commons

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leigh Raymond
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Trade Policy ◽  
Policy Change ◽  
Cap And Trade ◽  
Economic Interests ◽  
Large Power ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Benefit ◽  
New Public ◽  
The Face

Reclaiming the Atmospheric Commons explains recent changes in emissions trading policy to address climate change with a new theory of sudden policy change. The new theory of “normative reframing” argues that policy change advocates can draw on the unique power of social norms to undermine support for existing policies and successfully promote new alternatives, even in the face of resistance from vested economic interests. The book uses this theory of “normative reframing” to explain the surprising and unexpected political decision to make large power companies pay for the rights to emit greenhouse gases for the first time under a so-called “cap and trade” policy, as implemented in the 2008 Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). The book provides evidence that a new “public benefit” frame was critical to making allowance auctions possible in RGGI, by going beyond typical polluter pays norms in environmental policy to also include norms regarding the fair distribution of public resources such as the atmosphere. The book also argues that the public benefit frame offers promising option for promoting new climate change policies in other contexts, including the EU ETS, California’s cap and trade policy, and the EPA’s new Clean Power Plan. The book also describes the wider implications of normative reframing as a strategy for creating policy change in many contexts beyond climate policy, including improving the ability of policy theories to predict which policies are likely to change suddenly in the future.

scholarly journals Aid/Watch and the Public Benefit of Advocacy for the Extra-territorial Relief of Poverty

2011 ◽  
Vol 3 (3s) ◽  
pp. 9-19
Author(s):  
David Barnden ◽  
Giri Sivaraman
Keyword(s):  
Common Law ◽  
Government Policies ◽  
High Court ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Benefit ◽  
Revenue Collection ◽  
Charitable Organisation ◽  
Potential Benefits ◽  
The Common ◽  
Definition Of

The disqualification of Aid/Watch as a charity and the High Court of Australia's subsequent decision shines a spotlight on the common law definition of charitable activity. The Aid/Watch decision enables charitable organisations to legitimately advocate for more efficient implementation of government policies on the relief of poverty and for the advancement of education and religion, without fear of reprisal. Initially we comment on the inherent tension the Australian Taxation Office experiences as a result of its status as a government department, its responsibilities to administer revenue collection and its role interpreting charity law. We then discuss the common law definition of charity and the Constitutional basis for the High Court’s decision in Aid/Watch. To conclude we outline areas of uncertainties but also potential benefits to charitable organisations which are relevant for any proposal to define ‘charitable organisation’.

scholarly journals Risk perceptions and public debates on climate change: a conceptualisation based on the theory of a functionally-differentiated society

2010 ◽  
Vol 26 (49) ◽  
pp. 13
Author(s):  
Markus Rhomberg
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Mass Media ◽  
News Media ◽  
Risk Perceptions ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
The Political ◽  
The Public ◽  
Climate Change Risks ◽  
Media Systems ◽  
Definition Of

Mass media and its mechanisms of production and selection play a crucial role in the definition of climate change risks. Different form of logic in the political, scientific and media systems are vital aspects in the public debate on this issue. A theoretical analysis of these aspects needs a framework in terms of social theory: Luhmann’s concept of a functionally-differentiated society and the mechanisms of structural couplings could help to understand the relations and interplay of these systems in the climate-debate. Based on this framework and various empirical studies, this paper suggests: different logics lead to different climate-definitions in science, politics and mass media. Climate change became interesting, but not until it was located in the political decision-making process. Climate issues become publicly interesting, when they are clear, contentious and can be linked to Elite-Persons. In contrast to scientific communication, news media make great efforts to be clear and definite in their communications.

COMMENTARY––The Public Interest Imperative in Corporate Sustainability Reporting Research

2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin Burrell Nickell ◽  
Robin W. Roberts
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Public Interest ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Corporate Sustainability ◽  
Sustainability Reporting ◽  
The Public ◽  
Accounting Research ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Social And Environmental Performance

ABSTRACT The United Nations, federal governments and their agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), shareholder activists, private sector standard setters, and academic researchers, as well as many others, are taking actions to improve corporations' accountability regarding the environmental and social impacts of their operations. These actions have helped propel a rapid increase in voluntary corporate sustainability reporting. Although the uptake in sustainability reporting has received a significant amount of support from relevant and respected organizations, academic and policy debates continue over whether voluntary corporate sustainability reports can monitor corporate activities effectively. While some researchers view these reports as signals of superior actions, others argue that they provide corporations with an opportunity to obfuscate their actual social and environmental performance through selective and incomplete disclosure strategies. The purpose of this commentary is to advocate for accounting researchers, regardless of their theoretical framework, research question, or method, to use a more inclusive definition of the public interest when performing corporate sustainability reporting research. We believe that a more inclusive public interest definition is required due to: (1) the broad impact of corporate social and environmental activities on global climate change and planetary sustainability; (2) a tendency for financial market accounting research to focus strictly on economic-based, potential corporate net benefits or costs derived from voluntary corporate sustainability reporting; and (3) the need to acknowledge the collective action problem inherent in developing policies dealing with corporate sustainable development activities and reporting. By using a more inclusive definition of the public interest in corporate sustainability reporting research, the accounting research community can contribute more positively to society's understanding of how well corporations are meeting and reporting on their significant public interest responsibilities related to the climate change consequences of their operations.

scholarly journals Peculiarities of social business concept

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. s660-s676
Author(s):  
Arturas Simanavicius ◽  
Eimantas Kisielius ◽  
Liliia Kharchevnikova ◽  
Liliya Svorobovych ◽  
Alla Chykurkova
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Social Benefits ◽  
Social Business ◽  
Market Mechanisms ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Benefit ◽  
Main Motive ◽  
Anglo American ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Specific Definition

The essence and uniqueness of social business in solving the most sensitive problems of the society, being able to survive independently and ensure the continuity of activities gives this form of activity an advantage and determines its growing popularity. There are many different definitions of social business. Some authors explain the definition of social business by distinguishing the main aspects that distinguish social business from other forms of activity. However, there are also forms very close to social business. The research objective is to present differences of social business concepts and to identify advantages of such initiatives. The analysis of social business concepts has shown that social business is defined by three principles: social business solves social problems that are not addressed by the public sector; the main motive of social business is public benefit; representatives of social business exploit market mechanisms (without excluding the existing ones) when creating social benefits. Research has shown that social business does not yet have one specific definition, but, according to the development and perception of social business, two main directions can be distinguished: Anglo-American and European.

scholarly journals Brief Communication: Does it matter exactly when the Arctic will become ice-free?

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. K. Ridley ◽  
R. A. Wood ◽  
A. B. Keen ◽  
E. Blockley ◽  
J. A. Lowe
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Sea Ice ◽  
Climate Change Mitigation ◽  
Arctic Sea Ice ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
The Public ◽  
Arctic Sea ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Dangerous Climate Change ◽  
Change Mitigation

Abstract. Following the 2015 UNFCCC Conference of Parties in Paris there is renewed interest in understanding and avoiding potentially dangerous climate change. The loss of Arctic sea ice is one of the most directly visible aspects of climate change and the question is frequently asked: when can we expect the Arctic to be ice-free in summer? We argue here that this question may not be the most useful one to inform decisions on climate change mitigation or adaptation in the Arctic. The development of a community-wide consensus on a robust definition of "ice-free", may reduce confusion in the community and amongst the public.

Public Impact of Planetary Science

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda Billings
Keyword(s):  
Planetary Science ◽  
Public Understanding ◽  
Scientific Enterprise ◽  
Scientific Impact ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Benefit ◽  
Aerospace Companies ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Social Scientific ◽  
Definition Of

The public impact of planetary science, or, alternatively, the public value of planetary science, is poorly understood, as little research has been published on the subject. Public impact may be linked to scientific impact, but it is not the same as public impact. Nor is it the same as public benefit or public understanding. No clear, agreed-upon definition of “public impact” exists, and certainly no definition of “the public impact of planetary science” exists. It is a matter of judgment as to whether global spending on planetary science has yielded positive public impacts, let alone impacts that are worth the investment. More research on the public impact of planetary science is needed. However, the study of public impact is a social scientific enterprise, and space agencies, space research institutes, and aerospace companies historically have invested very little in social scientific research. Without further study of the subject, the public impact of planetary science will remain poorly understood.

Other Applications of the Public Benefit Model and Normative Reframing

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leigh Raymond
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Carbon Tax ◽  
Eu Ets ◽  
Cap And Trade ◽  
Policy Changes ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Benefit ◽  
Climate Policies ◽  
Potential Applications ◽  
The U.S

After RGGI’s implementation in 2008, a series of political set backs led some to declare cap and trade “dead.” This chapter rejects the asserted demise of cap and trade, arguing that the public benefit model for climate policies offers the best hope for political progress. The chapter reviews post-2008 climate policies, noting thatdespite a few prominent failures,cap and trade with auction has become the most common approach to addressing climate change. In addition, the chapter documents how three policies—the EU ETS, California’s cap and trade program, and RGGI—used the public benefit frame to resist political challenges and strengthen their emissions goals. The chapter then describes additional potential applications for the public benefit model, including carbon tax policies and the new Clean Power Plan regulations promulgated by the U.S. EPA in 2015. As uses of the public benefit frame expand, the chapter notes, a key question for the future will be what types of policy designs will be perceived as “fitting” with the norms that constitute the frame. Finally, the chapter discusses how normative framing could improve the ability to understand and predict other sudden policy changes beyond the topic of climate change.

Hospitals: N.Y. Appellate Court Denies Move to Privatize Public Hospital

1999 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 202-203
Author(s):  
Robert Chatham
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
New York City ◽  
York City ◽  
Public Health System ◽  
Municipal Hospital ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Benefit ◽  
For Profit ◽  
Benefit Corporation ◽  
The City

The Court of Appeals of New York held, in Council of the City of New York u. Giuliani, slip op. 02634, 1999 WL 179257 (N.Y. Mar. 30, 1999), that New York City may not privatize a public city hospital without state statutory authorization. The court found invalid a sublease of a municipal hospital operated by a public benefit corporation to a private, for-profit entity. The court reasoned that the controlling statute prescribed the operation of a municipal hospital as a government function that must be fulfilled by the public benefit corporation as long as it exists, and nothing short of legislative action could put an end to the corporation's existence.In 1969, the New York State legislature enacted the Health and Hospitals Corporation Act (HHCA), establishing the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC) as an attempt to improve the New York City public health system. Thirty years later, on a renewed perception that the public health system was once again lacking, the city administration approved a sublease of Coney Island Hospital from HHC to PHS New York, Inc. (PHS), a private, for-profit entity.

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