scholarly journals Participatory Constitution-Building in Nepal – A Comparison of the 2008-2012 and the 2013-2015 Process

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 29
Author(s):  
Abrak Saati
Keyword(s):  
Public Participation ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
Political Elite ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
The Public ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Time Period ◽  
Democratic Rule ◽  
Constitution Building ◽  
Level Of Analysis

Participatory constitution-building is a trend that appears to be here to stay; particularly when new constitutions are drafted in the aftermath of war or during transitions from authoritarian to democratic rule. Anticipations as to what the involvement of the public will achieve are several, and scholars are only recently starting to systematically investigate whether or not these expectations find empirical support. Previous research has shown that public participation in the making of the constitution can have certain positive effects at an individual level of analysis, but that the actions of political elites during constitutional negotiations might affect outcomes at a macro level of analysis more than what has hitherto be acknowledged in this strand of research. Nepal is one of the most recent cases of participatory constitution-building, and the country carried out not only one, but two, such processes within a time period of only seven years. The first resulted in failure as a draft constitution was never finalized; the other in success with the adoption of a constitution in 2015. This article takes an interest in exploring and comparing these two separate processes as regards the extent of public participation vis-à-vis political elite negotiations and bargaining behind closed doors. The article finds that what primarily sets the two processes apart, is how broad based public participation and secluded elite negotiations were sequenced. In light of other empirical examples, the article also discusses if elite bargains ought to be struck before the general public are invited to participate.

scholarly journals Participatory constitution-building in Fiji: A comparison of the 1993–1997 and the 2012–2013 processes

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 260-276
Author(s):  
Abrak Saati
Keyword(s):  
Public Participation ◽  
Political Elite ◽  
Systematic Analysis ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
Participatory Processes ◽  
Democratic Rule ◽  
Constitution Building ◽  
Established Norm

Abstract Participatory constitution-building during times of transition from war to peace or from authoritarian to democratic rule is quickly becoming an established norm. This article analyzes and compares two Fijian participatory processes; the 1993–1997 process and the 2012–2013 process. The purpose of doing so is to understand the extent to which these processes were genuinely participatory in terms of extending the Fijians’ possibility of influencing the content of the constitution. The article concludes that these processes were merely symbolic in terms of public participation; that there is not much that public participation can achieve in and by itself; and that the sequencing of public participation and secluded political elite negotiations in the context of constitution-building during times of transition is a field of research that is in dire need of further systematic analysis, particularly as an increasing amount of post-conflict and post-authoritarian states endeavor participatory constitution-building.

scholarly journals Transparency, Protest and Democratic Stability

2018 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 1251-1277 ◽  
Author(s):  
James R. Hollyer ◽  
B. Peter Rosendorff ◽  
James Raymond Vreeland
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Support ◽  
Theoretic Model ◽  
The Public ◽  
Institutional Rules ◽  
Satisfaction With Democracy ◽  
Game Theoretic ◽  
Democratic Rule ◽  
Democratic Stability ◽  
Rules Of The Game

Democratic rule is maintained so long as all relevant actors in the political system comply with the institutional rules of the game – democratic institutions must be self-enforcing. We examine the role of transparency in supporting a democratic equilibrium. Transparency improves the functioning of elections: in transparent polities, elections more effectively resolve adverse selection problems between the public and their rulers. Transparency increases popular satisfaction with democracy and inhibits challenges to the democratic order. We provide a game-theoretic model, test these claims, and find they enjoy empirical support. Transparency is associated with a reduction in both the probability of democratic collapse and of the irregular removal of democratic leaders. Transparency stabilizes democratic rule.

The Bias of Individuals (In Crowds): Why Implicit Bias is Probably a Noisily-Measured Individual-Level Construct

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Robert Connor ◽  
Ellen Riemke Katrien Evers
Keyword(s):  
Measurement Error ◽  
Present Article ◽  
Implicit Bias ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
Simulated Data ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Substantial Error

Payne, Vuletich, and Lundberg’s bias-of-crowds model proposes that a number of empirical puzzles can be resolved by conceptualizing implicit bias as a feature of situations rather than a feature of individuals. In the present article we argue against this model and propose that, given the existing evidence, implicit bias is best understood as an individual-level construct measured with substantial error. First, using real and simulated data, we show how each of Payne and colleagues’ proposed puzzles can be explained as being the result of measurement error and its reduction via aggregation. Second, we discuss why the authors’ counterarguments against this explanation have been unconvincing. Finally, we test a hypothesis derived from the bias-of-crowds model about the effect of an individually targeted “implicit-bias-based expulsion program” within universities and show the model to lack empirical support. We conclude by considering the implications of conceptualizing implicit bias as a noisily measured individual-level construct for ongoing implicit-bias research. All data and code are available at https://osf.io/tj8u6/.

Partisipasi Masyarakat dalam Proses Kebijakan Daerah

2012 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 163-177
Author(s):  
Abdullah Manshur
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Public Participation ◽  
Policy Evaluation ◽  
Policy Process ◽  
Policy Formulation ◽  
Problem Situation ◽  
Policy Cycle ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
The Public ◽  
Policy Making Process

Public policy is a decision to deal with a particular problem situation, that identifies the objectives, principles, ways, and means to achieve them. The ability and understanding of policy makers in the policy-making process is very important for the realization of public policy of rapid, accurate and adequate. The product to suit the needs of the public policy, public participation in the policy process is needed in the policy cycle, from policy formulation to policy evaluation. This paper attempts to review the importance of community participation and other forms of public participation in the policy process, in particular, policy areas.

Water Pollution and Its Impact on Environment of Society

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Thyagaraju
Keyword(s):  
Water Pollution ◽  
Pollution Prevention ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Government ◽  
Living Organisms ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Biological Entities ◽  
Micro Organisms

The present seminar paper mainly highlight  the concept of  water pollution, causes of water pollution,  Its Effects, Elements of  pollutants, Methods  used to prevent the water pollution in environment  and the mandatory initiatives taken by the concerned authorities for prevention of  water pollution. Water   is essential for survival of all living organisms on the earth. Thus for human beings and plants to survive on land, water should be easily accessible. The term “Pollution” is generally refers to addition of any foreign body either living or non – living or deletion of anything that naturally exists. The basic Sources of Water pollution causes due to Culmination into lakes, rivers, ponds, seas, oceans etc. Domestic drainage and sanitary waste, Industrial drainage and sewage, Industrial waste from factories, Dumping of domestic garbage, Immersion of Idols made of plaster of Paris, Excess use of Insecticides , pesticides, fungicides, Chemical fertilizers, Soil erosion during heavy rains and floods, Natural disasters, tsunami etc. General pollutants  which are also caused for water pollution  which include Organic, Inorganic, and Biological entities, Insecticides, Pesticides, Disinfectants ,Detergents, Industrial solvents, Acids, Ammonia fertilizers, heavy metals, Harmful bacteria, Virus, Micro –Organisms and worms, Toxic chemicals. Agricultural lands become infertile and thereby production also drops, Spread of epidemic diseases like Cholera, Dysentery, Typhoid, Diarrhea, Hepatitis, Jaundice etc. The  basic responsibility of the Government, NGOs, National Pioneer scientific Research Institutions may conduct  research oriented programs on control of water pollution by create  awareness among the public through mass media and Environmental Education on recycling units,  and  water treatment plants must be established both at domestic levels and Industry levels, Every citizen must feel responsible to control water pollution. There have been many water pollution prevention acts that have been set up by the governments of the world. But these are not enough for permanent water pollution solutions. Each of us needs to take up the responsibility and do something at an everyday at individual level. Otherwise we can’t survive in a society forever in a future. 

Additional Evidence on Audit Report Lag

2001 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 137-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Robert Knechel ◽  
Jeff L. Payne
Keyword(s):  
Earnings Quality ◽  
Financial Statements ◽  
Financial Statement ◽  
Fiscal Year ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Audit Report ◽  
The Public ◽  
Time Period ◽  
Audit Team ◽  
Available Information

The process for providing accounting information to the public has not changed much in the last century even though the extent of disclosure has increased signifi-cantly. Sundem et al. (1996) suggest that the primary benefit of audited financial statements may not be decision usefulness but the discipline imposed by timely confirmation of previously available information. In general, the value of information from the audited financial statement will decline as the audit report lag (the time period between a company's fiscal year end and the date of the audit report) increases since competitively oriented users may obtain substitute sources of information. Furthermore, the literature on earnings quality and earnings management suggests that unexpected reporting delays may be associated with lower quality information. The purpose of this paper is to extend our understanding about the determinants of audit report lag using a proprietary database containing 226 audit engagements from an international public accounting firm. We examine three previously uninvestigated audit firm factors that potentially influence audit report lag and are controllable by the auditor: (1) incremental audit effort (e.g., hours), (2) the resource allocation of audit team effort measured by rank (partner, manager, or staff), and (3) the provision of nonaudit services (MAS and tax). The results indicate that incremental audit effort, the presence of contentious tax issues, and the use of less experienced audit staff are positively correlated with audit report lag. Further, audit report lag is decreased by the potential synergistic relationship between MAS and audit services.

The Innovators

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara J. Risman
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Gender Equality ◽  
Gender Stereotypes ◽  
Macro Level ◽  
Gender Expectations ◽  
Personal Lives ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Gendered Expectations ◽  
Level Of Analysis

This chapter introduces the innovators and provides a portrait of them. The chapter analyzes these innovators at the individual, interactional, and macro level of the gender structure. The chapter begins at the individual level of analysis because these young people emphasize how they challenge gender by rejecting requirements to restrict their personal activities, goals, and personalities to femininity or masculinity. They refuse to live within gender stereotypes. These Millennials do not seem driven by their feminist ideological beliefs, although they do have them. Their worldviews are more taken for granted than central to their stories. Nor are they consistently challenging gender expectations for others, although they often ignore the gender expectations they face themselves. They innovate primarily in their personal lives, although they do reject gendered expectations at the interactional level and hold feminist ideological beliefs about gender equality.

scholarly journals Application of the watershed sustainability index in the Piranhas-Açu watershed

Water Policy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 622-640
Author(s):  
D. D. Costa e Silva ◽  
H. M. L. Chaves ◽  
W. F. Curi ◽  
J. G. V. Baracuhy ◽  
T. P. S. Cunha
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Public Participation ◽  
Analysis Method ◽  
Resources Management ◽  
The Public ◽  
Sustainability Index ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Semi Arid Region ◽  
Brazilian Northeast

Abstract The current worldwide water resources issue is one of the crucial matters to overcome obstacles to sustainable development. This problem, formerly tackled in a sectored manner, is now pointing towards an analysis directed to treating the watershed as a management unit, with regards to all dimensions of knowledge and, especially, to the public participation in the decision-making processes. As an alternative to measure its performance, it has been sought out to develop indexes aimed to measure its sustainability, but there is still a lack of the use of composed efficient methodologies that also enable public participation in decision-making. This research presents a methodology comprising 15 indexes for the calculation of the Watershed Sustainability Index (WSI), followed by the application of the PROMETHEE multi-criteria analysis method and the COPELAND multi-decision-maker method. The methodology was applied to evaluate the performance of subwatersheds of the Piranhas-Açu watershed, located in the Brazilian northeast semi-arid region. The performance ordering, obtained through the application of the methods, emphasizes that subwatersheds' performances are uneven. It can be noticed that the subwatersheds' performances are still far from ideal in relation to water resources management, even in the ones that displayed satisfactory index levels.

scholarly journals A holistic approach to the productivity paradox

2007 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 85-97
Author(s):  
Rune Wigblad ◽  
John Lewer ◽  
Magnus Hansson
Keyword(s):  
Holistic Approach ◽  
Management Control ◽  
New Order ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Psychological Reactions ◽  
The Public ◽  
Time Period ◽  
Plant Level ◽  
Working Day ◽  
Or Organization

Both the public and private sectors have since the 1980s relentlessly cut the size of their workforces. The downsizing has regularly been reported to lead to closure of a whole or a part of a corporation or organization. Some studies which have analyzed the closures have reported that remarkable, counterintuitive improvements in labor productivity occurred during the time-period between the closure announcement and the final working day. Testing an elaborated cybernetic model on a Swedish case study, and on an exploratory basis, this paper proposes a holistic approach to generate a better understanding of this phenomenon. The main holistic pattern is a new order where management control is replaced by more “Self-management” on the plant level, and very strong psychological reactions based on feelings of unfairness.

Use of linked administrative and laboratory data to confirm that serum 25(OH)D levels in pregnant women can be predicted from satellite estimates of ultraviolet radiation

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate M Miller ◽  
Robyn M Lucas ◽  
Elizabeth A Davis ◽  
Prue H Hart ◽  
Nicholas H de Klerk
Keyword(s):  
Ultraviolet Radiation ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Pregnant Women ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Laboratory Data ◽  
Sun Exposure ◽  
Notification System ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Hydroxyvitamin D ◽  
Time Period

Abstract Background Serum 25 hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] levels of pregnant women have been linked to various health outcomes in their offspring. Satellite-derived ultraviolet radiation (UVR) data have been used as a proxy for 25(OH)D levels, as individual-level cohort studies are time-consuming, costly and only feasible for common outcomes. Methods Data on 25(OH)D levels from a public laboratory database were linked to data from the Western Australian Midwives’ Notification System and daily erythemal UVR dose from NASA satellites. Regression analysis was used to identify the time period prior to venesection where daily UVR dose best predicted 25(OH)D levels. A predictive model was used to validate the use of daily UVR dose as a proxy for personal sun exposure during pregnancy. Results Data from 19 173 pregnancies in women aged 18–43 years in Western Australia were included. The daily UVR dose averaged over the 90 days before venesection was the strongest UVR predictor of 25(OH)D level (a 5% increase per 1000 J m–2; equal to 3.3 nmol L–1 at the median of 66 nmol L–1). Ethnicity was the strongest predictor of 25(OH)D levels (21% lower in non-Caucasian vs Caucasian: equal to 7.2 nmol L–1 difference). Other significant predictors were gestation, age, year, parity, socio-economic status, remoteness, medical conditions and season. Conclusion NASA-derived erythemal UVR dose in the 90 days prior to venesection is a significant predictor of 25(OH)D levels in pregnant women. Linked administrative data can be used to investigate associations between UVR during pregnancy and health outcomes in offspring.

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