This article examines the use of evidence for policy-making, with a specfic focus on a policy-support tool called Health Impact Assessment (HIA). This tool aims to health-proof all public policies, at national and local levels. It has gained credence and credibility from supranational and international institutions, such as the European Union and the World Health Organisation. HIA is one of a plethora of instruments used to inform public policy. This research examines whether HIAs were used for the purpose that they were conducted- to inform policy, either directly or indirectly. Institutional theory was used as the analytical lens to examine this phenonomen. This article draws on research from a doctoral study conducted in Ireland, based on empircal evidence from four case studies within the two jurisdications on the island; the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Since the mid-2010s, Czech Republic has been implementing inclusive education measures on a wide scale. Five stages of supportive measures have been introduced, including the assignment of teaching assistants (TAs) for students with special educational needs. In the four years since the main reform, the assignment of TAs has become the most implemented supportive measure, even as their role in promoting inclusive education has been questioned in the scholarly literature. We base our findings on empirical research in primary schools and relevant policy documents. This paper focuses on the clashes between policy intentions and the practice of incorporating TAs into classrooms. We organise the findings into four categories of policy/practice conflicts: (1) ambiguous TA job descriptions; (2) insufficient TA qualifications; (3) combined TA contracts due to lack of funding; and (4) inconsistencies in TA appointments. Our findings suggest that, in practice, policy-regulated measures often do not correspond to the actual needs of schools.
The item includes the research into theory and methodological ways. Take place the regional innovation system. In article take place research the contents of extension of volume authority Ukraine’s regions too.
With the creation of an independent Czechoslovakia, the main goal of the pre-coup political program of Czech rightist parties was achieved, i.e., creation of an independent national state restoring the tradition of medieval Czech statehood. The Czechoslovak Republic was based on the principles of pluralistic democratic society as formulated in the Washington Declaration. As a result, the main idea of its modern oriented founders was in contradiction to the conservative traditionalistic concept of Czech integral nationalism that entirely rejected the Declaration's principles of postwar open democracy. The Czechoslovak National Democracy was representative of right Czech nationalist and opposed the model of liberal parliament-based democracy, but preferred conservative authoritarian values.
Regional Research and Innovation Policy in Action - the Efficient Tools for Regional Catching-up in New Member States (Regions of Knowledge - FP6). The regional practices of innovation policy in eight EU member states are presented in case studies, elaborated for one region in each country with South Moravia representing the Czech Republic. South Moravian innovation policy is analyzed in three fundamental dimensions: strategy formation, policy deployment, and practices at the programme level. These are the constituent elements of the process that was defined by the ProAct consortium as so called 'ProAct policy learning cycle'. The benchmark methodology (The ProAct Benchmarking Framework) was applied in the case studies to explore good practices in regional innovation and research policy. In the study, the role of South Moravian Innovation Centre (JIC - Jihomoravske inovacni centrum) is highlighted.
Soviet model of narrative on history of Lithuania was shaped during the first decade of the Soviet rule in Lithuania. Later on, elements of pre -soviet, nationalist historiography had been gradually integrated into this model; primarily those which had strong anti -occidental, anti -Christian (anti -Catholic) or anti -Polish connotations. As a result, during the soviet period historical narrative, originated from the turn of 19th and 20th century and built on the paradigm of ethnic nationalism, was consolidated in the historical imagination of the Lithuanian society. Under totalitarian control over public discourse this historical narrative became not only predominant, but also in some way purified, as no alternatives (particularly those accepting Christianity or Western culture) were allowed. Communist regime always tried to use ethnonationalistic symbols for its own legitimization. This tendency was strongest during the late 1980s crisis of the regime. Some Lithuanian Communists were advanced on this path, what made much easier their later integration into political elite of already democratic state after 1990. The soviet regime in Lithuania was much less successful in promoting its vision of Lithuanian history of the 20th century, although from mid 1950s onwards the communists tried to demonstrate the existence of authentic, communist tradition in the country. At the end of 1980s this “tradition” failed to answer new challenges in historical discourse: it could be to some degree reconciled with the condemnation of Stalinist crimes, but it gave no answer to the question of present and historical Lithuanian statehood. Changes on the symbolic map of capital – Vilnius give good insight in the main tendencies of soviet politics of memory. The city was desacralized: secularized cathedral became rather “the temple of arts”, while Vilnius University was deprived of great part of its authentic (mainly Jesuit) history. In official view (expressed in guide and scholarly publications, celebrations of anniversaries etc.) the Gate of Dawn, with the representation of the Virgin Mary in it, was no longer the main symbol of the city. For communist authorities it was rather a tower on the hill – a remnant of pagan grand duke of Lithuania Giediminas’ Castle.
The study goes into the history of the political weekly 'Fronta' appearing in Prague from 1927 to 1939. The study focuses on the life of the weekly's editor K. Horky. The roots of Horky's 'anti-Castle' positions are traced back to the period of World War I when Horky failed to fully engage in the anti-Habsburg resistance movement led by Masaryk. In 1927, together with the others nationalists and with the agrarian financial support, he established 'Fronta'. Editor K. Horky wrote against the Castle (i.e., the President's policy). In the beginning, 'Fronta' disputed particularly the Liberator Legend and Benes's foreign policy, and struggled for a strong national state. The author appreciates Horky's highly moral positions after the Munich Agreement when he categorically refused to join in 'Fronta' the witch-hunt launched by the right extremists. Shortly after the country's occupation, 'Fronta' ceased to appear. Horky refused to retake his anti-Benes positions and retired from public life. After February 1948, the possibility to publish his views was strongly limited.
The aim of the presented text is to trace, identify and define the modern background to the Western understanding of implementation of political power and the power management of society and to determine their topicality in the current form of policy. In the text we look at the modern axiological, ethical and ideological sources of modern politics, when the power has been analysed in the context of individualism, freedom and citizenship.
The first part of the article provides an introduction to this article. In the second section there are included the theoretical basis and terminology for EU structural policy and regional policy, as well as tools for its implementation. The third chapter presents the EU operational programs and support possibilities offered within them for the Polish universities. The fourth part contains a description of the higher education sector in Pomorskie. The fifth part presents HEI's in Pomorskie and their absorption of EU structural funds for 2007-2013, along with a comparison of its level in other regions.
The article deals with job satisfaction at public professionals who implement public policy and interact with clients on a regular basic. The goal is not based only on general job satisfaction but also on revealing whether job (dis)satisfaction is influenced by policy powerlessness and meaningless which are produced by top-down policy-making without discussion and communication. Particularly, the article deals with job satisfaction at employees of labour offices who have experience with the reform of this institution and who do not have it. Our research is based on interactive approach which include job characteristics, organizational characteristics and personal characteristics, and on theory of policy alienation. Our results of the questionnaire survey (N=1334) indicate that way of policy-making can lead employees to long-term consequences for their feelings and evaluation of job satisfaction.
The principal aim of this paper is to determine which inputs affect active labour market policy expenditure of nine OECD countries. After the theoretical insight, we have conducted an empirical analysis using data from 2000 to 2013 and applied the dynamic Arellano-Bond panel data model. We checked the robustness of our results by revising our dynamic Arellano-Bond model (by excluding correlated and non-significant variables) and comparing the results with the fixed-effects and random-effects data estimation model. Our results show that, from the practical standpoint, the expenditure on active labour market policy measures in the previous year has had the strongest impact on the expenditure in the following period. We have noticed a change in factors that influence the expenditure from the pre-crisis to the post-crisis period. General economic indicators (such as GDP) and labour market indicators play more important role in times of the economic crisis.
The EU policy towards the Rroms was formulated in the European Commission’s 2011 Communication. It was shaped by consultations with Rroms and the Member States. To a great extent, it was also consistent with pro-development of objectives of the EU. The Europe 2020 strategy focuses on employment, education, housing and access to medical services which are also response to a bad situation of Rroms in these areas. However, the EU does not concentrate on the problem of discrimination too much. What is more, the EU claims that after reaching a certain level of socio-economic indicators, the problem is solved automatically. Discrimination will not disappear without a deliberate intervention unless the Rroms assimilate. However, neither they, nor – at least theoretically – the EU accepts it. The main problem connected with Rroms’ articulation of needs, is the matter of legitimacy of representation of this group’s interests. The so-called “new leaders” are responsible for keeping contacts with the mainstream society. They formulate Rroms’ needs and influence the policy of the EU and the Member States. Unfortunately, they represent only small groups of Rroms. Moreover, In order to legitimize the representation of the Rromani society, they have to be a part of the Rromani community and submit to rules coming from traditional values. Due to these limitations, it is difficult to determine what are Rroms’ real expectations regarding the policy of the EU and the Member States towards them. On the basis of the Declaration of a Rromani Nation (IRU, 2000) and social practice, it may be supposed that the Rroms expect mainly the elimination of discrimination and respecting human rights. However, in practice, they receive a vague promise that discrimination will disappear in the future, provided that they join the mainstream of social and economic life of Europe.
Although freedom of movement of persons has been considered one of fundaments of the European Communities ever since their formation, mobility had never before reached the current level. What encourages the migration are in the fi rst place: the size of the European Union with its 28 states, economic differences between states and so few obstacles. Data collected in 2012 indicates that about 2,5% of EU citizens live in an EU member state other than their country of origin. However, the official data focuses on permanent movement of workers, while seasonal migration and migration for educational purposes is not included which biases the enquiry substantially. Statistics also show that the internal dynamics of mobility within the EU has grown lately and is bigger than the inflow of non-EU migrants.The greatest movement within EU was observed after the 2004 and 2007 enlargements, when signifi cant number of people from new member states migrated to the old member countries. Migration related to the XXI century enlargements posed the biggest so far economic and social challenge for the receiving states, countries of origin as much as for the EU institutions. The focus of this article is on the effects of internal migration, obstacles still existing in full implementation of free movement of people as provided for in the EU law, as well as on the existence of the EU policy related to accommodation of the effects of migration enabled and encouraged within the EU. The study leads to conclusions on the inconsistency of actions of the EU while there being several initiatives and programmes in operation aiming to facilitate both the mobility and the effects the movement of EU citizens causes.
The industrial products and services supply was analyzed in the present paper through the statistical indicators of the industrial production, applied for Romania (2005), both at macroeconomic and regional level (on development regions). The first part of the paper presents some of the methodological reglamentations used in determining the 'industrial production' statistical indicator, according to the European Union statistical practices (Pack, 2000; 'Methodology of short-term business statistics', 2006; Peneder, 2001). In the second part of the paper, the authors analyze the main industrial policy previsions in Romania in order to accelerate the process of resource allocation among and within the various sectors, to improve the competitiveness, to attenuate the discrepancies between the economic development level of Romanian regions and to become part of a common European industrial policy. Regional analysis is a domain largely studied by Kangas, Leskinen, Kangas, 2007; Leskinen, Kangas, 2005; Rondinelli, 1996; Banai-Kashani, Reza, 1989.
Museums are moving forward in redressing the injustices of history by influencing policies through communication. As a case study museum, the Field Museum situated in Chicago, Illinois, USA, is examined to address how it is at the forefront of administration, preservation, research, and communication efforts that promote diversity, disclosing historical events, art, and anthropological objects in juxtaposition with current events and contemporary objects. To understand the role of advocacy through museum functions, the paper examines two current exhibitions, Drawing on Tradition: Kanza Artist Chris Pappan, and Looking at Ourselves, which are bi-functional ongoing processes of conservation and exhibition. The paper explores museum exhibition plans and policies, namely re-contextualization of collections, which reflect the transition into a new political environment.
Human Capital Theory has been an increasingly important phenomenon in economic thought over the last 50 years. The central role it affords to education has become even more marked in recent years as the concept of the ‘knowledge economy’ has become a global concern. In this paper, the prevalence of Human Capital Theory within European educational policy discourse is explored. The paper examines a selection of policy documents from a number of disparate European national contexts and considers the extent to which the ideas of Human Capital Theory can be seen to be influential. In the second part of the paper, the implications of Human Capital Theory for education are considered, with a particular focus on the possible ramifications at a time of economic austerity. In problematizing Human Capital Theory, the paper argues that it risks offering a diminished view of the person, a diminished view of education, but that with its sole focus on economic goals leaves room for educationists and others to argue for the educational, social, and moral values it ignores, and for the conception of the good life and good society it fails to mention.
This study investigates how the council of the Free City of Regensburg reacted to and tried to cope with the challenges posed by the so-called Town War (1387–1389) to everyday life in a late medieval city. One hundred and forty-one ordinances (Ratsverordnungen) issued by the Regensburg council between 1381 and 1389 are surveyed, investigating how the councillors sought to regulate human interaction in a city threatened by war, how they tried to implement their regulatory measures and which means they used to encourage the urban population to comply with their precepts. Furthermore, the study explores the Town War’s effects on the council’s standing and authority, and elucidates the delicate political negotiations necessary to legitimize the surveyed regulations. Overall, the paper sheds light on the Town War as a crisis during which governmental social control accelerated, thus contributing to long-term processes of late medieval Herrschaftsverdichtung.
In May 1945, when WW II ended, in Egypt a long-pent-up flood of nationalist sentiment became apparent. Not only the Egyptian politicians, but the public as well felt that Britain should at last leave Egypt entirely and accept the unity of the Nile Valley (Egypt and Sudan). Instead Britain was trying to bring pressure on Egypt to join a Western defence pact, while British troops remained on Egyptian soil as a constant provocation to the wishes of the Egyptians. Against a background of anti-British upheaval, the labour foreign secretary Ernest Bevin accepted the principle of total British withdrawal from Egypt, despite bitter attacks from the conservative opposition led by Winston Churchill. However, the opportunity for a settlement collapsed over Sudan. The British government had not accepted the notion of Egyptian-Sudanese unity because the British military held that, in the event of a withdrawal from Egypt, it was even more essential to retain control of Sudan.
Groups of people who are all called by their surrounding population with different appellations, which is usually translated into English as “Gypsies” have lived for centuries in different countries of Central, South-Eastern and Eastern Europe In the last quarter of a century, instead of these names, a new common designation has been established in the region’s public discourse, based on their self-appellation “Roma”. The processes of labelling and imposition of the new name on these communities did not stop in this region, and the label “Roma” is increasingly spreading in the remaining parts of Europe and even beyond. This process of imposing “from above” of a “politically correct” labelling, however, has led to, for some perhaps unexpectedly, to others predictably, an impact on the field. Some local communities labelled today “Roma” started to demonstrate publicly their reluctance to comply with the designation imposed on them from the “outside”. The proposed article will reveal the historical sources of labelling of these communities and main dimensions of these contradictory processes. More generally the article will pose the question on the necessity for change in the relationship between academia on the one hand and the political ideology on the other. In other words, the question is about the main task and responsibility of academia – is it about examining the reality and bringing new knowledge, or presenting the reality according pre-defined norms?
The results of ontological analysis theoretical and methodological approaches to regional development are represented. Proved that revision of rationalistic theory based on ecologization and up-to-date technologies and management tools lead to creation of brand-new theory of productive forces studies and rationalistic.
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