Tag: Institutional

Free Download Silvia Colombo, "Political and Institutional Transition in North Africa: Egypt and Tunisia in Comparative Perspective"
English | 2018 | ISBN: 0367589907, 081534709X | EPUB | pages: 194 | 0.8 mb
The year 2011 will go down in history as a turning point for the Arab world. The popular unrest that swept across the region and led to the toppling of the Ben Ali, Mubarak, and Qaddhafi regimes in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya has fundamentally altered the social, economic, and political outlooks of these countries and the region as a whole.

Free Download Institutional Context of Education Systems in Europe: A Cross-Country Comparison on Quality and Equity By R. Hofman, A. Hofman, J. Gray, P. Daly (auth.), R. H. Hofman, W. H. A. Hofman, J. M. Gray, P. Daly (eds.)
2005 | 199 Pages | ISBN: 1402027443 | PDF | 2 MB
Based on empirical analysis using configuration theory and multi-dimensional scaling, this book provides insight into types of relationships that can be found between groups of countries with certain institutional context features, and into the quality and equity of their education system. In this volume, the authors take up the challenge of considering what a European ‘settlement’ might look like. In doing so, they take into account worldwide trends and the increasing evidence of convergence across educational systems. The outcomes of comparative analyses seem to suggest that strong education systems in terms of finance, governance and choice could be preferable. To a greater or lesser extent, therefore, all the systems of education currently in use in Europe face some common challenges. The way in which these challenges are addressed will determine the future of these systems. Key elements in the current debate that are considered in greater detail in this volume include changing views on (a) centre-local relations with signs of an increasing commitment to decentralisation as a guiding principle for developing school governance; (b) school autonomy which is now increasingly regarded as the engine-room for school improvement, especially in relation to sustaining it; and (c) the celebration of community and school choice as a means of securing higher levels of parental involvement.This volume will be of interest to researchers and practitioners working in education, educational research and sociology of education. It will also be of relevance to those interested in the comparison of various education systems and in governance, funding of education and school choice.

Free Download The Politics of Water Institutional Reform in Neopatrimonial States: A Comparative Analysis of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan By Jenniver Sehring (auth.)
2009 | 216 Pages | ISBN: 3531165089 | PDF | 2 MB
In many countries, water institutional reforms (like the establishment of water user associations or the introduction of pricing mechanisms) are conducted in order to achieve more sustainable, efficient, and equitable water usage. Often, however, these reforms do not meet their objectives. Based on a comparative analysis of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, this study highlights the long neglected role of politics. It shows how a neopatrimonial regime context impacts the reform process, focusing on the decision making, the agricultural sector, the local governance institutions, internal water-institutional linkages, and the role of international donor agencies.

Free Download Educational Research: The Importance and Effects of Institutional Spaces By Paul Smeyers, Marc Depaepe (auth.), Paul Smeyers, Marc Depaepe, Edwin Keiner (eds.)
2013 | 221 Pages | ISBN: 9400762461 | PDF | 2 MB
This collection of fresh analyses aims to map the links between educational theory and research, and the geographical and physical spaces in which teaching is practiced and discussed. The authors combine historical and philosophical perspectives in examining the differing institutional loci of education research, and also assess the potential and the limitations of each. The contributors trace the effects of ‘space’ on educational practice in the classroom, in the broader institutions, and in the academic discipline of education-doing so for a range of international contexts. The chapters address various topics relating to the physical and geographical environment. How, for example, does geographical space shape researchers’ mental frameworks? How did the learning environments in which young children are taught today evolve? To what extent did parochialism shape America’s higher education system? How can our understanding of classroom practice be enhanced by concepts of space? The book acknowledges that texts themselves, as well as the research ‘arena’, are ‘spaces’ too, and notes the fascinating debate on the concept of space in the field of mathematics education. Indeed, as more and more students move online, the book analyses the rising importance of virtual spaces such as Web 2.0, which have major educational implications for researchers and students joining the innovative ‘virtual’ universities of the future.This publication, as well as the ones that are mentioned in the preliminary pages of this work, were realized by the Research Community (FWO Vlaanderen / Research Foundation Flanders, Belgium) Philosophy and History of the Discipline of Education: Faces and Spaces of Educational Research.

Free Download Valerie Sperling, "Building The Russian State: Institutional Crisis And The Quest For Democratic Governance"
English | 2018 | ISBN: 0813338050, 0813337429 | EPUB | pages: 264 | 0.5 mb
Has the Russian state managed to lay the institutional groundwork for long-term stability and democratic governance? In Building the Russian State , Valerie Sperling assemblies a group of cutting-edge scholars to critically assess the crises in Russia’s transitional institutions. Part I of the book shows that Russia’s political elites are less focused on serving public interests than on enriching themselves, and examines how these elites are ruling Russia. Part II focuses on the growth of organized crime, the decay of the military, the precariousness of the Russian Federation, the weakness of the labor movement, the corruption of the courts, the challenges facing international reformers, and the authoritarianism of the super-presidential political system. By focusing on the challenges, failures, and occasional successes of the Russian political system, this volume offers upper-level undergraduates and other scholars valuable insight into post-Soviet politics, state-building, and transitions to democracy.

Free Download Matt Andrews, "The Limits of Institutional Reform in Development: Changing Rules for Realistic Solutions"
English | ISBN: 1107016339 | 2013 | 268 pages | AZW3 | 2 MB
Institutional reforms are common across the globe. Think of efforts to build new governments in Afghanistan and Iraq; or decades worth of interventions intended to improve fiscal management, reduce corruption or introduce efficient public sector service delivery in African countries.

Free Download Maarit Jaakkola, "Reviewing Culture Online: Post-Institutional Cultural Critique across Platforms"
English | ISBN: 3030848477 | 2022 | 256 pages | PDF | 3 MB
This book examines how ordinary users review cultural products online, ranging from books to films and other art objects to consumer products. The book maps different communities―in institutional and non-institutional settings―which intersect with the genre of review, especially in the social web where reviewing is conducted on platforms such as Instagram, YouTube and Vimeo. The book, drawing on the key concepts of cultural intermediation, platformized cultural production and post-professionalism, looks at user-generated content in lifestyle communities beyond the binary of professional and amateur production.

Free Download Leon Cremonini, "Reconfiguring National, Institutional and Human Strategies for the 21st Century: Converging Internationalizations "
English | ISBN: 303105105X | 2022 | 299 pages | PDF | 4 MB
This book addresses policies and strategies on internationalization across very different higher education systems globally, including inter alia from South America, Asia and Africa. The volume zooms in on the interplay between the national, institutional and "human" levels of internationalization. The latter is especially novel in that it pays particular attention to how internationalization shapes individuals – rather than only to the effects on student learning or research productivity. The work expounds on (a) the role of internationalization in fostering ethical forms of integration and preparing citizens to engage in dialogue across those differences, (b) the possible trade-offs between private benefits and negative social effects, and © the contribution of internationalization to a "global community of minds". By discussing the human dimension, it becomes clear how internationalization can contribute to defining unique ways to confront today’s societal challenges. Moreover, as the world is facing unprecedented challenges in the wake of the coronavirus, a specific chapter examines how the pandemic has made diversity among different student groups more explicit and what implications this holds for the globalisation of higher education. A range of methodologies was adopted, including qualitative (case studies and interviews) and quantitative (e.g. surveys). The book draws on both strategic frameworks and research projects to provide new perspectives on how internationalization plays out, especially linking strategies with human impacts.

Free Download Susan Himmelweit, Roberto Simonetti, Andrew Trigg, "Microeconomics: Neoclassical and Institutional Perspectives on Economic Behaviour"
English | 2001 | ISBN: 1861525397 | PDF | pages: 184 | 146.5 mb
In economics the dominant framework for exploring the structure of market economies is provided by the neoclassical school of thought. This text aims to show how neoclassical theory is used to model market mechanisms, both in particular markets and in the market economy as a whole. Underpinning this analysis is an examination of what neoclassical economists regard as key decision makers in a market economy, namely households and firms. In analysing these demand and supply activities, this text aims to provide an introduction to the microeconomics of markets, that is, the behaviour of individual units of economic activity. However, individuals do not behave as independent entities in the economy. They make economic decisions in the context of a variety of institutional structures. The text presents an alternative to neoclassicism by introducing the institutionalist perspective of economic thought. In this approach the social interactions between individuals are placed at the heart of economic activity. Perspectives are presented as a critique of neoclassical economics by providing an appraisal of neoclassical theory and developing an alternative.

Free Download Paulo R. Borges de Brito, Fernanda Frankenberger, "International Business, Trade and Institutional Sustainability"
English | 2019 | pages: 1069 | ISBN: 303026758X, 303026761X | PDF | 25,6 mb
This book addresses the gap between innovative technologies and their adoption. It showcases research, feasibility studies and projects that demonstrate a variety of ways to implement environmental sustainability in globally operating firms, as well as best practices in areas such as international management, adoption of cleaner technologies, global supply chains, greenhouse gas emission reduction, and transportation.