Search results for " Society"

Molecular tools to assess the diversity and density of denitrifying bacteria in their habitats

2007

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the molecular tools to assess the diversity and density of denitrifying bacteria in their habitats. Genome sequencing and metagenomic projects might even provide new denitrification gene sequences, which could aid in designing more broad range primers. Most information is obtained by cloning and sequencing the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplicons, but a more rapid analysis is achieved using fingerprinting techniques. As all PCR-based analyses, the fingerprinting techniques are subjected to well-known biases introduced by, e.g., DNA extraction procedures, primer selection, and PCR conditions. For denitrifiers, the PCR-RFLP (restriction fragment l…

INTEGRATION IN LATVIA: FLOWS AND EBBS IN NATIONAL AND EUROPEAN CONTEXT

2016

Russian-speaking communities in the member states of the European Union (EU), especially the Baltic States and Germany, have earned special attention, in recent years, as subjects of important integration policies, on one hand, and the main targets of Russia’s propagandist efforts, on the other. Because a significant part of Russian-speaking communities accepted these efforts, questions were raised concerning the effectiveness of previous integration policies to strengthen the national identity and invoke a feeling of political togetherness. Thus the factors fostering and triggering integration and the relations between civic and ethnocultural components of integration are of wide interest.…

City profile: Valencia

2009

Abstract The historically agrarian and provincial city of Valencia has recently been transformed into a Spanish regional capital, a Mediterranean cultural and economic center, and a major tourism destination. Valencia’s engagement with globalization and European integration has unfolded amidst complex regional politics, marked by vigorous debates about cultural difference, political autonomy, and official bilingualism (Castilian Spanish and Valenciano/Catalan). Here we survey the city’s two millennia of historical development, explore recent urban changes through five emblematic urban landscapes, and briefly discuss major urban policy and planning challenges facing the city. Valencia is a p…

Quantitative Characteristics of Information Society and ICT Industry in Latvia

2015

Abstract The article is devoted to statistical analysis of information and communication technology (ICT) industry in Latvia and the development of Information Society in the country. On the basis of statistical data comparison of Latvia with other European countries is made. This comparison shows that Latvia belongs to countries with very well developed Internet. On the other hand the statistical data points on the fact that it is necessary to increase the awareness of population regarding possibilities offered by using of ICT and e-Government.

A Nordic Welfare State in Post-industrial Society

2009

Civil society organizations and social innovation. How and to what extent are they influencing social and political change?

2017

This study aims to understand how civil society organizations (CSOs) perform and influence public arenas. The focus of this paper is the transformative scope of social innovation initiatives promoted by CSOsin two public arenas in Brazil: the fight against electoral corruption and the protection of children and adolescents’ rights. The research consisted of three stages: 1) controversy mapping to understand the configuration ofthese public arenas and compare the trajectories of the public problems studied; 2) observation of the “field of experience” of some CSOs that perform in these arenas; and 3) analysis of “political grammars” produced in public arenas, connecting them to the performanc…

The Prospects for the Social Economy in a Changing World

1997

Even if the ‘social economy’ has traditionally been marginalized and a subordinated form of production within capitalist societies, the economic, social, territorial and environmental problems of the present times have tended to make it a strategic instrument. This is not only because of its qualities as an economic and management instrument, but also because it is an expression of a dynamic and creative civil society. The aim of this paper is to show the potential of the social economy, the way it has been encapsulated during the postwar period and the conditions that now favour its full development. In the face of new challenges, the efficiency criterion, hitherto used to assess alternati…

El sector no lucrativo en el marco de la nueva era tecnológica: el desafío del Crowdfunding social en España. Análisis del caso de la asociación Alba…

2017

Los albores del siglo XXI se presentan a las economías y las sociedades en el marco de un desafiante doble cambio de paradigma. Uno, alentado por el neoliberalismo gobernante en gran parte del mundo avanzado, que ha provocado que la propia sociedad admita la arresponsabilidad de las estructuras gobernantes en la prestación de los servicios que componen el Estado del bienestar. Otro, tecnológico, que ha cambiado el modo en que la sociedad se informa, se comunica y se relaciona. Frente a estas dos realidades la sociedad civil ha tomado conciencia de su papel transformador e impulsor de cambios, así como de las crecientes necesidades de atención social que han surgido en este principio de sigl…

Outside‐in Politicization of EU–Western Africa Relations: What Role for Civil Society Organizations?

2021

This article explores the empirical relevance of researching outside-in politicization processes in European studies. To this end, it examines to what extent and how civil society organizations (CSOs) have contributed to the politicization of EU policies towards Western Africa in two cases: the negotiation of Economic Partnership Agreements and the EU's engagement with the G5 Sahel. CSOs were strongly engaged in the trade negotiations, while they were largely excluded from the G5 Sahel process. In both cases this was due to CSOs' own initiatives, or the absence thereof, with these strongly linked to being either invited or discouraged by official actors. The article argues that authority tr…

Does strategy matter? A comparison of broadband rollout policies in Finland and Sweden

2008

This study investigates broadband policies applied in Finland and Sweden with special reference to the geographical coverage of the required network infrastructure. These two Nordic countries are seen as forerunners in the development of the information society, and they also share several other similarities bearing relevance to the take-up of broadband. However, they have applied different broadband strategies: Sweden, one of the first-movers in this field, already launched its ambitious and interventionist national ICT infrastructure program in 2000, whereas the Finnish broadband strategy, published in 2003, largely relies on market forces. The present article analyses these broadband str…