Self-expression and collaborative ‘pro-sumption’ in the digital brandscape

ABSTRACT

The evolution of the global economy has seen the emergence of a digital market space. The collaborative and expressive nature of interactive media and technology allows users to participate in the production and publication of branded content within digital communities of affinity. This presents increased possibilities for self-expression, as well as unlimited opportunities for participation in determining and influencing brand narratives. The digital brandscape has therefore become a collaborative space where surplus brand value is produced, but also where struggles in terms of power and counter power between brands and brand consumers evolve. Against this background, this conceptual article explores the brand challenges the notion of consumer brand self-expression poses in a collaborative open-source context where brand identity is constantly challenged, and brand narratives are continuously written and rewritten by multiple brand authors. The article concludes that it is important that brands do not navigate these risks by adopting defensive stances, but rather boldly seize the opportunities that these technologies offer for creating new market linkages and for developing customer insights that create innovative brand value and impact, by tapping into opportunities for creative self-expression.     

The right to minority language public school education as a function of the equality guarantee: a reanalysis of the Gosselin Supreme Court of Canada Charter case

This paper concerns a recent Supreme Court of Canada decision dealing ostensibly with the protection of language minority rights. The case, in fact, however, concerns the Court imposing statutory limits on constitutionally guaranteed equality and liberty rights. The Court in the instant case held as constitutional Quebec legislation permitting access to English language schools only to children who have received, or are receiving the majority of their instruction in English in Canada, or whose parents received the majority of their instruction in English in Canada at the primary school level. The appellants, members of the French majority in Quebec, could not meet those eligibility criteria. Therefore, they were held to have no right to access English language public schools for their children. The ruling, as discussed, is inconsistent with the equality and liberty guarantees as well as the minority language protection clause of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.     

Mara Salvatrucha: The Most Dangerous Street Gang in the Americas?

Mara Salvatrucha (MS‐13), founded in 1980s Los Angeles by Salvadoran immigrant youth, is today one of the largest street gangs in North and Central America. In recent years the group has acquired a reputation for extreme brutality and has ostensibly mutated into a fast‐expanding, transnational organized crime network with possible ties to international terrorists. Drawing on key concepts in gang research and multiple methodological tools, this article seeks to sharpen understanding of MS‐13's structure and activities. While the group is active in many countries, it is transnational only in a symbolic manner, not in its configuration or span of authority. Impelled largely by Central American gang‐suppression policies, MS‐13 has evolved from a traditional street gang into a group with organized crime characteristics, but it remains a social phenomenon rooted in urban marginality. Ultimately, a more nuanced picture of Mara Salvatrucha can inform the search for more effective gang policies.     

REHABILITATION OF DRUNK DRIVERS AND THE SMADIT PROJECT： COLLABORATION AMONG THE POLICE FORCE,THE ROAD ADMINISTRATION AND THE SOCIAL SERVICES

The aim of the SMADITt project is not only to reduce the number of drunk drivers on the Swedish roads but also to reduce the number of repeated drunk driving offences. The SMADIT project is a three-way collaboration between the Swedish Police Force, the Swedish Road Administration and the Swedish Social Services. According to the guidelines the police should inform the suspected drunk drivers about SMADIT and ask if they want to be contacted by the Social Services. If they agree to take part in the project, then a member of staff from the Social Services will contact them within 24 hours. The purpose of this paper is to present the results from a qualitative study evaluating the effects of SMADIT. Thirteen male drivers and one female driver who agreed to take part in the SMADIT project were interviewed. The questions covered their experience of SMADIT, why they agreed to participate, what kind of help they received but also their attitudes towards drinking and driving in general and the event leading up to the conviction. The results showed that the initial contact with the police determined if they would agree to participate in the project or not. Both written and verbal information were essential An important aim with SMADIT project is the early contact with the Social Service. However, the results from this study showed that several informants needed time for reflection and to recover from the shock after being stopped by the police on suspicion of drunk driving. However, according to informants, it was important that not too many days passed before a contact was established. During the meeting with the Social Service, the informants were then offered different kinds of treatment. All of the informants were very pleased with this contact. According to the guidelines provided by the SMADIT project a consensus has to be reached, otherwise the Social Services cannot contact the person. In this study, we found that a person straight after the event does not always think clearly and therefore we propose that the SM     

Moving Children through Private International Law: Institutions and the Enactment of Ethics

This article examines how the Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Co‐operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (Hague Adoption Convention) plays a central role in justifying the institution of legal adoption. The Hague Adoption Convention has often been regarded as a response to the challenges that the “global situation” brings to adoption practice. Based on private international law, the agreement contains protocols and norms to ensure the protection of the child in intercountry adoption. In the article, I propose that the Hague Convention can be understood as a “transparency device”; a complex assemblage working in pursuit of global “good governance.” The device, however, also operates as justification within the institutional domain, allowing adoption agencies to make distinctions between legitimate and illegitimate adoptions. Idemonstrate how the logic of transparency disguises as much as it promises to reveal. While the doctrine's aim is to validate adoptability and combat trafficking, it also helps to mainstream Euro‐American adoption knowledge to other parts of the world.     

The introduction of forensic advisors in Belgium and their role in the criminal justice system

Forensic advisors (FA) at the National Institute for Criminalistics and Criminology (NICC), generalists in forensic science, act as an advising body to the magistrate to improve communication between the various parties involved in the investigation: magistrate, police and crime scene investigators, and forensic experts. Their role is manifold, but their main objectives are to optimise trace processing by selecting the most pertinent traces in the context of the case and by advising magistrates on the feasibility of forensic analyses in particular circumstances in regards to the latest technical advances.Despite the absence of a legal framework governing their role and involvement in judicial cases, the demand for their services has increased over the years. Initially, forensic advisors were called for complex homicide cases. Due to the proximity with the Public Prosecutor's Office, the types of offences for which their expertise was sought have become more diverse (mainly including robbery, burglary and sexual assault cases), leading to a diversity in the types of cases handled by the forensic advisors (complex, simple and review).In many of the cases they are requested for, in addition to consulting on the best analytical strategy, forensic advisors also assume the role of case coordinator regarding the seized objects and their respective analyses. Indeed, in the majority of cases treated by the FAs, two or more types of expertise have been requested and performed, either at the internal laboratories of NICC or at external laboratories.This paper explains the role of the forensic advisors in Belgium, the path that let to their current status and problems encountered.     

War and Democratization: Legality,Legitimacy and Effectiveness

Promotion of democracy in post-war and post-conflict societies became a hot topic during the 1990s. External actors linked their peace-building efforts to the promotion of democracy. Four modes of promotion of democracy by external actors can be distinguished: first, enforcing democratization by enduring post-war occupation (mode 1); second, restoring an elected government by military intervention (mode 2); third, intervening in on-going massacres and civil war with military forces (‘humanitarian intervention’) and thereby curbing the national sovereignty of those countries (mode 3); and fourth, forcing democracy on rogue states by ‘democratic intervention’, in other words, democracy through war (mode 4). In this special issue we consider the legality, legitimacy, and effectiveness of the four modes where the international community of states not only felt impelled to engage in military humanitarian or peace-building missions but also in long-term state- and democracy-building. All cases analysed here suggest that embedding democratization in post-war and post-conflict societies entails a comprehensive agenda of political, social, and economic methods of peace-building. If external actors withdraw before the roots of democracy are deep enough and before democratic institutions are strong enough to stand alone, then the entire endeavour may fail.