Tuning knowledge ecosystems: exploring links between hotels’ knowledge structures and online government services provision

The development of knowledge-based business opportunities in many economic sectors worldwide is often conceived through a silo-mentality, whereby efforts are focused in either industry or government entities in isolation. Without a systemic or holistic understanding of connections between these, any present or future project evaluation becomes either input- or output-based instead of having a comprehensive understanding of its impact. In order to address such a challenge, this empirical study focuses on the Spanish hospitality sector, which currently thrives by continuously accessing external and internal sources of knowledge, thus offering opportunities to conceptualise it as a knowledge ecosystem. Lessons learned from the Spanish hospitality sector have the potential to inform the design of online government services as part of a knowledge ecosystem. This can, in turn, yield further opportunities for innovation in the hospitality sector. A structural equation model validated by factor analysis of 130 hotels is used to assess the extent to which hotels currently benefit from online government services. This study concludes that online government services can be better fostered by nurturing external communities while also setting up internal working communities and practices. The model and its implications can also inform initiatives which seek to pursue ecosystem-oriented research and practice, as well as future policy and technology transfer initiatives.     

Information pathways into prison mental health care

Police and court liaison and diversion services provide important specialist mental health input along critical stages of the criminal justice pathway. Effective sharing of information between the services and relevant justice agencies is essential. However, various problems exist with the flow of information between agencies and services across the criminal justice pathway. This service evaluation explored how clinically relevant information is transferred, by drawing on the perspectives of prison health care staff in a large urban UK male prison. A qualitative service evaluation was conducted using semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample of 11 prison staff. The main themes included: gaps in the transfer of essential information, (particularly concerning risk and offending information); information gathering to fill these gaps; the importance of professional relationships, information sharing between agencies; and information solutions. Improving information transfer across the criminal justice pathway could prevent treatment delays and ensure more timely mental health care in prison.     

Arguing a fortiori

Courts and lawyers often argue a fortiori . Sometimes they actually use the Latin phrase to indicate that their conclusions do not just follow, but ‘follow a fortiori ’ from certain premises. These are taken to be inferences of a distinct and important kind. But how exactly are they distinct, and why are they important? Despite their popularity, a fortiori arguments are not well understood and have not drawn much attention from legal theorists. This paper pursues two goals. The first is to bring out the form of a fortiori arguments, articulating those assumptions that, though typically left unstated, are necessary elements of arguments of this kind. The second goal is to say something about the point of such arguments, and to characterise the sort of context in which an arguer will have reason to deploy an a fortiori rather than an inference of a different type.     

Navigating collaborative governance in Florida: An analysis of local governments resilience amidst the COVID-19 pandemic

This study investigates the effectiveness of collaborative governance in the context of state and local government responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in Florida. Our analysis uncovers how local authorities have successfully adapted to implement policies to increase resilience and address the crisis, despite facing challenges, constraints, and limitations. Our findings underscore the significance of considering unique local characteristics when addressing pandemics and shed light on the potential influences of state-level actors on Home Rule. Notably, research examining the interplay between state decisions and Home Rule during a pandemic is scarce. We utilize Florida as a case study to examine local government responses to COVID-19, employing a qualitative analysis of data from webinars hosted by the Florida League of Cities and media reports on local government actions. To substantiate our findings and encourage further research, we apply the collaborative governance framework in the context of local government administrative responsibilities.     

The politics of resonance: Transnational sustainability governance in Argentina

Why do private governance initiatives trigger greater participation in one country than another? This article examines the domestic dimension of transnational regulation through a case study of private sustainability governance in Argentina. Drawing from theories of contentious politics, the argument poses that the resonance of transnational private governance is shaped by the semantic compatibility of “incoming” sustainability programs against national political culture. Analyzing the limited participation of Argentine actors in contemporary sustainability initiatives, the article claims that the validity and relevance of sustainability programs is affected by three dimensions of national political culture accentuated over the last decade: a politicized model of state‐society relations, the low visibility of environmental matters, and a widespread anti‐corporate culture. By examining the ideational fundamentals of the “politics of resonance” in Argentina, the article makes a relevant and original contribution to transnational regulation literature, highlighting the need for theoretical accounts and empirical analyses that address domestic and cultural variables as fundamental pieces in transnational norm diffusion and effectiveness.     

Prospects for Russia-NATO relations: The SWOT analysis

Despite recent changes in international relations and lapse of time since the fall of the USSR, the issue of Russian membership in NATO has been an ongoing fact. Hence, the principle scope of the paper is SWOT analysis of potential Russian membership in NATO from the perspective of the Russian Federation. Through the introduction and evaluation of advantages and disadvantages of such membership in the light of latest geopolitical events in Eurasia suggested by academic and professional circles in NATO countries and Russia, we proceed with identification of fundamental strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that Russia might face. Taking into account such determining factors as the size of its territory, shifting geopolitical conditions in the world, modern understanding of security and a potentially frozen dispute in Ukraine, we come to the conclusion that benefits potentially brought by Russian membership in NATO could be sustained while drawbacks could be eliminated by incorporation of NATO to OSCE and a change in voting procedures of the Alliance.     

The use of local direct democracy in the Czech Republic: how NIMBY disputes drive protest behaviour

Over the past 15 years there has been an increase in the use of local direct democracy in the Czech Republic. The analysis shows that the primary cause has been the regulation of development projects. Using transaction costs economics (TCE) approach it is shown how the regulation related to the siting of development projects leads to a not-in-my-backyard (NIMBY) response resulting in political activism that uses institutions of local direct democracy. Drawing from the TCE perspective, in this article it is argued that the key sources of this political mobilisation have been the existence of contractual hazards related to development projects and an inability to form credible commitments between developers and communities. The article highlights a previously neglected explanation for the increased use of direct democracy because sources outside the political system often go unnoticed and contributes to the research on NIMBY disputes and on the expansion of direct democracy.     

Terrorist Attacks on the Energy Sector: The Case of Al Qaeda and the Islamic State

The article focuses on the attitudes of two militant Islamist groups, Al Qaeda and the Islamic State, toward the issue of terrorist attacks in the energy sector. The main aim of the article is both to analyze the importance of attacks on energy infrastructure for the strategies of these two organizations, and to describe specific examples and manifestations of terrorist activities from the side of Al Qaeda and the Islamic State with regard to the energy sector in the Middle East and North Africa. The article is based on the concept of terrorist attacks on the energy sector.     

Education for nonkilling creativity: a reconstructive–empowering approach

ABSTRACT

Paige (2002) affirmed that a ‘nonkilling society implies a disciplinary shift to nonkilling creativity’. Creativity is indispensable in the search for peaceful alternatives for the positive transformation of conflicts, inherent in human relationships. Creativity can help individuals to think and act peacefully, to find different alternatives to obstacles and problems, to face daily life challenges, and to be happier people. This article presents the Reconstructive–Empowering (REM) approach of peace education as a concrete proposal for implementing a nonkilling paradigm shift in education that facilitates the formation of a critical, active, creative, and peaceful nonkilling citizenship, capable of promoting social transformations toward a killing-free world.