Turning Governance Thinking Upside-down? Insights from ‘the politics of what works’

Mainstream thinking within international development around what constitutes ‘pro-poor’ forms of politics is increasingly at odds with the growing evidence-base on the politics of development. Ideological bias towards Weberian modes of governance and rational actor models of political behaviour, and a growing belief in the power of ‘evidence-based policy making’ fail to reflect the extent to which informal and patronage-based forms can sometimes play a positive role in enabling poverty reduction, as well as the fact that political elites respond to a wider range of incentives than commonly assumed, including a role for political ideology and discourse rather than evidence per se. These findings offer further support for a fundamental rethinking around the role of politics in shaping development.     

Non-normative political extremism: Reclaiming a concept’s analytical utility

ABSTRACT

Political extremism suffers from a definitional deficiency. This article proposes an analytical definition of the term, which avoids using extremism in a pejorative way. This definition also avoids exclusive focus on violence. This definition encourages the analyst to explicitly make the case for defining an action or an actor as extremist by comparing the action or actor to its political context. The article then explores several dimensions of an extremist political identity that can help observers understand extremist behavior and goals. It uses this conceptual framework to consider three examples of political extremism. Finally, the article concludes with some limitations and strengths of this definition of political extremism.     

EU update

This is the latest edition of the Bristows column on developments in EU law relating to IP, IT and telecommunications. This news article summarises recent developments that are considered important for practitioners, students and academics in a wide range of information technology, e-commerce, telecommunications and intellectual property areas. It cannot be exhaustive but intends to address the important points. This is a hard copy reference guide, but links to outside web sites are included where possible. No responsibility is assumed for the accuracy of information contained in these links.     

EU update

This is the regular edition of the Bristows column on developments in EU law relating to IP, IT and telecommunications. This news article summarises recent developments that are considered important for practitioners, students and academics in a wide range of information technology, e-commerce, telecommunications and intellectual property areas. It cannot be exhaustive but intends to address the important points. This is a hard copy reference guide, but links to outside websites are included where possible. No responsibility is assumed for the accuracy of information contained in these links.     

The mechanism of injury of the abducens nerve in severe head trauma: a postmortem study

The aim of this study is to investigate the mechanism of injury of abducens nerve at petroclival region in severe head trauma. Twenty specimens provided from 10 autopsied cases due to severe head trauma were investigated macroscopically and histopathogically. The slices of the abducens nerve taken consecutively along its course at petroclival region were stained with Hematoxylline-Eosin and evaluated under light microscope. In addition, coexisting cervical injuries in these cases were assessed macroscopically. Edema and perineural hemorrhagia of abducens nerve were identified in all cases. Nerve injury was found more exaggerated at the sites of dural entry point and petrous apex than any other parts of the abducens nerve. Furthermore, microscopically, also remarkable perineural hemorrhage of the abducens nerve was observed at the site of its anastomoses with the sympathetic plexus on the lateral wall of the internal carotid artery (ICA). Abducens nerve is injured at the sites of dural entry point, petrous apex and lateral wall of the ICA, directly proportional with the severity of the trauma. This finding is also significant in verification of the severe head trauma.     

Modeling the Impact of Technical Change on Emissions Abatement Investments in Developing Countries

The cost of greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation over time depends on both the rate of technical change in leading-edge technologies and the diffusion of knowledge and capabilities throughout international markets. This paper presents a framework developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and RTI International (RTI) for incorporating technical change in non-CO₂ GHG mitigation projections over time. An engineering (bottom-up) approach is used to model technical change as a set of price and productivity factors that change over time as a function of technology advances and the location of developing countries relative to the technology efficiency frontier. S-shaped diffusion curves are generated, which demonstrate the maturity of the market for a given technology in a given region. The framework is demonstrated for coal mine methane mitigation technologies in the United States and China, but it is applicable for the full range of technology adoption issues.     

Leadership Through A Gender Lens: How Cultural Environments and Theoretical Perspectives Interact with Gender

The purpose of this article is to present a theoretical overview of what makes a leader effective using the theoretical lenses of behavioral and contingency theories and the theory of transformational leadership. We then analyze these theories from a gender perspective. The presence and effects of gender discrimination in the workplace, managerial and subordinate preconceptions and attitudes as identified in the current body of literature and the possible consequences for potential female leaders are discussed. Finally, the article turns to discuss the interaction between national and organizational culture and gender in terms of leadership opportunities. The aim of this article is to contribute to the discussion on the above areas and to provide a bringing together of perspectives so as to facilitate future research. This is a review article where we theoretically examine the gender context in leadership theory and practice with some illustrations from observation and experience.