Advocating social marketing as ultimate weapon to fighting HIV/AIDS propagation,and related discrimination and stigmatisation

The spreading of HIV/AIDS in the African continent and related discrimination and stigmatisation towards people living with the virus have become a major issue to be addressed by communities, health organisations and governments in Africa. An effective way to successfully overcome these plagues necessitates the application of social marketing techniques and campaigns. However, when it comes to funding and supporting social marketing activities, African leaders deny the important role that the government could play in achieving the ‘HIV/AIDS free generation goal’ as well as making African societies a non‐discriminative and stigmatisation places for infected people. The present study intend to demonstrate through analysis of empirical data that social marketing is crucial in changing people's sexual behaviour and battling misconceptions that lead to discrimination and stigmatisation of infected people. In this light, African political authorities such as Congolese leaders need to understand the relevancy of this discipline in their HIV/AIDS policy.     

Bermuda triangulation: embracing the messiness of researching in conflict

ABSTRACT

In conflict-affected states, poor transportation infrastructure and risk-averse security protocols can significantly constrain researchers’ ability to access information. Pressure on academics to be methodologically rigorous and produce policy-relevant research means that the problematic nature of the data we use is often obscured and ignored in research outputs. Through an autoethnography of research in the DRC, this article critically discusses the messiness of triangulating information in the field amidst the competing knowledge claims of different actors on the ground. Nonetheless, it argues that information which is messy and difficult to triangulate can itself be a valuable source of conflict knowledge. This knowledge emerges from what is here termed ‘Bermuda Triangulation’—whereby the verification of one piece of information leads to the uncovering of multiple views, which may themselves tell us much about the drivers of conflict.     

Development engineering meets development studies

The importance of science in development has been increasingly recognised in development discourses and policy since 2000. Engineering is less visible though engineering and engineers are important for the building and maintenance of transport, water, energy, industrial, informatics, urban and health systems. This article aims to investigate why engineering has not received more emphasis, including why development engineering has not been institutionalised like tropical medicine. It explores the nature of engineering in development, highlights recent efforts to headline engineering for development and, using analyses of what engineers know and do inside international development, suggests that its profile and effectiveness is emerging.     

Simple politics for the people? Complexity in campaign messages and political knowledge

Which parties use simple language in their campaign messages, and do simple campaign messages resonate with voters’ information about parties? This study introduces a novel link between the language applied during election campaigns and citizens’ ability to position parties in the ideological space. To this end, how complexity of campaign messages varies across parties as well as how it affects voters’ knowledge about party positions is investigated. Theoretically, it is suggested that populist parties are more likely to simplify their campaign messages to demarcate themselves from mainstream competitors. In turn, voters should perceive and process simpler campaign messages better and, therefore, have more knowledge about the position of parties that communicate simpler campaign messages. The article presents and validates a measure of complexity and uses it to assess the language of manifestos in Austria and Germany in the period 1945–2013. It shows that political parties, in general, use barely comprehensible language to communicate their policy positions. However, differences between parties exist and support is found for the conjecture about populist parties as they employ significantly less complex language in their manifestos. Second, evidence is found that individuals are better able to place parties in the ideological space if parties use less complex campaign messages. The findings lead to greater understanding of mass‐elite linkages during election campaigns and have important consequences for the future analysis of manifesto data.     

Science and Technology for Economic Growth. New Insights from when the Data Contradicts Desktop Models1

Science and technology policy initiatives in the early 1980s have focused in both the United States and Western Europe on improving capacity to apply a good science base in practice, expecting increases in technological advancement, improved market presence and enhanced economic growth. Results varied broadly in the United States and Europe. Even more puzzling, Japan charged ahead in technological advancement without that strong of a science base of its own. Some industrialized economies do not conform to the expected science–technology relationship, whereby strong performance in science shall lead to strong technological performance. The puzzling science–technology relationship in advanced countries has plausible explanations. (1) Science–technology relationship is much interdependent or symbiotic. Its strength and primary direction at a given time varies largely by field of science or technological innovation and across long periods of time. (2) Science–technology link in a country may depend on the overall scientific and technological level of development in that country. The strength and interdependent nature of this link evolves historically and varies across fields of science and technology. The strength of the link is affected by scientific and technological specialization in a country. Different technological fields have different scientific intensities, or degrees of building upon the science base. (3) Specialization of countries across scientific and technological fields varies. Hence, the strength of science–technology link differs between countries. High technological specialization of a country may impact its technological performance more than its immediately current scientific performance does. History, tradition and knowledge transfers may affect more returns on R&D expenditures than the actual value of R&D funds spent in science or technology. Explanations of puzzling behavior of science–technology link may become policy recommendations.     

专业法律知识的媒体供给与社会正义的维护——基于昆山案中舆论、司法、媒体互动的考察

维护社会正义是舆论、媒体与司法实践的共同目标。从系统论看,三者之间的良性互动有助于社会正义的实现。司法案件舆论引导是三者互动的一种常见状态。在司法案件舆论引导中,供给专业法律知识能够促进三者的良性互动。本文以极具代表性的昆山案为例展开案例研究,发现新闻媒体通过法学专家向公众供给专业法律知识、司法机关自媒体向公众供给专业法律知识,能够促进舆论与司法的良性互动,实现司法案件舆论引导效果。社会正义的维护并非仅靠法治实现,司法与舆论、媒体的互动能够更好地落实法治的正义精神。     

"连根拔起"与"返回根本"——读邓正来先生《中国法学向何处去》

邓正来《中国法学向何处去》对于中国法学"连根拔起"式的批判的目的,是为了"返回根本",包括返回生活之根本、返回中国之根本、返回知识之根本.     

知识经济与行政法的互动适应

知识经济作为一种新的经济形态 ,既需要政府一定的宏观调控 ,又排斥政府高度集中管理和政府过多的干预 ;既需要政府权力 ,又最忌政府权力的滥用。因此 ,知识经济离不开行政法的规范与保障 ,需要通过行政法授予政府宏观调控经济的权力和控制政府权力的行使 ,防止政府权力的滥用。同时 ,知识经济时代的到来 ,必将引起行政法原则的发展和行政法制度的创新 ,即知识经济与行政法之间存在互动与适应的关系。     

从知识经济时代的人力资源开发谈继续教育的改革与发展

知识经济时代的人力资源开发不同于农业经济和工业经济时代 ,而呈现新的趋势 ,它需要现代的、开放的、远程的、新型的继续教育作为手段。继续教育必须在结构、过程和手段诸方面实施全面的更新与变革 ,成为面向社会的开放系统 ,更加注重学习者创造力的开发 ,而电大远程教育以其革命性的教育手段成为继续教育的主力军。     

International Organisations and the Production of Hegemonic Knowledge: how the World Bank and the oecd helped invent the Fragile State Concept

This article examines the role of the World Bank and the oecd in the emergence and circulation of the ‘fragile state’ concept. These organisations were critical to the early development of the concept and in the consolidation of a knowledge-based agenda set out by Western aid donors to justify international assistance to poor and conflict-ridden countries. Attention is focused on three normative processes affecting the production of transnational knowledge: normalisation, fragmentation and assimilation. ‘Normalisation’ is the process by which influential knowledge producers help to transform a rough concept into a widely accepted transnational norm based on expert knowledge, detailed definitions and statistical exercises. Once the concept has been appropriated by several international actors, it undergoes normative ‘fragmentation’ as it is subjected to various interpretations across time and space. ‘Assimilation’ is the process by which the overarching concept is renewed, enriched and gradually adapted through the incorporation of additional insights. The article argues that the World Bank and oecd have functioned as central knowledge hubs, facilitating the circulation of new and controversial ideas on fragile states and their integration into the prevailing policies of the most powerful aid donors. The two organisations have thus taken an active role in the consolidation and perpetuation of the aid donors’ policy doctrine, ultimately protecting it from major normative dissent.