bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Social Media for Political Change
Authors: Alkhouja Mohamad
Published: June 2015

This chapter discusses the role of social media in the uprisings of the Arab world. It argues that the seemingly democratizing impact of online activism is not due to the inherent nature of social media as a tool for democracy but rather an outcome of the equilibrium of forces that shaped the use of social media platforms by all three main players. Activists, governments, and social media firms formed a triangle of powers that influenced the use of social media during the Arab movements. In a different context, the outcome of such power balance can arguably inhibit citizens' rights and empower governments. To this end, the chapter first explores the use of social media platforms from the perspective of activists, governments, and social media firms, then presents a framework to understand the impact of all three in shaping the use of social media during the uprisings. The chapter then concludes that the projections of the role of social media on other movements in the world must not be made without understanding the underlying complexities and dynamics of these movements.
Exploring the Concept of the “Social Media Campaign”
Authors: Francoli Mary
Published: June 2015

On May 2, 2011, Canadians voted in what the news media dubbed “Canada's First Social Media Election.” This allowed Canadians to join their neighbours to the south who, arguably, had gone through one national social media election during the 2008 bid for the presidency. Through a theoretical discussion of what constitutes sociality and networked sociality, and a critical examination of social media as a campaign tool, this chapter asks “What makes a campaign social?” It also asks if the term “social media campaign” adequately describes current campaign practices? In exploring these questions, the chapter draws on the 2011 federal election in Canada and the 2008 American election. Ultimately, the chapter argues we have limited evidence that social media has led to increased sociality when it comes to electoral politics. This calls the appropriateness of the term “social media campaign” into question. Such lack of evidence stems from the dynamism of networked sociality, which renders it difficult to understand, and methodological difficulties when it comes to capturing what it means to be “social.”
Social Networking for Educational Purposes
Authors: Eteokleous-Grigoriou Nikleia , Ktoridou Despo
Published: June 2015

This chapter examines and evaluates the role, usefulness, and value of social networking as perceived by higher education students. It examines the educational role of social networking by developing Special Interest Groups (SIGs) within a social networking site (Facebook). It also tries to examine the development of socio-cultural skills through the SIGs created within the social networking site. Specifically, this chapter describes and presents an evaluation of the use of three Facebook SIGs by faculty and students of five Universities in Cyprus in three discipline areas: 1) MIS – Management Information Systems; 2) Computer Science; and 3) Engineering. A mixed method approach was employed, collecting quantitative data (through questionnaires) and qualitative data (through focus groups and Facebook SIGs' observations). The results highlight the promising and important role as well as the value of such online groups in both social and academic life. Additionally, the development of socio-cultural skills through the use of Facebook and specifically the SIGs is discussed. Finally, the chapter discusses the “best practice” policies for Facebook integration for educational purposes.
Trendy Avatars and Their Hair
Authors: Hansen Sara Steffes
Published: June 2015

This case study uses multiple qualitative methods to examine cultural meanings of virtual goods in a virtual world or Massively Multiplayer Online Game (MMOG) with consumer marketing promotions. Through participant observation, avatar hair emerged as a key virtual good. Symbolic displays in social interaction showed different meanings and uses for types of hair available to users, including high-status rare hair, and versions aligned with marketing promotions and real-world brands. Study of online artifacts examined user-generated content, such as user forums and machinima. The long interview method subsequently was employed to gather insight from users. Findings demonstrate how different data from these online methods provide rich meanings for avatar hair related to symbolic interactionism and self-presentation. Methods explore co-production among users, platform, and marketing efforts. Cultural meanings, user self-displays, and corporate influences related to avatar hair are presented. Avatar hair emerged as a status artifact that often revealed levels of social skills or wealth in this virtual culture, at times connected with marketing promotions relevant outside of the virtual world. Methodological implications are explored for avatar-based participation, artifacts from social networking and other technologies, and ethical approaches.
The Spaces Between Us
Authors: Rajakumar Mohanalakshmi
Published: June 2015

Despite having one of the highest per-capita incomes of the world, social and political changes in Qatar have not kept pace with the country's economic development. The expatriate and national population of the small emirate have access to luxury brands and a variety of Western goods including food as well as hotels. The high level of commercialization, however, does not mean that cultural differences between the various nationalities have been erased. Online forums and social media have provided neutral public spaces where debate and dialogue about identity and values can take place in a way they do not occur in public. This chapter examines a variety of examples through comments by expats and nationals on a number of media sites as well as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Amplification and Virtual Back-Patting
Authors: Svensson Jakob
Published: June 2015

This chapter explores the rationalities of politicians' social media uses in Web-campaigning in a party-based democracy. This is done from an in-depth case study of a Swedish politician, Nina Larsson, who with the help of a PR agency utilized several social media platforms in her campaign to become re-elected to the parliament in 2010. By analyzing how and for what purposes Larsson used social media in her Web-campaign, this chapter concludes that even though discourses of instrumental rationality and of communicative rationality were common to make her practices relevant, Nina primarily used social media to amplify certain offline news media texts as well as to commend and support other liberal party members. Hence, from this case, the authors conclude that Web-campaigning on social media is used for expressive purposes, to negotiate and maintain an attractive political image within the party hierarchy.
The Use of Web 2.0 Technologies in Formal and Informal Learning Settings
Authors: Best Lisa A. , Buhay Diane N. , McGuire Katherine , Gurholt Signe , Foley Shari
Published: June 2015

It is often assumed that because the current generation of students is more technologically competent than previous generations, they would prefer to use technology for both formal and informal learning. The results of a series of empirical studies indicated that students in formal settings preferred face-to-face contact with their instructors and used Web 2.0 tools for communication and to complete specific class assignments; in their personal lives, these technologies were used for communication, music and video downloads, and online gaming. Although students did not use social networking in their classes, the use of these tools may provide educators with an alternative to course management systems. Results from a community sample indicated a preference towards using the Internet for information gathering, and even though respondents reported that the incorporation of social networking sites in informal education settings would be nice, it was not expected. Overall, both student and community participants utilized technology that was familiar to them. Thus, assuming technological competence in our students and implementing various technological applications in the classroom may be counterproductive if guidance and training are not provided.
Analyzing Blending Social and Mass Media Audiences through the Lens of Computer-Mediated Discourse
Authors: Zelenkauskaite Asta
Published: June 2015

In recent years, mass media content has undergone a blending process with social media. Large amounts of text-based social media content have not only shaped mass media products, but also provided new opportunities to access audience behaviors through these large-scale datasets. Yet, evaluating a plethora of audience contents strikes one as methodologically challenging endeavor. This study illustrates advantages and applications of a mixed-method approach that includes quantitative computer-mediated discourse analysis (CMDA) and automated analysis of content frequency. To evaluate these methodologies, audience comments consisting of Facebook comments and SMS mobile texting to Italian radio-TV station RTL 102.5 were analyzed. Blended media contents through computer-mediated discourse analysis expand horizons for theoretical and methodological audience analysis research in parallel to established audience analysis metrics.
Real-Time and Social Media in Trans-Atlantic Writing/Translation and Translation/Editing Projects
Authors: Hammer Steven , Maylath Bruce
Published: June 2015

This chapter illustrates the ways in which seemingly peripheral contact and communication via social networking are effective means by which members of international and intercultural Networked Knowledge Communities (NKCs) can, in largely informal ways, educate one another in terms of culture, custom, and language use. The authors argue that these increases in communication via new media have resulted in both successful writing/translation collaborations and, in many cases, satisfying long-term personal and professional relationships. To illustrate these claims, the authors draw from written student reflections collected in the last two years in the long-running Trans-Atlantic Project linking writing classes with translation classes. The reflections reveal that, in many ways, the informal, pseudo-immersive communication of new social media and real-time media can be even more effective than traditional pedagogical practices that rely largely on textbook-centered approaches to intercultural education, especially when carried out through a NKC.
Evaluating Social Interaction and Support Methods over Time
Authors: Kopp Birgitta Maria
Published: June 2015

This research focuses on the evaluation of social interaction and support methods for computer-supported collaborative learning over the period of one semester. Specifically, there are three main topics for investigation: first, the subjective evaluation of social interaction and support methods, second, the students' perceptions of these over time, and third, the correlations between social interaction and support methods. Results indicate a specific pattern regarding important aspects of social interaction indicating possible problems in group dynamics (especially relating to taking responsibility). This evaluation pattern remains nearly constant over time. Furthermore, correlation analyses show strong connections between the design of group work and group dynamics, indicating a positive influence of support methods on problematic dimensions of social interaction. As this relation is strongest during the middle phase of collaboration, this study gives a first indication that also CSCL groups may go through the storming and norming stage of collaboration. These findings substantiate the necessity of providing support for computer-based learning.
Effects of Consumers' Social Media Participation on Consumer Behavior
Authors: Kumar Ashish , Bezawada Ram
Published: June 2015

Technological advancements have shaped and reshaped the marketing landscape from time to time. The digital revolution in particular has given rise to a new digital era that has changed this marketing landscape, perhaps permanently. One of the core technologies involved in defining this digital era is the Internet. The Internet has not only empowered the people by creating and disseminating information like never before but also has affected the way we conduct our businesses. Various business usages of the Internet in search engines, email, mobile, and social media have given rise to new ways of conducting marketing activities such as affiliate marketing, display advertisement, email marketing, search marketing, and social media marketing among others. The significance and the relevance of online social media marketing have made this particular digital channel a topical subject of the digital era. The effects of social media have been felt in influencing both seller and buyer behaviors. However, the focus of this chapter is to address two important aspects of consumer behaviors in an online digital social media environment. First, the authors propose a conceptual framework of consumers' social media participation. Second, the chapter discusses how this participation affects consumers' behaviors including their purchases. Finally, the authors present a few econometric challenges associated with modeling consumers' social media participation and quantifying its impact on their behaviors.
FRIENDVERTISING
Authors: Ozturk R. Gulay
Published: June 2015

In today's world, a shift from conventional to digitalized marketing is increasing in the investment made in the commercial sector. This particular study analyses the growing influence of a new online advertising strategy called “FRIENDVERTISING” pertaining to social media marketing. Thereby, this chapter conducts a content analysis to investigate how social networks are interacting with each other and how consumers are oriented to certain brands advertised in a specific way. According to the results, the brands that motivate the youth to share their own advertisements in the social media more frequently receive more positive comments about their advertisements. One should decide on the following crucial criteria while applying friendvertising practices: cultural background of audience, frequency of social media use, referring to other friends in social media (being knowledgeable and reliable about the brand), expectations of users and their previous experiences about the brand, creativity of advertisements, originality and entertaining content of advertisements, genre, as well as difficulties and opportunities of the field.
Social Network Integration in Document Summarization
Authors: Farzindar Atefeh
Published: June 2015

In this chapter, the author presents the new role of summarization in the dynamic network of social media and its importance in semantic analysis of social media and large data. The author introduces how summarization tasks can improve social media retrieval and event detection. The author discusses the challenges in social media data versus traditional documents. The author presents the approaches to social media summarization and methods for update summarization, network activities summarization, event-based summarization, and opinion summarization. The author reviews the existing evaluation metrics for summarization and the efforts on evaluation shared tasks on social data related tracks by ACL, TREC, TAC, and SemEval. In conclusion, the author discusses the importance of this dynamic discipline and great potential of automatic summarization in the coming decade, in the context of changes in mobile technology, cloud computing, and social networking.
Improvement of Software Engineering by Modeling Knowledge-Intensive Business Processes
Authors: Fröming Jane , Gronau Norbert , Schmid Simone
Published: June 2015

The Knowledge Modeling and Description Language (KMDL®) allows analysts to identify process patterns, which leads to improvements in knowledge-intensive processes. After modeling the business processes, knowledge and process potentials in daily business processes can be unleashed. The following contribution presents a specification of KMDL® for software engineering (KMDL®-SE). A real-life example is used to explain KMDL®-SE.
Topographic maps: the basics
Authors:   Natural Resources Canada
Published: June 2015

Topographic maps produced by Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) offer detailed information on a particular area and are used for several types of activities such as emergency preparedness, urban planning, resource development and surveying to camping, canoeing,
adventure racing, hunting and fishing.
This guide will help the user understand the basics of topographic maps. The guide provides an overview of mapping concepts, along with tips on how to use a topographic map, explanations of technical terminology and examples of symbols used to represent topographic features on topographic
maps.
Intrinsic factors associated with return to sport after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: A systematic review
Authors: Ross Cheryl A. , Clifford Amanda , Louw Quinette A.
Published: June 2015

Objectives: The anterior cruciate ligament is the most commonly injured ligament in the knee, with an average of only 64% of affected athletes returning to their pre-injury level of sport. Intrinsic factors associated with an increased likelihood of return to sport may be addressed during rehabilitation to improve the outcome of the reconstruction. The objectives of this review were to systematically appraise publications from six electronic databases describing intrinsic factors that may be associated with return to sport after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction.Methods: The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were followed. Methodological quality appraisal was performed according to the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme for cohort studies. We performed a descriptive synthesis of the findings that associated intrinsic factors with return to sport.Results: Ten studies were included in the review. The findings show that fear of re-injury is a common reason for not returning to participation in sport. Younger patients may be more likely to return to sport, but findings regarding gender were equivocal, with male competitive athletes appearing to be more likely to return to sport than their female counterparts. Good knee function is not always associated with a higher likelihood to return to sport.Conclusion: Fear of re-injury and age should be considered in the management of sports participants after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction.
The role of seasonal and occasional floods in the origin of extreme hydrological events
Authors: Kireeva M. B. , Frolova N. L. , Rets E. P. , Telegina E. A. , Telegina A. A. , Ezerova N. N.
Published: June 2015

Abstract. Extreme hydrological events on the rivers of European part of Russia are closely related to the hydrological regime transformation answering recent climate changes. Rivers in this region used to be traditionally attributed to the Eastern-European type with well-pronounced seasonal flood wave and quite low flow period during summer and winter. During the last twenty years the role of the occasional floods became more and more important. Number of winter floods, connected with thaws rose dramatically, in the same manner as summer flash floods. In this study, the frequency and duration of extreme low flow and high flow events is analyzed. The deficits during hydrological year were calculated. Due to results increase in natural runoff regulation, does not reduce frequency of extreme events, in some regions it raises.
A Tri-National program for estimating the link between snow resources and hydrological droughts
Authors: Zappa M. , Vitvar T. , Rücker A. , Melikadze G. , Bernhard L. , David V. , Jans-Singh M. , Zhukova N. , Sanda M.
Published: June 2015

Abstract. To evaluate how summer low flows and droughts are affected by the winter snowpack, a Tri-National effort will analyse data from three catchments: Alpbach (Prealps, central Switzerland), Gudjaretis-Tskali (Little Caucasus, central Georgia), and Kamenice (Jizera Mountains, northern Czech Republic). Two GIS-based rainfall-runoff models will simulate over 10 years of runoff in streams based on rain and snowfall measurements, and further meteorological variables. The models use information on the geographical settings of the catchments together with knowledge of the hydrological processes of runoff generation from rainfall, looking particularly at the relationship between spring snowmelt and summer droughts. These processes include snow accumulation and melt, evapotranspiration, groundwater recharge in spring that contributes to (the) summer runoff, and will be studied by means of the environmental isotopes 18O and 2H. Knowledge about the isotopic composition of the different water sources will allow to identify the flow paths and estimate the residence time of snow meltwater in the subsurface and its contribution to the stream. The application of the models in different nested or neighbouring catchments will explore their potential for further development and allow a better early prediction of low-flow periods in various mountainous zones across Europe. The paper presents the planned activities including a first analysis of already available dataset of environmental isotopes, discharge, snow water equivalent and modelling experiments of the (already) available datasets.
Modelling the interaction between flooding events and economic growth
Authors: Grames J. , Prskawetz A. , Grass D. , Blöschl G.
Published: June 2015

Abstract. Socio-hydrology describes the interaction between the socio-economy and water. Recent models analyze the interplay of community risk-coping culture, flooding damage and economic growth (Di Baldassarre et al., 2013; Viglione et al., 2014). These models descriptively explain the feedbacks between socio-economic development and natural disasters like floods. Contrary to these descriptive models, our approach develops an optimization model, where the intertemporal decision of an economic agent interacts with the hydrological system. In order to build this first economic growth model describing the interaction between the consumption and investment decisions of an economic agent and the occurrence of flooding events, we transform an existing descriptive stochastic model into an optimal deterministic model. The intermediate step is to formulate and simulate a descriptive deterministic model. We develop a periodic water function to approximate the former discrete stochastic time series of rainfall events. Due to the non-autonomous exogenous periodic rainfall function the long-term path of consumption and investment will be periodic.
Determination of Curve Number for snowmelt-runoff floods in a small catchment
Authors: Hejduk L. , Hejduk A. , Banasik K.
Published: June 2015

Abstract. One of the widely used methods for predicting flood runoff depth from ungauged catchments is the curve number (CN) method, developed by Soil Conservation Service (SCS) of US Department of Agriculture. The CN parameter can be computed directly from recorded rainfall depths and direct runoff volumes in case of existing data. In presented investigations, the CN parameter has been computed for snowmelt-runoff events based on snowmelt and rainfall measurements. All required data has been gathered for a small agricultural catchment (A = 23.4 km2) of Zagożdżonka river, located in Central Poland. The CN number received from 28 snowmelt-runoff events has been compared with CN computed from rainfall-runoff events for the same catchment. The CN parameter, estimated empirically varies from 64.0 to 94.8. The relation between CN and snowmelt depth was investigated in a similar procedure to relation between CN and rainfall depth.
Tool to address green roof widespread implementation effect in flood characteristics for water management planning
Authors: Tassi R. , Lorenzini F. , Allasia D. G.
Published: June 2015

Abstract. In the last decades, new approaches were adopted to manage stormwater as close to its source as possible through technologies and devices that preserve and recreate natural landscape features. Green Roofs (GR) are examples of these devices that are also incentivized by city's stormwater management plans. Several studies show that GR decreases on-site runoff from impervious surfaces, however, the analysis of the effect of widespread implementation of GR in the flood characteristics at the urban basin scale in subtropical areas are little discussed, mainly because of the absence of data. Thereby, this paper shows results related to the monitoring of an extensive modular GR under subtropical weather conditions, the development of a rainfall–runoff model based on the modified Curve Number (CN) and SCS Triangular Unit Hydrograph (TUH) methods and the analysis of large-scale impact of GR by modelling different basins. The model was calibrated against observed data and showed that GR absorbed almost all the smaller storms and reduced runoff even during the most intense rainfall. The overall CN was estimated in 83 (consistent with available literature) with the shape of hydrographs well reproduced. Large-scale modelling (in basins ranging from 0.03 ha to several square kilometers) showed that the widespread use of GRs reduced peak flows (volumes) around 57% (48%) at source and 38% (32%) at the basin scale. Thus, this research validated a tool for the assessment of structural management measures (specifically GR) to address changes in flood characteristics in the city's water management planning. From the application of this model it was concluded that even if the efficiency of GR decreases as the basin scale increase they still provide a good option to cope with urbanization impact.
A flood risk curve development for inundation disaster considering spatio-temporal rainfall distribution
Authors: Tanaka T. , Tachikawa Y. , Yorozu K.
Published: June 2015

Abstract. To manage flood disaster with an exceeding designed level, flood risk control based on appropriate risk assessment is essential. To make an integrated economic risk assessment by flood disaster, a flood risk curve, which is a relation between flood inundation damage and its exceedance probability, plays an important role. This research purposes a method to develop a flood risk curve by utilizing a probability distribution function of annual maximum rainfall through rainfall-runoff and inundation simulations so that risk assessment can consider climate and socio-economic changes. Among a variety of uncertainties, the method proposed in this study considered spatio-temporal rainfall distributions that have high uncertainty for damage estimation. The method was applied to the Yura-gawa river basin (1882 km2) in Japan; and the annual economic benefit of an existing dam in the basin was successfully quantified by comparing flood risk curves with/without the dam.
Effectiveness of water infrastructure for river flood management – Part 1: Flood hazard assessment using hydrological models in Bangladesh
Authors: Gusyev M. A. , Kwak Y. , Khairul M. I. , Arifuzzaman M. B. , Magome J. , Sawano H. , Takeuchi K.
Published: June 2015

Abstract. This study introduces a flood hazard assessment part of the global flood risk assessment (Part 2) conducted with a distributed hydrological Block-wise TOP (BTOP) model and a GIS-based Flood Inundation Depth (FID) model. In this study, the 20 km grid BTOP model was developed with globally available data on and applied for the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna (GBM) river basin. The BTOP model was calibrated with observed river discharges in Bangladesh and was applied for climate change impact assessment to produce flood discharges at each BTOP cell under present and future climates. For Bangladesh, the cumulative flood inundation maps were produced using the FID model with the BTOP simulated flood discharges and allowed us to consider levee effectiveness for reduction of flood inundation. For the climate change impacts, the flood hazard increased both in flood discharge and inundation area for the 50- and 100-year floods. From these preliminary results, the proposed methodology can partly overcome the limitation of the data unavailability and produces flood~maps that can be used for the nationwide flood risk assessment, which is presented in Part 2 of this study.
Changes in flood risk in Lower Niger–Benue catchments
Authors: Odunuga S. , Adegun O. , Raji S. A. , Udofia S.
Published: June 2015

Abstract. Floods are devastating natural disasters with a significant impact on human life and the surrounding environment. This paper analyses historical and recent flood (2012 extreme) peak flow at strategic locations, land use activities and Floodplain Vulnerability Index analyses of the Niger–Benue River Floodplain. The 2012 peak flow at Jederbode on the Niger River was about 50% above the long term average. At Jebba (Niger), the 2012 peak flow of 1567 m3 s−1 was also far higher than the long term mean annual peak flow of 1159 m3 s−1. The 2012 peak flow at Lokoja was also about 50 % above the historical average. The Benue River at Makurdi had peak flow of 16 387 m3 s−1 which was also unusually higher than the historical average while Wuroboki (Benue) had peak flow of 3362 m3 s−1 which was also much higher that the historical average (694 m3 s−1). The mixed land use which supported diverse ecosystem services has the largest cover of 5654 km2 (36.85%) of the Niger–Benue floodplain. The flood vulnerability of the various land uses within the floodplain include; medium, high and very high levels. A four levels hierarchical implementation adaptation strategy for sustainable agricultural practices along the rivers flood plain was proposed. The implementation hierarchy includes: Community Concern, Local Authority Concern, State Concern and National Concern.
Teknologisk fravalg og tilvalg av fremtidig syke og funksjonshemmede
Authors: Solberg Berge , Myskja Bjørn , Nydal Rune
Published: June 2015

I dette nummeret av Etikk i praksis ønsker vi å fokusere på et betent problemområde, nemlig etikken rundt teknologisk fravalg og tilvalg av fremtidige syke og funksjonshemmede barn. Det handler om abort, medisinsk teknologi og valg av barn. Det kan synes som om vi står overfor nye muligheter for fravalg og tilvalg som ikke bare setter en ny debatt, men som samtidig krever en tilbakevending og nyåpning av tidligere gjennomdiskuterte spørsmål og tema. Debattene rundt «valg av barn» berører dype, eksistensielle dimensjoner ved menneskelivet. I tillegg berører det store samfunnsmessige temaer som inklusjon og menneskeverd, selvbestemmelse, abort, eugenikk og samfunnets forståelse av funksjonshemming.
Selektive utfordringer ved assistert befruktning for personer med Klinefelter syndrom
Authors: Hofmann Bjørn
Published: June 2015

Ny bioteknologi gir nye muligheter som har vist seg å være moralsk utfordrende. Det gjelder særlig innenfor menneskelig reproduksjon, der denne teknologien er spesielt potent. Med virkeliggjøringen av antikkens drøm om å kunne påvirke fremtidige barns egenskaper følger en rekke vanskelige valg. I analysen av og debatten om slike valg har man forsøkt å skille mellom tilvalg og fravalg med hensyn på bestemte egenskaper. Ett konkret eksempel er hvorvidt personer med Klinefelter syndrom skal tilbys assistert befruktning, og det illustrerer at slike skiller kanskje ikke er så dekkende eller viktige for den etiske debatten som man kan få inntrykk av. Andre grunnleggende problemstillinger synes vel så påtrengende. Det betyr ikke at vi må forkaste seleksjonsmodellen. Eksemplet med Klinefelter syndrom stimulerer derimot til å revidere og utvikle den, og det gir føringer for hvordan modellen kan nyanseres og anvendes ut over skillet mellom tilvalg og fravalg. Denne revisjonen kan redusere seleksjonsproblematikkens polemiske kraft, men kanskje også øke dens anvendelse for etikk i praksis.
Ofrenes smerte, seernes ubehag – etiske utfordringer i katastrofenyheter
Authors: Vettenranta Soilikki
Published: June 2015

Etiske spørsmål knyttet til krise- og katastrofenyheter diskuteres som regel i forhold til personvern og journalistiske overtramp. Det er journalistenes utøvelse av sin profesjon i en katastrofesituasjon, og spesielt konsekvensene for ofre og pårørende, som har vært i fokus i den etiske debatten i Norge. Denne artikkelen ser nærmere på to etisk utfordrende forhold med eksempler fra utvalgte katastrofenyheter. På den ene sidendrøftes dethvordan økt personfokusering og nærhetskravet som journalistisk nyhetskriterium bidrar til at mennesket kan bli misbrukt for å øke seertallene. Økt kommersialisering tvinger mediebedriftene til å ta i bruk dramaturgiske midler som kan true integriteten til de involverte i nyhetssendinger. På den andre siden diskuteres det, på grunnlag av resepsjonsforskningen, på hvilken måte publikum kan oppleve den journalistiske dramaturgien krenkende i katastrofenyhetene. Som teoretisk grunnlag vurderes Levinas og Løgstrups nærhetsetikk, som medieforskerne i Norge har brukt som en etisk rettesnor for å ivareta enkeltmenneskets krav på respekt i katastrofenyheter. I denne artikkelen hevdes det at nærhetsetikken kommer til kort i en kommersiell, fiksjonalisert og teknisk avansert nyhetsproduksjon. Det foreslås også hvordan enkeltmennesker kan presenteres mer etisk ansvarlig i katastrofenyheter.
När vården flyttar hem till dig – den mobila vårdens etik
Authors: Palm Elin
Published: June 2015

Västvärldens åldrande befolkning anses ofta ställa krav på nya former av vård och omsorg. Olika typer av informations- och kommunikationstekniskt (IKT) baserat vårdstöd framhålls ofta som en lösning. Tekniken medger en rad olika fördelar, exempelvis tätare tillsyn, kontinuerliga mätningar av vitala funktioner, med möjlighet att kontinuerligt ställa diagnos, och snabb respons på larm, men de tekniska lösningarna får också etiska implikationer. I den här artikeln beskrivs och exemplifieras IKT-baserad vård och omsorg och teknikens påverkan på centrala värden som personlig integritet, autonomi, frivillighet och informerat samtycke diskuteras. Interaktiv etisk teknikvärdering föreslås för att bättre inkorporera alla berörda parters behov av och synpunkter på den här typen av vårdstöd.Nyckelord: autonomi, etik, frivillighet, informerat samtycke, interaktiv etisk teknikvärdering, IKT-baserat vårdstöd, hemvård, personlig integritet, robotteknik, sensorteknik, säkerhet, trygghet, valfrihetEnglish summary: When health care moves in – the ethics of mobile health careAn ageing population in the Western world is typically taken to require novel forms of health care. Different types of Information and Communication (ICT) based services and functions are presented as a solution. Even if such technology imply benefits in terms of more frequent attendance, continuous monitoring and diagnoses of vital signs and quick response to alarms, the technology also gives raise to ethical concerns. This article describes and exemplifies ICT-based health care and discusses implications on central values like privacy, autonomy, freedom of choice and informed consent. Interactive ethical technology assessment is suggested as a means to better incorporate the needs of all concerned parties and their perspectives on this type of support.
Fair unemployment compensation and the target for egalitarian concerns
Authors: Cappelen Cornelius
Published: June 2015

If we want to make people more equal, what should we make them more equal in? For example, should it be resources, such as income, or should it be subjective well-being, such as preference satisfaction? The aim of this article is to critically examine the two main answers to this question within a luck egalitarian moral framework, which is a framework that aims to eliminate inequalities caused by non-responsibility factors, while preserving inequalities due to responsibility factors. I argue that the arguments typically presented in favor of equalizing incomes rather than subjective well-being are weak and that within a luck egalitarian moral framework the claim that resources and not welfare should be considered the appropriate basis for interpersonal comparisons is in need of justification.The question of what society should equalize is applied to the issue of what should be the fair level of unemployment insurance compensation: Should we only compensate the involuntary unemployed for the income loss associated with unemployment, or also for the non-pecuniary costs associated with unemployment? The answer to this question, I argue, depends on where the cut between responsibility factors and non-responsibility factors is drawn.
The Ruggie Framework: Polycentric regulation and the implications for corporate social responsibility
Authors: Taylor Mark B.
Published: June 2015

The United Nations ‘Protect, Respect and Remedy’ Framework,developed by the U.N. Special Representative JohnRuggie, brings together social expectations and law into anemerging policy framework of direct relevance to corporate social responsibility, CSR. The principle source of the Framework’s significance for the policy and practice of CSR is its definition of the theory of business responsibility for human rights as arising from business activities and relationships, and its deployment of due diligence for human rights risk as the core operational concept of this theory of responsibility. The article considers the responsibility to respect human rights in light of theories about polycentric regulatory regimes and draws the conclusion that the Ruggie Framework creates a regulator dynamic in which both voluntarism and law have relevant and reinforcing roles to play in governing business behavior. In the wake of the adaptation of the Framework by the UN, the challenge for the field of CSR will be to adapt to an emerging reality in which business responsibility for ‘the social’ is increasingly a question of compliance and beyond.
Investor responsibility and Norway’s Government Pension Fund – Global
Authors: Nagell Hilde W.
Published: June 2015

This article identifies and critically examines three differentaspects of investor responsibility. First, investors haveresponsibilities toward their clients (the so-called fiduciaryduties). Second, investors are responsible for taking steps toreduce the risk that an investment directly or indirectlycontributes to harm (avoid complicity). Finally, investorsshould take into consideration the symbolic and signallingeffects of an investment decision. This article discusses howthese responsibilities should be interpreted and also howthey play out in practice. Norway’s Government PensionFund is used as a case in point.
Anerkjennelse og menneskeverdets forankring: Henimot en transnasjonal anerkjennelsespolitikk
Authors: Lysaker Odin
Published: June 2015

Anerkjennelse spiller en nøkkelrolle for menneskeverdet innenfor Frankfurterskolens kritiske teori. Men hvorledes skal «anerkjennelse» forstås? Og hvorledes kan anerkjennelse innløse menneskeverdets universelle og egalitære fordring? Jürgen Habermas' og Axel Honneths «familiekrangel» bidrar med relevant innsikt om relasjonen mellom menneskeverd og anerkjennelse. Dette er en innsikt med affinitet til menneskeverdets normative legitimering i dagens transnasjonaliserte verden.Nøkkelord: Menneskeverd, transnasjonal anerkjennelsespolitikk, Jürgen Habermas, Axel HonnethEnglish summary: Recognition and the Grounding of Human Dignity – Towards a Transnational Politics of RecognitionRecognition plays a key role in the Frankfurt School Critical Theory's approach to human dignity. Still, the question could arise as to how the notion of recognition should be understood, and how recognition may relate to the grounding of the concept of human dignity in a universal and egalitarian manner. Jürgen Habermas and Axel Honneth's «family quarrel» contributes a relevant insight into the relationship between human dignity and recognition, an insight that has affinity with the normative legitimacy of human dignity in today's transnationalised world.
Irregulær migrasjon – etiske, rettslige og politiske dilemmaer
Authors: Lysaker Odin , Moan Marit Hovdal
Published: June 2015

Dette nummeret av Etikk i praksis består av to deler, en temadel og en åpen del. Nummerets temadel dreier seg om irregulær migrasjon. Irregulære migranter skaper etiske, rettslige og politiske utfordringer for liberale velferdsstater i Europa. En irregulær migrant oppholder seg nemlig innenfor en stats grense, men er uten oppholdstillatelse. Dersom man aksepterer at stater har suveren rett til å bestemme over hvem som kvalifiserer seg til oppholdstillatelse og ikke, vil personer uten lovlig opphold reise følgende spørsmål: Har staten et ansvar for å ivareta denne gruppens sikkerhet og velferd? Det er viktig å påpeke at irregulære migranter i liberale velferdsstater ikke er fullstendig rettighetsløse. De fleste liberale velferdsstater anerkjenner at de har sivile rettigheter samt et minimum av sosiale og økonomiske rettigheter.1 Territorielt og til en viss grad juridisk befinner de seg altså innenfor staten. Samtidig er de ekskludert fra de fleste sosiale og økonomiske rettigheter, og kan i prinsippet sendes ut av landet når som helst. På denne måten befinner de seg allikevel utenfor staten. I praksis er irregulære migranter altså på samme tid både innenfor og utenfor staten. Dette nummerets temadel inviterer til en normativ diskusjon om liberale velferdsstaters politikk overfor irregulære migranter. Og, ikke minst, hvordan samfunnet bør behandle denne gruppen innbyggere.
Kampen om matfatet og matproduksjonen
Authors: Haugen Hans Morten
Published: June 2015

Antallet sultne i verden har økt, selv om det kan diskuteres om det i dag er en høyere eller lavere andel som lider under sult enn for seks år siden – før matprisøkningen. Alle er uansett enige om at det samlet sett produseres nok mat i verden til at alle kan få dekket sine ernæringsbehov. Artikkelen viser at to hovedretninger i debatten om matproduksjon står mot hverandre. Den dominerende retningen fokuserer primært på matsikkerhet, forstått som økt matproduksjon og økt handel med mat. Den andre retningen argumenterer for at interessene og rettighetene for de mest sårbare må ha forrang i politiske prioriteringer, og at de sårbare sikres best med en strategi basert på menneskerettigheter. Artikkelen drøfter landfordeling, økt bruk av genteknologi i landbruket og nedbygging av handelshindre for landbruksprodukter. Industrialisering av landbruket og liberalisering av handelen med landbruksvarer kan gi gode resultater på makronivå – på kort sikt. Dersom målet er å fremme situasjonen for de mest sårbare og samtidig møte klimautfordringene er løsningen en nedenfra-tilnærming, som til nå er blitt ignorert av de fleste stater.Nøkkelord: retten til mat, matsikkerhet, klima, Verdens handelsorganisasjon, FNs tusenårsmålEnglish summary: The struggle over food intake and food productionThe number of hungry persons in the world has increased – although it is debatable whether there is currently a higher or lower proportion of suffering from hunger than six years ago – before the food price increases. All agree that the overall production of food in the world is adequate for everyone's nutritional needs. The article demonstrates that there are two main approaches in the debate on food production. The dominant approach focuses primarily on food security, understood as increased food production and increased food trade. The other approach argues that the interests and rights of the most vulnerable must prevail, and that improvements for the vulnerable are best ensured with a strategy based on human rights. The article analyzes land distribution, increased use of genetic technology in agriculture and reduction of trade barriers for agricultural products. Industrialization of agriculture and the liberalization of trade in agricultural products can provide good results at the macro level – in the short term. If the goal is to promote the situation of the most vulnerable and at the same time addressing climate change, the solution is a bottom-up approach, which until now has been ignored by most states.
Multiculturalism and legal autonomy for cultural minorities
Authors: Juul Nielsen Morten Ebbe
Published: June 2015

Does multiculturalism imply that certain cultural minorities – nomos groups, whose cultural conceptions extend in important ways into views about the law – should have forms of legal autonomy that go beyond normal multicultural accommodations such as exemptions and special protection? In other words: should we allow «minority jurisdictions» for multicultural reasons and give certain minorities powers of legislation and adjudication on certain issues? The paper sketches how one might arrive at such a conclusion given some standard multicultural reasoning, and then proceeds by examining eight key rejoinders to such a proposal. None of these rejoinders provide by themselves knockdown arguments against extending multicultural rights to forms of legal autonomy, but together they do provide a basis for some skepticism about the cogency and desirability of at least more ambitious forms of legal autonomy for cultural minorities within a liberal framework.
Professional Doctoral Scholarship in Ghana
Authors: Owusu-Manu D. , Edwards D.J. , Afrane S.K. , Dontwi I.K. , Laycock P.
Published: June 2015

The constantly evolving paradigm of 21st century educational offerings and the growing demand for ‘professional practice’ research degrees have raised concerns about the relevance of the traditional ‘theoretical’ PhD award. To meet this growing demand, and address these concerns, alternative routes to achieving the doctoral award have been developed (such as EngD and DBA). However, many higher education institutions in developing countries have not responded to the new demand. Against this contextual background, this paper reports on a case study of the recently established Centre for Doctoral Training in Business, Enterprise and Professional Studies (CDT-BEPS) at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Ghana. The CDT-BEPS embraces five development stages of professional doctoral training and learning skills sets: business; research; creativity; transferability; and evidential learning. The framework for developing the CDT-BEPS was validated using feedback from an international panel of experts encompassing academics, researchers, students and practitioners. It is argued that the research findings may be useful for other HEIs in developing countries currently exploring alternative routes for doctoral training. It is noted that further research is required to establish strategic collaborative and operational frameworks to support the CDT-BEPS and its long-term sustainability.
MULTI-OBJECTIVE OPTIMIZATION APPLIED FOR PLANNING OF REGIONAL EUROPEAN AIRLINE
Authors: Majka Andrzej
Published: June 2015

Fleet planning is very important elements in the airlines planning process. Fleet planning should answer the question which types of aircraft are required and how many of them are required taking into account the current and future transportation needs. Decision-making in the field of operations has a character of engineering. This process requires consideration of many factors, dependencies and criteria. The article presents the decision problem formulated in the form of a multi-objective mathematical model. This work preliminarily determines the structure of the transportation system which performs carriages on the local routes.