Showing papers in "Contemporary Readings in Law and Social Justice in 2014"

Emergency Contraception: A Last Chance to Prevent Unintended Pregnancy

Abstract: Emergency contraception provides women with a last chance to prevent unintended pregnancy after sex In the United States, available options for emergency contraception are three kinds of pills (levonorgestrel, ulipristal acetate, and regular oral contraceptive pills in different doses) and the copper IUD Of these, the copper IUD is by far the most effective, followed by ulipristal acetate and levonorgestrel pills After years of political struggle, levonorgestrel emergency contraceptive pills are now available without age or point-of-sale restrictions on store shelves Although emergency contraceptive pills have not been shown to reduce unintended pregnancy or abortion rates at the population level, they are an important option for women who have experienced a failure of their regular method, have not used a method, or are sexually assaultedKeywords: emergency contraception; levonorgestrel; copper IUD; contraception; postcoital contraception; morning-after pill1 IntroductionHalf of all pregnancies in the United States are unintended: 32 million occurred in 2006 alone, the last year for which data are available1 Emergency contraception offers women a last chance to prevent pregnancy after unprotected intercourse Emergency contraception is especially important for outreach to the 45 million women at risk of pregnancy but not using a regular method2 by providing a bridge to use of an ongoing contraceptive method Although emergency contraceptives do not protect against sexually transmitted infection, they do offer reassurance to the 86 million women who rely on condoms for protection against pregnancy2 in case of condom slippage or breakage Emergency contraceptives available in the United States include emergency contraceptive pills and the Copper T intrauterine device (IUD)3,4'52 Emergency Contraceptive PillsThere are three types of ECPs: combined ECPs containing both estrogen and progestin, progestin-only ECPs, and ECPs containing an antiprogestin (either mifepristone or ulipristal acetate) All three are available in the United States Progestin-only ECPs have now largely replaced the older combined ECPs because they are more effective and cause fewer side effects Although this therapy is commonly known as the morning-after pill, the term is misleading; ECPs may be initiated sooner than the morning after - immediately after unprotected intercourse - or later - for at least 120 hours after unprotected intercourseCombined ECPs contain the hormones estrogen and progestin The hormones that have been studied extensively in clinical trials of ECPs are the estrogen ethinyl estradiol and the progestin levonorgestrel or norgestrel (which contains two isomers, only one of which - levonorgestrel - is bioactive) One combined, dedicated (meaning it was specially packaged for use as EC) EC product (Preven) was approved by the FDA in 1998 but withdrawn from the market in 2004 This combination of active ingredients used in this way is also sometimes called the Yuzpe method, after the Canadian physician who first described the regimen When dedicated ECPs are not available, certain ordinary birth control pills can be used in specified combinations as emergency contraception In either case, the regimen is one dose followed by a second dose 12 hours later, where each dose consists of 1, 2, 4, 5, or 6 pills, depending on brand Currently, 26 brands of combined oral contraceptives are approved in the United States for use as emergency contraception (see http://ecprincetonedU/worldwide/defaultasp#country)6 Research has demonstrated the safety and efficacy of an alternative regimen containing ethinyl estradiol and the progestin norethindrone;7 this result suggests that oral contraceptive pills containing progestins other than levonorgestrel may also be used for emergency contraceptionProgestin-only ECPs contain no estrogen Only the progestin levonorgestrel has been studied for freestanding use as an emergency contraceptive …

Social Networking and Small Business: An Exploratory Study

Abstract: . This paper reports the results of a study of small businesses in north Georgia, to determine to what extent they are utilizing social networking and if so, for what purpose. The research finds that small business has an established presence in the social networking domain, and to some extent is aware of the possibilities and opportunities offered, however, most are not moving beyond a passive presence. The paper concludes with an outline of its limitations, proposes approaches for further work and stresses the importance of this area for achieving competitive advantage.Keywords: Internet; networking; marketing1. IntroductionFacebook has over one billion users and is projected to continue its rapid growth. Analysis of Facebook data by country indicates that almost every other American has a Facebook account. And Facebook is only one of many social networking sites and only one category. Others include Twitter, Linkedln, and YouTube, blogs, wikis and social news sites. Businesses have many new ways to post information about their products and services. Consumers have many ways to post comments or upload videos (for example by using a smart phone) on their experiences with the product or service - favorable or unfavorable. These posts and comments have the potential to reach audiences in the tens of millions.Across America there are millions of small businesses (in excess of 5 million with 1-100 employees) employing some 40 million people. In the current economic climate many of these business and their employees are facing lean times. The Obama administration is encouraging small business to become more innovative, more competitive and the people who work in them, better educated.The rollout of high speed internet connections (broadband) across the United States will provide many small businesses and the people who work there with access to computing resources and technology far beyond what they have had available to date. It is anticipated that improving the broadband infrastructure will stimulate economic growth. However for many businesses and their staff, the technology will be new, unfamiliar, of unknown cost and benefit, and disruptive. It may provide advantages to some, including competitors, and prove costly or incur a badly managed implementation in others.The authors believe there is a need for a comprehensive study of social networking and its potential for small business. Ideally, such a study would identify possible benefits and potential pitfalls, costs and risks and provide a set of best practice and benchmarks that small business could use to help them. The study reported here is an early attempt to explore and assess the efforts to use social networking by small business in north Georgia.2. BackgroundNow that Facebook has passed a billion users (Vance 2012) and most Americans are connected, and as the nation continues to roll out high speed internet connections, a range of opportunities for altering and improving business processes will continue to become available. These are many and varied and include technical enhancements such as telecommuting, cloud computing and off-site storage and back-up, access to secure payment and delivery systems, and video links to customers, clients, suppliers and other offices. Web2 is changing business (Kosalge and Tole, 2010). Many of these changes will provide advantages encouraging the take-up of the high speed connection; once connected, the other areas may be seen as attractive too. Perhaps though, one of the most important areas to increase sales and revenue and reduce costs is that of social networking.Social networking is the practice of expanding the number of one's business and/or social contacts by making connections through individuals. While social networking has gone on almost as long as societies themselves have existed, the unparalleled potential of the Internet to promote such connections is only now being fully recognized and exploited, through Web-based groups established for that purpose. …

Tracing public values change: a historical study of civil service job advertisements

Abstract: Long term changes in public values are not easily detected. One important reason is the limited availability of reliable empirical data. Job advertisements allow us to go back in history for some decades and job ads may present us with the values that are supposed to guide civil servant behavior. This paper analyses a sample of job ads from 1966 to 2008 in Denmark and the Netherlands. The analysis reveals that Denmark and the Netherlands follow the same pattern: a) merit (expertise/ professionalism) is and continues to be the most important selection criteria, but the meaning of merit explodes in several directions; b) job ads develop into platforms for organizational branding with an emphasis on HR-related values although national logos enter the scene (the Danish royal crown, the Dutch national emblem); c) New Public Management values do not crowd out other values, rather value intensity increases.

Unique identification project for 1.2 billion people in india: can it fill institutional voids and enable 'inclusive' innovation?

Abstract: India has no equivalent of a social security number and more than 400 millions of poor suffer in the hands of the existing corrupt system because they are unable to participate in the formal economy. In a nation that is struggling to meet basic challenges of poverty, hunger, poor infrastructure and corruption, the govern- ment of India's Unique Identification (UID) project appears to be a striking outlier as it is building the world's biggest and advanced biometric based database of identities for 1.2 billion people at a remarkable pace. Using the theoretical lens of institutional voids, this paper describes the case of UID project and explores its poten- tial in terms of filling institutional voids and enabling inclusive innovation in India.

Transformational leadership behavior in public sector organizations

Abstract: .The material gathered in this study provides a rich and diverse context for understanding leadership involvement in socialization processes, leadership's impact on subordinates and organizations, effective leadership in collaborative settings, and the impact of leadership attributes and behavior on performance. The results of the current study converge with prior research on the relationship between transformational leadership behaviors and follower behaviors, the behaviors characteristic of transformational leaders, the identification by followers with the characteristics of the transformational leader, and interpersonal aspects of transformational leadership.Keywords: transformational leadership; performance management; public service1. IntroductionAlthough researchers have discovered some important findings regarding factors underlying transformational leadership behaviors, the role of transformational leaders in creating effective and sustainable organizations (Popescu, 2014), and the challenges faced by transformational leaders in implementing change in society, there is still a great deal that is unknown and that requires further empirical inquiry. The main objective of this paper is to explore and describe the specific dimensions of transformational leadership, tiie relationship between transformational leadership and the success of performance management, and the positive effects of transformational leadership on organizational outcomes. The theory that I shall seek to elaborate here puts considerable emphasis on the processes by which management practices affect employee behavior, the behaviors of transformational leaders, and the connections between transformational leadership practices and public service motivations.2. Organizational Effectiveness in the Public SectorThe successful management of change asks transformational leaders to exhibit specific behaviors and perform certain assignments. Transformational leaders show superior levels of commitment towards producing change, retain substantial power to realize ground-breaking change, should demonstrate a capacity to recognize the need for change (Lazaroiu, 2013), require a vision in order to enact change, should espouse high moral and ethical values, must possess strong intellectual capabilities, and should frame their message in significant ways in order to inspire followers, stimulating increased autonomy and independence amongst them (the development of close relationships between transformational leaders and followers is decisive to produce relevant changes). (McGuire and Hutchings, 2007) Transformational leadership serves as a change antecedent under conditions of continuous incremental change, relates to employees' performance generally through the quality of the relationship developed between managers and employees, and functions to bring about advantageous relationships with their employees. Managers should display transformational leadership and substantially involve in high-quality relationships with their employees, the relationship quality associated with transformational leadership increases employee perceptions of managers' behavioral integrity (Doherty, 2014), whereas lower level managers should be transformational during continuous incremental organizational change. Certain cultural value dimensions should be inspected in connection with employee reactions to transformation leadership during organizational change (the energizing aspects of transformational leadership may ease the development of high-quality relationships). (Carter et al., 2013)The concern of leadership development in public administration is on leading organizations: crossing organizational, jurisdictional, and sectoral limits is a component of public management and governance. The "steering of society" is a collective achievement of several actors, some aspects of collaborative "management" are leadership behaviors (efficient governance is the result of collaboration), and collaborative leadership concentrates on partnership and mutual learning (working competently in an interorganizational context entails more of intraorganizational management and leadership). …

Models and Theories of Mass Communication. Landmarks in Time

Abstract: ."The information period" with mass diffusion by printed media, appearing in Europe, during the late sixteenth century, and, especially, the emergence and development of audio-visual communications, ending with the Internet, led to a plurality, of a human theoretical views on a dual, spiritual values and social information, such as acquisition of knowledge and power of organization, substance and extent of knowledge, mental interpretation of reality etc. The present article intends to revise the works of the first three journalists: Pietro Aretino from Venice (1492-1556), Theophraste Renaudot (1586-1653) for Europe and Joseph Pulitzer (1847-1911) for the U.S.Keywords: models; theories of communication; first journalistsA human being thinks in accordance with his means of communication, as Marshall McLuhan, Rene Berger, and Henri Wald stated. The mass media makes him sensitive, in a good measure, for a reality or another, by designing events universe and mediated values suggest appreciating or ignoring them, giving the feeling of participation, through information and opinion, in a local, national and global life, overwhelmed, by the news, images, and attitudes.From the perspective of exact sciences - mathematics, physics, geology, genetics etc. - information is defined as the phenomenon of organic and inorganic matter independent of man, marked by anthropy. Communication is omnipresent, but imprecise, marked by uncertainty but it can be structured by systems, ordering codes, cybernetic criteria.The information theory, that of communication and cybernetics, opens generous research horizons, for almost the entire spectrum of sciences and among philosophers, arises appropriate question, whether the information can be the third ontological dimension of the universe, besides matter and consciousness.1. Press - Beginnings in Venice, "Condottiere Letters"The print press is the matrix of mass communicators. The appearance of the first periodicals in Venice, first by hand written and then printed and sold for a small coin, entitled gazeta, precedes with three centuries the invention of the telegraph, then, a few more decades until the phone and radio were discovered. From the beginning, this Renaissance product revealed two features of periodicals that will be called "Press": information of a large interest and influence upon public opinion, in a certain direction. But, it was the time of condottiere, too, and the first name the history withheld was described as a "condottiere letters."The Romanian philosopher, Constantin Antoniade, evoking famous figures of the Cinquecento, that fell in the creation and tensions brought by the transition from the classical era to modernity, the Renaissance humanism, stopped at Pietro Aretino from Venice (1492-1556), presented as first journalist of "modem times and, also the first journalist to blackmail." Aretino specialized, himself, in discovering worldly sins of the powerful nobles from the Italian city-states.If they did not pay the asked price, Aretino wrote about them open letters, printed meanwhile, since Gutenberg's invention started to spread. Realizing the force of public scandal, many gentlemen enlisted the services of Aretino, to humiliate their opponents. Titian, contemporary and close friend of Aretino, called it "condottiere letters" after the name of some "captains of adventure' who grouped paid bands putting them into service of people who paid the most. Aretino was considered "scourge of principles."Antoniade quotes from Italian critic Arturo Grafs study, "Un processo a Pietro Aretino": "A new thing was bom, into the world. Francis I who appealed him to stand beside him, Charles the V who put him to ride along, Julius the III who kissed him on his cheek, all others overwhelmed him with gifts and honors and as a matter of fact, they did not bow in front of Aretino, but before a thing they could not name it yet but they felt its force. …

The Performance Effects of Transformational Leadership in Public Administration

Abstract: .My analysis complements the growing literature on the employees' motivation to achieve organizational aims, the impact of transformational leadership in a public sector environment, the determinants of leaders' behavior change, and the norms that support public administrators in their position as participants in democratic governance. The theory that I shall seek to elaborate here puts considerable emphasis on internal psychological processes that are prominent to employee attitudes and behaviors, the effect of task relevance on job performance, the duties and scope of transformational leadership in the public sector, and the normative features of transformational leadership in democratic governance.Keywords: performance effect; transformational leadership; public administration1. IntroductionThis paper aims to analyze and discuss the role of values in the leadership process, performance in public organizations, the effects of transformational leadership behavior, and the provocations posed by the targets of public organizations. The objective of this paper is to emphasize the relevance of employing individual perceptions (Pera, 2013a) when explaining employee behavior, leadership in the context of democratic governance (Nica, 2014a), public administrators as active participants in the governance process, and leadership policies in public sector settings. The results of the current study converge with prior research on public administration as part of the governance process, pivotal constituents of transformational leadership in the public sector, the normative basis of transformational leadership, and the values expressed in the missions of public organizations. These findings highlight the importance of examining the moral component of transformational leadership, the impact of leadership on public service motivation, leadership promotion of public service values, and the link between leadership and team performance.2. The Performance of Public Sector OrganizationsMission valence is an employee's perceptions of the appeal or prominence of an organization's goal or social contribution. Transformational leadership is focused on vision articulation, and does not have a direct connection with mission valence. Public employees find their organization's mission as relevant when their leaders create clear and appealing perspectives of the organization's mission. The inspirational power of public missions should be fostered, successful leaders employ both words and deeds to direct and stimulate their employees, and extrinsic rewards can play an outstanding function in stimulating public employees. Transformational leaders raise the employees' awareness of the relevance of organizational values and outcomes, and stimulate their higher-order necessities. (Wright et al., 2012) Leadership entails both an individual dimension and a networking one. Leaders may have an individual leadership development during their career. Different leaders interact in complementarity at various levels of leadership practice and in an interorganizational mode (complementarity prevails against authority in public management). The levels of leadership development may not correspond to a status: status is an occasion for leaders to substantiate their practice with prevalent topics, and may not guarantee the development of the leader. In the public sector, the practice of leadership is justified by the coexistence of political and administrative logics. Leadership not managed at the adequate level of action can have notable results in terms of efficiency and effectiveness. (Lemay, (2009)Transformational leadership may stimulate intentional action and high public employee performance (Popescu, 2014), may be positively associated with follower performance, and may be a substantial match for a workforce with high levels of public service incentive. Fostering the perception of task importance among employees can augment their incentive and endeavor. …

Information and Communication Technologies (Ict) Used for Education and Training

Abstract: .Every year advances in the field of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) make possible the appearance of new applications and devices, new opportunities emerging with regularity, affecting almost all the areas where these technologies are used. In the education domain, as in the other domains, not only the use of computers and communication networks brought significant changes, but also the new approaches made possible by such technologies, like simulating processes using specialized software. New technologies used for education are particularly appropriate for the training of young people, being known the fact that they are more receptive to technological changes and in general attracted by modern devices that imply the use of information and communication technologies. Taking into consideration the widespread access to internet and the appearance of mobile devices, the technology is ready to support a true mobile learning, any person interested being able to access information whenever having the required time. Mobile learning or MLearning is different from traditional distance learning by the fact that it can take place everywhere by using mobile electronic devices such as mobile phones, laptops connected to the internet by wireless networks, tablets, palmtops and other hi tech devices. For mobile learning to be possible, learning content must be made compatible to the hi-tech devices used. The content can be both online and offline. Online content has the advantages that it is stored on a web server and can be accessed whenever it is necessary without downloading everything on the device, but has the disadvantage that an internet connection is required.Keywords: information and communication technologies; mobile learning; internet1. Previous ResearchSince the unprecedented development of computers and communication technologies, numerous research studies and documentations have been elaborated in this field, some of them being used in conducting our research being presented at the references section while elaborating the present paper. Among these the most significant are: the Distance education survey results, published in April 2013 by the Instructional Technology Council, presenting the current trends in eLearning and addressing the problem of tracking the impact of eLearning at community colleges; The Report on the Use of E-Learning, elaborated in 2012 by the Department of Information Resources, Texas; Researches related to the development of MOOCs in the last few years - MOOCs in 2013: Breaking Down the Numbers, December 2013; Researches related to mobile learning technologies - What's Holding Back Mobile Phones for Education? by Linda Raftree and Nick Martin, published in Stanford Social Innovation Review, 2013; Documentation of some of the most used e-Leaming platforms - Blackboard, Moodle, Questionmark.2. Evolution of Modern Technologies and Their Influence on Education and TrainingTechnological innovation has fundamentally changed the way in which modem education is conducted, leading to an unprecedented development of distance education based on e-Leaming. In this context, the only limits that exist on accessing education are those imposed by access to technology and by the availability of learning resources at the place where the persons interested to learn are, at the time they have available to learn.Research conducted in the United States show a significant increase of the number of students that are studying by using technological support (in the form of e-Leaming tools). For example, a study1 completed between 2006 and 2011 shows that in this time frame the number of the students learning by traditional (in class) means was surpassed by the number of those who were following courses in a technology based manner. Figure 1 shows the evolution over six years of the number of students following eLeaming courses compared to the number of students following traditional in class courses. …

Neural mechanisms underlying school-based learning

Abstract: .The purpose of this article is to gain a deeper understanding of the neurobiological underpinnings of learning difficulties, the possible prevention of neuromyths in education, brain-based education, and the role of genetics in learning potentials. In the present paper, I focus on neural mechanisms for learning, the impact of neuroscience on the field of education, the development of educational neuroscience, and the use of computational models in educational neuroscience.Keywords: learning; educational neuroscience; neural mechanism; cognition1. IntroductionAlthough researchers have discovered some important findings regarding neuro-cognitive barriers to learning, creative thinking in learning environments, the relevance of personality and cognition in influencing educational choices, and the use of play as a form of learning, there is still a great deal that is unknown and that requires further empirical inquiry. The mainstay of the paper is formed by an analysis of the influence of neuroscience on education, the brain bases of learning, the effect of schooling on neurocognitive development, and the brain basis of learning difficulties. My analysis complements the growing literature on the potential of neuroscience in education, the cognitive neuroscience of learning and memory (Bratu, 2013), and the neural correlates of learning. The overall results provide strong evidence for the neurological basis of learning, brain structural changes in response to learning (Nica, 2014a), the biological basis of the developmental disorders that influence children's educational attainment, and correlations between brain activity and academic tasks.2. The Potential Association between Neuroscience Findings and Educational PracticeNeuroscience is an important contributor to enriching accounts of human thought and behavior, focuses on the impact of our genetic make-up on learning over our life span, and may help us understand the genetic propensities as they display in the brain of each individual. (Frith, 2011) Neuromyths are incorrect assertions about how the brain is implicated in learning. Neuroscience literacy may protect against incorrect ideas connecting neuroscience and education, enabling individuals to distinguish science from pseudoscience. Teachers who are extremely interested in brain research are predisposed to neuromyths. Belief in neuromyths correlates positively with general knowledge about the brain. (Dekker et al., 2012) In educational neuroscience, computers are used to understand the cognitive mechanisms that accounts for the learning process, and as teaching tools that shape the interaction of the teacher with the learner. Neuroscience can produce cognitive models such as prediction error learning, or learning algorithms based on machine learning systems. (Thomas and Laurillard, 2013)Working memory is the main cognitive construct supporting academic success (working memory processes affect educational efforts), being the most significant memory system for ordinary classroom activities (it is a cognitive-level account of how our brains allow us to think and be intelligent). There are common brain functions for acts of intelligence incorporated in school learning. There are no individual modules in the brain which are in agreement directly with the school curriculum. There are distinct neural systems to represent and process verbal and spatial information. School learning demands the incorporation of various neural systems in the brain. At a neural level, synaptogenesis influences early cognitive development. Learning enhances skill level and boosts genetic impact (Doherty, 2014) by diminishing random environmental effects. Learning is an epigenetic constructive process, and commonly reliant on repetition. (Geake, 2009) Neuroscience analyzes cognition into elementary roles and identifies neural correlates of them, gravitating toward biological solutions to learning problems. …

The social construction of participatory media technologies

Abstract: .The aim of the present study is to examine and evaluate the use of social media as a source of news, the collaborative co-creation of news, and the dynamics of professional news practices. The results of the current study converge with prior research on the potential relevance of the audience as news sources, innovative forms of news production, and the need for verification and trust measures in social networks. This research makes conceptual and methodological contributions to the impact of social media on media consumption, the dissemination of news through online interactions, and the reliability of the information available in social networks.Keywords: social media; news production; collaborative co-creation1. IntroductionThe mainstay of the paper is formed by an analysis of the capacity of mediated representations to frame social action (Popescu Ljungholm, 2014a), content created or filtered aside from professional channels, digital network for real-time news, and user behavior on social networks. The analysis presented in this paper contributes to research on the interplay between mainstream media and social media, the growth of news as a social activity, the filtering of news sources, and the collaborative creation and curation of news content. The theory that I shall seek to elaborate here puts considerable emphasis on the integration of social content (Nica, 2014) by news organizations, the flow of news and information among networked publics, platforms for networked flows of information, and the emergence of social media as a source for breaking news. The purpose of this article is to gain a deeper understanding of patterns of media consumption, the influence of audiences in framing news content through social networks, the interplay between the professional and citizen-driven fields of journalism and media production, and the potential for media users to participate in the creation and dissemination of their news.2. The Impact of Social Media on Media ConsumptionBoosted by the development of influential social networks (Popescu, 2014), individuals can produce, cooperate and share their own media. Media companies should be more interested in the dynamics of clout and trust in thirdparty networks. The boundary between professional and personal has become vague amid a compelling tide of interconnected news sources and outputs. Relevant media have lost their dominance of the creation of news, and struggle to keep their control of distribution. Increased time spent with social media may subvert the business patterns that have fostered high-quality journalism. Mainstream media corporations are taking a growing interest in the function of social media (mainstream media play a key function in determining the agenda of social media). Fragments of information in social networks are inciting interest in news events, the range and type of content being created have transformed as a consequence of the Internet, and news organizations are intensifying their endeavors to disseminate and sell the narratives they write. Editorially improved social media narratives are more persuasive than automated headline feeds. (Newman, 2011) Social communication that is generally event-based and event-driven is privileged. Evolving means of communication characterized by their connected and collaborative nature permit interactions that break up authorial structures (it is unattainable to process every fragment of information). New media platforms operating outside of the borders of institutional publication and broadcast structures allow for practices that detour from established conventions, thus norms of objectivity, accountability and gatekeeping being reconfigured (their unstructured, open space facilitates the public expression of personal commentary, whereas their openness and instantaneity affect sourcing and verification), and established distinctions between newsmaker, news reporter and news consumer being unclear. …

Civic engagement in the age of online social networks

Abstract: .This paper focuses on how digital communication technologies extend the context of civic life and change the motivations for civil commitment, while also trying to explain how participation in civic life looks like in a digital era. We have provided a review of studies as a means to explore the intersection of human behavior and the motivations and benefits of civic life involvement.Keywords: social networks; civic engagement; motivations1. IntroductionAs digital communication technologies have evolved in the last decades, the convergence of the network structure and hardware and software accessibility are advances that have allowed individuals to interact in different, sometimes contradictory ways. Nowadays people can explore, hide, evaluate, connect, negotiate and coordinate to a greater extent than before. Moreover, a growing number of individuals can interact, an unprecedented amount of information is being transferred and portable devices can be carried into entirely new physical locations.Social networks such as Twitter and Facebook are mutually and simultaneously updated with real-time images and opinions about people, places and events. Mobile cell applications allow users to track their own movements and locations, but also their geographical vicinity (where other people use the same applications). Users of social networks can read selective reviews from friends and other people in their community, can "check in" when going to a restaurant, while their online friends can see what they have bought, listened to and read.Just as the technological landscape is evolving rapidly, connectivity and communication technology transform individual's experience in the social sphere. Participation in civic life is changing both in terms of the way in which people participate, and in terms of how their involvement is measured at the individual level (see Nadrag, 2011).Civic engagement includes all the ways in which individuals participate in public life, how they learn, how they get involved in various problems and contexts beyond anyone's privacy or intimacy. Social networks provide different ways to record, share and enhance this kind of attention.Media tools influencing civic life can be divided into two main categories: those specially designed to involve community (e.g. a digital game for local planning or an application to provide feedback to the municipal council) and generic tools that are later used for community's involvement (the role of Twitter and Facebook in the Arab Spring or the uprisings in Istanbul).Moreover, these tools can mediate any number of relationships between citizens, local organizations and government institutions. Digital civic engagement leads to a wide range of phenomena, from organizing protests using social networks (e.g. Occupy Wall Street) to the use of digital tools to access institutions' information unlawfully (e.g. Anonymous) to the use of mobile applications made locally to access government services or the use of digital platforms for exchanging views.From now on in this paper we will focus on how digital tools extend the context of civic life and the motivations for civil commitment and, at the same time, on how participation in civic life looks like in a digital era (Gordon, Baldwin-Philippi, 2013:139-148).2. Civic EngagementParticipation in public life implies civic engagement and the study of the latter reveals the ability to: acquire and process relevant information in order to formulate views on civic issues; express and debate beliefs about civic life within communities or in public; take measures consistent or not with social institutions such as political parties, government, corporations and communities. Although these elements are often understood as a progression that ultimately leads to the desired result (taking action), we will address each as both process and result and we will seek to understand qualitative changes caused by their intersection with media technologies. …

Problematizing liberal cosmopolitanisms: foucault and neoliberal cosmopolitan governmentality

Abstract: .This paper begins by problematizing liberal cosmopolitanisms by reference to Foucault's work and according to his notion of govemmentality and his approach of "problematization". The paper investigates the philosophical source of liberal cosmopolitanism in its historic moral, legal and economic forms and by reference to the concept of neoliberal cosmopolitan govemmentality it postulates a form of economic cosmopolitanism beginning in the early modem period and with strong links to Scottish political economy that provides a strong moral characterization of the market based on rule of law and the doctrine of free trade. The paper suggest that this form of economic cosmopolitanism is inextricably intertwined with its moral and legal forms, and functions to support the system of American hegemony that control the global world system. It argues that a Foucauldian notion of economic cosmopolitan govemmentality best captures the layered reality of a global world system where economic, moral and legal forms of cosmopolitanism operate. This paper recommends that teacher education programs concerned with fostering cosmopolitanism adopt Foucault's approach of problematization as a means for encouraging a critical awareness of cosmopolitanism and the complexity of world politics.Keywords: economic cosmopolitanism; problematization; neoliberal; Foucault; govemmentalityFrancois Quesnay was the leading figure of the Physiocrats, generally considered to be the first school of economic thinking. The name "Physiocrat" derives from the Greek words physis, meaning "nature," and kratos, meaning "power." The Physiocrats believed that an economy's power derived from its agricultural sector. They wanted the government of Louis XV, who ruled France from 1715 to 1774, to deregulate and reduce taxes on French agriculture so that poor France could emulate wealthier Britain, which had a relatively laissez-faire policy. Indeed, it was Quesnay who coined the term "laissez-faire, laissez-passer."The Concise Encyclopedia of Economicshttp://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/bios/Quesnay.html1. Problematizing Liberal CosmopolitanismsThe Syrian crisis that dominated international politics in 2012 indicates that the legacy of a Cold War standoff between the US and its Western allies on the one hand and Russia and China on the other in the Security Council. This standoff has prevented any cosmopolitan agreement on how to halt the wholesale slaughter by al-Assad's regime of its own population, including women and children, of some reported 20,000 death toll (until early August 2012). Russia, China and Iran have remained steadfast in their opposition to UN sanctions or indeed any kind of intervention. Russia has supplied arms to the Syrian government and stands to lose a profitable arms contract and one of its few strategic bases in the region if it concedes to US-led "human- itarian" demands. China, intent on preserving its ties with Russia, has refrained from giving its consent to international intervention. Iran for its part has been vocal in support of the Syrian government and reported given it financial support to help withstand Western sanctions. Meanwhile Middle East critics of the US accuse it of wanting to create a new Greater Middle East controlled by the U.S. and Israel in order to control energy resources during the 21st century, where gas will play the most important role and Syria occupies the strategic path to reach the Mediterranean ports through gas pipelines from Iran, Iraq and Qatar.1In this terrible wholesale slaughter that represents perhaps the most important crisis of the string of events called the "Arab Spring" any attempted cosmopolitanism has been encumbered by past histories and alliances where the moral, the legal and the economic are all part of the same complex reality. In the Western media the heroic moral leadership by the US has provided the dominant form of cosmopolitanism whereas sanctions and striking a legal agreement over the administration of sanctions by the Security Council has provided a means for this moral (and so far failing) cosmopolitanism. …

Creativity and Psychological Well-Being

Abstract: . In this paper, originally delivered as the keynote address at the annual meeting of the NYS Psychological Association, I take issue with the common view that madness or mental illnesses such as depression and bipolar disorder contribute to creativity and suggest that it is more interesting to explore the converse view that creativity contributes to mental health and psychological well-being. Drawing from art, literature, psychology, and my own experience as a mental health professional, a jazz pianist, and a photographer and digital image maker, I maintain that the creative process creates opportunities for intense activity and accomplishment, can open people to inner depths and to powerful connections with artistic colleagues and cultures, and can provide a sense of transcendent meaning. Creative efforts can contribute, not uniquely but importantly, to developing a sense of well-being for people who are fundamentally mentally healthy and for those who have mental disorders, including those with severe mental illness and those with dementia.Keywords: creativity; well-being; mental health; recoveryRichard Juman, The President of the NYS Psychological Association in 2012, asked me to give this keynote address because I am a semi-professional jazz musician and photographer as well as a mental health professional. I immediately said, "Why would anyone want to come to hear me speak about art and psychology?" I'm not Miles Davis or Ansel Adams or any musician or photographer that anyone has ever heard of. Richard persisted, appealed to my abundant narcissism by saying that he wanted me to talk about my personal experience with music and photography and tempted me beyond my ability to resist with the opportunity to explore a new area of thought for me.As I was doing some research about creativity for this speech, it dawned on me that it was almost all about creative geniuses, something that I very clearly am not. As I often say, for a social worker I am a hell of a jazz piano player; as a jazz piano player I'm mediocre. Then it occurred to me that not being a creative genius might make my experience usefiil for understanding what engaging in creative activity can contribute to the mental health of us ordinary mortals. So today I am going to discuss the important, but not unique, contribution that art can make:1. to psychological well-being, using the framework of positive psychology and2. to having a decent quality of life if you have a serious, long-term mental illness or even dementia.Note that I am not talking about the frequent claim that madness - i.e., mental illness - is the root of creativity. Instead, I am making a case for the idea that creativity is a major source of mental health.8,9,10,111. Art and Psychological Well-beinghttp://www. youtube.com/watch ?v=jM9L 1 qUCYLIThis music played by the Gerry Mulligan Quartet in Paris in 1954 changed my life. I heard it first when I was 15. I had started playing jazz after my mother took me and a few friends to a Jazz at the Philharmonic concert two years earlier. I was transfixed, bought a book with the music of three boogie woogie stars, and taught myself to play boogie woogie. Something caught my eye about the cover of the album we are listening to, but $3.99 was a lot of money in those days. Eventually I found a used copy I could afford; and from the sound of the first notes of these close harmonies defined without the help of a piano, I was captured. I remember the feeling more clearly than I remember the first time I had sex - which was, if you'll excuse the pun, an anti-climax, whereas this music has influenced every note I have played since I first heard it. I don't mean to suggest that music is more powerful than sex. There's nothing more powerful than sex. But even as an adolescent who thought about little else, I was captured by this music in a more profound way. It opened a part of myself that is usually buried and hidden and that I have returned to over and over again for the past 55 years. …

Governance and Government in the Arab Spring Hybridity: Reflections from Lebanon

Abstract: .Unrepresentative and ineffective governance has been a key instigator of the 'Arab Spring.' However, analyses of the Arab Spring tend to limit 'governance' to 'government.' The Spring is exclusively framed as the bankruptcy of authoritarian government and the significance of the revolutions as an indication of resilient (non-state) governance is overlooked. This discards opportunities to build on existing and emerging non-state governance arrangements. Based on a critical review of the emerging literature dealing with the Arab Spring, this article argues that the state centrism underpinning the majority of analyses of the Arab Spring reflects an (implicit) adherence to the fragile state paradigm. With reference to Lebanon, a country on the brink of being sucked into the upheavals, the article offers a complementary conceptual frame for engaging with the Arab Spring. It proposes that studies of the Spring would benefit from focusing on 'pragmatic governance' in 'hybrid political orders' rather than on 'fragile governments' in 'failing states.'Keywords: Arab Spring; governance; hybrid political order; Lebanon1. IntroductionThe international community increasingly accepts that peace, security and development are decisively shaped by 'good' governance and institutions (Grindle 2007; Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) 2008; United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID) 2011; World Bank (WB) 2011). This observation is only reinforced by current developments in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) presented as the 'Arab Spring.'1 Dynamics in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen and Syria have nothing so much in common as their mix of socio-economic dilapidation and political-institutional despondency. Corrupt, unrepresen- tative and increasingly ineffective state institutions have provided much of the seeds for the current developments.Yet, there is a pivotal aspect of governance that has been under-represented in the analysis of, and response to, the Arab Spring. This is the deceptiveness of the equation of'governance' with 'government.' Analysts and policymakers have construed the Spring as the bankruptcy of authoritarian government, but overlook the significance of the revolutions as an indication of resilient non-state governance. They thereby disqualify opportunities to build on existing and emerging non-state or semi-state governance arrangements. The aim of this article, therefore, is to offer an alternative frame for engaging with the Arab Spring. With reference to Lebanon, a country on the brink of being sucked into the upheavals, I propose that studies of the Spring would benefit from focusing on 'actually existing governance' in 'hybrid political orders' rather than on 'fragile governments' in 'failing states.' As such, this article can be positioned in the emerging literature concerned with "not the immediate account of what happened in the region, but more generally the implications of the Arab uprisings for our way of studying Arab politics" (Valbjorn and Volpi 2013:1).As a sensitizing exercise, the article does not seek to present a detailed empirical analysis. Instead, it reviews an emerging body of academic and 'grey' literature on a meta-level with the aim of highlighting the main contentions in these studies and teasing out the perspective dominating current analyses of the Arab Spring in order to enable future complementing and balancing of this perspective. The remainder of the article consists of four sections. Section 2 discusses the state-centered discourse that dominates analyses of the Arab Spring. In section 3, I juxtapose this state-centered perspective with a hybrid governance-oriented view on the Spring that is explicated in section 4 with illustrations from Lebanon. Section 5 concludes and offers a research agenda.2. State Fragility as the Dominant DiscoursePolicy-oriented scholars see the Arab Spring as an opportunity to reevaluate political relations with MENA countries, a sentiment partly driven, it seems, by a desire to move beyond 'Iraq' and 'Afghanistan' (de Vasconcelos 2012:7). …

Bitcoin - between Legal and Financial Performance

Abstract: .Since its inception in 2008, electronic currency Bitcoin has raised many questions, becoming increasingly serious, as the growth of its importance. One of the main questions still remains whether Bitcoin is a currency, a financial instrument or something remained "regulated" as a piece of computer code, as there is no concrete answer until now. Moreover we can add there are no Bitcoin company and no buildings to regulate currency circulation, such as all other monetary instruments. However, according to a court decision in mid-August 2013, Bitcoin digital currency first became legal in the U.S. and its use can be regulated under the effect of law. For Bitcoin users, the verdict is good news - in terms of legality - and bad news - that the future Bitcoin transactions will be charged in the future.Keywords: inflation; control; security; mechanisms; transactions1. IntroductionBitcoin represents a virtual currency created in 2008 by an anonymously dubbed Satoshi Nakamoto, which does not depend on any central authority, which relies heavily on the principles of cryptography. Bitcoin name also refers to the open source software to use these coins, as well as peer-to-peer network (peer to peer) which he formed. Unlike most currencies, Bitcoin is not based on trust in a central issuer. Bitcoin uses a distributed database across nodes of a peer networks to inventory transactions and uses cryptography to provide basic security functions such as ensuring that bitcoins can be spent only one who has and only one time. According to one of the operating principles, creating process of this currency will cease when it will reach 21 million coins, to avoid hyperinflation.12. Causes of Bitcoin's AppearanceBitcoin does not represent the first attempt to implement a virtual currency. However, this is one of the first implementations, relatively enduring, of the concept called "crypto currency," first described in 1998 by Wei Dai on the mailing list Cyberpunk. During 2008-2009, Satoshi Nakamoto integrated several existing ideas and posted on the internet an article describing "Bitcoin," and in 2009 the Bitcoin trade network aroused by issuing the first Bitcoins and by the emergence of the first client interested to buy.2The existing data on this coin may coincide with the global economic crisis, propagated by many challenges to the stability of national banking systems. Even if it is the first attempt of this kind, the emergence and development of Bitcoin may be related, at least in part, to the problems recorded by the global monetary mechanisms.Besides many other unpleasant discoveries made by those who have deposited money in banks, is the fact that governments can stop transferring money elsewhere. Concerning capital controls, although it should be of the past, it seems that it is the attention of banks to manage critical situations. Due to various measures taken by governments, combined with the inability of major economies to resume growth, it is no wonder that people are increasingly using more and more powerful option to transfer their savings into a virtual currency called Bitcoin. Economic analysts say the growing popularity of Bitcoin is a symptom of a world in which ordinary citizens are extremely concerned about the amount of cash. Since the states have been unable to refrain from excessive printing of banknotes, guided in part by faulty economic theory, one can say that Bitcoin is a natural occurrence.3. Operating MechanismsIn this context it is mandatory to present the way by which you can get Bitcoins: conventional money can buy, or you can "dig" by them, i.e. using the computer to "hunt" a number consists of 64 digits. After you solve more puzzles, you will compete against other users for generating numbers that Bitcoin network looking for. If your computer discovers these numbers, then you will get 25 coins Bitcoin. The process involves complicated mathematical calculations. …

The Importance of Communication in the Production of Social Representations

Abstract: .The social representations are a commonplace in the literature in review but the concept in itself is not easy to be decoded. A borderline between psychology and sociology, the social representations are a psychological organization and a form of the particular conscience of the contemporary society, but not reduced to either of them. This position involves though their reporting to processes that are linked with a social dynamics and a physical dynamics, as well as to the elaboration of a complex theoretical system.Keywords: social representation; psychology; communication; image1. IntroductionCommon and transmittable, the social representations cannot be overlooked in the individual universe of each of us. We always need to know what to expect from the world surrounding us, the world where we live. We need to adjust to it, to know how to behave, how to master it, physically or intellectually, to pinpoint and solve the problems we encounter. In front of this world of objects, people, events or ideas we are not alone as in a social void: we share this world with the others, whom we lend our helping hand so that they can understand it, to be able to organize it or to relate to appropriately. Here is why the social representations are so essential in our ordinary life. They guide us in how to name and define various aspects of the daily reality, in how to construe and decide upon them and, if required, to take a stand concerning them. Very often, we do not act in dependence on the stimuli coming from the social environment, not reported to the objective information, but on our image about the reality. We puzzle out the context, analyze, and come up with our own evaluation grids to 'read' the people, the events, the world. The image that we build ourselves about the real event, the way how we interpret it, to feel the daily existence is a form of social conscience, visible in the social representation. The social representations are a commonplace in the literature in review but the concept in itself is not easy to be decoded. A borderline between psychology and sociology, the social representations are a psychological organization and a form of the particular conscience of the contemporary society, but not reduced to either of them. This position involves though their reporting to processes that are linked with a social dynamics and a physical dynamics, as well as to the elaboration of a complex theoretical system.2. The Relationship between Communication and IdentityThe social representations need to be studied by connecting emotional, mental and social elements, along with knowledge, language and communication, the social relations affecting the representations and the material, social and ideational reality upon which they are supposed to intervene in. The social representations are complex phenomena, always active, which act in the social life. In their abundance, diverse elements can be looked at, where some of them are studied by themselves: informative, cognitive, ideological, normative elements, beliefs, values, attitudes, opinions, images, etc., even though such elements are organized under the umbrella of a certain knowledge that states something about the status of the reality. One of the main features of the social representation is that it always represents an object, reports itself to a place, a situation, a fact, a person, an event, an idea. The reporting to reality does not mean a reduction of the representation to a collection of individual representations, suggested by the immediate reality. The object of the representation can be real or imaginary, mythical, but always necessary. The mental representation, as well as the pictorial one, provides this object to the sight, it is a substitute for it; it makes it present when the object is in the distance or absent - hence, it is the mental representative of the object, which it rebuilds symbolically. Apart from this real content of the thinking act, the representation wears the mask of the subject and of its activity. …

Distance Learning Management Based on Information Technology

Abstract: .Distance learning reshaped itself in the recent years as a consequence of the general informatization of the modern society that affected all the domains of human life, from students studying alone using printed materials provided by teaching institutions to learning by playing educational games on the internet. Between these two extremes there are many approaches to distance learning, usually involving the use of technology (computers, mobile devices, wireless networks, internet and so on). Because the possibilities are numerous, managing the diversity of these approaches becomes a more and more difficult task to attain. Learning institutions, in order to keep pace with the student's requirements have to find the distance learning approaches that best satisfy the needs of their students and are also effective to transmit knowledge and abilities. Distance learning management must address multiple related issues. Among these can be enumerated: management of the learning type used to transmit knowledge and abilities to students; management of the relation between teacher, as the source of information, and students as the beneficiaries of learning (relation in time and space, according to the type of separation between them); management of the barriers that must be overcame to ensure effective learning processes; management of the communication necessary to transmit knowledge to the students; management of the relationship with other learning institutions (collaboration, complementarities etc.). In all of the above mentioned issues Information and Communication Technology (ITC distance learning management; information technology1. Previous ResearchThe management of distance learning programs by information technology specific tools emmerged with the advances in computers and communication networks that permitted real time communication and real time transmitting of learning content to the pearsons who are interested to study. Previous researches have been conducted in the field of eLearning and distance learning that stood at the basis of the present research. Among them we have to mention: Designing a Dynamic e-Learning Project Performance Evaluation Framework, Seventh IEEE International Conference on Advanced Learning Technologies (ICALT 2007); Measuring Learning Results: Creating Fair and Valid Assessments by Considering Findings from Fundamental Learning Research, by Will Thalheimer - A Work-Learning Research Publication 2007; Providing Learners with Feedback-Part I: Research-based Recommendations for Training, Education, and e-Learning, by Will Thalheimer - A WorkLearning Research Publication 2008; Providing Learners with Feedback - Part 2: Peer-reviewed Research Compiled for training, education, and eLearning, by Will Thalheimer - A Work-Learning Research Publication 2008; e-Leaming and the Science of Instruction: Proven Guidelines for Consumers and Designers of Multimedia Learning by Ruth Colvin Clark and Richard E. Mayer John Wiley & Sons, Inc. San Francisco CAUSA 2008; Delivering e-Learning: A Complete Strategy for Design, Application and Assessment by Kenneth Fee Kenneth Fee, London, 2009; Learning Online with Games, Simulations, and Virtual Worlds: Strategies for Online Instruction - Jossey-Bass Guides to Online Teaching and Learning by Clark Aldrich, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. San Francisco, 2009; e-Learning and Social Networking Handbook: Resources for Higher Education by Robin Mason and Frank Rennie, Routledge NY, 2008; Handbook of Research on Practices and Outcomes in ELearning: Issues and Trends by Harrison Hao Yang and Steve Chi-Yin Yuen, 2009;2. …

Communication, Representation, and Social Change

Abstract: .A first step in the psychosocial construction of the role is the psychosocial self-perception, i.e. the development of self-image, self-representation. The self-perception, even if it is real or imaginary, it is decontextualized, isolated, but it has important relational facets. By searching selfesteem, the social actor seeks not necessarily to restore the balance, if this is disturbed between real self and the ideal one, but the cancellation of deficiencies by strengthening the presentation of another successful side by rebuilding, restoring the depreciated trait.Keywords: social representation; psychology; communication; image1. IntroductionThe understanding and analysis of the social behavior must begin from an explanation and clear delimitation of at least three terms: individual, person, and personality. Initially, in classical Latin, the term person was used to express a mask, an appearance, later enriching the semantics and appointing the actor, the person behind the mask. At one moment due to a person there were designated inner psycho-moral and external psychophysical features, and consequently the same word was meant to suggest an important person. It is obvious that the understanding of the term person needs a double approach: on the one hand we can talk about an individualist approach, as a self-conscious entity, and on the other hand a social one as a rational nucleus within any social subsystem. Starting with this duality, it is obvious that a person is conscious of his own identity, values, an auto perception, but the person is also conscious of the way an auto representation is perceived and accepted at the social level. The development of personality is connected with socialization, the transfer process of assimilation, internalization, some essence socio-cultural use, social learning, knowledge, norms and social models assimilation, specific to a certain community and integration, the objectification of socialization and social learning results, namely processing, taking and active exercising of a social statuses system and correspondent activities with derived rights and duties, psychological and socio-cultural complementary processes. The character is the mask the person wears on the social scene in order to play roles, a way of social insertion, is the answer for the people's expectations, a model that is followed by other individuals, too. In other words, the character is the person involved in certain situations, fulfilling public functions and also actively involved in a determined relational context.2. The Social Psychology of CommunicationBy adapting to conditions specific to social roles a character plays, he permanently metamorphoses in accordance with the mask he wears, the audience for which he performs, but he can metamorphose himself in accordance with his personality, skills, expectations, features. Actor, a notion specific to the French space, is synonymous to that of subject or participant proper to the Anglo-Saxon space. The numerous approaching perspectives of this notion offer an actor's multitude of significations, definitions, attitudes. For example, in phenomenological research, the actor is seen more as an experiential, existential subject; he is assimilated in a cognitive framework. In the heuristic research, he has the same statute but the main actor is his inner self. For ethno-methodologists, the actor can be both a research object and an active subject, able to transform. Thus, his statute is variable, dependent on the preponderance of the ethical or empirical explanation. From the qualitative research perspective, the actor is the center of reflections and debates, in the middle of knowledge production activity, being simultaneously placed at the basis of research, at the starting point, and in its center, the referent of general knowledge. The socio-cognitive approach treats the individual as a subject-actor, the one that plays, but also as a member of a group or community, determined and socialized by the reference membership group. …

New Challenges for the Weee Management System in Romania as a Result of the Recast of the Weee Directive

Abstract: .Waste electric and electronic equipment (WEEE) is one of the fastest growing waste streams on the globe. Worldwide, WEEE raises a dual problem for the environment: on one hand, the composition of WEEE is highly toxic and represents a serious threat for the environment, if the substances contained in ewaste infiltrate the soil, water or air. On the other hand, there are also precious materials that can be recovered from WEEE, materials that can be used in the production of other goods. Because of this dual problem, the issue of managing WEEE is one of the top priorities for institutions and states all around the world. In Europe, the management of waste electric and electronic equipment was regulated, until August 13, 2012, by the WEEE Directive - Directive 2002/96/EC. The Directive provided a classification in 10 categories that covered over 90% of all EEE, thus of all WEEE on the market and established minimum performance standards for various aspects regarding WEEE management. In 2012 the European Union issued a recast of the WEEE Directive, the 2012/19/EU Directive, or the WEEE II Directive. The new directive sets higher targets for the collection, treatment, recycling and material recovery of WEEE. This paper aims to present the new targets regulated by the 2012/19/EU Directive, compared to the ones set by the older directive and analyze the impact of the new regulations on the WEEE management system in Romania.Keywords: WEEE, useful life; WEEE Directive; collection rate; recycling; treatment1. IntroductionElectric and electronic equipment (EEE) represents "equipment which is dependent on electric currents or electromagnetic fields in order to work properly and equipment for the generation, transfer and measurement of such currents and fields and designed for use with a voltage rating not exceeding 1000 volts for alternating current and 1500 volts for direct current." (Directive 2012/19/EU, Article 3). Waste electric and electronic equipment (WEEE) represent EEE that reached the end of their useful life, including all the components, sub-assemblies and consumables that are part of the equipment at the time. Useful life means the period during which the equipment can provide benefits for its user, functioning at optimum capacity. The increasing demand for electric and electronic equipment, as well as the decrease of its lifespan (Nnorom, Osibanjo, 2008) are just some of the reasons waste electric and electronic equipment (WEEE) have known the most spectacular and significant growth out of all waste categories composing municipal waste: WEEE have grown 16-28% in 5 years, which is 3 times as much as the average growth rate of annually generated municipal waste. From a weight of 1% of the total quantity of solid waste generated on the globe annually in 2007, WEEE reached 5% of the quantity in 2010, corresponding to 20-50 million metric tons and it is expected that, by 2015, they will reach 40-70 million metric tons per year (Ciocoiu et al, 2010). The spectacular growth of WEEE globally, associated with the complexity and composition of electric and electronic equipment has made WEEE management a top priority for international institutions. The toxic components represent only 2-3% of EEE composition, while valuable metals, such as steel (with an iron content of 98%), aluminum, copper and, occasionally, even gold, silver and palladium can reach about 60% of the composition (UNEP, 2011).2. Regulations and Standards for WEEE in EuropeThe 2002/96/EC Directive on waste electric and electronic equipment, also known as the WEEE Directive, together with the 2002/95/EC Directive on the restriction of hazardous substances in electric and electronic equipment (the RoHS Directive) were, until the 13th of August 2012, the main regulatory documents in the field of WEEE at European level.The WEEE Directive established, in Appendix 1 and 2, a 10-category classification that would cover over 90% of all EEE and thus of all WEEE put on the market, categories listed below:1. …

Deontology in public administration

Abstract: .Amongst the obligations that a person that holds a public office has, a series of duties, both moral and legal, are circumscribed in the professional ethics. All the moral obligations that an official has, during the exercise of his profession can be quantified by using the generic notion of "deontology". Deontology, through its specific research object lies at the border that exists between law and ethics. A comprehensive set of anticorruption measures would necessarily include deontology of the public office as an integral particle. Some of the deontological rules have legal power while others are sanctioned only by public opinion, as they are ethical norms.Keywords: deontology; ethics; administration; public office1. ConceptualizationThe word deontology derives from the Greek words "deon," "deontos" (meaning what is appropriate, what has to be done) and "logos" (knowledge, study). According to Bentham, an action is either good or bad depending on its tendency to increase or decrease the sum of public satisfaction. Codes of Ethics or Deontology are a relatively new creation, as the first Code of Ethics was created in France, in 1947, for medical practitioners. However, knowledge of what is good, what is suitable for a certain profession or for public office is, at least to a certain degree, part of the public consciousness since Ancient Greece. Deontology is a branch of ethics, the science that studies the obligations and the behavior of the persons that practice a certain profession (Santai, Constantin, 2012, vol. 1: 123). Deontology is based on moral duty, but it does not overlap with the study of philosophy or of the general theory of moral duty. Also, we must note that, while ethics surmises the philosophic study of duty, deontology is a precise, applied science.Public office is a fundamental concept for public law in general and for administrative law in particular, as it presents strong ties with concepts such as: public body, authority, administrative activity etc. (Iorgovan, 2001: 525). Deontology as a science aims to improve the efficiency of the public service and to meet the needs of the citizen (Preda, 2004: 131). Deontology is the ensemble of rules that are shaping a particular type of private or professional behavior (Verdina?, 1998: 67). Efficiency is not only the result of good organizing and leadership as it is also dependable on a conscientious attitude towards the service duties of the public official. Some of the rules that apply to public office are sanctioned only by public opinion, as they are ethical, not juridical rules (Cochinescu, 1995: 3-11).2. Deontology of the Public Officials2.1. DefinitionHaving in mind the characteristics of the public administration, we can define the deontology of the public office as the ensemble of juridical and moral rules that are related to the public office, as an intrinsic element of the public office, rules that apply to the persons appointed in a public position, and are objectively stated by the society, at a certain time, in the purpose of increasing the efficiency of the public office (Santai, Constantin, 2012: 124).Deontology may be considered a bridge between juridical sciences and ethics, as it may be studied from two different perspectives: the regulations given accordingly with the principle of legality and the moral principles. According to Article 43 of the Law No. 188/1999, the public officials have the obligation to carry out their job assignments with professionalism, in an impartial manner and according with the law, and must restrain themselves from any deed that might prejudice citizens, legal entities or the office of public servants. Also, according to Article 6, paragraph (2) of the European Charter of Local Self-Government, "the conditions of service of local government employees shall be such as to permit the recruitment of high quality staff on the basis of merit and competence; to this end adequate training opportunities, remuneration and career prospects shall be provided. …

The role of lawyers during police detention and questioning : a comparative study

Abstract: Drawing on the findings of a recent empirical study conducted across four jurisdictions, this article considers the ways in which legal assistance is provided to suspects who are held in police custody for formal questioning. It sets out, very briefly, the legal framework developed by the European Court of Human Rights and now the EU, and the legal provisions in place in the four jurisdictions post Salduz. It then goes on to consider the kinds of factors that, in practice, promote or constrain the provision of effective legal assistance. These include the occupational cultures of police and lawyers and the availability of human and financial resources. Whilst the criminal processes of the four jurisdictions are different, there are many similarities in the working practices of police and lawyers and a lack of agreement among police and lawyers, as to the value of legal assistance to suspects before and during police interrogation.

Communication and Culture: Cultural Paradigms and Referentials

Abstract: .The issue of communication between individuals and between groups becomes a problem of effective communication and mutual understanding between cultures. The searches towards overcoming barriers in intercultural communication focus not only on institutional communication (between governments or between national organizations), but also on well-defined communication between cultural communities with a well-defined identity (between linguistic communities, ethnic or religious): they take into account any act communication, including international professional (where there appear barriers in communication because national cultures).Keywords: communication; culture; paradigm; communityThe communication has been observed, as a fundamental element of human existence, since ancient times. In fact, the real etymology of the term, suggests that the word, "communication" comes from the Latin word "communis," meaning "to agree," "being in relation with" or "being into a relationship," although the term circulates in the ancient vocabulary, meaning "convey to others," "to share something with others."Starting with the original meaning of the German term "mitteilen" (to communicate, to transmit), Hans Georg Gadamer will define the culture, as a kind of communication (Mitteilung), meaning mit-teilen, to share, something with someone else which, by sharing, everything grows. "For a first step, the culture could be defined as a field that contains everything that grows by sharing. The external goods have such a nature that makes us feel lonely, and when the view is attracted only by them, we withdraw from reality in our souls."1 Regarding this aspect, the German philosopher gives the example of a literary or philosophical work, translated into another language, communicated, transferred to another linguistic community, shared with others while it does not suffer a reduction by this division and remains equal to itself by enhancing and enriching with new meanings and significations.Georg Simmel says the thing that leads us to understanding, the essence of the culture-communication relation is the sense of the language itself. "The culture is the way from the closed unit, by a large deployment of plurality, to another unit, deployed also." In any case, we are talking, only, about the evolution to a phenomenon anchored in the germinating ability of the personality, powers that are sketched out into an idealistic plan. And, here, the language as a case gives us a true guidance."2By the communicational side, the culture is a social phenomenon, most of the recorded human culture, which is, in fact, the interpretation and conferral of meanings. The communication is not external of the culture; it belongs to its meaning and essence. The proof of this fact is that "the history does not know any closed or sealed culture, not even in communities or peoples apparently geographically isolated: Communication is a human's organic necessity, appeared from his nature, which is never self-sufficient, and it cannot be ontic or axiological by itself."3Together, the individuals and social groups construct and consider their own identity by comparing with "other" or "others," due to intercultural relations. In this sense, the communication was considered as an emotional and sympathetic participation to their own existence ("existential communication" M. Heidegger or "real communication," K. Jarpers).The concept of "interculturaliswT (intercultural communication, intercultural pedagogy etc.), appeared in France, at the beginning of '70s, issuing, gradually, the idea that the differences are not obstacles, but, at the contrary, it could be a mutual enrichment, if we can base on it. This concept comes to meet the Canadian multiculturalism, which, as a difference of the assimilationist politics of other countries, already, at that time, valuing cultural diversity, but not putting into practice, mutual recognition devices. …

The phenomenon of media communication

Abstract: .The study tries to reach the area of processes and phenomena of what the researchers now call media communication, a concept which will hopefully become largely spread. Like many other issues dealt with in the studies about communication, this form of "common knowledge" is quite familiar still difficult to analyze. This is the reason why I decided to put together some ideas of various authors who decided to use this expression, and to show how media communication works.Keywords: journalism; media studies; mediated communication; system of media communication1. IntroductionAs regards the time of appearance of the mass communication, Jean-Noel Jeanneney (1997: 16), expert in historical problems of communication media, considers that "the origin, the most primitive form of communication in entering Public table is an indication of a very simple fact, which may be referred to: in a period in which there was no writing. A notch into a tree, a colored stone, a broken branch means, for primitive man, enemy approaches, or the fact that the game has been here and it will be there (...) In the same category there are optical signals - smoke during the day or a fire during the night - and also audio signals, such as famous African tam-tam."Before anyone spoke of mass media, in 1909, Charley Horton Cooley stated that there are four factors that determine increased efficiency of the new mass communication media in relation to the process of communication in any previous society. New means were more effective, he said, as regards: expressiveness - send a wide range of ideas and feelings; document permanent - or conquering the space; how quickly - or time conquest; dissemination - access to all categories of individuals. DeFleur and Ball-Rokeach (1999: 36) mentioned that these facilities represent a new form of communication which influences not only the patterns of interaction within the framework of the communities and societies, but also psychological philosophies of individuals.The impact on public radio can be illustrated by the effect that the 1938 Halloween transmission of the War of Worlds of Orson Welles had on public, event which caused panic in some communities (Severin and Tankard, 2004: 219). As regards the episode of 30 October 1938 (War of the Worlds), Orson Welles, then 23 years old, made a stormy entry in the history of press. According to Jeanneney (1997: 156), Orson Welles was not fond of this novel so he tried to dramatize it and had the idea of creating a real radio show, interrupted by the announcement of the arrival of Martians. Wells was convinced that everyone would see that it was only fiction. But surprisingly, everything goes upside down. When Welles invited a false interior minister to beg the public not to let themselves be slew of fear, and he "confesses" that the only effective thing is to pray to God then panic is bom and spreads; long rows of cars leave New York. About this episode, the producer John Houseman (bom in Romania in 1902) associate of Welles declared: "I did not have the slightest idea about the effects that this play would have on the audience."The appearance of the "press for the masses," an industry of editing aimed to spread huge quantities of printed material among a large number of readers has led to the birth of new forms of press. McQuail (1999: 98) considers that modem press is oriented more to receiving than to communicating for most readers: the larger the scale of distribution, the less accessible the tribune for individuals' ideas. Press for the masses makes the public receive only what it is communicated in order to be an auditorium audience. This effect is produced by the institutional form of press - centralized, market oriented and capitalized - and the experiences "being communicated to" the major features of communication process are distorted (or modeled) of these features of the press for the masses, professor McQuail says. …

Aggressive behavior of elite athletes

Abstract: .The purpose of this article is to gain a deeper understanding of athletes' antisocial and prosocial behavior, aggressive acts performed by athletes during sporting events, interpersonal aggression in sports, and the pathway from athletic participation to relationship aggression. The paper generates insights about moral functioning in sport, the values associated with aggressive sports, aggressive behaviors on the part of individuals in the sports world, and the motivational under-pinnings of prosocial and antisocial behaviors in sport.Keywords: aggressive act; athlete; prosocial; antisocial; behavior1. IntroductionThe theory that we shall seek to elaborate here puts considerable emphasis on the propensity for violence among men who participate in contact and team sports, the effects of power sports participation on antisocial behavior, the processes underlying sports aggression, and youth sports' possible influences on antisocial and prosocial behavior. We are specifically interested in how previous research investigated men's participation in aggressive sports, the dynamics underlying aggressive behaviors occurring in the sports world, prosocial and antisocial behaviors (Pera, 2013a) in sport, and the predictors of moral actions in sport. The literature on the relations between type of sport and degree of antisocial behavior, factors influencing athletes' behaviors, the relationship between sports participation and aggression against women, and the risk factors that shape physical assault by male athletes is relevant to this discussion.2. Aggressive Acts Performed by Athletes during Sporting EventsMale athletes have a more significant tendency for violence against women than other men, but violence against women is not reserved to professional male athletes. The probability of involvement in violence is unequally distributed across sports. Male athletes' violence-supportive positions and behaviors may indicate broader relationships between men, masculinity, gender norms, and tolerance for violence. Context-specific processes may form the preponderance of violence-supportive positions and violent behavior among male athletes. (Flood and Dyson, 2007) Involvement in aggressive sports may bring about relationship aggression. Essential components in hostile masculinity are related to participation in aggressive high school sports (boys with substantial hostile masculinity may be interested in aggressive high school sports). Involvement in aggressive high school athletics is connected with self-reported physical aggression by college men. Participation in aggressive high school sports impacts the various developmental pathways generating relationship aggression. (Forbes et al., 2006) Alcohol consumption and the appearance of a multitude of negative results are more significant in sports populations than in non-sports ones (there is a moderating consequence of sports involvement in the positive connection between alcohol use and violence). Certain social norms and identities connected with sport types and teams determine specific values and behaviors in the individual team-member. The hyper-masculine atmosphere existent in several male team sports is a type of team cohesiveness and bonding. Masculinity, violent social identity and antisocial norms related to particular sports are possible factors that may influence the relationship between sport and violence in athlete populations. (Sonderlund et al, 2014)Playing at home may be associated with a sense of higher social status for the members of the home team. Higher testosterone prior to games played at home may promote the indication of pivotal behavioral features. Athletes have more significant pre-game testosterone levels when performing in their home venue, whereas cortisol values diminish from baseline values when the team plays in the away venue (somatic anxiety is more relevant when players are in their opponents' venue). …

Education and Unemployment in the Knowledge-Based Society

Abstract: .In the knowledge-based society when changes are fast, social and economic development depend on the quality of human resources development (HRD). Educated persons are more productive and have more opportunities to play an active role in the development of companies. According to the Global labor full report June 2012, carried out by McKinsey Global Institute, until 2030 the labor market will face unbalances: there will be a deficit of qualified workers of 13%, while the number of unqualified workers will increase with 10% as related to the request on the labor market. In the given context, learning towards specialization represents a need for preventing disparity between the competences requested by the market and the one held by workers. Due to the information technology environment, many e-learning opportunities appeared, enabling specialization on the labor market. The studies carried out show that in terms of unemployment there are some differences between the persons with higher education studies and those without higher education studies and the implications of long term unemployment are too major in order to neglect long life learning. The paper proposes an analysis of the situation of education and unemployment in the knowledge-based society, when new technologies and online learning create opportunities, but also the need for employees to improve their abilities in order to adapt to the constantly changing labor market.Keywords: unemployment; e-learning; specialized learning; education level1. Previous ResearchNumerous previous researches have been conducted in the field of unemployment and in the field of education, researches that were used as a base for the present study related to the use of education as a long term solution for preventing unemployment. Among the studies were used as bibliographies for the present paper are: The MGI - Global labor full report, June 2012; The Global Slavery Index 2013; The National Statistics Institute reports relating unemployment from 2008 to 2012; Long-term unemployment, the new challenge for many countries, International Labor Organization, 2013; Long-term unemployment, World Bank; Unemployment statistics, European Commission, Eurostat; Consequences of Long-Term Unemployment, Austin Nichols, Josh Mitchell, and Stephan Lindner, July 2013; New Skills for New Jobs, European Commission, Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion; Americans Want Cost Cuts, Employer Help to Fund Education, Gallup 2013; Linkedln Still Rules As The Top Job Search Technology Tool, Survey Says, Susan Adams, 2013; Job Seeker Survey Job-Hunt.org; HR and Recruiting Professionals Survey Job Board Doctor, April 2013; Toward knowledge societies. UNESCO World Report, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (2005), Conde-sur-Noireau; Societatea informafionala §i a cunoacterii, vectorii societafii cunoacterii, Mihai Draganescu, Romanian Academy.2. Disparities on the Labor MarketThe current society, where internet provides access to a lot of information, transforms knowledge into intangible assets which managers must use in order to be successful. Innovation, a feature of knowledge-based society, determines quick technological changes and all these will generate a different need for labor force. Thus, the institutions which provide education will have to be receptive to the constantly changing requests.1The Global labor full report June 2012 estimates that by 2030 the labor market will face the following disparities:* Lack of qualified workers reaching up to 38-40 million, representing 13% of the request for qualified work;* An average of 90-95 million unqualified workers worldwide, representing 10% of the request for unqualified labor force;* An average of 90-95 million unqualified labor force worldwide;* Lack of 45 million workers with mid-level studies in the emerging economies, representing 15% of the request. …

Respecting Consumer Rights and Professional Ethics: Particular Aspects of the Romanian Healthcare Services

Abstract: .In this paper we aim to present the importance of the social responsibility marketing view in the activity of healthcare services providers from Romania. The method of obtaining information has been the investigation of secondary sources. We have also analyzed the aspects regarding law conformation by these providers and their concern for the ethical behavior of their employees. The paper aims to highlight the fact that the success of healthcare services providers' activity and the achievement of a high degree of patient satisfaction are closely connected to the adoption and implementation of high behavior standards in the activity of the actors on this market in Romania. Last but not least this paper proposes a holistic approach for healthcare services providing in Romania, the only approach able to grant an organic marketing vision on respecting the laws of ethical conduct and the adoption of a socially responsible behavior.Keywords: holistic marketing; social responsibility marketing; ethical conduct; ethical code1. IntroductionOne of the main concerns each person has is represented by his/her own health, respectively the rights he/she has as a patient. In this respect, the first international document that regards health as a right is the Constitution of the World Health Organization (1946), which states that "the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being without distinction of race, religion, political belief, economic or social condition" (Dragoi, 2010).Also, the right to health has been included in the "Universal Declaration of Human Rights" (1948, 25th article): "everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing, medical care and necessary social services." Other international agreements that refer to people's right to health and their right to have access to medical services are the "Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms" (1950), the "International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights" (1966), the "International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights" (1966) and the "European Social Charter" (1961).Starting with 1994, the right to health has been acknowledged and promoted by the "Declaration on the Promotion of Patients' Rights in Europe" (World Health Organization, 1994). This statement has been taken over within each European state's legislation. In Romania, the statement has been expressed within the "Law for the Patient's Rights nr. 46/2003" whose standard specifications have been issued by the 386/7.04.2004 Order of the Ministry of Health of Romania. Other covenants that Romania has subscribed to are as follows: "The Ljubljana Charter on Reforming Health Care" (World Health Organization, 1996), the "Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Dignity of the Human Being with Regard to the Application of Biology and Medicine" (European Council, 1997) and the "European Charter of Patients' Rights" (2002).All these aspects describe the great societal importance of the healthcare services. Also, enhanced by the increase of competition on the Romanian healthcare market (the more and more significant presence of private healthcare services providers), these aspects have determined an increase in the interest that the actors on this market prove for adopting the marketing view within their activity.In accordance with the marketing view, healthcare services providers will attain their goals if they prove more efficient than their competitors in creating, providing and communicating value for the patient (customer).2. The Importance of Holistic Marketing for Healthcare Services Providers in RomaniaAlthough more and more healthcare services providers have adopted the marketing view in their activities, the level of attained performance indicates a reactive orientation towards the patient and his/her needs, which means the providers understand and fulfill the needs that patients express. …

Models of Marketing Simulation for SMES in Romania: Strategic Game for Marketing Mix Simulation

Abstract: SMEs in Romania are facing a lack of funds for financing, poor information, inadequate legislative restrictions for developing the economic environment, low level of accessing European funds etc. Funding problem could be partially solved if the marketing department did different marketing simulations before making the marketing budget and the business plan. In this article we review some of the marketing simulation models that can be achieved without the need for investment and as a case study we have chosen to simulate a marketing mix strategy using strategic games.

Legal Aspects and Developments for Financial Consumer Protection: Evidence from the Romanian Banking System

Abstract: .Increasing number of consumers of financial products and services, rapid technological developments and financial innovations are among the factors that impose strengthening financial consumer protection. The global economic and financial crisis, that revealed several weaknesses in the regulatory framework for financial activity, also underlined the need to strengthen the financial consumer protection framework. Therefore, currently, efforts are being made in this direction by improving the legal framework for financial consumer protection or developing programs for financial education. Against this background, the paper presents some legal aspects and developments for financial consumer protection with focus on the Romanian banking system.Keywords: financial consumer protection; legal framework for consumer protection; Romanian banking sector1. IntroductionStrengthening financial consumer protection is an issue that gained importance alongside with consumer number increase and complexity of financial products and services.Therefore, currently, strengthening financial consumer protection is on the agenda of several national and international bodies: the Group of Twenty (G20), the Financial Stability Board (FSB), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the World Bank etc. Consumer organizations also play an important role in promoting the rights of consumer of financial products and services.However, financial consumer protection is weak both in countries with developed, well-established financial sector and countries with less mature and developed financial sector (Consumers International, 2011).2. International Developments on Financial Consumer ProtectionIn 1985 the United Nations (UN) adopted the United Nations Guidelines for Consumer Protection (UNGCP), document that underlined the basic consumer rights and served as reference point in designing the legal framework for consumer protection across the world (UN, 2003).Even if the existing Guidelines are still valid, in 2012, the UNCTAD triggered the revision process of the UN Guidelines for Consumer Protection. As indicated by the UNCTAD, financial services are among the new issues that the UNGCP revised document has to address (UNCTAD, 2012).Protection of consumers and financial stability are major objectives of traditional regulatory and supervisory framework. However, the recent developments that affected market for financial services also require dedicated policy action for financial consumer protection (OECD, 2011).In February 2011, the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors called for the OECD, the FSB and other international organisations to develop principles on financial consumer protection. The result of this call was the documents titled "G 20 High-level Principles on Financial Consumer Protection" issued in October 2011 (OECD, 2011).The FSB document "Consumer Finance Protection with particular focus on credit" (FSB, 2011) was another response to the international call for enhancing consumer financial protection. According to this report, consumer protection authorities, responsible lending practices and product intervention are among the FSB members' options for enhancing financial consumer protection (FSB, 2011).At the European level, several European Union (EU) Directives on financial consumer protection were adopted. The directive on credit agreements for consumers has a particular importance (Directive 2008/48/EC). On 28 January 2014, the Council of the European Union adopted a directive on mortgage credits (Council of the European Union, 2014). The two directives aim to improve the protection of the European credit consumer.Enhancing consumer protection across the UE is also achieved through the network of European Consumer Centres.Consumers International is an international organization founded in 1960 that has over 240 member organisations in 120 countries. …

The Integration of Cognitive Neuroscience in Educational Practice

Abstract: .Over the past decade, there has been increasing evidence describing the scope of educational neuroscience, improvements in cognitive function and educational practices, the educational relevance of neuroscientific investigations, and educators' perceptions of the function of neuroscience and education. Applying new conceptual and methodological approaches, this study advances to the next level research on educators' motivations for learning about neuroscience, the ways neuroscience can contribute to educational practice, the neurobiological systems that strengthen emotional functioning in social interactions, and the neurological connection between cognition and emotion.Keywords: cognitive neuroscience; educational practice; social interaction1. IntroductionThe objective of this paper is to emphasize the perceptions of teachers about the relevance of neuroscience in their training, biological mechanisms by which social learning occurs, the pragmatic implications of neuroscience for teaching and learning, and the implications of neuroscience for education. This research makes conceptual and methodological contributions to the neurobiological correlates of automatic emotional responding, the practical value of neuroscience for educators, the neurological system for social learning (Popescu Ljungholm, 2014a), and the nexus of education and neuroscience. The overall results provide strong evidence for the neuroscientific bases of learning, cognitive neuroscience for social learning, the relevance of neuroscience to education, and the potential interactions between cognitive neuroscience and education. My analysis complements the growing literature on endeavors to bridge the gap between neuroscience and education, the prospects of educational neuroscience, knowledge concerning the role of emotion in neuroscience and education, and brain mechanisms of learning.2. The Scope of Educational NeuroscienceEach brain's structure is created to process information unambiguously, and playful learning allows for individual differences and skillfulness to appear. (Rushton, 2011) Concepts from psychology and neuroscience may explain learning mechanisms. The fields of neuroscience and human growth have notably pervaded educational thinking. Neuroscience knowledge is significant to mainstream education, and may explain the difficulties experienced by individuals with special needs. (Howard-Jones et al., 2007) Cultural influences in automatic neurobiological mechanisms may be compatible with dissimilarities in the meaning individuals make of the social world and self. (Immordino-Yang, 2013) Affective neuroscience has developed our knowledge of the emotional brain (Tesar, 2014): the peripheral nervous system is significant for emotion. Bodily modifications are primary to other emotional components. An affective neuroscience perspective may enhance conceptual clarity and hypothesis-driven empirical testing of models of emotion. (Sander, 2013) The cognitive neuroscience of human fear learning has been supported by functional brain imaging techniques. The amygdala's reply is adjusted by regulatory processes during fear learning. (Dunsmoor and LaBar, 2013)Neuroscience and cognitive psychology clarify how the brain assimilates new learning. Learning how to analyze may be an educational purpose. Adults learn better when they become involved in multimodal learning. Incorporating visuals enhance learning for higher-order thinking tasks. Multimodal learning is more relevant for higher-order thinking skills than for lower-order thinking skills. Visual aids and exercises boosts learning most with the highest-order cognitive learning goals. Any learning objective aims to produce efficient schemas that indicate advanced or expert understanding of a discipline. Law school learning generally centers on the highest cognitive skills. (Burgess, 2010) Measurable structural changes appear in client brains (Popescu, 2013) as a consequence of cognitive and interpersonal therapy. …

Asia-Pacific at the Crossroads - Implications for Australian Strategic Defense Policy

Abstract: . This paper examines the changing geo-political situation in the Asia-Pacific Region from an Australian defense policy perspective. The article focuses on China, the US, and Indonesia and examines Australia's strategic defense needs for the coming decade. The paper concludes by laying out four strategic defense options for Australia, 1. maintaining the US alliance, 2. going back to "fortress Australia," 3. towards Asian integrations, and 4. the "New Zealand" option.Keywords: Australia; defense policy; China; United States; Indonesia; strategic competition; Asian integration1. Should Australia Engage Asia in Fantasy or Reality?Since the Australian Government's last White Paper on defense in 2009, there have been rapid changes within the Asia-Pacific region. As a consequence, the forthcoming Australian defense white paper will be perhaps the most important that has ever been prepared. With a rising assertive China, the US adopting an "Asia Pivot" doctrine, and a host of rising Asian powers, the Australian Government cannot defer the strategic complexities of the region to the "never never" of 2030 like the 2009 paper did.Australia has long lost its ability to project military power overseas. The retirement and scrapping of the last Australian aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne in 1982, and the Hawke Government's decision not to replace it, and subsequent air squadron decommissioning left the Australian armed forces "land based."1,2 The country did not take the opportunity in the 1950s to possess nuclear weapons as a deterrent when it arguably could have. Consequently, today Australia is facing the prospect that some Asian nation's economies will overtake it very soon, and will develop superior military forces within the region.Australia is left with small professional military services that would have little impact "on the ground" in any strategic operations. Australia has largely invested in hardware to suit strategic tasks, like frigates to accompany US task forces, and submarines capable of patrolling the waters of North-East Asia, based on a defense doctrine of supporting the US alliance. Australia's military forces are configured for different types of threats than are emerging today, based on the assumption that Australia should be a middle power.In terms of "soft power" where Australia's needs have already been reflected in the "Australia in the Asian Century" white paper, the country has a mammoth amount of work to do before it can be even thought of being influential within the region. As the author discussed in other places, there are obstacles to achieving these ambitions which the Asia White Paper has not even identified as barriers for Australia to overcome.3Arguably, Australia's influence declined in South-East Asia during the Howard years, due to his administration's focus upon an inherited geopolitical orientation based upon a world view originating during the Menzies era that placed the US alliance as the government's policy centerpiece.4Consequently, Australia is now within a region where it no longer has superior military capabilities. The only natural defensive asset at its disposal is the air-sea gap between the Australian mainland and South-East Asia, which must become a major consideration in future defense scenarios.The new defense white paper is coming out at a very appropriate time where a very objective account of the shifting strategic environment must be honestly portrayed. The 2009 paper missed on this, and in addition presented a flawed asset acquisition plan, with some "opportunistic" purchases. Submarine purchases seem to have been based more on commercial rather than strategic considerations. Financial plans also appeared to be flawed, where some monies were actually returned to Treasury because purchases could not be made in time.Thus the 2013 paper must be prudent enough to shape Australia's approach to the emerging new world order, before it happens. …