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This paper aims to analyze the relationship between China's maritime security policy and territorial disputes in the gray zone in the South China Sea. The study examines this relationship through the strategy and means of Chinese maritime security policy, aiming to clarify the factors that influenced this policy to drag its territorial disputes into the gray zone. The article argues that the rivalries between countries in the region fostered by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) operated as an external pressure on China. Furthermore, geopolitical factors and the perception of the Chinese ruling elite have contributed to considering the UNCLOS as a threat to China's maritime interests in the South China Sea. Consequently, the Chinese maritime security policy seeks to shift the status quo in the region to establish China as a hegemonic regional power with its sphere of influence while avoiding an open war with its neighbors and the US. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to develop a benchmark method to identify best practices in higher education across the country, in relation with management practices of academic productivity gender gaps and their impact on family responsibilities. This paper uses a qualitative approach to collect relevant information from official web pages from sixteen international universities previously selected. All information related to best practices policies implemented in each university was charted and assigned to one of the following categories for further analysis: ranking, gender policies, gender gaps, academic productivity, and childcare responsibilities. Results from this study revealed that the main best practices implemented in the included universities were practices related to harassment prevention, gender equality at college admission, development of protocols, leadership training, scholarships for study and research programs, adequate infrastructure, childcare financial support, flexible work schedules, family leave policies, improvement of the work environment and the development of departments in charge of follow-up and regular assessment of the proposed strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the final decades of the 20th century, territorial political economy was influenced by both urban and regional economy. The first called attention to the "triumph of the cities" and the second to the importance of consolidating "a new regionalism." Over the course of the 21st century, on the other hand, urban and regional economies have been conceptually articulated as a result of the "metropolitan revolution." The central objective of this article is to reflect on the characteristics of this process, the possible impacts and the great challenges. To conclude, this paper suggests that regional cohesion is determined by a functional polycentric territorial structure, a productive and sustainable economy and a multilevel and multi-scale governance model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research paper presents a method for the analysis of codes of ethics driven by the strategic interests of the organization. For the review of codes of ethics it is important understand your value structure. The first step consists in a statistical analysis of terms that denote values. The second step consists in a semantical network analysis of the code. This method is presented on the example of the code of ethics of the Fiscalía General de la Nación, Colombia (2008). The proposed method is able to detect, in a detailed manner, emphasis as well as biases in the values' structure of codes of ethics. Thus, it is possible to propose revisions of codes of ethics that are guided by the organization's strategic values. The proposed method fills a void in the literature in relation to general methods for the analysis of codes of ethics with strategic goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, the design of public policies has gathered diverse disciplines to propose new ways to build knowledge destined to heed society's needs and opportunities. In Latin America, the multicultural and pluriethnic character of the societies has supposed special interest to their design. The case studies allow to locate experiences and to build comparisons and detailed and complex readings of the phenomena present within the territories. Through the compared analysis of four experiences led by the National University of Colombia, with a social innovation approach, this paper describes the contrasts and nuances found in the interaction of local ecosystems of collaboration. Morin's complex thinking, and the social innovation approach are proposed to analyze the contributions of the academy in the scenario of peacebuilding, through the role of mediation in the interaction of local knowledge. This is fundamental for the consolidation of territorial communal processes, and to establishing potential recommendations for the multi-stakeholder design of public policies in the pos-accords scenario. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 2015, local governments of 30 Mexican states have joined the National Open Government Partnership to enhance openness through mechanisms of transparency, accountability and citizen participation. The objective of this paper is to analyze the frameworks promoted by the State Government of Michoacán on public participation since the adoption of an open government policy. To achieve the objective, press releases from the Michoacán State Government's page were collected and subsequently examined through a framing analysis. Findings indicate that this subnational government has framed public participation in two ways: as a democratic advance and as a transfer of responsibilities to citizens. At the same time, there is a recognition of new public and private actors sharing public decisions with the government. Despite the progress found in this subnational context, the authors warn of serious risks due to the absence of clear rules for the implementation of mechanisms for public participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]