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Local government is closer to the citizens and serves as a vehicle for democracy and service delivery in South Africa. Municipalities in South Africa face a significant challenge when it comes to managing public finances to provide effective and efficient services. Corruption, financial mismanagement, wasteful and fruitless expenditure, irregular expenditures, governance failure, lack of consequence, management, insufficient skills, and capacity are among the challenges. These factors have delivered an enormous setback to service delivery, and citizens are bearing the brunt of the burden. The most difficult situation in local government is that municipalities' finances are deteriorating year after year. According to the Auditor General of South Africa (AGSA), "the audit outcomes were in a poor state at the end of the previous administration's term, and this state did not improve in 2021-22." It is critical for the local government sphere to promote financial sustainability because most South African citizens rely on government services because the economy no longer provides favourable economic benefits such as employment that citizens can leverage. The goal of this paper is to investigate how professionalising South African municipal public finances can help to stabilise public funds. The qualitative method was used, which included a review of secondary sources on the topic at hand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The scope of this paper is limited to music mediation in the context of specifically designed concerts, hence the title “on stage”, with a focus on performances for children. In addition to research findings, the main part of the presentation will be devoted to insights gained from more than a decade of personal practical experience in moderating and conducting more than 120 educational performances for children. With the professionalization of music mediation, the many different approaches and strategies that can be used to best serve the goal of creating access to classical music have been studied and classified. The most important of these will be presented in the context of the concert. They will be illustrated with examples from the study of practices in different music institutions worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the paper is to give an overview of the development of journalism ethics in Croatia. By analyzing the literature on the history of journalism in Croatia and using two research methods, four key periods of the development of interest in journalism ethics have been identified: 1) the emergence of the first informative newspapers and the beginnings of professionalization of journalism in the 1910s; 2) the adoption of the first code of journalists, the establishment of the first successful school for journalists and the beginnings of university education for journalists in the mid-1960s and the early 1970s; 3) the emergence of scientific interest in journalism ethics in the second half of the 1990s and the launch of the first university course on journalism ethics; 4) a period of heightened interest expressed through the proliferation of papers on journalism ethics within the scientific community in Croatia from the mid-2000s.31 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Spanish Constitution of 1978 and the basic institutional rules attributed powers to the Autonomous Communities with which to design and structure their public administration, based on a model of institutional isomorphism. At present, the autonomous public sector is of unequal nature in terms of organisation, motivated by decisions taken in its regulation during the process of transformation and innovation of the res publica in recent decades. This paper aims at reviewing the processes of administrative change and modernization, where a reflection on the evolution of organisational theory from a neo-institutionalist perspective is assumed. Hence, professional public management arises as a tool able to help public administrations face current challenges that put at risk their sustainability in the 21st century, especially during the recent COVID-19 pandemic. For this reason, institutionalism and professionalization, beyond seeming to be mutually exclusive concepts, must be combined from a neo-weberian perspective. This study analyses the public political-administrative subsystem in the Autonomous Community of Cantabria to check the correlation between the degree of politicisation of the senior civil service and the legislation on professional public management in the last decades of institution-building in this Autonomous Community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most of the literature about Revista Moderna (1898-1903) and Revista Moderna de México (1903-1911) assumes that both publications integrate a single editorial project because of its affiliation with the Latin American modernism, particularly with that of the second generation, which presented a more decadent aspect. Although some scholars have noted the differences between the two formats, the petit revue and the North American styled magazine, the truth is that Revista Moderna de México has been reviewed in very similar terms to its predecessor, that is, as a literary, elitist and minority magazine, representative of a group with a specific literary positioning. In this paper, I will examine some of the devices that the editors of Revista Moderna de México used to articulate this transformation not only of format, but also of discursive positioning, mediated by the political and publishing market conditions from that time. This study pretends to draw attention to the set of negotiations and resistance that some agents of the literary field carried out through their professionalization process and their search for an alleged autonomy regarding other recognition figures during the transition from the 19th century to the 20th century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

About to celebrate its first two decades of life, podcasting is one of the fastest-growing mediums in recent years. This medium, promoted from the amateur sphere as a result of the arrival of Web 2.0, has become an increasingly professional practice thanks to the work of major production companies and platforms such as Spotify. In this context of increasing professionalization, this paper aims to investigate the origins of podcasting in Spain in order to analyze the decisive role that the first community of Spanish amateur podcasters played in its development. An ethnographic research study, focused on the first seven years of the medium in this country (2004–2010), was carried out. The study was based on interviews with the pioneers, a review of source documents, and participant observation. The difficulties and the main milestones related to the medium's origin are analyzed. Likewise, the parallels between the beginning of this practice and the role assumed by radio amateurs at the beginning of radio in Spain a century ago are discussed. This parallel trajectory linking the origin of both media (radio and podcast) can be useful to envision a perspective on the possible developments of podcasting in the coming years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women's football has been becoming popular in recent years, unfortunately in Latin America, more specifically in Ecuador, it is still a little seen sport and of low interest. This research paper seeks to analyze what role national televised media play in the development, growth and professionalization of this category of the most popular sport in the country, and the interest that Ecuadorian viewers have in consuming national women's soccer. Based on a quantitative and qualitative methodology, this research contains results of a survey conducted with the fans of the Ecuadorian club Liga Deportiva Universitaria, through the team's official mobile app; in addition to an interview with 4 Ecuadorian sports journalists about the current situation of the media with respect to women's football. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to analize the influence of professionalization over firm's performance and the effect of two mediating variables, risk-taking and technological innovation. A total of 310 Spanish SMEs were surveyed, and the study was conducted using partial least squares path modelling (PLS-SEM) technique. The findings showed that firm's performance is influenced by professionalization, risk-taking and technological innovation. These effects are not only direct and positive, but there are also important indirect effects that reinforce the positive effects of professionalization on firm's performance. This research contributes to the literature on professionalization considering mediating effects of risk-taking and technological innovation in the relationship between professionalization and firm's performance. The results provide interesting implications for theory and practice, indicating how companies can orient their strategies with the aim of gaining competitive advantage in order to increase their performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This present research brings into focus the figure of the prefect and wojewód seen at the crossroads between career public servants representing the interests of the Government and political agents, appointed and dismissed at the whim of the Prime Minister. This paper approaches the issue of the holder of the prefect's office in Romania and Poland employing a prosopographic analysis and applies a Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) on select items in order to identify the general trend and particularities of their profiles. This institution was structured and articulated at the confluence of some administrative and political actions and integrated in the national institutional framework as a key actor, which continues to connect the institutional capacity of the state and the political capacity of the Government. Moving beyond the legal framework and institutional design of each country, we look at the profile - involving educational, professional and political affiliation - of the people actually appointed to this position in order to ascertain the weight of each of these factors when called to serve in office. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a collaborative research, based on the work of a steering committee in charge of implementing an innovative training scheme to support the equestrian artists' (EA) professionalisation. The article analyses the exchanges in the five meetings from this committee with regard to the concept of professionalisation and the actor-network theory. The results show that the steering committee constitutes a relevant socio-scientific space to study the two heuristic and praxeological dimensions of this technological research. This space allows, under ethical conditions, not only the understanding of the institutional, political, social, cultural and economic stakes of the EA world but also the co-construction of a relevant training scheme and the production of results in an epistemic nature on the EAs' professionalisation process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through the discourses of financial-independence and «professionalisation» of offspring promoted by state-provided health-care and welfare (Juntos), Quechua women living in poverty find that upon entering motherhood their full citizenship becomes conditional on successful behaviours and stewardship of children to a more «desirable» livelihood than their own. This suggests that mothering-while-poor places a moral value on women that the state uses to justify monitoring and governing them. This paper is based on one-year's ethnographic-fieldwork in rural communities and health centres or posts in Vilcashuaman province, Ayacucho department, Peru. 100 interviews were conducted with women, men and health-workers, in addition to substantial participant-observation. Whilst the pervasive discourses overburden women's freedoms, there are alternatives to «professionalization» of indigenous-youth that do not require the financial literacy currently imposed on mothers. This paper suggests that moral values placed on poor-maternities are sometimes used unfairly as a justification for reproductive-intervention and revocation of full-citizenship for poor, indigenous women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The sharing economy has evolved and spread to various sectors of the economy. Its early idea linked to the creation of more sustainable uses of resources. Since then, the development of the sharing economy has included a professionalization with self-employed suppliers rather than peers, and the question is whether the platforms following this development maintain the focus on sustainability. This paper describes and classifies the sustainability connotation of sharing economy platforms. It analyses 121 platforms derived through social media analytics to figure out whether they describe themselves as sustainable. The findings suggest that the sustainability connotation closely connects to specific sectors such as fashion, on-demand services and logistics. Meanwhile, the dominant role model platforms do not communicate about being sustainable. These findings contribute to previous research through (1) giving a systematic empirical account on the way various sharing economy platforms describe themselves in terms of sustainability, (2) pointing out the differences among the platforms, and (3) indicating the diversity in sustainability connotation among various sectors of the economy. Highlights • This paper describes and classifies the sustainability connotation of sharing economy platforms. • Descriptions of sharing economy platforms are coded to grasp their sustainability connotation. • The sustainability is strongly connected to specific sectors of the economy. • Dominant role model sharing economy platforms are not strongly oriented towards sustainability. • Assessing the sustainability impact of the sharing economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This conceptual paper seeks to show why and in what ways higher education should worry about the precarisation of professional work. Increasing number of higher education institutions recently strive to improve professional relevance of study programmes in relation to skill (mis)matches and the problem of unemployment. In this context the paper examines the key factors of the development of professional workers in higher education and explains the precarisation of professional work as an increasingly relevant social problem. Particular attention is paid to comparing the precarisation of young graduates of higher education with the elements of precarisation of academics. The paper concludes that the precarisation of graduates and the quality of academic employment are related phenomena. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on an analysis of the narratives present in a set of eight Instagram accounts devoted to sharing information on maternity in the Spanish context. In a qualitative approach that uses participant observation and content analysis (5184 posts), the main objective is to identify the narratives1 surrounding maternity and to elaborate their relationship with feminist discourses, thus comparing them with previous and current conceptions and representations of motherhood in media. A second aim is to understand the role of information and expertise in these spaces. The results reveal three approaches: affirmative and child-centred narratives, feminist counter-narratives, and discourses on professionalization and authoritative knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Georgia gained and restored its independence twice in the past century (1918/1921 and from 1991 to this day). Over the century the two-way path from independence to independence was difficult and heterogeneous with intertwined causal connections in socio-political and cultural spheres. Freedom is like a litmus test, which reveals and catalyzes certain processes. The golden age of new Georgian music – the first republic of independent Georgia in 1918-1921 – was preceded by a long period that prepared this rise in musical culture. At one glance, similar processes preceded musical culture of the second independence. First of all this was the path of reforms in different directions, including the sphere of education, music professionalization. Main reason for the not-so-insignificant success of the reforms was the consolidation of the political and public spectrum, active public participation in the process and a well-thought transformation of the inherited ugly system. In this context the paper discusses: what challenges did the musical culture of the Democratic Republic face? What was the path like it took before gaining independence? What were the features of the idea of Georgian nationalism? How did these two stages of Europeanization/globalization take place in the country, whose musical culture was based on a different type of professionalism before the 19th century? What does independence mean in music? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose Two simultaneous trends have arisen in the field of HRM: the development of the human resource (HR) function toward a more strategic, value adding unit and the trend of HR outsourcing (HRO). Opinions are divided in the field of HRM research regarding the interdependences between these two trends and whether the HR function has a positive or negative effect. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to examine the triangular relationship among strategic HR integration, the HR-to-employee ratio and HRO.Design/methodology/approach This study analyses data from three large evaluations conducted in 14 European countries and compares the results obtained from the 2000, 2005 and 2010 Cranet survey waves. For the hypotheses, a multilevel regression design was used.Findings The results allow concluding that HRO supports the professionalization of the HR function in an effort to make it a strategic asset.Research limitations/implications This study extends prior understandings of the theoretical perspective on HRO and its organizational impact. The sample is nested within 14 European countries and influenced by cultural aspects and institutional factors. These influences could be an exciting avenue for further research.Practical implications This paper includes important implications for HR practitioners. The results support a rather optimistic view of the HR function regarding its relationship with HRO and the latter’s impact on the HR-to-employee ratio and strategic HR integration.Originality/value The study answers the question: has HRO downsized internal HR staff over the past decade, and how is it related to the strategic integration of the HR function? In this context, this study analyses Cranet data to contribute to the discussion on the development of strategic HR integration and the impact of HRO on such efforts. Moreover, the study examines the influence of HRO on internal HR staff based on the theoretical framework of the resource-based view. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: This paper considers how changes in the research landscape are simultaneously changing the skills needs of library staff, and opening up new opportunities for researchers to pursue careers within libraries. It explores what skills, competencies and knowledge staff with doctoral qualifications can bring to library research support services. Context: Librarians working in research support areas need different skills to the skills academic librarians have traditionally needed. There is currently a gap in the training which those undertaking professional librarianship qualifications receive, in relation to the skills needed for research roles. Simultaneously, expansion in the numbers of PhD students in the UK in recent years has been accompanied by the professionalisation of researcher skills development, equipping students with transferable skills for careers outside, as well as inside, academia. Methodology: This paper compares the skills' needs of research librarians with the competencies and skills of doctoral graduates, specifically in the UK context (as articulated in the Vitae Researcher Development Framework). It also surveys and discusses the skill-set and qualifications of research support staff employed at three UK research libraries. Results: Understanding the needs and, importantly, the behaviours, of researchers is integral to the provision of a successful library research support service. Many of the skills which are necessary for library graduates to have, are those that are already identified as essential researcher skills. The peerlevel support offered by library staff with research backgrounds has a role in developing stronger relationships between the library and the academy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bike-sharing could play an important role in any future circular economy since sharing solutions have the potential to challenge the current automobility regime. This paper examines the potential contributions of two Swedish bike-sharing initiatives: grassroots-initiated bike kitchens and a commercial bike-sharing service system. We explore and analyze the visions of these initiatives and how they can be nurtured in order to support a circular future. The results indicate that the incumbent regime challenges cycling initiatives through commercialization and professionalization pressures. The paper notes that the studied initiatives can contribute to a future circular economy, but in different ways. While bike kitchens support the social aspects of circularity, commercial bike-sharing is more likely to support ecological aspects. Both kinds of initiatives are crucial and rely on the support of public actors with a strong sustainability agenda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: In this paper, I discuss contemporary perspectives on the professionalization and legitimacy of technical and professional communication (TPC) as a field and describe results of an interview-based pilot study based in modified grounded theory. The purpose is to study perceptions of TPC and communication practice, particularly as those perceptions relate to professionalization and legitimacy of TPC as a field. Method: The method of data collection is the semi-structured interview. In the study, I interviewed 14 participants in diverse industries about formal communications produced by their organizations, their perceptions of technical communication practice, and the possibility that their organizations will hire a technical communicator in the future. I then used a modified grounded theory approach to data analysis: one cycle of structural coding, a second cycle of pattern coding. Results: Analysis of data suggests that, despite the importance of communication in organizations, perceptions of TPC as a field are variable and, though participants demonstrate a basic understanding of TPC practice, their perceptions are often incomplete, not reflecting the range of capabilities that TPC professionals often possess. Conclusions: This pilot study suggests that challenges to the professionalization and legitimacy of TPC continue to exist. Addressing these challenges will require continuing alignment of academic and practical perspectives on the field, as well as continued work to promote TPC's value in a range of workplace settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyzes the professionalization process of Brazilian federal bureaucracy, aiming to uncover advances and persistent dilemmas that have been present in Brazil's recent democratic period, between 1995 and 2014. Following a literature review of the historical evolution of federal bureaucracy, the paper discusses key dimensions related to the professionalization of the public service. It concludes that there was a wide range of advances with regard to recovery and diversification of the workforce, financial valuation, and training, among others. However, dilemmas and challenges remain, especially related to the historical gap between careers and positions in federal public administration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper offers a sociopragmatic analysis of the correspondence of the British Colonial Office pertaining to the colonisation of the Cape of Good Hope in the early nineteenth century. This setting poses fascinating questions related to the alignment of letter writers with the institution and the other actors, as well as to the ways in which social/institutional identities are constructed. In these processes, the participants' powers and obligations that are shaped by the institutional grid play a central role. At the same time, the growing professionalisation of the civil service determines linguistic expression in the Colonial Office. The paper provides a close characterisation of its internal dynamics, the power structures and the local grid of governance, as well as the transactional networks in 1796 and in 1827-30. My analysis focuses on the relation between institutional identities and person reference, and shows that Colonial Office correspondence is characterised by unique patterns of self- and addressee-reference, thus corroborating the precedence of local (institutional) factors over other determinants of person reference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The implementation of inclusive schooling (UN-BRK 2008) poses major challenges for schools and teachers. Through their studies teachers often feel unprepared for working in inclusive schools and express a need for further training (Werning 2017). This need, however, is often not matched by suitable training possibilities (Richter, Kuhl, and Pant 2012). The teacher training series »Everybody is Unique« (Jede[r] ist besonders - JIB), developed by the German School Academy (Deutsche Schulakademie - DSA) intends to contribute to the professionalization of principals and teachers and to disseminate good inclusive practice. The accompanying scientific evaluation of JIB aims to provide evidence on the effectiveness of JIB by triangulating various methodological approaches. In this paper, we present first findings on the school development goals JIB participants reported for their schools. Moreover, we discuss these school development goals as means of developmental processes in the context of changing schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The field of spatial planning has seen a significant boost in recent decades in Portugal. Different occupations had earlier competed for the control of this market, exploiting a lack of regulation. In 2006, the then Planning Junior minister introduced a registration system for the coordinators of territorial management instruments, the sar, bringing together all interested professional groups. However, a ministerial reshuffling in 2009 led to the halting of the concertation process, leaving once again room for professional dispute. This paper presents this case of professional regulation, highlighting the role of the state and the challenges of the professionalization of multidisciplinary knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In developing countries, low state capacity frequently is blamed for poor and uneven service delivery. Yet, since state capacity manifests unevenly across space and sectors, identifying which elements of capacity are more likely to enhance service delivery is not straightforward. We examine how subnational variation in capacity affects access to agricultural extension in rural Nepal. We explore six dimensions of state capacity using original household survey data and interviews with local bureaucrats. We find that local knowledge and motivation of bureaucrats play a significant role in shaping service access. By contrast, traditional capacity indicators—including resources, professionalization, and autonomy—matter surprisingly little. These findings suggest that bureaucrats working with fewer but more motivated staff who spend more time in a district are more likely to facilitate citizens' access to agricultural extension. Placebo tests add confidence that relationships are not driven by unobservables. Scholarship on state capacity traditionally has been unable to measure capacity disaggregated by geography and sector, and, as a result, has struggled to link empirically different elements of capacity with service delivery. This paper begins to address this gap and in doing so, offers broader implications for the dynamics of rural development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The inclusion of women within the music profession is a recent and not fully realized process. This also holds true for classical music, where femininization has been more pronounced than in other music worlds. Building on secondary and primary sources on the Italian case, the paper focusses on some of the main aspects revealing the persistent - albeit steadily reduced - influence of a gendered model in shaping educational and professional paths of classical musicians, making for female musicians harder than for their male colleagues to gain legitimate access and full recognition within the world of classical music. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many countries around the world sex work is criminalised and its regulatory control is therefore often in the hands of the police. In addition to the impact of this criminalised legal environment, much literature describes the negative impact that certain police practices can have on the ability of sex workers and the programs that work with sex workers to access essential HIV prevention, treatment, care and support services. This situation has resulted in persistent concentrated HIV epidemics among sex workers in many countries of the world. The need for multi-sector partnerships between police and HIV programs is increasingly recognised in various UN declarations and resolutions yet descriptions of the process or key ingredients required to actually establish and sustain these necessary partnerships between police and sex workers [or the programs that provide essential services to sex workers] are sparse. The paper seeks to establish key considerations and critical processes that are required to foster partnerships that if further investigated and scaled up, could result in an enhanced enabling environment for the provision of essential HIV services for sex workers around the globe. This paper is based on a realist review that investigated isolated examples of partnership formation between law enforcement and HIV programs working with sex workers. This methodology research is designed to work with complex social interventions and is based on the emerging 'realist' approach to evaluation. A realist review methodology was chosen given the paucity of relevant literature in this vein and the authors’ familiarity with the grey literature and relationships with experts who work in this sphere. The review found that political and police leadership, civil society strengthening and police reform in relation to HIV, are critical factors and key ingredients in changing the enabling environment in which sex work takes place to ensure that HIV prevention, individual and public health as well as HIV prevention and the promotion of human rights are the number one priority. Further research into this relationship is needed to provide evidence for effective HIV programming with police. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Professionalization of public employment is central to the strengthening of public institutions and the improvement of its performance. Although there is not a single mechanism or way to promote it, there is a consensus that requires the creation of careers based on criteria of merit and technical competence. The objective of this paper is to contribute to the analysis of the professionalization situation in the subnational area, based on the Personnel Selection Processes policy for positions of hierarchy in the province of Buenos Aires. This work examined primary and secondary data sources, the results shows the persistence of certain discretionary practices, which can be considered as a sign of politicization of public employment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the 1960's, public action has embraced the canon of performance to drive and optimize the efficacy of public policies. In this context, calling on consultants is increasingly frequent. Subject to the pressure of competition, these consultants are submitted to the dictate of "results". This is the case in the field of environmental policies for which private firms are regularly consulted whenever compensation measures in urban planning are needed. A 2016 law on the "reconquest of biodiversity" has rehabilitated an "Avoid-Reduce-Compensate" doctrine, but the translation of these principles into public action tools remains diverse and heterogeneous depending on the consultants hired to do the job. This paper therefore questions the different translations applied by consultants involved in the implementation processes of public policies and who contribute to the shaping of these "offsetting" instruments. They participate in outlining a specific perception of biodiversity within public policies and focus the debate on technical standards, thus brushing aside its political dimensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The professionalisation of project management has been a contentious topic for some time. Project management certification is seen as a step towards the professionalisation of the discipline. Certifications were developed as a means to provide individuals with the appropriate knowledge and skills required to deliver projects successfully. Although project management certification programmes are now commonplace across the globe, research is yet to fully investigate the true influence certifications have on project performance. This paper revealed that South African IT project performance is not influenced by project management certification. Moreover, it was established that certifications need to be redesigned to ensure that the professionalisation of project management remains on track. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we focused on investigating how the sphere of musical amateurism functioned in Yugoslavia in the decades following the end of WWII. Observing through changes in the role and significance of amateur music ensembles, specifically choirs, in Yugoslav society from the late 1940s until the late 1960s / early 1970s that were manifest in their de-massification, gradual professionalisation and extensive use in cultural diplomacy, we sought to explain that this involved multiple factors - above all, the shifts in Yugoslav international policy after the confrontation with the Soviet Union in 1948, and, consequently, the revisions of its cultural policies. Their influence was observed through a detailed examination of the activities of the Beogradski madrigalisti choir, from its foundation in 1951 until the late 1960s / early 1970s. Although it was unique among Yugoslav choirs in many respects, the early history of this ensemble clearly reflected the demand for excellence in the sphere of amateur performance from the 1950s onwards, one of the most prominent indicators of its deep structural transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper assesses the evolution of professionalization of public relations in Latin America and the potential influence of three contextual variables – economic performance, political system, and press freedom- in this process. Over 1400 public relations professionals completed online surveys in 2009 and 2015 (674 and 803 respectively), creating two data data sets for analysis. The study used eight measurement items grouped in two dimensions: institutionalization and specialization. Statistically significant improvements were found for five indicators: formal study of public relations in higher-education institutions, ideological and ethical principles that emphasize societal well-being, associative organizations that unite professionals, availability of a formal scientific knowledge, and a system of employment access and promotion. Results show also the influence of economic performance on the levels of professionalization in Latin America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main purpose of this paper is to explore the changes that have occurred in the work of academic researchers. It also addresses particularities and changes affecting the professionalisation processes in the last five years. Within the framework of the sociology of professions, it complements analyses of statistical data with a qualitative study in Slovenia and from selected European countries. The paper finds that the organisation of researchers' work and its position as a semi-profession is deteriorating dramatically. Researchers are confronted with the pressures of reduced public funding, higher unemployment, short-term research contracts, unproductive internal and external competitiveness and detachment from teaching processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teachers' professional development represents one of the core issues in the debate on professionalization in education that takes place within the transition from an education based on ideals to the competency-based education. This paper considers the socio-historical context of changes in educational practice and analyses contradictions of those changes - from the narrow, instrumental approach that perceives educational outcomes as the absolute measure of educational quality, to the understanding of education as social and ethical action. Special attention is given to the understanding of teachers' professional identity in contemporary education, as a dynamic and multilayered concept, subject to constant changes through teachers' initial education and their further professional development. In this sense, the main research findings in this area (both national and international) are presented. This paper particularly stresses the importance of alternative models of teachers' initial education and professional development, such as the concept of reflective practice and the idea of teachers as researchers or as leaders of educational changes, which are expected to humanize the process of education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This short communication explores the collection and collecting activity of the Hawke’s Bay Philosophical Institute and its precursor in Napier, New Zealand, during the late nineteenth century. Affiliated to the New Zealand Institute (NZI), two well-known figures of New Zealand science, museums and collecting were influential: William Colenso, FLS, FRS, who placed an emphasis on natural history collecting by members; and Augustus Hamilton, who sought to professionalise the museum and its objectives. Collection items were an essential source of scientific knowledge used for research, illustrating papers and as a prompt for learned discussion. Many New Zealand collections owe their origins to similar collecting by NZI members during this period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper seeks to determine whether the use of Private Military and Security Companies strengthens military institutions and the provision of security or, on the contrary, questions the monopoly of the legitimate use of force and generates new challenges to the current role of the military. It analyzes three main realms within the military sphere where the presence of PMSCS may have a direct impact: the exercise of the monopoly of the use of violence, the professionalization of the military, and the process of enrollment of new recruits. The paper highlights that the presence of PMSCS does not affect the continuity of the state's monopoly of the legitimate use of force. It also argues that although PMSCS perform certain activities that enhance the provision of security in a state, the military should always be prepared to overtake those activities delegated to PMSCS and should avoid becoming excessively dependent on private companies to execute them. Likewise, the paper sustains that the privatization of security distorts the conception of professionalism put up front by CMR theorists. Finally, the paper states that the presence of PMSCS obliges today's military to strengthen its recruitment strategies and consolidate a sound enrollment process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on recognizing the contribution made to development by grassroots women working on a voluntary basis in long term development projects. Using the example of healthcare, the paper problematizes the widespread move towards an increased reliance on voluntary and third sector provision. Drawing on literature around women’s community activism, the research considers the extent to which women carrying out health promotion work in Peru have taken on this role as more than “just voluntary work,” highlighting their long term commitment during more than a decade of health promotion activities. The paper develops debates around the professionalization of voluntary work, particularly considering the issue of economic remuneration for health promoters, and emphasizing the gendered nature of their voluntarism; concluding by questioning the sustainability of poor women’s long term, and largely unpaid, involvement as the linchpins of community development projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deliberative ideals have become commercial goods bought and sold in an expanding consultancy market. In this market, demand is generated by government and advocacy groups seeking innovative ways to engage with the public. On the supply side are a growing number of commercial organizations selling deliberative goods and services such as process design, facilitation and evaluation. This paper characterizes the nature of this deliberative market, and considers its implications for democracy and contemporary governance. An analysis of deliberative consultants finds that their professional world is more akin to a ‘community of practice’ rather than a marketplace. But the development of this community of deliberative practitioners could go in opposing directions. On the one hand consultants could become the entrepreneurs of deliberative democracy, promoting and demonstrating its benefits for policy making. On the other hand, if the motivations for deepening democracy are fully replaced by business imperatives and competition, then the deliberative project would be severely undermined. Rather than predict the future, the paper identifies some of the opportunities and challenges for democratic governance as elements of deliberative democracy are commodified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, a significant reform has been implemented in Serbia in the field of professional development of civil servants, but professional exams have remained outside the essential reform processes. An extremely large number of professional exams, which today are conducted by various state and provincial administration bodies, are taken not only by state, provincial and local officials, but also by subjects outside the public administration system, require priority systematic regulation of a number of legal issues laying in the right way contributed to the process of professionalization of the administration. Given that the state professional exam appears as a general exam and that all employees are required to pass it, regardless of the type of administrative body in which they work, the central place in the reform of the system of professional exams in the administration should belong to this type of exam. Legal regulations should precisely regulate the relationship between the state professional exam and all other special or professional exams, primarily through the issue of exam programs, and then the manner of education and composition of examination commissions, exam fees, exam procedures, keeping records of passed exams, issuing certificates, etc. Legal regulations should precisely regulate the relationship between the state professional exam and all other special or professional exams, primarily through the issue of exam programs, and then the manner of education and composition of examination commissions, exam fees, exam procedures, keeping records of passed exams, issuing certificates, etc. Further successful continuation of the process of professionalization of the administration depends on the manner in which the mentioned issues will be regulated, because without a well-designed and carefully constructed system of professional exams, results achieved in previous years in the field of professional development of employees will remain without real significance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Forensic anthropology in the United States is a specialization within the overall field of anthropology. Forensic anthropologists are specially educated and trained to search, recover, and examine human remains within a medicolegal context. Over time, forensic anthropology has become increasingly specialized and distinct from other specializations within anthropology. As such, we argue that forensic anthropology should be considered its own discipline, with a unique knowledge base, separate from other similar forms of anthropology, such a bioarchaeology. We argue that forensic anthropologists have unique expertise, making them the only type of anthropologist qualified to perform medicolegal examinations of human remains. Finally, we contend that to perform or represent yourself as a forensic anthropologist without the appropriate expertise is ethical misconduct. The value of this paper is that it explains the importance of expertise and knowledge, and how forensic anthropology has diverged from other specializations of anthropology enough to be considered its own discipline. This paper explores the current state of forensic anthropology in the United States as a distinct discipline. Forensic anthropology has become increasingly specialized and the need for strengthened professionalization is becoming paramount. This includes a need for clearly defined qualifications, training, standards of practice, certification processes, and ethical guidelines. Within this discussion, the concept of expertise is explored in relation to professionalization and practice, as both bioarchaeology and forensic anthropology have different areas of specialist knowledge, and therefore unique expertise. As working outside one's area of expertise is an ethical violation, it is important for professional organizations to outline requisite qualifications, develop standards and best practice guidelines, and enforce robust preventive ethical codes in order to serve both their professional members and relevant stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to make a contribution to the academic discussion on the topic of relations between politics and administration in Latin America through the recognition of the diversity of manifestations of patronage in administrative practices and structures in the region, in light of other cases of massive patronage, like the American and Spanish cases at the end of the XIX century, and the beginnings of the XX century, and contemporary Mediterranean cases. The study identifies a series of cross-cutting patterns associated with the strong roots of patronage in the analysed experiences, such as as the massive politicization of managerial positions, the dissociation between regulations and the effective functioning of civil services, the systematic avoidance of career structure by using various mechanisms of escape, political filtration of the permanent bureaucracy by way of exceptional nominations or promotions based on discretionary criteria and extensive incorporation of political appointees to career system without any considerations of merit, among other practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Short-term medical missions (STMMs) represent a grass-roots form of aid, transferring medical services rather than funds or equipment. The objective of this paper is to review empirical studies on social, economic and diplomatic aspects of STMMs.Methods: A systematic literature review was conducted by searching PubMed and EBSCOhost for articles published from 1947-2014 about medical missions to lower and middle income countries (LMICs). Publications focused on military, disaster and dental service trips were excluded. A data extraction process was used to identify publications relevant to our objective stated above.Results: PubMed and EBSCOhost searches provided 4138 and 3262 articles respectively for review. Most articles that provide useful information have appeared in the current millennium and are found in focused surgical journals. Little attention is paid to aspects of volunteerism, altruism and philanthropy related to STMM activity in the literature reviewed (1 article). Evidence of professionalization remains scarce, although elements including guidelines and tactical instructions have been emerging (27 articles). Information on costs (10 articles) and commentary on the relevance of market forces (1 article) are limited. Analyses of spill-over effects, i.e., changing attitudes of physicians or their communities towards aid, and characterizations of STMMs as meaningful foreign aid or strategic diplomacy are few (4 articles).Conclusions: The literature on key social, economic and diplomatic aspects of STMMs and their consequences is sparse. Guidelines, tactical instructions and attempts at outcome measures are emerging that may better professionalize the otherwise unregulated activity. A broader discussion of these key aspects may lead to improved accountability and intercultural professionalism to accompany medical professionalism in STMM activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this research is to analyze how the performance of agents integrating the pork system in western Paraná-Brazil is influenced by the presence of strictly coordinated systems. This research considers the interactions between agents integrating strictly coordinated structures in the swine production system of Paraná-Brazil. Based on the asymmetry of performance between pork producers and the processing segment, even under the guidance of the latter, this paper considered two complementary theoretical frameworks: Transaction Cost Economics and Industrial Organization. Results showed that certain elements constituting "structure-conduct-performance" paradigm are capable of influencing the survival and growth of producers. Thus, although different performance levels were obtained, producer performance appears to be sustainable, based on the diversification of properties and maintenance of links to processors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For Indigenous communities and individuals in Canada, "Canadian" law has been a mechanism of assimilation, colonial governance and dispossession, a basis for the assertion of rights, and a method of resistance. How do Indigenous lawyers in Canada make sense of these contradictory threads and their roles and responsibilities? This paper urges attention to the lives and experiences of Indigenous lawyers, noting that the number of self-identified Indigenous lawyers has been rapidly growing since the 1990s. At the same time, Indigenous scholars are focusing on the work of revitalizing Indigenous law and legal orders. Under these conditions, Indigenous lawyers occupy a complicated space. This article considers scholarship about other outsider groups in the profession, including women and African Americans, and the existing literature about Indigenous lawyers, developing three themes: community and belonging after professionalization; expectations and discrimination; and the difference that Indigenous lawyers may make. The article concludes by addressing ethical questions raised by the proposal for a qualitative, interview based approach to studying the experiences and ethics of Canada's Indigenous lawyers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper criticizes the deskilling hypothesis for temporal change in occupations. Case studies of occupations alleged to support the deskilling hypothesis have typically been insensitive to the internal heterogeneity found within occupations, and to the fact that the boundary between adjacent occupations located on the same functional hierarchy can shift over time. When these factors are explicitly taken into account, it is found that apparently compelling evidence for the thesis of clerical downgrading better supports an alternative explanation, which might be called the process of status redefinition, an aspect of the process of professionalization. The case of clerical workers in the federal government is examined in some detail, Available evidence supports the argument that status redefinition occurred. Status redefinition and des killing are not mutually exclusive explanations for change, though they do conflict in important respects. This paper suggests that case studies of occupations should focus on functional hierarchies, rather than specific occupations, in order to avoid the comparability problems which arise when occupational boundaries change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper is to disprove the arguments put forward by Keith Macdonald in his recent paper on the professional formation of Scottish accountants. It is suggested that the data which he used are inappropriate and that his conclusions are unjustified. Additional evidence is adduced which suggests that his assumptions regarding the social characteristics of early Scottish accountants are wrong and that his inferences regarding the motivation which lay behind their professionalization are mistaken. An alternative, and we suggest, a much more convincing explanation of that professionalization is offered. Finally, the paper argues that Macdonald's assertion of the importance of the difference between Scottish and English accountants is misguided and that the distinction between the social environments of Glasgow and Edinburgh carried much more influence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Analyzing the historical and social path of an occupation using the sociology of professions and the perspective of scientific knowledge promotes an understanding of the origin of physical therapy in Brazil and of discussions of the profession in its contemporary context. Objective: The aim of this paper was to discuss the professionalization process of physical therapy in São Paulo. The authors tried to analyze bath therapy, massage therapy, and physical therapy as occupations involving distinct expertise and as part of the group of occupations that evolved into the profession of physiotherapy in the first half of the twentieth century. Method: The analysis undertaken was a qualitative study based on an analysis of historical documents. Eighty-six professional records from the Service of Inspection of Professional Practice in the state of São Paulo and healthcare legislation from the 1930s and 1940s were analyzed. Results: The distinction between physical therapy practitioner and profession of physiotherapy can be seen by examining registration requirements for rank-and-file nurses with expertise in interactions; this distinction suggests the emergence of specialized expertise that was clearly a part of neither medicine nor nursing and contributed to expertise in physical therapy since the 1950s. Conclusion: The regulation of physiotherapy practices, the recognition of expertise, the accreditation of practical nurses by the State, and the institutionalization of a course for physical therapy practitioners in 1951 are key elements of the professionalization process for the physical therapy profession in Brazil [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The actual situation of schools in Brazil and around the world demonstrates the need for studies that address the challenges faced in overcoming difficulties that contribute to the decline of teaching. One way to overcome the inefficiency of the educational policy is to invest in training and professionalization of the teaching profession. Such road ahead will become possible only through actions that can integrate teacher training scientific specifics, necessary to the profession: teaching theories and practices primarily teacher knowledge. The objective of this paper is to elucidate the teaching community as the problem of combining these two aspects (theory and practice), currently away in teacher training. This research relies on the method exploratory study linked data on the Internet (Pisa), through literature and their idiosyncrasies. That done, it becomes possible to drive to the understanding and possible interventions in the current voltage: universal education and teacher professionalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the history of transformation of the term profession and contemporary notions of profession development. It is shown how contemporary security affairs are performed by an increasing number of actors whose area of operation spans certain segments or the integral corp of security problems. Contemporary expanded comprehension of the security phenomena includes traditional security structures in security personnel, but also a series of university educated civillian security personnel. The process of professionalization of these affairs is accompanied by numerous difficulties. Traditional structures are considered as atypical professions because of low autonomy and scientific-theoretical knowledge foundations. New professions mostly satisfy former conditions, but are yet to form other notions of professionality – legitimacy of professional expertise, broader community recognition and acceptance, social responsibility codex formation and profession strengthening through professional associations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper focuses on the currently rather intensive process of the social work professionalisation and proposes to place a greater emphasis on the human dimension, i.e. social worker's personality as a guarantee of professional success. The occupational burnout syndrome is discussed as a negative subjective circumstance of the profession of social work. The principal traits of the occupational burnout syndrome are revealed, and the dimensions of the occupational burnout syndrome are identified and characterised. On the basis of the works of Lithuanian and foreign researchers on the said subject, the discourse of the occupational burnout syndrome in social work is presented, and the factors that influence the emergence of the phenomenon (both individual and job-related / organisational) in professional activity are discussed. The empirical research by means of the so far the most popular Maslach's Burnout Inventory (MBI) reveals the effects of the occupational burnout on social worker's personality, practical activity, and the status of the profession of social work in the society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents the discourse of the social work professionalization from the viewpoints of practice, research, academic activity, and professional identity, by revealing the expression of social worker competencies in the changing society. By means of evaluating the 20-year-experience of social worker training in Lithuania, the authors reveal the identity of social work at two levels: professional (academisation and practice) and legal (profession and study status). For the purpose, a novel approach to the formation of the social work theory, study methods, and the education of intercultural communication and lifelong learning is employed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]