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Albania, like other countries in the region, has been aspiring to join the EU for two decades. In different periods of the last 20 years, it has taken steps back and forth along the process towards membership. Therefore, in this context, the present paper will analyse the Albanian perspective, having in focus the promotion of human rights standards in lights of it s integration into the European Union. The aim of this paper is to comprehend the evolution of Albania in relation to human rights in light of the EU integration perspective and demonstrate that Albania has yet a very long road ahead to become part of the European Union.

This paper highlights a series of forms of community participation in the case of a Romanian rural community that has a well-defined cultural identity and carries out numerous activities aimed at creating cultural vitality. The main purpose of the paper is to highlight a series of data and reflections derived from the field research carried out over the past years using the ethnographic method, as well as to interpretresearch data on the basis of a theoretical model developed by Mataritta-Cascante and Brennan (2012).

The problem of demarcation between science and pseudoscience, although old, it was made central to debates about the nature of science in 1962 by Karl Popper. In this current climate of the pandemic, anti-vaccine theories and fake news, it is imperative that one distinguishes between science, bad science and pseudoscience. In this paper I analyse and discuss a number of arguments related to this debate mainly from Sven Ove Hansson’s paper, `Science and Pseudo-Science` (2021). The Swedish thinker argues for the importance of identifying subtle differences between bad science, non-science, un-science and pseudoscience. I claim that in this debate the starting point is a careful analysis of well-known examples. I conclude that understanding the demarcation between those domains and the unmasking of pseudoscientific theories is vital for negotiating both the social and the scientific landscape.

Consumer credit is of permanent social and economic interest and has therefore benefited from appropriate European and national regulation. In its specialised form, the credit agreement offered to consumers for residential real estate has been regulated by O.G. No 52/2016 and recently amended by Law No 134/2023.The study of the substantial amendments to Law no. 134/2023 is of legal interest, in particular, because of the field addressed, namely mortgage credit.The paper is divided into three parts: "Introduction to the credit agreement", "Consumer credit in national regulations" and "Main legislative amendments to the law on mortgage credit by Law No 134/2023".

This paper aims to bring to attention certain optional reasons for refusing the execution of a European arrest warrant, situations in which the courts can defeat the principle of mutual recognition and trust between the judicial authorities of the European Union states, which represents the “cornerstone” of judicial cooperation in criminal matters. The judicial enforcement authorities cannot refuse to execute a European arrest warrant except for reasons resulting from the Council Framework Decision No. 2002/584/JAI of 13 June 2002, however, in practice, the optional reasons for non-execution often raised problems, the wording of article 4 and article 4a leaving a margin in the judgment of the courts.

Non-governmental organizations play an extremely important role in society, intervening subsidiarily for the welfare of society.This paper describes the results of an exploratory qualitative research, the objective of which is to identify the difficulties and challenges faced by non-governmental organizations, challenges that can generate opportunities for their development. The research was carried out between 2020-2022, on a number of 15 non-governmental organizationsfrom Brasov county. Data collection was carried out through semi-structured interviews. The interviews were carried out with people from the management structures of the non-governmental organizations. The results of the research show that the main difficulties of non-governmental organizations are related to the lack of money, the lack of human resuourses and barriers in promoting the services offered. As opportunities, we can note the development of organisations through reinvention and interdisciplinarity.

This paper examines the balance between professional and personal life among social workers in Bihor County. Factors influencing this balance, as well as modalities to maintain this balance, are explored. The research methodology involves interview-based surveys with 29 social workers from various organizations from the public and private sector. The study reveals a fragile work-personal life balance because of long working hours, overload with tasks and fatigue. The imbalance leads to stress and conflicts. Findings highlight that the support offered by family is an important factor in maintaining this balance among social workers. Also, there is the need for organizational support through flexible schedules and training.

In several litigations at the European level, either before the Court of Justice of the European Union or the European Court of Human Rights, the issue of the LGBT persons’ fundamental rights was raised. Romania was targeted by several recent cases such as “Coman” or “Buhuceanu”. Our paper analyzes the particularities of these cases, their effects in the legal order and the challenges of a legisla tive, administrative and judicial system that is constantly adapting to guarantee fundamental rights in a non-discriminatory manner.

Children’s rights are threatened by conflicts around the world. International humanitarian law provides general protection to children in war, whether they are civilians or combatants and, as it is known, children have the right to protection and freedom from war. The rights of children in conflict are the shared responsibility of IOs, NGO’s and the international community. The paper is focused on highlighting the children’s rights in conflict according to international humanitarian law.

This paper aims to discuss and thoroughly analyze, aided using content analysis and make use of certain theoretical support available regarding primary social learning, approximately how many and what certain events in a child’s life can affect his or herbehavior. We discuss how Albert Bandura’s experiment involving the Bobo Clown doll revealed some troubling aspects no matter their age or even intellectual capacities. All these behaviors can, unfortunately, irreversibly affect a child’s harmonious development, both psychologically as well as emotionally. Virtual liberty also poses as a threat in this case. This article proposes to take a deeper look into this phenomenon, constructing a base that starts early historically.

Given the need to assign categories while also fostering free thought when conducting research, the aim of this paper is to highlight how the third and fourth age categories are addressed risks inducing ageism in the current ageing society. Considering the role that language plays in the construction of the world (Berger & Luckmann, 1966), this literature review aims to identify the ways that the third and fourth age categories have been applied in social science research. Therefore, the potential to avoid the dichotomization of old age necessarily lies in placing things in context so that we comprehend the complexity of old age, e.g., the third or fourth age.

In this paper we will present the results of research whose main purpose was to analyse the associations between couple satisfaction and some predictors as: attachment, gender, age, marital status, and educational attainment. In the first part, we will briefly present the literature consulted and the most relevant ideas. The second section is devoted to the methodology. The results showed that people with a secure attachment style have high couple satisfaction, women are more satisfied in the relationship compared to men, adults have lower relationship satisfaction as they get older, people with higher education are more satisfied in the couple, and unmarried people are also more satisfied with the couple relationship.

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in communication and its effects on the market for creative jobs are covered in this article. While AI-generated pictures offer numerous advantages, such as efficiency and flexibility, the article emphasizes that they can have ethical consequences, such as deceit, stereotyping, illicit data usage, and intellectual property infringement. The essay goes into further detail on the problems of copyright, artistic credit, and imitation when using AI to create artworks. Thedispute over whether robots can actually produce works of art or can only imitate human creativity is also discussed in the essay, raising concerns about the very nature of creativity. The paper concludes by highlighting the significance of analyzing the ethical implications of emerging technology.

The integration, at national level, of the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights may open the subject of a dispute in relation to a contrary jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court, regarding the protection of human rights. This paper integrates the possible disputes and proposes ways of solving them, as well as proposals for improving the dialogue of European states regarding the jurisdictional protection of human rights.

Although the adversarial principle is specific to the phase of preliminary chamber and the trial phase, there are situations in which this general principle of law is also applicable to the criminal prosecution phase. This paper proposes to capture the applicability of art. 100 CPA, by reporting the possibility of the suspect or the defendant to propose the administration of evidence during the criminal prosecution phase. We will dissect the issue of the administration of evidence at the request of the suspect or the accused in the criminal prosecution phase, taking into account the provisions of the criminal procedure code, but also the European provisions applicable to the topic tackled here.

The Romanian Ombudsman (the Romanian People's Advocate) is an autonomous and independent public authority, as provided for by the law on the organization and functioning of this public institution, which is not part of any of the three powers in the state - legislative, executive and judicial. The decision of the constitutional legislator not to include this public institution in any of the three classic powers was determined, in our opinion, by the desire, but also the need, to configure an impartial institution that would exercise its constitutional and legal role with complete objectivity. In this context, through this paper, we propose to analyse, through specific research methods, such as the comparative, sociological, teleological method, if the way of appointing and, respectively, of revoking the head of this institution is one that does not affect this role, risking politicizing the institution of the Ombudsman.

The reason this research topic is of interest lies in the fact that the first year after birth is a major transition for all parents, especially for the mothers. Thus, the objective of the present paper is to analyse certain psychosocial factors surrounding new mothers during this period and the way in which they can accentuate feelings of incapacity and powerlessness that can contribute to the development of low self-esteem and a negatively perceived body image. These factors can adversely impact the postpartum period. Furthermore, this topic has been very little explored in the Romanian population.

One of the most well-known marital typologies in the study of lasting marriages was developed by John Cuber and Peggy Harroff (1965), which is used as the main theoretical framework in the present analysis. I collected data using the technique of the individual, semi-structured, face-to-face interview and participatory, uncontrolled, hidden observation. This paper highlights some specific features of marital conflicts in different types of marital relationships. I also underline that marital partners, to a different extent, focus either on the pragmatic or the emotional benefits of marriage and this priority influences their behaviours during their conflictual situations.

This paper presents the results of qualitative research on the work of social workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected by applying an interview guide, to which 18 social workers responded. The results of the research, interpreted through storytelling, refer to how social workers perceived the measures taken by the government during the pandemic and its influence on their work with the beneficiaries. Difficulties during the pandemic, Positive aspects of the pandemic and Roles of social workers in the pandemic are also presented.

In their work, social workers in mental health services experience a high level of work-related stressors. The literature considers that resilience helps social workers to cope effectively with pressures, learn from their experience and develop personally and professionally. This paper presents the results of a qualitative study involving 16 social workers working with adults with mental and intellectual disabilities in different services in Bihor County. The results of the study highlight the importance of developing resilience as a factor coping with stress. The development of resilience is based on the relationship between social workers and the work environment. Organisations contribute by creating a suitable working environment, offering support, etc. Personal characteristics such as self-esteem, adaptability, hopefulness, sense of humour, coping based on problem approach and less focused on emotions, initiative, creativity, but also social skills and the development of supportive relationships and openness to new experiences, are key elements in this context.

Domestic violence is a social problem that deeply affects all countries in the world. Even though most societies are against it, and even more so, condemn any act of violence against women, the reality is often hidden or simply overlooked. This type of abuse causes serious traumatic consequences for both women and children, whether they are directly involved or not. This phenomenon is both a social and a health problem. The research focused on identifying the factors that influence women that are victims of domestic violence to remain with their aggressor. The research instrument is the interview, applied to 10 subjects, female victims of domestic violence. The results confirmed the hypotheses established at the beginning of the paper: family influence, financial dependence, low level of education and children are the main factors that influence victims to remain in an abusive relationship.

The year 2022 has represented a real technological breakthrough in the creative industry with digital art generators. Particularly notable art generators were Dall-E 2 and Midjourney, which were used to generate the covers of publications such as The Atlantic and The Economist, and Cosmopolitan. This paper aims to explore how this technology can be used in the context of satirical material or internet hoaxes. DailyWrong's articles and Website contents quantitative and qualitative analysis reveals that Artificial Intelligence can be used to generate humorous material, although still in its incipiency.

The Constitutional control in Romania implies the obligation of the courts to apply the decisions of the Constitutional Court and may involve the disciplinary sanctioning of judges for non-compliance with these decisions. Some judges considered that this mechanism may affect their independence, especially if the EU law may come into conflict with the decisions of the Constitutional Court. Our paper highlights that a proper understanding of the constitutional control underlines the essential role of the Constitutional Court for the protection of the democratic state and of the values of the European Union through its dialogue with the CJEU and with the national courts.

This paper aims to provide a detailed analysis of the differences between the offence of embezzlement provided for in Article 295 of the Criminal Code and the offence of abuse of office provided for in Article 297 of the Criminal Code in terms of relevant doctrine and jurisprudence. The frequency of committing misfeasance in office, in particular, the two offences under consideration, gives rise to constant debate on the subject of the article.We have also set out to analyse how the judicial authorities have changed their view in some cases after the Constitutional Court's decision no. 405/2016, which brought some divergences concerning acknowledging the offence of embezzlement instead of the offence of abuse of office.

The certificate of inheritance is the final act of the notary succession procedure which serves as proof of quality of heir and the property right of the accepted heirs over the goods of the successor mass, in the amount awarded to each heir. Doctrine and specialty literature continue to express controversy regarding this notary act, even in the light of new provisions of the Civil Code. Consequently, the current paper aims to analyse the legal nature and the probative value of the certificate of inheritance, regarding the internal legal provisions as well as the European ones, by considering the decisions of national courts and the Court of Justice of the European Union.

Environmental law, in the current context of society's evolution, is a highly topical discipline. The study of this discipline is not easy, being made difficult by the great diversity of environmental protection fields and implicitly the legislation. Also, the teaching of this discipline is challenging, requiring the adaptation of classic teaching methods but also the finding of new tools. The present paper, starting from the presentation of some technical aspects of the discipline that produce barriers in the teaching-learning process, presents the author's experience in using (i) the project, as a personalized teaching method and (ii) complementary online information resources.

The state is that form of organization specific to human society even today, although several thousand years have passed since it was set up in the Ancient Orient. Over time the concept of state has evolved, perhaps even sometimes didn't evolved, on the contrary, but it has certainly undergone complex adaptations generated by the challenges that have arisen over different historical periods, as well as by historical, political, social, economic, cultural phenomena, etc. Nowadays, globalization is a phenomenon or even a complex process generated by a multitude of causes, shared, more or less, by human society, but whose existence and effects can neither be ignored nor denied. In this briefly presented context, are witnessing the encounter of two different concepts, perhaps even antagonistic, concepts, namely the state and globalization. These two concepts and more had to find a way to live together. We ask ourselves, however, whether this coexistence between the state and globalization is a temporary compromise or in time the nation-states will disappear leaving the place of another form of organization that responds better to globalization or, on the contrary, we will return to the classic nation-states, abandoning or diminishing the effects of globalization? We ask ourselves if nations, especially in the current international context, are ready to abandon the states they have created in favour of a multinational but unique international community? Using methods of scientific research, such as the comparative, historical or teleological method, by this paper we aim to identify possible answers to the previous questions.

• The integration of antisemitism as a topic for teacher education is urgent, especially in the social sciences • Education regarding contemporary antisemitism must be combined with an analysis of racism and historical-political perspectives on the Shoah to succeed in post-migrant society • Slight changes of the curricula are a reliable base for further development • A nexus between schools, universities and actors of civil society is needed in order to target antisemitism • International summer schools, German-Israeli study groups or collaborative workshops are exemplary pilot projects in order to establish competence regarding education critical of antisemitism Purpose: Following the current rise of antisemitism globally and in Germany, this paper examines the current situation regarding Antisemitism in teacher education. The paper aims to make a contribution for the demand of an implementation of education critical of Antisemitism in teacher education. Approach: Combining experience from university teacher training and the field of extracurricular political education we appoint perspectives for a sustainable implementation of education critical of antisemitism in teacher training via best practice examples. We evaluate the potentials of field trips, international study groups and networks between university and agents located in civil society. Findings: The revised curricula for Social Sciences in the state of North-Rhine-Westphalia (and formerly Berlin) name current antisemitism for the first time, indicating an urgent need for professionalization in Social Science teacher education where the facets of antisemitism only play a minor role. Hence, expertise and existing resource must be stabilized, a structural implementation and funding is needed in order to target the challenging topic of antisemitism. Research limitations/implications: This paper functions as a preliminary research in order to examine the given shape of Social Science teacher education and Antisemitism in Germany. A comprehensive, structured analyses of all teacher training facilities as well as extracurricular agents working in the field of education critical of antisemitism could be useful in order to pool expertise. Nonetheless this paper encourages local collaborations between university and civiliety actors.

The paper presents a critical overview of proximization theory (Chilton, 2004; Cap, 2006, 2013). I argue that the original model should be extended to include proximization as interpreted by the audience. The paper indicates some challenges to implementing the proximization-as-reception component, related in particular to data sampling and identification of the relevant markers. Using Web-based user-generated content is suggested as a solution in the former case; a test case study is proposed to address the second problem.

The aim of the present paper is to exemplify, analyse and prove the utility of various strategies of differentiated instruction used within Mathematics and English Language Teaching Methodology seminars, as instruments in the teaching process of the two subjects. The focus of this research is on the didactic game, as an extremely resourceful means of successfully implementing differentiated instruction when preparing future teachers, thus helping them understand, by a double motivated approach, the usefulness of such a strategy in classroom teaching. The paper ends with the conclusions drawn from comparing the two practical first-hand seminar experiences of the authors, under the form of a comparative analysis.

The paper approaches an important stage in the educational process, namely the evaluation of the primary school focusing on physical education discipline. After the theoretical approach of the evaluation with everything it involves and the evaluation forms, the paper proposes an alternative to the evaluation tests present in the curriculum. It is about more accessible motor tests, with evaluation items concerned not on achieving performance, but oriented towards the technical execution of the motor skills, team work, cooperation and achievement of results as a team. Also a SWOT analysis is realized, in which there are presented the weaknesses and strengths of the proposed tests and the expected opportunities and threats.

The paper proposes a counter-secularization hypothesis based on a holistic approach to the world, as suggested by contemporary physics. Such a representation defuses the negative correlation between intelligence and religiosity. Thus, the paper highlights the main dimensions of contemporary religiosity, as well as those of the relation between religiosity and secularisation. Moreover, it critically approaches the countersecularization hypothesis that is anchored in the genetic determination of intelligence, religiosity and fertility

This paper analyses the impact of social solidarity on moral emotions such as embarrassment, shame and guilt at a social level. The effect of moral emotions on individual morality is presented. The paper emphasizes the fact that solidarity, which is generally perceived as having positive effects, may also produce social anomie. This situation is reached by a silent agreement concerning intellectual fraud which goes unpunished at a social level and can, thus, lead to deviant behaviour being considered tolerable as a result of rational reasoning which could shake social structure.

In a competitive world, where information is accessible and continually increasing, authentic learning has become more than ever a necessity for the development of humankind. Apart form being beneficial for everyone in a distant future, it is also valuable for the “here and now” of each person. The present paper proposes the discovery of viable solutions for ensuring a profound learning based on versatile competences and thus indicates the spiral curriculum as such solution. Hence, this paper’s aim is not only to identify how the spiral curriculum operates in practice, but also to underline its benefits when it comes to planning the competencies’ attainment, a process not deprived of difficulties

This paper analyses the impact of family budget on children outcomes, making a synthesis of different studies. I have identified the main dimensions used in research on the family budget. The paper highlights the main effects of family financial strategies, both the effective and the dysfunctional ones. The fact that poverty generates poor cognitive, behavioural and health outcomes on children is emphasized. I also provide new directions for future studies on Romanian family budget, allocated for children expenditure.

The aim of the present paper is to further research into the concept of differentiated teaching, an idea as old as effective teaching, and to indicate its utility within Mathematics and English Language Teaching Methodology seminars focusing, this time, on interactive methods. Being double motivated to experiment with this approach, as content teachers and methodologists at the same time, the authors considered their first-hand experience worth including in a paper and imparting it with peers, under the format of a comparative analysiss, after detailing on the resourceful strategies used and their outcomes, as well as after referring to updated specialised literature in the field.

A decade has passed since Porto’s city council, through its “urban rehabilitation agency”, put forward a renewed strategy aiming at the urban “rehabilitation” of the city’s historic center. This paper presents some of the results of a field research willing to highlight the main physical and social transformations resulting from the materialization of that strategy. The paper scrutinizes some of the major changes in the social fabric of Porto’s historic center and analyzes how longtime residents interpret and deal with the implications of the rehabilitation-cumgentrification of their place of residence

The aim of this paper is to attempt to do justice to the chosen topic, including regarding its design. In a conscious distinction from the more conventional, materialistic, rationalistic, and quantitative approaches that prevail today in the economic and social sciences, the focus of this study will first be placed on consideration of images, contextualising the way in which I perceive them (first person perspective). Thus the paper is structured along sequential instances of experience and concomitant reflection bringing together such different paradigmatic positions as artistic and scientific approaches to individual and collective developments within an integrated approach that includes and transcends conventional thought. Together with statements from several artists and their works of visual arts (second person perspective) and in a mutual exchange with third person approaches from current psychological, economic, and neuro-scientific debates this will create an integrated systemic image, which in particular allows a deeper look into the underlying overall developmental theme. Every section of the article will be introduced by two correspondent statements, one written from an artistic more introspective perspective and one from a philosophical or scientific position to point out the main tension experienced and discussed within the section. Main aim is to allow to arise cross-fertilization in the sense of a hermeneutic circle. This circle finds its dynamically-sustaining shape in the form of a Mobius strip. Philosophical contributions in particular from phenomenology and complexity theory complete the picture, thus creating a conscious draft, which is aware of its own subjectivity. Ultimately the simultaneous inclusion of artistic and creative skills carried out in this article, goes beyond individual paradigms of a formal logic inherent in existing theories of development toward a more inclusive and visionary logic of the art looked at/and artistic lens seen through.

In this position paper the worldview from which climate change continues to occur is identified as late modernism. This worldview is critiqued as being unduly economistic, reductive, mechanistic, and fragmented. There is a clear requirement for an inclusive and transcending transformation of this worldview toward one substantively more able to meet the challenges that climate change presents, as well as an understanding of the processes that facilitate such a transformation. This paper foregrounds transformative learning as a generic process that might well be key to this transformation. The paper addresses transformative learning both as an active process and as a feature of a regenerated worldview, identified here with respect to Griffin’s reconstructive postmodernism, which goes beyond deconstructive postmodernism in its proto-integral orientation. Transformative learning is exemplified by the seminal approach of Mezirow as well as Scharmer’s Theory U. The discussion of worldview is vertically differentiated in terms of principles, worldview perspectives, and sectoral practice with reference to the depth ontology of Inayallatulah’s Causal Layered Analysis. Principles addresses the regeneration of the philosophy of science, and explores the critical contrast between atomism acting as attractor for modernism, and complex integration acting as attractor for reconstructive postmodernism / the ecological worldview; it indicates the fecundity of Bhaskar’s critical realism for aptly addressing climate change. Sectoral practice is represented by higher education, specifically addressing andragogy, heutagogy, the transformative learner, and the transformative educator. Climate change is a complex, big-picture issue, one that requires a complex, integrative epistemology and transdisciplinary orientation.

This paper investigates the transnationalization of Candomblé in Europe by analyzing the relations between members of the same religious lineage that live in Brazil, Italy and Portugal. Using the concept of transnational social field, it aims to highlight the circulation and direction of the flows of material and symbolic goods between these countries to reveal dynamics and strategies of.’ its members. Afterwards, it discusses the perceptions between members of different nationalities, in order to understand the ways in which these members build differences and similarities between them.

This paper analyzes the shared insertion of Umbanda and Capoeira practices in Portuguese territory, based on an ethnography performed in a Umbanda temple and a Capoeira group in northern Portugal. This study also investigates how this demograph and their leaders applied common strategies of fixation in Portuguese society and benefited from common conjunctural and historical factors in their transnationalization processes. In an attempt to understand the unfolding of these phenomena, we utilize the concepts of counter-colonization and Afro-Lusophone circular spaces.

This paper analyzes how the Life Reform movement collaborated in the construction of a certain spirituality and in new ways of thinking the individual, which forged the socio-cultural elements of receptivity to Afro-Brazilian religions not only in Germany, but also in a large part of Europe, while also resulting in problems to religious transnationalization, wherein vegan practices and other ways of dealing with the religious construction of the European individual under great influence of spiritualist practices and the so-called new era reappeared.

This paper focuses on the relationship between food practices, preparation of Candomblé ritual offerings and performance of rituals in a transnational case study. My interest here is to consider two ethnographic accounts of Candomblé rituals in Italy and Brazil. I will analyze how Italian practitioners perceive different aspects of the preparation of ritual offerings and what values are at stake in the cooking and consumption of food and food offerings. I will show how memory and the senses are essential to build a new idea of familiarity and to learn new skills within the ritual practice.

This paper shows how different classifications are triggered by the state agents operating in the Jury Court and their effect on victims and defendants, producing hierarchical structures over their cases as well as their respective mourned victims’ deaths, which affect their conception about humans. By describing two cases observed in fieldwork performed over a year and a half, the way these classifications intersect is demonstrated, assigning different moral values to the people involved in the cases and bringing out different solutions, while agents interact between themselves and each party.

In this paper, we develop an integrative conceptual framework capturing the underlying mental models that guide engagement in relationships at work and elsewhere. Specifically, we are looking at mental models that go beyond egocentrism and social exchange, which have served as the basis for most frameworks found in research on organizations. The goal of this paper is to present a more complex picture of human cognition and behavior that suggests that egocentrism is not an exclusive motivator. We view this more integrative framework as a set of concentric circles of increasingly inclusive and expansive identities. Although the mental models used by individuals may be static over a shorter time frame, they are thought to be more dynamic over a relatively longer timeframe, in adaptive response to changing conditions. Movement between these mental models can be triggered by changes in cognitions as well as by events that arouse affect.

This paper is a developmental meta-analysis of behaviors that contribute to political economies of corruption, deploying bioneurological dual motive and behavioral development theories. Together, these systems of analysis enable a developmental perspective to illustrate and analyze a progression of dual motives’ variations as humans and their conditions change. The progression of examples indicates that there are multiple evolutions of political economies that vary in their complexity, with different behavioral features at each level. Dual motive theory helps in identifying and understanding the complex linkages and layers of socio-political and economic behaviors as they become more complex. Increasingly complex horizontal and vertical stacks of social networks, like lattice-works of dual motives, enable individuals and groups to develop and maintain sturdy yet adaptable social systems of patronage, brokerage, and clientelism. These so-often informally structured relationships underlie corruption-like transactions long before, and long after, they are regarded as the enduring institution of corruption. Three hypotheses under gird the development of that thesis. The first is that dual motive theory facilitates meta-analyses of social networks’ often hidden layers of complexity. A second hypothesis is that analyses using dual motive theory can explicate more complexity when the theory is integrated with developmental behavioral theory. The third hypothesis is that analyses made possible by that integration offer substantive contributions to understanding socio-political-economic behaviors, including multiple political economies of corruption. Three strategies are employed to develop the paper’s thesis. First, the concepts of social ties, networks, reciprocity and dual motive theory are introduced to set the context. second, a behavioral task measurement theory is introduced: the model of hierarchical complexity. Scoped for this paper to introduce only the most common adult-level tasks, that model’s orders of increasing complexity describe developmental differences in the performance of individuals’ and social systems’ behaviors. Third, a series of international examples shows the hierarchically different ways the behavioral tensions of dual motives manifest in human exchanges. The hierarchical complexity of the examples’ settings is correlated with the hierarchical complexity of adults’ behaviors in those settings. The results of the analysis indicate that (a) individual and system behaviors are continuously shaped and constrained by complex interrelations that can be explained in terms of the hierarchical complexity of dual motives; (b) there are predictably difficult transitions and breaches when systems of different hierarchical complexity disrupt pre-existing systems for managing behavioral tensions. The application of dual motive theory indicates its analytical usefulness for interpreting social, political, and economic phenomena. Political economies of corruption can be more thoroughly understood as enduring institutions through a developmental behavioral application of dual motive theory.

This paper analyzes eight cases of mining conflicts in Portugal, focusing on the protest actions triggered, as well as the impacts they have produced. Methodologically, documentary analysis was undertaken. The results revealed collective action as the available resource for the affected populations to communicate their perceptions and arguments about the problems felt and to make their lived situations visible. Protest actions registered were able to produce legislative changes, even concerning specific situations, and gave visibility to the particularities of each case.

The sense of ambivalence that tends to be associated with the representation of an expatriation as a contemporary work arrangement form used to anchor business internationalization processes, constitutes the problematizing axis of the research reported by this paper. Twenty-four individual experiences of expatriation observed in five different firms, born or located in Portugal, were studied. Analytical results suggest that performing work in an expatriation context can foster individual and social differentiation. Three types of expatriate experience are distinguished and described in detail.

In this paper, I argue that a new water ethic is needed in light of the global water crisis, an ethic that responds to contemporary water issues as it draws from the values embedded within the rich religious and spiritual traditions of the world. This paper explores how a new water ethic could gain much from the Hindu concept seva (loving service) that arises from the traditions of bhakti yoga (loving devotion) and karma yoga (altruistic service). Drawing from David Haberman’s work with the Yamuna River of Northern India, I investigate how the concept of seva has been recently used in the context of environmental activism that promotes restoration efforts of the Yamuna River, a river worshiped by many as a goddess of love.

The endless proliferation of human knowledge within sub-disciplines represents not so much a tree structure of knowledge from which we can stand back and admire some organic unity as the tentacles of an octopus dragging us down into anguished division. The anguish is genuine and has been expressed since the Enlightenment by many types of thinker. This paper argues however that the anguish does not in fact arise from the nature of human knowledge but from the mistaken belief in the possibility of its unification. The desire for the unitive has been erroneously transplanted from its proper context – the mystical – to the domain of knowledge, as the latter – particularly under the rubric of “science” – has become the only culturally legitimised stance towards the world. Conventional scholarship, while busy creating sub-branches and sub-sub-branches on which the leaves of new knowledge sprout with vigour and abandon, is powerless to avoid this feeling of anguish. It feels compromised in the thwarted longing for a lost sense unity. “Outsider scholarship” – of the type practiced by Koestler, Schumacher and Pirsig – is often preoccupied with just this question, but is free to propose various taxonomies of knowledge, often of an unfashionably hierarchical kind, that cut across conventional boundaries and which provide a basis for an uncompromised relationship with knowledge. This paper starts with a brief consideration of outsider scholarship, including its anachronistic characteristics, and then turns to Pirsig’s meditation on the technologies behind the word-processor, which lead to an “isthmus theory of knowledge domains.” It then considers Steven Jay Gould’s non-overlapping magisteria, and the hint from Ken Wilber about epistemological pluralism. These are then used to show why E. O. Wilson’s consilience is misguided: it represents the final triumph of logical positivism – a takeover bid for the humanities by the sciences – but couched in terms apparently irresistible to fashionable thought.