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In this article I intend to make an inquiry into the essential values of the university in its medieval origins and to compare them with the present situation of the institution, and the main challenges it faces today. In the first part of the article, I examine the core values of the university in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries ('Origins'). In a second section, I describe the main structural and governance features of universities in the Middle Ages, which have survived almost intact to the present day ('Structures'). Subsequently, I detail the early difficulties the university encountered due to its first bureaucratization and formalization in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries ('Troubles'). Finally, I venture some conclusions on the desirability of revisiting some of the current debates surrounding the university, arguing for a return to the origins ('Current Debates'). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the relationship between military conflicts and state-building in pre-imperial China. I develop an incomplete contract model to examine rulers' and local administrators' incentives in conflict. Defensive wars drive decentralization: landowning local administrators have more to gain from a successful defense and are therefore more committed to it. Offensive wars drive centralization: the landowning ruler has personnel control over the non-land-owning local administrator and can therefore force the latter to participate in less lucrative attacks. Model predictions are corroborated with empirical evidence and historical case studies, and offer broader implications for the political divergence between China and Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many developing countries prioritize sponsoring graduate students to study abroad to bring expertise and knowledge to their home country. However, the success of knowledge transfer depends on the extent to which returning graduates can utilize their potential at home. This study explores challenges faced by Cambodian scholars who obtained their Ph.D. degrees abroad and describes strategies they used to overcome them. In a home country environment with limited funding, over-bureaucratization, and low priority of university research, graduates see the value of their foreign Ph.D. degrees in teaching and consultation. It requires motivation and significant efforts to transition as researchers in such an environment. Returning scholars rely on networks with their peers abroad and supervisors, form local research societies, engage with graduate students at their universities to keep themselves active as researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Government collaboration tasks are integral for grassroots governance and essential for government administration. Large-scale government collaboration tasks often involve multiple departments working together to solve complex tasks that require handling large amounts of data. However, existing offline processes make it difficult to manage complex collaboration scenarios and obtain timely execution results. We introduce the concept of a spatio-temporal task tree and propose a log-based incremental update method for updating statistical values in the tree structure to fulfill the need for real-time aggregation analysis of cross-temporal task execution situations. The spatio-temporal task tree fosters collaboration across various departments and organizational hierarchies to execute complex and large-scale tasks in government effectively. By flexible adaptations to different business models, this framework addresses the shortcomings of conventional systems in promoting inter-organizational collaboration. The log-based incremental update method for calculating statistical values within a tree structure allows for the updating of multi-dimensional data statistics in seconds. This approach effectively decreases computational expenses, enhances query efficiency, and improves real-time computation response. Results from experiments demonstrate the feasibility and high availability of the proposed approach, showcasing their potential to address the challenges associated with large-scale collaborative tasks in government affairs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we first frame the use of artificial intelligence (AI) systems in the public sector as a continuation and intensification of long-standing rationalization and bureaucratization processes. Drawing on Weber, we understand the core of these processes to be the replacement of traditions with instrumental rationality, that is, the most calculable and efficient way of achieving any given policy objective. Second, we demonstrate how much of the criticisms, both among the public and in scholarship, directed towards AI systems spring from well-known tensions at the heart of Weberian rationalization. To illustrate this point, we introduce a thought experiment whereby AI systems are used to optimize tax policy to advance a specific normative end: reducing economic inequality. Our analysis shows that building a machine-like tax system that promotes social and economic equality is possible. However, our analysis also highlights that AI-driven policy optimization (i) comes at the exclusion of other competing political values, (ii) overrides citizens' sense of their (non-instrumental) obligations to each other, and (iii) undermines the notion of humans as self-determining beings. Third, we observe that contemporary scholarship and advocacy directed towards ensuring that AI systems are legal, ethical, and safe build on and reinforce central assumptions that underpin the process of rationalization, including the modern idea that science can sweep away oppressive systems and replace them with a rule of reason that would rescue humans from moral injustices. That is overly optimistic: science can only provide the means – it cannot dictate the ends. Nonetheless, the use of AI in the public sector can also benefit the institutions and processes of liberal democracies. Most importantly, AI-driven policy optimization demands that normative ends are made explicit and formalized, thereby subjecting them to public scrutiny, deliberation, and debate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coaching in Scandinavia is characterized by tensions between voluntary ideals and increased demands for professionalization. This paper examines the origins and content of such demands, how voluntary run and governed football clubs translate them into practices, and the impact of professionalization on the coach role. Within an organizational perspective, our analysis is framed by institutional theory and a translation perspective and draw on data from interviews with representatives of Norwegian football clubs. The results show how demands for professionalization are translated into (new) practices in football clubs and lead to (more) professionalization of the coach role. In a 'top-down' trajectory, professionalization is characterized by bureaucratization driven by a need to satisfy the Norwegian Football Federation and Norwegian Elite Football. In a 'bottom-up' trajectory, professionalization is characterized by individualization driven by pressures from members to tailor-make the club's service offer. In a 'trickle-sideways' trajectory, professionalization is characterized by marketization driven by the establishment of private football academies that exert pressure on football clubs to adapt to a more customer-oriented membership base. In conclusion, this examination highlights the multidimensional character of the professionalization of the coach role and emphasizes the need for further research on the broader ramifications of professionalization in contexts characterized by voluntary ideals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to analyse the foundations of Western dominance in the discipline of International Relations (IR) in Indonesia. Drawing on a contextualized autoethnographic reflection of learning and researching IR in Indonesia during my undergraduate studies between 2008 and 2013, I argue that Western dominance in Indonesian IR discipline is not simply characterized by imposition of a certain academic tradition from the West but also reproduced in everyday academic discourse and naturalized through institutional practices of power. Drawing on my autoethnographic reflections, Western dominance has been maintained and naturalized through everyday exclusionary practices in IR discipline. I encountered this exclusionary practice through a gatekeeping question that was often asked during my time as an undergraduate student and researcher in Indonesia: 'which part of your work is IR?'. This gatekeeping practice is rooted in the larger history of bureaucratization and state co-optation of Indonesian academic community, which is still perpetuated by the government. Nevertheless, this Western epistemic dominance has been resisted through non-academic spaces. Through this contextualized autoethnographic reflections, I offer some rethinking of Global IR project by highlighting internal hierarchy and Western dominance in the discipline of International Relations, as well as resistance against it by non-academic communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Introduction: The bureaucratization of religion represents a significant and often underexplored dimension of governance in Southeast Asia. This study delves into the administrative regulation of religious practices and institutions in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand, as highlighted in the September 2023 United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) report. By focusing on these countries, the paper aims to elucidate the broader implications of bureaucratization on freedom of religion and belief (FoRB). Methods: A qualitative research methodology was employed, involving a critical review of the September 2023 USCIRF report and other relevant literature. The study analyzed governmental policies, administrative measures, and their impact on religious practices and FoRB. Comparative analysis across the four countries was conducted to identify common patterns and unique deviations in the bureaucratization process. Results: The study found that the bureaucratization of religion in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand is characterized by intricate administrative controls over religious institutions and practices. Key features include registration requirements, restrictions on religious gatherings, and monitoring of religious discourse. These measures, while varying in form and intensity across the countries, collectively impose significant limitations on FoRB. The analysis revealed that these administrative controls are strategically employed by governments to regulate religious expression and maintain socio-political stability. Discussion: The findings underscore a substantial threat posed by the bureaucratization of religion to FoRB and related human rights. The nuanced use of administrative measures enables governments to subtly control and restrict religious practices without overtly violating international norms. This regulatory approach not only curtails individual freedoms but also affects the overall religious landscape, influencing cultural diversity and inter-religious relations. The study enhances the understanding of the complex interplay between religion and state, highlighting the need for more robust mechanisms to protect FoRB in the region. Conclusion: The bureaucratization of religion in Southeast Asia presents a profound challenge to FoRB. By critically examining the practices in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand, this study provides valuable insights into the administrative strategies used to control religious discourse. The research underscores the importance of addressing these issues to safeguard religious freedoms and promote a more inclusive and respectful religious landscape in Southeast Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of AugenBlick is the property of Schueren Verlag GmbH and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The study aims to identify the causes and effects of the bureaucratization of the Romanian education system, in relation to the Weberian theory of bureaucracy. The principles of bureaucracy, enunciated by Max Weber, are discussed and the way they are taken into account and perceived in the case of education in Romania is followed. The study also aims to compare Romania with other countries (Finland, Spain and the United Kingdom) in terms of the perception of bureaucracy. The main results of the other research show that the countries mentioned follow a pragmatic approach, while the Romanian education system prefers a bureaucratic approach. This difference results from the standards that are lacking in Romanian education, both at management level and in terms of educational activities themselves. In pre-university education in Romania, for example, there is a culture of control, without a clear picture of what a high-performing school means, school inspections become only a bureaucratic action, without really measuring the quality of teachers and education. In higher education, bureaucracy is confirmed by the permanent appointment of rectors or by other legislative decisions that burden universities with tasks that should be carried out by other institutions. The new education laws in Romania increase the bureaucracy already existing in the education system, and all this is the result of misunderstanding and misapplication of the principles of bureaucracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we argue that there is a 'missing middle' between policies to ameliorate poverty of those in need and the experience of poverty. Drawing on interviews with respondent poor(er) households in Brunei's 'water village' of Kampong Ayer and with officials and local leaders, the paper details a complex and well‐funded system of support for those in need. It then shows how this impressive architecture of welfare does not always meet the needs of those it seeks to support. Through rendering poverty technical, policies implicitly ascribe persistent destitution as arising from the failure of the poor to take advantage of the opportunities made available to them. The paper suggests that this gap could be bridged by giving non‐governmental organizations (NGOs), social enterprises and informal businesses a greater role in the delivery of support. Kampong Ayer's experience has its parallels in other places and situations: the tendency to bureaucratize poverty and its amelioration; the desire to simplify poverty but complicate programmes for poverty eradication; and the expectation that the onus for adaptation should be on—and with—the poor. When the poor fail to adapt and to respond in the manner desired, they are blamed for their enduring poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This article explores the challenges of maintaining ethical ethnographic practices amid the evolving bureaucratic regulations of research ethics. Drawing on the author's fieldwork experiences in Lesvos, Greece, during different periods, including the recent European 'refugee crisis', it reflects on the deep ethics inherent in the ethnographic encounter, shaped by long‐term commitments and mutual exposure between the researcher and interlocutors. It critiques the bureaucratization of research ethics, arguing that legalistic guarantees, such as consent forms, undermine the nuanced, context‐dependent nature of ethnographic work. By contrasting engagements with locals, activists and professional humanitarians, the author highlights the tensions between bureaucratic regulation and the need for a flexible, situated approach to ethics, calling for a critical assessment of ethical frameworks to preserve the 'breathing space' essential for responsible and insightful ethnography. The article advocates for resistance against one‐size‐fits‐all ethical regulations constraining the rich potential of ethnographic research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article critiques research ethics committees (RECs) for stifling social sciences research through rigid, one‐size‐fits‐all ethics protocols. It highlights how these protocols, rooted in medical science perspectives, ignore the complexities of fieldwork, and prioritize institutional protection over knowledge advancement. The article illustrates the bureaucratic barriers to sociological and gender studies research through a case study involving fieldwork in a Greek hospital, showing how intersecting hierarchies in the field can render REC instruments invasive or moot. This article aims to enrich academic enquiry by acknowledging the diverse realities of research subjects and methodologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the intersection of ethics and methodology in anthropological research, focusing on squats in Rome. It juxtaposes traditional ethnographic practices with contemporary ethical regulations, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), to examine the nuanced relationship between researchers and their subjects in socially vulnerable and legally sensitive environments. The article critiques the reductionist view of ethnographic data as mere information to be extracted, arguing for a more engaged and reciprocal approach to anthropology that respects the agency of research subjects and emphasizes the co‐production of knowledge. The document challenges conventional ethical frameworks and advocates for anthropology's commitment to listening and giving voice to marginalized communities through examining interactions with squatters and the Roma population. This enquiry scrutinizes the bureaucratic imposition on ethnographic research and reaffirms the discipline's role in contributing to a broader understanding of ethics in anthropological practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the Berlin Abitur examination in the twentieth century and its written documentation in files. By the late nineteenth century, the Abitur examination was fully established in Prussia and with it a graduation certificate that was obligatory for university entrance. Thus, the Abitur examination was part of the modern state entitlement system and an instrument to establish the state education monopoly. Thereafter, in every secondary school a new file was compiled for each class that took the exam every year. The resulting records provide a unique insight into the history of examination procedures. This article seeks to discuss the question of the Abitur files being simply products of bureaucratisation and rationalisation of examination practices at secondary schools, and the extent to which there was a ritualisation of the examination on paper. The building processes of the Abitur examination files in the twentieth century are reconstructed on the basis of a representative school archive located in Berlin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whilst NHS Health Service management is usually characterized by hierarchized bureaucracy and profit-driven competitiveness, the COVID-19 pandemic drastically disrupted these ways of working and allowed London-based non-clinical management to experience their roles otherwise. This paper is based on 35 interviews with senior non-clinical management at a London-based NHS Trust during 'Alpha phase' of Britain's pandemic response (May-August 2020), an oft-overlooked group in the literature. I will draw upon Graeber's theory of "total bureaucratization" to argue that though the increasing neo-liberalization of the health-services has hitherto contributed toward a corporate mentality, the pandemic gave managers a chance to experience more collaboration and freedom than usual, which ultimately led to more effective realization of decision-making and change. The pandemic has shown NHS managers that there are alternatives to neoliberal logics of competition and hierarchy, and that those alternatives actually result in happier and effectively, more capable staff. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This exploratory, diachronic study compares the politics of Islamisation, which have undergone different patterns of development in both Nigeria and Malaysia. Islamisation is defined as an ideological translation of Islamism into policies to "Islamise" the state and society by expanding the scope of the application of Islamic laws and principles. Islamisation in Malaysia has been implemented steadily and progressively since the 1980s. It involves the "inculcation of Islamic values" in a wide range of aspects of society, including the economy. The Islamic penal code or hudud enactments were legislated in two states, but held in abeyance due to their unconstitutionality. In contrast, Nigeria observed the sudden and erratic implementation of hudud in 12 northern states in 1999, along with other bureaucratic adjustments. Adopting an interpretative case study approach of the comparative method of Arend Lijphart, we explain the two contrastive case studies of the ideological translation of Islamism by analysing the manner in which various political opportunities and structural constraints in the respective cases have shaped the Islamisation process. Data gathering was based on an extensive review of the related body of literature. Analysis was conducted using a social movement theoretical framework based on a structured, focused comparison. The dynamic conceptualisation of the state as a set of institutions, which is continually and dialectically reshaped by contentious processes, captures how the bureaucratisation and judicialisation of Islam have modified the nature of state structures and the structure of political opportunities, which in turn allows for additional channels of influence for Islamic activists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cities are emerging as the frontiers of low-carbon transition. The emergence of low-carbon cities in East Asian developmental states is often seen as serving nation-state-led transformative development and economic restructuring. But how are specific low-carbon infrastructures socially produced at the city level, especially in the context of social protests? What is the role of the local state? This paper addresses these questions through the case of Guangzhou's waste-to-energy incineration, an infrastructure that was selected as a national low-carbon technology in China in 2014. The paper proposes a conceptual framework of "performative legitimation of infrastructure" and, drawing from the empirical work, identifies five performative governance tools – (re)conceptualization, reterritorialization, bureaucratization, culturalization and codification – which respond to evolving social demands, consolidate the legitimacy of incineration and regulate state–society relations in different contexts. The production of urban low-carbon infrastructure is presented as a material-discursive process that supports the legitimation of the local state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Psicoperspectivas is the property of Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Valparaiso, Escuela de Psicologia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The transition to the market economy, which began in Russia more than 30 years ago, has dramatically affected the performance of the Russian academic sphere. The market transformation in the country coincided with significant changes in the global academia. Bureaucratization and obsession with performance indicators have been very welcomed by the Russian system and have been incorporated in various academic excellence programs adopted in the country. A closer look at these programs reveals that the real driving force behind the initiatives is not public spiritedness of the country's policymakers but wishes of various groups to be engaged in the rent-seeking activities of contemporary Russia. The present paper focuses on the interplay between the predatory publishing industry and the apparent encouragement of fraudulent practices by some universities in Russia. It highlights the problem of "predatory universities" and explains the evolution of such strategies in the academic sphere of the country. The Russian case allows to look at the problems of the global academia from a new angle. It should be acknowledged that the predatory publishing industry is much greater than it seems within the initial "open access" model. It is clear that the authors are very often not less predators than the publishers, and this predatory ecosystem has been significantly expanded beyond the merely publisher-author interactions. Moreover, the noticeable players in these predatory markets are universities and governments that play with the systems designed by the leading citation databases and global ranking organisations, which apparently also benefit from these arrangements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the current policies and strategies developed by Interpol to organize international police cooperation in matters of terrorism. While the role of police in international counterterrorism cannot be denied and can only be assumed to be more important today than ever before, evidence shows that Interpol has in recent years no longer placed a premium on terrorism among its objectives. Relying on the bureaucratization perspective of policing, Interpol's relative decline in attention to terrorism is argued to have been brought about by factors both external and internal to the organization. Externally, the police of many nations, especially those with well-developed law enforcement organizations, prefer to work unilaterally or on the basis of smaller, temporary forms of international collaboration. Internally, moreover, Interpol has grown considerably in terms of membership but in a manner that might threaten its central objective to fight international crime by efficient means of cooperation. Related problems involve abuse of Interpol's notice system as well as political and legal problems concerning the organization's leadership. As a result, among the most striking aspects of Interpol's development in recent years has been a relative but distinct decline in its once central focus on terrorism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the critical difference a certified Action Learning Coach makes to the outcomes of the Action Learning process, which underscores WIAL's insistence that the coach is indispensable to achieving breakthrough solutions with Action Learning. Real-life coaching examples are used to illustrate three key benefits of having a coach: the positive impact of the coach's trust on the group's growth and ability to achieve spectacular results; keeping the group productively bonded while protecting the diversity necessary for attaining winning solutions and ensuring that there is learning at individual, group, and organizational levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

【Objective/Meaning】The community building in Taiwan area of China has the dual attributes of both official policy and community practice, so we must fully understand it in order to better learn from its experience.【Methods/Procedures】From the perspective of organizational sociology, although the series of policies for the community construction were constantly changing, their basic conditions such as the landing methods, policy requirements, internal tension and so on have maintained a high degree of similarity, providing a relatively stable institutional environment for the community organizations. 【Results/Conclusions】Combined with the practice of multiple communities, it was found that the community organizations would undergo a series of organizational changes in the process of community building under the constraints of the institutional environment, including the revival of community development association, the administration of social construction model, the bureaucracy of organizational structure, and the “positional suffering” and withdrawal of the community elites. The hierarchical transformation was a necessary condition for the success of community construction, but its “technical superiority” has also become the“ technical barrier” relative to the community residents, bringing about the problems such as the alienation of community organization and the double division within the community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The typewriter—the machine and the human operator at the nadir of the white-collar hierarchy—became associated with white female workers in the American racial imaginary. Although the color line deterred Black applicants from that side of the collar line, the Black typewriter as a literary type came to salience between 1886 and 1930, disrupting what I call the “bureaucratization of the racial imaginary”: the process whereby the exclusionary white middleclass tenets underpinning the bureaucratized office both regulated and were also informed by the imaginative possibilities of race, gender, and labor. Tracing the Black typewriter from Pauline Elizabeth Hopkins and Charles W. Chesnutt to Jean Toomer and Dorothy West, I reveal how these authors construed white-collar identity as a form of racial passing, requiring the worker’s acceptance of racial and sexual segregation. Their innovative narratives about passing as white collar foregrounded the Black typewriter’s unsettling experiences inside that system, challenging the theory that economic uplift would inherently promote racial and sexual equality [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anthropology and critical heritage studies share a rather negative view of the role of bureaucracy in heritage management as utilised by the international community in post-conflict regions. However, fieldwork findings among ethnologists working as expert bureaucrats in four Western Balkan states (Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina) suggest that the ongoing process of the 'bureaucratisation' of collective identities, based on UNESCO principles, holds more promise for successful conflict management than relying solely on day-to-day politics or a purely academic critique. The safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage has emerged as a powerful tool for redirecting identity-based conflicts towards abstract concepts such as 'elements', 'lists', and 'registers'. These abstractions are less susceptible to suffering than real individuals. Consequently, this approach offers a greater chance of success in mitigating conflicts. Anthropology's most significant contribution to the global implementation of the heritage-for-peace paradigm could be to reconcile with ethnology, despite any disciplinary incongruity that may arise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concerns have emerged of how the professionalization agenda in the development sector may water down the 'spirit of volunteerism' that thrives on community initiative, informality, and flexibility. This paper explores the role of literacy and learning practices in the bureaucratization of community development drawing from an ethnography of local volunteering in the Philippines. Through literacy practices such as preparing community health classes, making budget plans, and writing to government institutions, volunteers were inducted into 'bureaucratic' ways of working that, at times, clashed with their expectations and practices of volunteering that were founded on community building, solidarity, and agency. While volunteering could be seen as a means for community participation in development, findings in this paper signal that the formalization and bureaucratization of grassroots volunteer groups may shift the intended community dynamics and volunteers' expectations, practices, and identities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Studia Poliana is the property of Studia Poliana and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The Minangkabau community in West Sumatra employs a social system referred to as nagari. The term nagari should be defined to describe an administrative body that serves the lowest level of government bureaucratic duties in West Sumatra. The Dutch East Indies attempted to colonize Nagari, and as a result, the system of government encountered a number of transformations. The nagari faced different attitudes in each government regime during the independence era, which was similar to what occurred then. This research investigates Nagari’s dynamics and existence in state legal systems. This paper juxtaposes the official postures of different governments concerning the existence of Nagari. It is noteworthy that Nagari not only has at the grassroots level of governance but also functions as an institutionalization of the significance of interpersonal connections within the Minangkabau social order. This research utilizes an applied socio-legal methodology to examine the configuration of state law and its consequences for Nagari as a legal subject. The research findings indicate that Nagari, which represents the institutionalization of the Minangkabau social order, has undergone bureaucratization and instrumentalization since the colonial period. The bureaucratization of the Nagari has left a major trauma for Minangkabau political authority which is reflected in the structure and organization of the Nagari. The understanding of Nagari within the Minangkabau community has been impacted by the influence and dominance of governmental policies, resulting in challenges for rapid progress in reconstruction endeavors. The state must reduce domination and hegemony over the nagari in the process of establishing regulations governing the nagari. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the methodological and ethical challenges posed by the bureaucratization of research ethics in Eastern Europe, particularly as this impacts the practice of anthropology and fieldwork. It reflects on the authors' extensive fieldwork among Czech‐speaking Protestants in Bulgaria and the Czech Republic, highlighting the discrepancy between Western and Eastern European academic norms regarding ethnography. The authors argue that increased formalization and ethical regulation favour more easily bureaucratically managed methodologies, to the detriment of traditional anthropological fieldwork, which is critical for deep cultural understanding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the challenges Norwegian anthropologists face owing to the implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The authors' analysis reveals a tension between the need to comply with data protection regulations and preserve research autonomy and methodological integrity. The authors document how GDPR's bureaucratic control mechanisms have influenced researchers' conceptualization of ethics, leading to a split between legalistic adherence and critical responses within the anthropological community. This situation has necessitated negotiations with various stakeholders and re‐evaluating participatory observational methods, particularly in health research, where access has become increasingly difficult. The article highlights the anthropological community's efforts to navigate these regulations through national debates, establishing forums for ethics in ethnographic research and developing strategies to maintain methodological standards while ensuring GDPR compliance. The authors advocate vigilance against the colonization of bureaucratic logic and seek to secure anthropological representation in regulatory bodies to safeguard the discipline's interests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article critiques the expanding influence of research ethics committees (RECs) on social research, emphasizing their adverse effects on ethnographic methodologies. It argues that the bureaucratization of ethics, emphasizing compliance over contextual understanding, fundamentally misunderstands and impedes the nuanced nature of ethnographic work. Drawing on personal experiences and broader critiques, the article proposes the need for an alternative system that better accommodates the ethical complexities of social research, advocating for a more tailored approach that respects disciplinary methodologies and fosters genuine ethical engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on various sociological theories on the characteristics of work, profession, and service, the paper analyses the validity of the classification of teachers’ occupation as a profession, raising the question of what teaching is if not a profession. It also explores the trend of the changing social position of teachers’ professional activities in contemporary contexts. The introductory part of the article reveals the sociological content of the concepts of profession, work, and service. It explains what features allow these concepts to categorize various occupations. Based on Abbott’s (1988) analysis of the development of professions, it identifies the processes taking place in all professions causing them to lose their privileged status in society. The loss of status of professions is analysed through the concepts of professionalization, deprofessionalization, bureaucratization, and proletarianization. The characteristics of these processes are revealed based on various authors.Based on theoretical studies, the article analyses the results of empirical research conducted in the spring of 2023. The research ‘Teachers’ daily professional activities’ was designed using the photovoice method. The study involved 47 teachers with different professional experiences from different regions of Lithuania. The study revealed that teaching in contemporary contexts is experiencing all the symptoms of deprofessionalization and bureaucratisation, as well as intensive proletarianization of teaching: teachers are subjected to various forms of exploitation; alienation from the school and pupils is increasing, and teachers are being dehumanized. The article concludes with the discussion statements.

The article discusses the comparison between Han Feizi's bureaucratic system and Max Weber's, emphasizing how Weber's theory of bureaucratic administration helps us understand Han Feizi's political thought. Topics include the key elements of Weber's definition of the state, the characteristics of bureaucratic administration, and the relevance of bureaucratic systems in contemporary governance.

The enthusiasm for research in an Indigenous context has led to the introduction of formal guidelines for researchers to visit communities. While welcome, this has not been achieved without increased bureaucratization of research relationships. It appears that many Indigenous communities, with their limited resources, are ill-equipped to deal with the administrative imperatives of Indigenous research protocols. Based on the experiences of anthropological field research in the Innu context, this article shows how respectful research relationships could be established outside the bureaucratic and administrative framework generally advocated by research protocols. The heart of this approach lies in the researcher􀂶s radical participation in social life, and more specifically in taking seriously the social premises of the people with whom he works. The mistake would be to think that this collaborative approach is situated in informality: rather, it takes place within an eminently formal framework that corresponds to the criteria and values of the researcher􀂶s Indigenous collaborators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article emphasizes the importance of separating the debates on regulating psychotropic substances for therapeutic use and legalizing them for non-therapeutic use. The two domains differ significantly in decision-making processes, with therapeutic use being based on scientific evidence and non-therapeutic use being influenced by political, social, and economic considerations. Blurring the boundaries between these two spheres can lead to problems such as de-scientification in therapy development and the medicalization of recreational use. The article argues for the recognition of the consumption of psychedelics as a civil right and the need for regulation rather than medicalization. [Extracted from the article]

This contribution intends to shed light on the development of the rule of law, particularly by questioning the existence of such rule of law in early modern Amsterdam. In literature, thinner and thicker definitions are given, mostly presented as a continuum. This contribution will focus on mercantile customary law as it is a legal source that hardly fits in the literature-based categories. The importance of customary law seems to have decreased parallel with the bureaucratization of law; similarly this legal source can be considered as relatively democratic as it was based on the consent of a certain community. This ambiguity was also part of an old debate among legal historians. Some have indeed argued that custom was indeed solely based on the tacit consent of communities while others claimed that custom was a legalistic source in the sense that it provided formal rules of decision often written down in a way very similar to law books. This debate runs parallel to the question to what extend merchants made use of public institutions in the organisation of their trades. With regard to early modern Amsterdam, this contribution argues on the basis of a variety of primary sources that lawyers and proctors had a relatively advanced legal system at their disposal in which moral convictions played an important role. The example of the city's weigh house will be used to elaborate on the precise way the institutional and legal frameworks were applied in mercantile practice. It will be concluded that many mercantile customary norms can be linked to institutions like the weigh house, but that this institutionalisation was not necessarily at odds with a continuation or even development of democratic elements. Especially the guilds functioned as a vehicle that helped to articulate tacit customs while having a great influence on Amsterdam politics at the same time. For this reason it should be seriously considered that Amsterdam already had a relatively advanced legal system that was dependent on bureaucratic institutions in the early modern period. Such system should be considered as an important step towards the presence of the rule of law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Copyright of Acta Paedagogica Vilnensia is the property of Vilnius University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

José Ortega y Gasset and Hannah Arendt were two thinkers influenced by the phenomenological tradition for whom worldly experiences within a specific circumstance were essential to what it means to be human. This article, first, examines their notions of 'amor mundi' (Arendt) and 'salvation of circumstance' (Ortega), pointing out their similarities concerning the individual's relationship to the world. It then moves on to investigate some of Ortega's and Arendt's conceptions about science, technology, and the concomitant bureaucratization and technocratization of the world. The main thesis of this article will be that both thinkers fundamentally coincide on how the individual must relate to an increasingly scientifically and technologically-mediated world that produces isolation and mass--people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]