How European Protest Transforms Institutions of the Public Sphere - Discourse and Decision-Making in the European Social Forum Process

Against the background of the alleged democratic deficit of EU institutions, this case study explores how politicization and emerging transnational public spaces in European protest movements innovate existing practices of discursive or grassroots deliberative democracy in national social movements. I studied the European Social Forum (ESF) process, a transnational participatory democracy platform created by civil society groups and social movement organizations. I explored discourse and decision-making in the small-scale European Assemblies in which hundreds of activists have met six times a year since 2002 to organize the ESFs, and form campaigns on issues such as global and social justice, peace, climate change, migration, health, or education. Comparing activists’ democratic norms and discourse practices in these frequently occurring European Assemblies with social forum assemblies at the national level in Germany, Italy and the UK, I arrived at a surprising result: European Assemblies reflect a higher degree of discursive inclusivity, dialogue and transparency in decision-making and discussion compared to national social forum assemblies. In this paper I discuss structural, strategic and cultural changes that occur in the process of a Europeanization from below, that is, when social movement activists work together transnationally across a certain time period. I argue that European protest as a form of contentious Europeanization has developed new social practices and actors that innovate existing practices of participatory democracy at the national level, showing the relevance of social movements to democratize European integration.democracy; integration theory; democracy; European Public Sphere; Europeanization; Europeanization

Is ‘Another’ Public Sphere Actually Possible? The Case of “Women Without” in the European Social Forum Process as a Critical Test for Deliberative Democracy

This paper presents results of a cross-national comparative research project on the case of democracy in the European Social Forums (ESFs) process over the period from 2003 to 2005. The various progressive social movements engaged in the European Social Forums process try to construct “another world” and “another public sphere” internally within their own practices of participatory and deliberative democracy in public forums. This includes fighting discriminations against women in general and women from non-western European parts of the world in particular. I take as my point of departure the case of “women without,” that is women activists who lack financial resources and/or have problems participating in transnational meetings because of border or visa restrictions. In the context of the European, preparatory meetings to the ESF, these women are for the most part either migrants living in the European Union or women coming from Eastern, South or Central Europe. To what extent do the effective processes of decision-making in the ESF preparatory process include the perspective and claims of materially less privileged participants, in particular these distinct groups of “women without”? Based on a feminist critique of the Habermasian model of deliberative democracy, I discuss the quality of democratic deliberation in the ESF’s assemblies from the perspective of the networks of “women without.” Then, as a second step, I show how the strategies of these materially less privileged activists break discursive mechanisms of exclusion inside the ESF process and build their own transnational networks subverting the ruling discourse structure of the ESF

Democratic Innovation in the U.S. and European Social Forums

Democratization is an ongoing, conflict-ridden process, resulting from contestation between social movements and political elites (Markoff 1996; Tilly 1984). The struggle to make elites more accountable to a larger public has produced the democratic institutions with which we are familiar, and it continues to shape and reconfigure these institutions. It also transforms the individuals and organizations involved in social change, generating social movement cultures, norms and practices that evolve over time. In this chapter, we conceptualize the World Social Forum (WSF) process as part of a larger historical struggle over people’s right to participate in decisions that affect their lives. We examine the democratic practices and norms developed in the US and European Social Forum processes

Politicizing Precarity, Producing Visual Dialogues on Migration: Transnational Public Spaces in Social Movements

En un período caracterizado por la débil aceptación pública sobre la integración europea, el propósito de este artículo es analizar imágenes creadas por los activistas transnacionales que buscan politizar la cuestión social y la subjetividad de los migrantes en la Unión Europea (UE) Exploraré el contenido de los carteles e imágenes producidos por los activistas de los movimientos sociales para sus acciones europeas de protesta locales y conjuntas, y compartidas en blogs y páginas web. Sospecho que la poco explorada dimensión visual de los espacios públicos transnacionales emergentes creada por los activistas ofrece un prometedor campo de análisis. Mi intención es dar un ejemplo empírico de cómo podemos estudiar el potencial de los "diálogos visuales" en los espacios públicos transnacionales creados dentro de los movimientos sociales. Un caso interesante para el análisis visual es la red popular de los grupos activistas locales que crearon un común "Día euro en mayo" contra la precariedad y que movilizaron marchas de protesta por todo Europa. Primero discutiré la importancia de los "diálogos visuales" en tales protestas desde la perspectiva de teorías discursivas de democracia y de estudios de movimientos sociales. Luego discuto el compartir las imágenes visuales de los activistas transnacionales como una práctica cultural potencialmente innovadora que tuvo como objetivo politizar y reinterpretar los imaginarios oficiales de ciudadanía, la flexibilidad del trabajo y la libre movilidad en Europa. También discuto los límites de los "diálogos visuales" transnacionales emergentes planteados por las culturas visuales de lugares específicos. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs1002308Dieser Artikel befasst sich mit transnationaler Aktivist/innen, die soziale Prekarisierung, Handlungsmöglichkeiten und Subjektivität von Migrant/innen in der Europäischen Union (EU) kritisch sichtbar machen wollen. Meine Analyse interessiert sich für den Inhalt von Postern und visuellen Bildern, die Aktivist/innen für ihre lokalen und europäischen Protestaktionen ins Netz stellen und über gemeinsame Blogs oder auf Treffen austauschen. Ich vermute, dass die kaum erforschte visuelle Dimension transnationaler Öffentlichkeit in sozialen Bewegungen ein wichtiges Feld soziologischer Analyse politischer Prozesse darstellt. Mein Artikel untersucht, wie wir Möglichkeiten visueller Dialoge in transnationalen Öffentlichkeiten erforschen können, und was sie uns aus der Perspektive diskursiver Demokratietheorien sagen. Meine empirische Fallstudie beschäftigt sich mit "EuroMayday", einem zunächst lokalen, später transnationalen und beachtlich herangewachsenen Netzwerk für kritischen Protest und Paraden zur Prekarisierung in mehreren europäischen Ländern. Zunächst werde ich die Möglichkeit und die kommunikativen Facetten visueller Dialoge im translokalen EuroMayday-Netzwerk betrachten. Anschließend diskutiere ich die soziale Praxis des Teilens einzelner visueller Bilder über gemeinsame europäische Blogs und Kommunikationsmedien von Mayday-Gruppen in Italien und Deutschland. Abschließend zeige ich einige der kulturellen Bedingungen, die einen Austausch visueller Bilder zu einer möglicherweise innovativen politischen Praxis der transnationalen Kommunikation von Migrant/innen und Bürger/innen machen. Ich frage, ob visuelle Bilder eine Politisierung und kritische Umdeutung offizieller Visionen zu europäischer Bürgerschaft, flexibler Arbeit und des Rechts auf Reisefreiheit vordenken. Auch die politischen Grenzen potenziell transnationaler und doch lokal-kulturell kodierter Öffentlichkeitsräume in Bewegungen bringe ich zur Sprache. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs1002308In a period characterized by weak public consent over European integration, the purpose of this article is to analyze images created by transnational activists who aim to politicize the social question and migrants' subjectivity in the European Union (EU). I will explore the content of posters and images produced by social movement activists for their local and joint European protest actions, and shared on blogs and homepages. I suspect that the underexplored visual dimension of emerging transnational public spaces created by activists offers a promising field of analysis. My aim is to give an empirical example of how we can study potential "visual dialogues" in transnational public spaces created within social movements. An interesting case for visual analysis is the grassroots network of local activist groups that created a joint "EuroMayday" against precarity and which mobilized protest parades across Europe. I will first discuss the relevance of "visual dialogues" in the EuroMayday protests from the perspective of discursive theories of democracy and social movements studies. Then I discuss activists' transnational sharing of visual images as a potentially innovative cultural practice aimed at politicizing and re-interpreting official imaginaries of citizenship, labor flexibility and free mobility in Europe. I also discuss the limits on emerging transnational "visual dialogues" posed by place-specific visual cultures. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs100230

How European protest transforms institutions of the public sphere: discourse and decision-making in the European Social Forum process

"Against the background of the alleged democratic deficit of EU institutions, this case study explores how politicization and emerging transnational public spaces in European protest movements innovate existing practices of discursive or grassroots deliberative democracy in national social movements. I studied the European Social Forum (ESF) process, a transnational participatory democracy platform created by civil society groups and social movement organizations. I explored discourse and decision-making in the small-scale European Assemblies in which hundreds of activists have met six times a year since 2002 to organize the ESFs, and form campaigns on issues such as global and social justice, peace, climate change, migration, health, or education. Comparing activists' democratic norms and discourse practices in these frequently occurring European Assemblies with social forum assemblies at the national level in Germany, Italy and the UK, I arrived at a surprising result: European Assemblies reflect a higher degree of discursive inclusivity, dialogue and transparency in decision-making and discussion compared to national social forum assemblies. In this paper I discuss structural, strategic and cultural changes that occur in the process of a Europeanization "from below", that is, when social movement activists work together transnationally across a certain time period. I argue that European protest as a form of contentious Europeanization has developed new social practices and actors that innovate existing practices of participatory democracy at the national level, showing the relevance of social movements to democratize European integration." (author's abstract

SUPERVISOR AND COWORKER BARRIERS TO EMPLOYEES’ USE OF FLEXIBLE WORK ARRANGEMENTS AND EXTENDED LEAVES OF ABSENCE IN CONSULTING FIRMS

Work-life balance includes options for the employee to complete work away from the office, provide for child care, and attend to personal needs. The benefits of these options include employee retention, productivity, job satisfaction, and engagement, among others. However, for organizations to realize these benefits, employees must use the options available to them. Little research has focused on what barriers exist to employees’ use of work-life balance policies, and no studies have explored the barriers as they exist in consulting firms, notorious for poor work-life balance. This study does just that, and its ultimate goal is to provide insight to consulting firms where they can support employees in their efforts to make use of work-life balance options. Results indicate that supervisor support can help employees use flexible work arrangements and extended leaves of absence, and that supervisor and coworker support will influence an employee’s use of extended leaves of absence.M.A

Development of flavonoid compounds in Norton and Cabernet Sauvignon grape skins during maturation

"May 2014."Thesis supervisor: Dr. Reid Smeda.Norton is an important grape cultivar that is native to Missouri and grown widely because of disease resistance and wine quality. Wine quality is related to levels of flavonoids, and vineyard practices influence flavonoid accumulations. However, little research has examined accumulation of flavonoids in Norton fruit over the growing season. A two-year (2012-2013) study was initiated using Norton and Cabernet Sauvignon vines at Mountain Grove, MO, and a one year study in (2013) using Norton vines at Rocheport, MO. Cabernet Sauvignon, a well-studied grape cultivar was monitored for flavonoid accumulation as a comparison to Norton. Berry samples were collected at six stages of maturation from green berries at 43 days after flowering (DAF) to harvest (125 DAF). Levels of sugars, acids, and flavonoids such as anthocyanins, tannins, and total phenolics were estimated from berry skins at each harvest date. Compared to Cabernet Sauvignon, Norton had 15% higher sugars, 9% higher acids, 72% higher anthocyanins, 40% lower tannins, and 9% lower total phenolics averaged over six stages. High levels of anthocyanins in Norton would contribute to higher quality wine based on color. However, lower tannin levels will result in a less astringent wine; tannins are added during fermentation to adjust astringency. Lower total phenolic content can decrease the stability of wine limiting storage. Documentation of Norton berry flavonoid content will allow future research to determine how vineyard practices can alter the concentration of flavonoids during berry development.Includes bibliographical references

A Temporary Pause in the Replication Licensing Restriction Leads to Rereplication during Early Human Cell Differentiation

Gene amplifications in amphibians and flies are known to occur during development and have been well characterized, unlike in mammalian cells, where they are predominantly investigated as an attribute of tumors. Recently, we first described gene amplifications in human and mouse neural stem cells, myoblasts, and mesenchymal stem cells during differentiation. The mechanism leading to gene amplifications in amphibians and flies depends on endocycles and multiple origin-firings. So far, there is no knowledge about a comparable mechanism in normal human cells. Here, we describe rereplication during the early myotube differentiation of human skeletal myoblast cells, using fiber combing and pulse-treatment with EdU (50 -Ethynyl-20 -deoxyuridine)/CldU (5-Chlor-20 - deoxyuridine) and IdU (5-Iodo-20 -deoxyuridine)/CldU. We found rereplication during a restricted time window between 2 h and 8 h after differentiation induction. Rereplication was detected in cells simultaneously with the amplification of the MDM2 gene. Our findings support rereplication as a mechanism enabling gene amplification in normal human cells

An open toolkit for tracking open science partnership implementation and impact.

Serious concerns about the way research is organized collectively are increasingly being raised. They include the escalating costs of research and lower research productivity, low public trust in researchers to report the truth, lack of diversity, poor community engagement, ethical concerns over research practices, and irreproducibility. Open science (OS) collaborations comprise of a set of practices including open access publication, open data sharing and the absence of restrictive intellectual property rights with which institutions, firms, governments and communities are experimenting in order to overcome these concerns. We gathered two groups of international representatives from a large variety of stakeholders to construct a toolkit to guide and facilitate data collection about OS and non-OS collaborations. Ultimately, the toolkit will be used to assess and study the impact of OS collaborations on research and innovation. The toolkit contains the following four elements: 1) an annual report form of quantitative data to be completed by OS partnership administrators; 2) a series of semi-structured interview guides of stakeholders; 3) a survey form of participants in OS collaborations; and 4) a set of other quantitative measures best collected by other organizations, such as research foundations and governmental or intergovernmental agencies. We opened our toolkit to community comment and input. We present the resulting toolkit for use by government and philanthropic grantors, institutions, researchers and community organizations with the aim of measuring the implementation and impact of OS partnership across these organizations. We invite these and other stakeholders to not only measure, but to share the resulting data so that social scientists and policy makers can analyse the data across projects

The Key Features of a Genetic Nondiscrimination Policy

Importance: Governments worldwide have become increasingly cognizant of the spread of genetic discrimination (negative treatment or harm on the basis of actual or presumed genetic characteristics). Despite efforts by a number of governments to establish regulations addressing this phenomenon, public concern about genetic discrimination persists. Objective: To identify key elements of an optimal genetic nondiscrimination policy and inform policymakers as they seek to allay genetic nondiscrimination and related public anxieties. Evidence Review: Sixty multidisciplinary experts from 20 jurisdictions worldwide were consulted to understand their views on effective genetic nondiscrimination policies. Following standard requirements of the Delphi method, 3 rounds of surveys over the course of 1.5 years were conducted. Round 1 focused on assessing participants' understanding of the intricacies of existing genetic nondiscrimination policies, while rounds 2 and 3 invited participants to reflect on specific means of implementing a more effective regime. A total of 60 respondents participated in the first round, 53 participated in round 2, and 43 participated in round 3. Findings: While responses varied across disciplines, there was consensus that binding regulations that reach across various sectors are most useful in preventing genetic discrimination. Overall, experts agreed that human rights-based approaches are well suited to preventing genetic discrimination. Experts also agreed that explicit prohibition of genetic discrimination within nondiscrimination policies can highlight the importance of genetic nondiscrimination as a fundamental right and ensure robust protection at a national level. While most participants believed the international harmonization of genetic nondiscrimination laws would facilitate data sharing worldwide, they also recognized that regulations must reflect the sociocultural differences that exist among regions. Conclusions and Relevance: As the reach of genetic discrimination continues to evolve alongside developments in genomics, strategic policy responses that are harmonious at the international and state levels will be critical to address this phenomenon. In seeking to establish comprehensive frameworks, policymakers will need to be mindful of regional and local circumstances that influence the need for and efficacy of unique genetic nondiscrimination approaches across diverse contexts