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Gender Equality Barriers in Agriculture and Life Sciences in Central European Universities
Get PDFThe European Union aims to foster research excellence, among others, by increasing gender equality (GE) in the European research area. The mandatory introduction of gender equality plans (GEP) mobilised universities to assess, target, and monitor GE in different fields of science. A wide range of barriers have been explored in STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), characterised by the low participation of women. However, significant obstacles to GE can emerge in relatively more gender‐balanced and, therefore, rarely studied fields, such as agriculture and life sciences (ALS). Experiences can differ in Central and Eastern European countries, characterised by rather traditional gender and family norms. This study explores different stakeholders' perceptions of the main barriers of GE, with particular attention to ALS. We conducted nine focus groups (82 participants in total) with middle management, academic staff, and students from Czech, Hungarian, and Slovenian universities, aiming to contribute to the revision of their first GEP. Discussions were centred on recruitment, leadership positions, work–life balance, gender‐based violence, sexual harassment, organisational culture, integrating the gender dimension into research and teaching, and institutionalisation of GEPs. Findings revealed that women in ALS face partly similar gender‐based obstacles to their counterparts in less gender‐balanced fields - perceptions of education and career choices, work–life imbalance, and exclusion by recruitment and promotion practices - and also additional ALS‐related challenges of laboratory and fieldwork. Findings highlight the need for institutions to carefully address these areas in their state‐of‐the‐art assessments and develop sector‐specific, tailor‐made GEPs
Empirical Theory of Science - A Research Program
No full text"Empirical theory of science" (EToS) is a research program which draws on the philosophy of science (or "theory of science" in its German translation) and on the empirical studies of science as conducted in the social sciences ("Science Studies," "Science and Technology Studies"). Since both approaches seem to have not been integrated, the paper sketches the concept of social knowledge within communicative constructivism, which provides the background for EToS. Because the author is located in the social sciences, the paper focuses on issues in the philosophy of the social sciences from the perspective of the sociology of knowledge. While we need to leave out some topics such as "value-freedom" or "objectivity," which have been debated already since the times of classical sociology, the problem of relativism will then be discussed, which has moved to the center of interest by the recent rise of new realism, anti-constructivist, and anti-scientific positions. Linked to these debates, the paper will turn to the issue of the "demarcation of science" or its "independence." Then two examples of EToS will be presented that result from reflexive empirical studies of science: Social Theorizing and Reflexive Methodology. By way of conclusion, the paper contextualizes the relevance of EToS for doing science now and in the future
Beyond the Benchmarks: Empirical Theory of Science and Hydrological Knowledge Production in The Mekong Region
No full textThis article critically examines hydrological science in the Mekong region, arguing that it is not merely technical but profoundly cultural and political. Employing Hubert Knoblauch's Empirical Theory of Science (EToS) and based on ethnographic research within a prominent Thai hydrological institution, the article analyzes the institutional, interactional, and subjective dimensions of hydrological knowledge production. It highlights how dominant scientific paradigms and mathematical models systematically marginalize alternative ecological and indigenous knowledges, reinforcing a technocratic control of river management. Situating hydrological practices within historical contexts - from colonial cartography through Cold War modernization to contemporary development - the article critiques positivist reductionism for neglecting socio-ecological complexities. It advocates methodological pluralism and inclusive water governance, emphasizing reflexive scientific practices sensitive to the dynamic interactions be-tween science, culture, society, and ecology to effectively address pressing environmental challenges in the Mekong region
The Subordination of Economic Expertise: The Case of the Ecuadorian Dollarization
No full textUnder what social conditions is economic expertise produced? How do local and transnational elites impact the production of expertise? We address these questions by analyzing Ecuador's formal dollar adoption in the year 2000. Our study examines the economic, social, familial, and political backgrounds of 131 experts, including their connections with local and transnational elites 20 years before and 24 years after the dollarization. Using field theory, multiple correspondence analysis (MCA), and in-depth interviews, we identify the composition of this field of expertise and explore its dynamics over the past four decades. We argue that economic expertise is substantially subjugated to the elite’s interests. Elites influence expertise through economic and political connections with mainstream media outlets and professional, bureaucratic, and academic clusters. Regarding dollarization, experts did not drive the decision; instead, they adapted their position-taking to the elite's convenience. Experts with higher cultural capital but lower economic capital are increasingly isolated in this scenario. These findings suggest the necessity of questioning the consequences of an increasingly homogeneous field of economic expertise that is dependent on elites' interests
On the Nexus of Economic Knowledge Production and Expertise in Policymaking
No full textEconomists and economic knowledge are crucial for policymaking in modern societies. The role of economists relies on a production of economic knowledge that follows the idea of value-free and objective explanation and prediction of economic phenomena within a specific methodology. Conducting a critical discourse analysis of interviews on the YouTube channel "Jung & Naiv" with German economists, holding both a professorship in academia and a position in policy advisory, we analyze the interplay between economic knowledge production and economic expertise. The majority of economists follow the philosophical understanding of a closed-system ontology, instrumentalism, the falsification of mathematical models, and political neutrality, comprising a technical understanding of economic expertise. This implies the view that not just the solutions for but also the definition of political problems should shift from democratically legitimized institutions towards experts bodies, reflecting an economists’ self-image as expertocrats
Hijacking Democracy: Proposals on the Future of the European Union in Czechia, Hungary, and Slovakia (2015-2022)
Get PDFEU integration has opened new controversies in making sense of democracy. This article studies how discourses on democracy in EU integration open spaces to hijack the concept of democracy, using a novel empirical dataset on proposals for reforming EU democracy formulated during the rise of the "EU crisis" rhetoric between 2015-2022. The analysis focuses on 131 proposals from Czechia, Hungary, and Slovakia as sources with the rationale to present forward‐looking claims on EU democracy. The three EU member states have struggled with post‐1989 democratic consolidation. Between 2015-2022, fundamental tenets of democracy continued to be undermined in Hungary with implications for the decision‐making and legitimacy of the EU institutions. The analysis finds limited conceptual innovations in references to democracy in the proposals. Moreover, it shows how illiberal actors, identified by conceptions of democracy reduced to (state‐level) majority rule, present conventionally antidemocratic ideas as embodying the spirit of democracy. In all three countries, democratic actors broadly failed to counter these hijacking attempts. The findings underscore the impoverished discourses on democracy in the context of EU integration in the small Visegrad countries. They also call for enhanced public representations of views on the EU in an inclusive manner
Political Discourse, Emotions, and Polarization: A Case Study of the President of the Madrid Region
Get PDFIn this article, I take a constructionist approach to study the strategic use of emotions as a polarizing tool by the current president of the region of Madrid, Isabel Díaz-Ayuso. Most of the existing discourse studies on emotions focus on their categorization (since Damasio, 1994; Nabi, 2002; Scheibenzuber et al., 2023). However, categories by themselves do not explain why emotions work so well in political and polarizing discourses, which are the main interest of the present study. That is why emotions are here understood as object-oriented mental states that are distinguished between two different types of objects: the deep object (the one perceived by the person constructing the emotion as both valuable and vulnerable) and the shallow object (the one perceived as affecting the deep object). The discourse conveys a relation between them that can be positive (an opportunity) or negative (a threat), triggering positive or negative emotions, respectively. This research shows how analysing emotions as evaluative/cognitive constructions helps us to understand their success in the current political landscape. It also shows that messages about different topics can convey the same emotional structure, being therefore part of the same communicative strategy. I use as a case study the speeches by Díaz-Ayuso at the Assembly of Madrid because she is a very polarizing political figure. I approach it under the hypothesis that her discourses employ a strategy of using emotions for political intentions
Ethnische Diskriminierung im Bildungssystem - Reales Problem, begrenzte Erklärungskraft: Ein Plädoyer für eine ganzheitliche Bildungsforschung
Get PDFObwohl viele Schüler*innen mit Migrationshintergrund von Diskriminierungserfahrungen im deutschen Bildungssystem berichten, zeigen groß angelegte Studien, dass diese Erfahrungen allein die bestehenden Bildungsungleichheiten - wenn überhaupt - nur sehr begrenzt erklären. Dieser Policy Brief stellt die These auf, dass ethnische Diskriminierung zwar ein reales Problem ist, jedoch keine dominante Ursache für ethnische Unterschiede im Bildungserfolg darstellt. Stattdessen wirken vor allem soziale Herkunft und familiäre Ressourcen als zentrale Einflussfaktoren. Der Beitrag verweist auf subtile Prozesse wie stereotype Erwartungen, kompensatorisches Lehrkräfteverhalten (shifting standards) und Bildungsresilienz von Schüler*innen mit Migrationshintergrund als mögliche Erklärungen, warum ethnische Diskriminierung sich nicht stärker auf ethnische Unterschiede im Bildungserfolg niederschlägt. Der Policy Brief plädiert für eine ganzheitliche Bildungsforschung, die langfristige Verläufe, multiple Einflussfaktoren und migrationssensible Perspektiven systematisch berücksichtigt
The Decline of Western Influence in Africa: Three Consequences
Get PDFSome 140 years after the infamous Berlin Conference, a new and different scramble for Africa is underway. Non-Western external actors such as China, Russia, and many Middle Eastern states have taken an increasing interest in Africa, leading to a decline of Western influence on the continent. What will be the consequences?
First, African governments already have a range of choices regarding their external partners. This increases their agency, which can foster more equal partnerships.
Second, the effects of a changing geopolitical landscape and Africa’s realignment in a multipolar world will also depend on their quality of governance. If governments do not promote democracy and sound development, the effects will be problematic – not least for respective domestic populations themselves.
Third, consequences will also materialise on the systemic level, and potentially include considerable risks of conflict when external actors support rival factions within African countries, as during the Cold War or presently in Sudan
Strategic Communication for Crisis Management in Public Health Institutions: Lessons from Nigeria and Beyond
Get PDFStrategic communication plays a central role in public health crisis management, especially during high-impact emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper presents a comparative case analysis of strategic communication practices across two public health institutions: the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and the U.S.-based HEAL (Health Equity Action Lab), a data-focused public health initiative committed to advancing health equity and strengthening crisis response among underserved communities. Using a qualitative content analysis of secondary data, including institutional reports, press briefings, global frameworks (WHO, CDC), and scholarly evaluations, the study explores how communication clarity, transparency, timeliness, leadership visibility, and stakeholder engagement influenced public trust and crisis responsiveness. The analysis identifies key divergences and similarities in the communication strategies employed by each institution. HEAL demonstrated high leadership visibility and message clarity but lacked robust feedback mechanisms and transparency. NCDC showed improvement over time but was often constrained by reactive messaging and limited stakeholder inclusion. A thematic integration reveals that institutions with consistent messaging and participatory planning were better able to maintain public confidence and internal alignment. The study concludes by highlighting the consequences of weak strategic communication, such as public scepticism, misinformation spread, and non-compliance. It proposes a cross-context framework for strengthening crisis communication in future emergencies. These findings offer actionable insights for public health leaders and policymakers in both developed and developing settings