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<p>Placed within the context of the dynamic relationship that exists between state-level actors, supranational institutions, and individual citizens in Europe, this analysis endeavours to examine some of the main issues surrounding European integration theory, the institutionalisation of the European Union, and the so-called 'democratic deficit'. While recognising that much of the debate surrounding multilevel governance in Europe has traditionally focused upon the effects convergence has and will continue to have on predominantly state-level variables, it is my contention that centralised political institutions in European are bound to endure perpetual mismanagement and a lack of majority individual support should the integration process continue down the path of political integration and 'polity'-building without first resolving inherent legitimacy problems. Furthermore, without entrenching the necessary foundations of legitimate governance within the integration process, political allegiance to the European Union will never be able to achieve the same level of tacit support amongst individuals as primary allegiance to the nation-state. The analysis thus focuses on how European integration and 'supranationalism' has affected the relationship that exists between individual citizens and decision-makers at the 'European' level, vis-a-vis democracy, accountability, transparency and accessibility. An assumption is first made that legitimacy' in governance flows from the existence of strong democratic linkages between individual citizens and their decision-makers (vis-a-vis output, input and social legitimacy). Building heavily upon the work of Held, Schmitter and Dahl, the thesis compares the institutional structure of the EU to a model of 'legitimate' democratic governance. It also raised questions concerning the transferability, to the supranational level, of state-centred theories of democracy and representation, and challenges several approaches to understanding the place of 'identity' and Putnam's 'social capital' and 'trust' in polity-building. To accomplish this task, a normative and functional evaluation is conducted on the 'nature' of the European Union and its institutions (intergovernmentalism vs. supranationalism). Milward's definition of 'allegiance' is also particularly helpful in describing the multi-layered characteristic of individual identification towards different levels of national and supranational governance, especially in a European context. </p> <p>Following the theoretical portion of the analysis, a closer examination is made of the institutions of the European Union and their respective levels of transparency and accountability. As a case study, the Report of the Committee of Independent Experts to the European Parliament (March 1999) is used to show how ineffective some of the institutions, namely the European Commission, have been at resolving perceived accountability problems. The thesis suggests how core institutions may be reformed, as well as alternatives to the current structure of the Union's activities. The analysis then concludes by focusing on how legitimate structures of governance have been jeopardised in Europe, and how the integration process has, and continues to, place the advantages accrued through economic harmonisation and policy convergence ahead of the need for political stability and the entrenchment of strong, democratic institutions at the supranational level.</p> / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

<p>The dissertation examines the evolution of global activism and collective identities for three small non-governmental organizations: the Grand Council of the Crees, the Saami Council, and Medecins Sans Frontieres-Canada. The three organizations are considered over a period of fifteen years, from 1990 to 2005. Global activism is an aspect of globalization that can take many different forms, as the three cases show. The study looks at the objectives pursued through global activism and the arguments used by the organizations, the alliances they create and the publics they target to achieve their objectives. From well-organized campaigns to sporadic interventions in global forums, the diversity in the forms of global activism demonstrates the creativity of the organizations and the different issues for which global activism is considered useful. Small groups can participate in the debates surrounding globalization, and sometimes create the spaces in which these debates can take place.</p> <p>The identity at the core of each organization has changed over the period studied. By looking at the self-definition of the organization, its actual roles and power, its leadership, and its relationships with its membership or the people it represents, one can understand better this evolution and how it is related to the global activism carried out by each organization. There are connections between these changes in identities and activism, and the comparative analysis presented in the dissertation illustrates how taking part in globalization can change an organization and allow it to reach its objectives.</p> / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

No / UN peacekeeping is once again undergoing a period of intense critical scrutiny. Having passed through three major phases of development, from first (classical or traditional) to second (multidimensional) generation configurations, to a third phase in the mid- and late 1990s when peace support operations emerged, it currently faces another period of transition. This article speculates about the possible configuration of peacekeeping and its role in global politics. Debates about the role of peacekeeping in the international system should bring to the forefront a conception and practice of cosmopolitan peacekeeping, involving a capacity to protect civilians from violent conflict (the negative peace dimension) and a the capacity to address the human security agenda adopted by the UN in recent years.

A central concern of media scholars such as Ben Bagdikian and Robert McChesney is the undemocratic potential of the U.S. mainstream media system, dominated by a small number of highly consolidated, multinational, corporate media firms. In this context, other scholars, including Chris Atton, John Downing, Stephen Duncombe, Nina Eliasoph, and Clemencia Rodriguez, have argued for the importance of citizens' media, defined as citizen-run, non-profit, independent media projects that may have greater democratic potential. Since the majority of research into citizens' media has focused on media from urban cities, this thesis offers discussion and analysis of a progressive citizen'­s paper, the New River Free Press, located in a rural, Appalachian community that is home to a large technical, military, state university. After first reviewing major scholarly criticism of mainstream media in a democratic society and characteristics and debates about citizen'­s media, this thesis uses interviews of key staff members and textual analysis of archived past issues of the New River Free Press to situate the paper in the citizen'­s media literature. Ultimately, this thesis locates citizens' media as a necessity for democratic societies, suggesting methods of resistance against undemocratic practice and the further consolidation and monopolization of the global media system. / Master of Arts

Yes / Citizens’ satisfaction is acknowledged as one of the most significant influences for e-government adoption and diffusion. This study examines the impact of information quality, system quality, trust, and cost on user satisfaction of e-government services. Using a survey, this study collected 1518 valid responses from e-government service adopters across the United Kingdom. Our empirical outcomes show the five factors identified in this study have a significant impact on U.K. citizens’ satisfaction with e-government services.

Yes / Having its origin in public administration, trustworthiness is a significant concept in digital government research, influencing the relationships between citizens and governments. However, the interrelationships between the facets of trustworthiness are given inadequate attention. Therefore, the aim of this research was to develop a theory detailing the factors affecting citizens’ perceptions of e-government trustworthiness. A comprehensive review of public administration and information systems literature highlighted 20 pertinent variables. The interrelationships of these variables were identified and categorized according to their driving and dependence power by employing interpretive structural modelling. The proposed model was then drawn based on the level partitioning of variables and interrelationships of the variables determined using the final reachability matrix. The findings reveal that current conceptualizations of digital government trustworthiness take a too narrow view. The findings can help government policy makers with understanding the interrelated factors associated with trustworthiness in the context of digital government services and implement them in effective strategic planning.

The diploma thesis analyses education needs of senior citizens in one chosen geographical region, with emphasis on their motivation for further education. The theoretical part explains the basic concepts of geragogy and related areas. The empirical part of this thesis analyses educational needs of senior citizens by means of questionnaires and a controlled interview with a further education provider. KEYWORDS old age, education of senior citizens, motivation, senior citizens, needs, geragogy

Магистерская диссертация состоит из введения, двух глав, заключения, библиографического списка, приложений. В теоретической части представлены основные понятия, этапы трудоустройства иностранных граждан, охарактеризован правовой статус иностранного гражданина, представлено социально-правовое регулирование трудоустройства иностранных граждан. В практической части дана краткая характеристика деятельности и персонала исследуемого предприятия, проведен анализ процесса управления трудоустройством иностранных граждан в ООО «ИРИСТРОЙ». На основе полученных данных разработаны практические рекомендации по совершенствованию процесса управления трудоустройством иностранных граждан. В заключении подведены итоги в соответствии с поставленными задачами. / The master's thesis consists of an introduction, two chapters, a conclusion, a bibliography, annexes. In the theoretical part, the basic concepts, stages of employment of foreign citizens are presented, the legal status of a foreign citizen is characterized, the socio-legal regulation of the employment of foreign citizens is presented. In the practical part, a brief description of the activities and personnel of the investigated enterprise is given, an analysis of the process of managing the employment of foreign citizens in IRISTROY LLC is carried out. On the basis of the data obtained, practical recommendations have been developed for improving the process of managing the employment of foreign citizens. In the conclusion, the results are summed up in accordance with the tasks set.

The aim of this work is to analyze the dynamics of attitudes towards the European Union in the Czech Republic on the basis of the data file from the project "Aktér", which has been realized by the Department of Sociology Faculty of Arts since 1999. In recent years, public euro-skepticism in attitudes of the population of all EU member countries has emerged. The same for the Czech Republic, as evidenced by periodic public opinion surveys (eg Eurobarometer and CVVM). The European Union is perceived negatively by the efforts to intervene in the affairs of nation states. On the other hand, EU brings many new possibilities and opportunities but they are accepted and used selectively. Specific socio-demographic, economic and political characteristics of people differentiate the perception of the European Union. This work reveals whether the skepticism towards the EU is universal phenomenon in the Czech Republic or whether there are population groups that are consistently positive towards a united Europe, and why. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)