The purpose of this research is to analyze Colombian police policy with particular reference to the police and urban policing after the promulgation of the Constitution of 1991. This study examines how the Constitution of 1991 has impacted on the configuration, professionalization and institutionalization of the Colombian police. This dissertation concludes that the new Constitution of 1991 was crucial in transforming an insignificant organization into a noteworthy public institution with its own corporate aims and ethos and a certain autonomy regarding the government, parties, ministries and the military. This research is divided into three main parts. The first one will focus on the police as a structure emphasizing the process of formation, development and institutionalization. It dissects the police structure into five aspects: historical configuration, structural organization, personnel, expenditure and controls. This part shows that the current importance of the police in the Colombian institutional landscape in terms of international aid, personnel and budget increase and public exposure has no precedents prior to 1991.The second part will be devoted to the study of the organizational life of the police force stressing the role played by high-ranking officers in improving the image of the police and, more importantly, in creating a vigorous institution difficult to control from outside, but at the same time, not easy to manage internally as a consequence of the distinction existing between high-ranking and low-ranking officers. The final part of this work examines urban and community policing in large urban areas taking the case of Bogotá. It focuses on the role played by the police in its implementation, successes and failures, concluding that the reluctance of the police to adopt these programmes of policing has limited their productive effects on the actual job and indeed the whole organization.

Much of the scholarship on Europeanization has explained eastern enlargement according to the logics of materialism or constructivism. Materialists argue that candidates' compliance with conditionality demands is rooted in strong external material incentives and a credible shot at membership, while constructivists point to shared identities, norms and values. These are valuable insights, yet they do not address a critical missing element - how the dispersion of ideas influences institutional outcomes in candidate states. This research demonstrates that in order for the EU to have a transformative impact on the political institutions of the states of former Yugoslavia, national political leaders must be able to communicate a satisfying narrative of EU legitimacy that resonates with national narratives of legitimacy when justifying policy choices. The project goes beyond an analysis of compliant/non-compliant behavior to unearth a greater understanding of how, at the hour of accession, elite discourse operates as an agent to reshape histories, form new identities, and mold preferences. Together these processes have profound policy implications for the new regimes, as they lead to decisions that are consequential for institutional development at both the EU and state level. In particular, using a combination of content analysis and an original elite survey, this research finds that elites' ability to express power through ideas and over ideas can transform power in ideas for the cases of Croatia and Serbia/Kosovo. For Croatia, this entails elites creating conditions whereby the public believes in the idea that EU membership represents an 'escape' from the Balkans as opposed to a 'return' to Europe. For Serbia/Kosovo, elites strive to convince citizens that EU membership signifies a 're-branding' of the Balkan image rather than an escape. The Serbia-Kosovo territorial dispute figures prominently in the picture as it pits new ideas - a re-branded 'European' Serbia - against old ideas wherein the Kosovo narrative is essential to Serbian national identity. Serbian elites work to persuade EU and national publics that these ideas are not in tension and promise to deliver on both - attain EU membership and keep Kosovo.

This thesis explores the act of informal reciprocal exchanges and relationships - sometimes referred to as bribes or corruption - within the Cuban healthcare system. The research was conducted in Havana during the autumn of 2018 and was funded by a Minor Field Study scholarship from SIDA. The theoretical framework of Institutionalism is used to answer the research question: For what reasons do patients informally pay for healthcare services, that formally are meant to be free? The study shows through qualitative interview methods, that the perception of informal gift giving varies between the respondents; some consider it to be a way of showing gratitude, while others claim it to be corruption. There was however consensus among the respondents, and also according to previous research, that one’s personal connections within the healthcare system can impact the quality of the services and grant better access to medical resources. The study concludes that gifts can function as a factor creating or strengthening friendships, which may provide better access to healthcare. / Esta tesis explora la acción de intercambios y relaciones recíprocas e informales — a veces llamadas soborno, o corrupción — al interior del sistema de salud en Cuba. La investigación fue desarrollada en La Havana durante el otoño de 2018 y fue financiada mediante una beca del programa de Breves Estudios de Campo de la Agencia Sueca de Cooperación Internacional para el Desarrollo (Asdi). El estudio hace uso del esquema teórico del institucionalismo para responder a la siguiente pregunta: ¿por qué razón los pacientes están dispuestos a pagar informalmente por servicios de salud supuestamente gratuitos? El estudio muestra, mediante el método de entrevistas, que la percepción del presente informal varía entre los entrevistados; algunos lo consideran una manera de mostrar gratitud, mientras que otros lo consideran una forma de corrupción. Sin embargo, existe consenso entre los entrevistados, y también de acuerdo a investigaciones anteriores, en que el acceso a relaciones personales dentro del sistema de salud puede influenciar la calidad del servicio, y asegurar mejor acceso a recursos médicos. El estudio concluye que los obsequios pueden funcionar como una manera de crear o fortalecer amistades — una función importante en la vida de los cubanos — lo que puede resultar en un mejor acceso al servicio de salud.

No description available.

BACKGROUND: It has been claimed that the involvement of commercial companies in medical and health research poses risks relating to potential conflicts of interest. In response, many journals have developed conflict of interest policies, and there has been a proliferation of related guidance from publishers, professional associations and commercial companies, mostly centred on processes of voluntary disclosure. Studies and commentaries on these have raised concerns regarding the adequacy of such practices, but there has been limited analysis of the underlying context – how and why policies have been constructed in this way – or exploration of alternative approaches. AIM: This thesis examines how actors within medical journal publishing conceptualise conflicts of interest. It analyses their understandings of conflicts of interest: which types of interest are deemed most significant; which actor groups are seen as conflicted; and how conflicts are managed. Through doing so, it explores the barriers to, and possibilities of, change. METHODS: The study draws on two distinct sets of data. The first is a sample of conflict of interest policies and guidance. The second is 48 semi-structured interviews with actors working in a range of roles related to medical journal publishing. These data were thematically analysed to illustrate how medical journal publishing conceptualises and manages conflicts of interest, to identify perceived strengths and weaknesses of current approaches, and to identify potential opportunities for improvement. RESULTS: There appears to be an established discourse around conflicts of interest, which emphasises particular stakeholders, while others, who also have opportunities to influence journal content, are frequently absent from the debate. Financial interests are readily highlighted, while non-financial ones receive less attention and are thus often unregulated (Chapter 5). High levels of consistency characterise the ways in which actors discussed the management of conflicts of interest: for example, self-disclosure was regularly highlighted, despite the acknowledged weaknesses of this approach (Chapter 6). The existence of further mechanisms that offer the potential to assist in managing conflicts of interest were identified, though findings suggest that, in practice, these currently have limited uptake (Chapter 7). Interviewees’ suggestions of how conflicts of interest might be better managed (e.g. through greater data transparency) are also analysed. Overall, narrow interpretations of conflicts of interest and their management appear to have become institutionalised in ways that serve to limit the uptake of alternative approaches. DISCUSSION: Given the substantive importance that medical research can have on health policies and treatments, robust processes are required to protect the integrity and legitimacy of journals. This research shows that existing, institutionalised understandings of conflicts of interest have critical limitations, which leaves medical publishing open to potentially unethical practices that may be a source of bias in published evidence. This poses a significant threat to the desire to attain ethically robust, peer-reviewed medical/health research that can be used to inform policy and practice. Drawing on the interview data, the thesis explores some possible alternatives that may warrant further consideration.

In the last twenty years, the way in which individuals consume news about politics has changed. As the internet becomes increasingly accessible, convenient, and inexpensive, more consumers than ever before choose to get their news online. As this migration continues, an understanding of online news consumption becomes increasingly important to the study of media systems. There are several ways in which the internet can be truly transformative - this thesis investigates some of these claims as they pertain to the comparative study of media systems. The primary dimension of analysis presented here investigates the internet's role in facilitating the homogenisation, or convergence of domestic media systems. Using a historical institutionalist approach, this thesis examines internet news in the United States and the United Kingdom, two cases at the centre of this debate. To adequately reflect the diversity present in online news consumption, this project uses a dataset comprised of news stories about two national election campaigns accessed via search engines, news aggregators, and social media. The analysis presented here demonstrates the complexity of the online news environment, highlighting key areas like source distribution and regional news content where path dependency has persisted despite the transition to online news, and those areas such as regional news sources where distinguishing between the two cases is more difficult. Where this is the case, the thesis explores alternative the explanations of Americanisation and technological determinism. Variance between Google, News360, and NewsWhip data collected for this thesis demonstrates how the way in which consumers get their news influences how converged or path dependent the media system appears.

This thesis is an investigation into fundamental questions concerning the aims, purpose and goals of the university within the emerging 21st Century post-industrial, Knowledge Society (KS). Inquiries of this nature are often referred to as the 'idea' of the university and whilst a growing academic literature questions what an 'idea' for the institution may look like in light of the arguably unique context of the Knowledge Society, it has yet to be fully addressed. In order to do so, this thesis is methodologically framed by the sociological school of neo-institutionalism. This is a perspective within institutional theory which views institutions as not passive recipients of social values but able to dictate their own ideals upon society. The university in this view becomes a 'primary institution' capable to imprint its values upon the KS and thus giving it a prominent role in that society. In order to articulate an 'idea' of the university, the thesis begins with a critical review of the literature, specifically the manner in which university-KS relations are conceived. This concludes with a summative statement about such relations in the form of the 'problem of knowledge' i.e. an attitude which increasingly reduces knowledge in the university to means-end and economic propositions. An alternative conceptualisation is proposed which offers an optimistic approach to the university in the KS, one conceived through presumptions by the neo-institutionalist school and coined 'Knowledge Plasticity'. As there are no formal methods for creating an 'idea', the second part of the thesis undertakes an extensive review of seminal works in the field revealing three conditions to which such proposals generally conform. Taken together, these conditions serve as the methodological frame for creating an 'idea' for the university. The first of these, contextual clarity, having been achieved through the literature review, moves to the second condition, theoretical development, and entails an exploration of Knowledge Plasticity. This investigation reveals a 'tension of imbalance' within this concept which the 'idea' of the university must resolve, this being the final condition of the 'idea'. In order to do this, the 'University of Imagination' is identified as the 'idea' whose purpose is to bring about dynamic balance within the institution. Finally, the proposed University of Imagination is compared with the classical Liberal university suggesting a more effective means for the liberal 'idea' to become realised in the KS namely, through engaging with the former. As a philosophical contribution to the literature, the University of Imagination encourages us to be optimistic and emboldened by the project of education and offers a path to navigate the challenges and uncertainties facing the university in the 21st Century.

International investment law has been developing for centuries. During the development process of international investment law, legal norms and principles of international investment law are evolved and shaped as sui generis nature, and separate legal regime as a branch of international law. The contemporary international investment law, according to United Nations Conference on Trade and Development data, currently, 2283 BITs and 280 other investment agreements are in force in international investment system, and high numbers of disputes are pending in different international dispute settlement bodies. These international investment agreements are interpreted and applied by arbitrators at different investor-state dispute settlement institutions or in ad-hoc arbitrations. Different interpretations and paradoxical arbitration awards cause critics regarding consistency, coherence and uniformity issues of the international investment law regime. Given the characteristics of international investment law regime, this thesis aims to study the institutionalisation and constitutionalisation processes of the international investment law regime. Moreover, the thesis attempts to ascertain consistent means by examining the nature of the international investment law regime and its institutionalisation and constitutionalisation processes to solve the issues associated with uniformity consistency and coherence. This thesis can also provide guidance and some recommendations that would have a chance of being carried out regarding new trends and developments of the international investment regime. Therefore, the major concern of this research is to understand the suitability of institutionalisation and constitutionalisation to sustain more consistent, coherent and uniform international investment law regime. In the first part of the research project, the nature of international investment law and its interaction with other international law systems, definitions and the necessity of uniformity, coherence and consistency are scrutinized. The second part starts with the solutions in the literature and their overview, and then institutionalisation and constitutionalisation are discussed. In the last part of this research, the energy sector and the Energy Charter Treaty are examine as case study, trying to understand the current creation of a uniform, coherent and consistent international investment regime in the energy sector. This thesis illustrates the nature of the international investment law regime and concepts of institutionalisation and constitutionalisation in legal perspective, as well as analysing coherence, consistency and uniformity issues of the international investment law regime. This project shows institutionalisation and constitutionalisation are developing processes in international investment law regime and they are consistent with the current global trends and developments of the international investment law regime as a branch of international law. The thesis suggests, despite the presence of the uniformity, consistency and coherence issues in international investment law regime, the international investment regime is the compulsory element of world globalisation, and those issues may be solved via applying new approaches that are consistent with the international investment regime’s sui generis nature and its evolving process. This thesis shows institutionalisation and constitutionalisation are congruent with the sui generis nature of international investment regime and contemporary trends and developments.

<p>Syftet med denna uppsats har varit att ta reda på om skillnader finns i hur stora miljöhänsyn som tas vid offentliga upphandlingar i kommuner där en aktiv miljöstrategi finns integrerad i förvaltningarna än i kommuner där de inte integrerats.</p><p>Jag har utfört en fallstudie på tre kommuner i Sverige där jag kvantitativt samt kvalitativt jämfört förfrågningsunderlag från tre typer av offentliga upphandlingar. Den kvantitativa undersökningen har utgått från Miljöstyrningsrådets och Vägverkets kriteriedokument som ger rekommendationer för hur miljökrav kan ställas vid offentliga upphandlingar.</p><p>Utifrån tidigare teorier om hur institutioner över tid formar normer och värderingar samt påverkar individers handlingar har jag utformat tre hypoteser där slutsatsen kunde dras att en av hypoteserna stämde. Jag kom fram till att oavsett om kommunen hade integrerat en aktiv miljöstrategi eller inte syns inga större skillnader i hur stora miljöhänsyn som tas vid offentliga upphandlingar.</p><p> </p>

<p>The reform of the European Commission has been on the EU agenda for more than three decades. The attempts to introduce an overhaul of the Commission’s institutional structure has been motivated predominantly by the fact that the efficiency of the functioning of the European Commission has been in decline. Despite the striking need to restore the Commission's efficiency, which has become even more urgent in the last decade, the attempts to improve its modus operandi have been marked by many obstacles, difficulties and delays.</p><p>This thesis aims to analyze and explain why the process of reforming the European Commission has been so problematic. In order to achieve this goal, the theoretical framework of historical institutionalism has been utilized. More precisely, we mainly build on the work of Paul Pierson, whose concepts help us understand the reasons behind the failure of a number of reform plans regarding the Commission and clarify why the institutional structure of the European Commission is characterized by a high degree of stability.</p>