Introduction: Open Data and Africa

Open data—including open government data (OGD)—has become a topic of prominence during the last decade. However, most governments have not realised the desired value streams or outcomes from OGD. The Kenya Open Data Initiative (KODI), a Government of Kenya initiative, is no exception with some moments of success but also sustainability struggles. Therefore, the focus for this paper is to understand the causal mechanisms that either enable or constrain institutionalisation of OGD initiatives. Critical realism is ideally suited as a paradigm to identify such mechanisms, but guides to its operationalisation are few. This study uses the operational approach of Bygstad, Munkvold & Volkoff's six‐step framework, a hybrid approach that melds concepts from existing critical realism models with the idea of affordances. The findings suggest that data demand and supply mechanisms are critical in institutionalising KODI and that, underpinning basic data‐related affordances, are mechanisms engaging with institutional capacity, formal policy, and political support. It is the absence of such elements in the Kenya case which explains why it has experienced significant delays.

Each government level uses its own different information system. At the same time citizens expect that these governmental levels adopt a user-centric approach and provide instant access to their data or to open government data. Therefore the applications at various government levels need to be interoperable in support of the 'once only-principle': data is inputted and registered only once and then reused. Given government budget constraints and the cost and complexity of (re)modeling, translating and transforming data over and over, public administrations need to reduce interoperability costs. This is achieved by semantically aligning information between the different information systems of each government level. Semantical interoperable systems facilitate citizen-centered e-government services. This paper illustrates how the Open Standards for Linked Organizations program (OSLO) paved the way bottom-up from a broad basis of stakeholders towards a government-endorsed strategy. OSLO applied a generic process and methodology and provided practical insights on how to overcome the encountered hurdles: political support and adoption; reaching semantic agreement. The lessons learned in the region of Flanders (Belgium) can speed-up the process in other countries that face the complexity of integrating information intensive processes between different applications, administrations and government levels.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper was to examine the potential opportunities and risks of sharing agricultural research data in Tanzania identified in the existing research literature. Design/methodology/approach: The study involved a review of the literature on research data sharing practices. Findings: The findings indicate that, research data sharing have significant positive benefits among researchers such as increase high research impact; enhancing international community collaboration among researchers with same interests; improving scientific transparency and accuracy of data (Rappert and Bezuidenhout, 2016); increasing research output whereby a single dataset can be used to generate more than one article by different authors; and many more. The risks hampering data sharing practices includes researchers’ fears that data will be scooped, poached or misused (Onyancha, 2016); unreliable electric power; lack of fund to support research data sharing activities; absence of institutional governmental support for data management; perceived lack of evidence benefits (Leonelli, Rappert and Bezuidenhout, 2018); and others. However, in Tanzania research data sharing is relatively new, thus, no any governmental agency mandating or encouraging research data sharing; therefore, there is no research data management; no research open data repositories and no research data sharing policy at any agricultural institution in Tanzania. The study recommends that agricultural researchers should be sensitized to share their data, research data policy and data repositories should also be established to support data sharing practices in Tanzania. Originality and usefulness: From the available literature, this has been the first time that an effort has been made to examine the potential opportunities and risks of sharing agricultural research data in Tanzania. The study could be used by agricultural institutions and other institutions to assess the researchers’ needs in supporting research data sharing. Also, it can be used by the government and institutions to see the need of establishing open data repositories and open data policies to support research data sharing.

The analysis of the causes of political support for political institutions has been focused either on one-case studies that stress the relevance of individual variables or cross-national studies that stress the role of institutions. In this article, the authors suggest that to understand the logic of political support, it is necessary to combine both types of explanations. Using evidence from 17 European countries of the 2002 to 2003 European Social Survey data set, the authors show that the effect of the performance of the institution on political support is higher in majoritarian democracies, where the attribution of responsibility for policy outcomes is clear, than in proportional democracies. They also show that the effect of ideology on political support depends on the type of democracy: Those citizens ideologically far from the government will show higher levels of political support in proportional democracies than in majoritarian ones.

Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) Processes and International System Development - Australian Perspective

Our present dependence on fossil fuels means that, as our demand for energy inevitably increases, so do emissions of greenhouse gases, most notably carbon dioxide (CO2). To avoid the obvious consequences on climate change, the concentration of such greenhouse gases in the atmosphere must be stabilized. But, as populations grow and economies develop, future demands now ensure that energy will be one of the defining issues of this century. This unique set of (coupled) challenges also means that science and engineering have a unique opportunity-and a burgeoning challenge-to apply their understanding to provide sustainable energy solutions. Integrated carbon capture and subsequent sequestration is generally advanced as the most promising option to tackle greenhouse gases in the short to medium term. Here, we provide a brief overview of an alternative mid- to long-term option, namely, the capture and conversion of CO2, to produce sustainable, synthetic hydrocarbon or carbonaceous fuels, most notably for transportation purposes. Basically, the approach centres on the concept of the large-scale re-use of CO2 released by human activity to produce synthetic fuels, and how this challenging approach could assume an important role in tackling the issue of global CO2 emissions. We highlight three possible strategies involving CO2 conversion by physico-chemical approaches: sustainable (or renewable) synthetic methanol, syngas production derived from flue gases from coal-, gas- or oil-fired electric power stations, and photochemical production of synthetic fuels. The use of CO2 to synthesize commodity chemicals is covered elsewhere (Arakawa et al. 2001 Chem. Rev. 101, 953-996); this review is focused on the possibilities for the conversion of CO2 to fuels. Although these three prototypical areas differ in their ultimate applications, the underpinning thermodynamic considerations centre on the conversion-and hence the utilization-of CO2. Here, we hope to illustrate that advances in the science and engineering of materials are critical for these new energy technologies, and specific examples are given for all three examples. With sufficient advances, and institutional and political support, such scientific and technological innovations could help to regulate/stabilize the CO2 levels in the atmosphere and thereby extend the use of fossil-fuel-derived feedstocks.

This chapter analyses the mnemonic practices emerging within digital protest movements in modern post-Soviet Russia. In recent years this movement received institutional, economic and political support from Alexey Navalny, one of the most influential Russian political bloggers and opposition members. Focusing on his memory ecology, built on the ‘not forgetting, not forgiving’ discourse of identifying those responsible for the political malfunctioning of contemporary Russia, Moroz then turns to the analysis of youth’s participation in the creation of such discourse. The chapter concludes with the study of their original ways of constituting a digital witnessing archive filled with mediatised memory records. It also raises questions about similarities and differences between youth digital practices that help to recall barely noticeable negative political events of the recent past or even the present and thus to construct some prospective memory tasks, and memory ecology, presented by Navalny.

Art as a Political Act:Expression of Cultural Identity, Self-Identity, and Gender by Suk Nam Yun and Yong Soon Min Hwa Young Choi Caruso (bio) Introduction A number of artists of color, including Asian American women, are creating art from the basis of their lived experiences. Within minority groups searching for their cultural identity, establishing self-identity is an important process. For various psychological and sociological reasons, artists seem inspired to seek deeper meaning and a broader participation in cultural work.1 Asian American women artists, in particular, are currently making art as a means of exploring self-identity, cultural identity, and gender issues. Korean/Korean American minority women artists are creating art as a reaction to their cultural upbringing, which questions issues of identity, gender, ethnicity, politics, cultural, and socioeconomic status. These contemporary artists are breaking away from traditional cultural expectations and overcoming social barriers as artists, women, and Koreans/Korean Americans. With the growing public awareness of women's consciousness and sense of self as women in Korea and as an ethnic minority in America, these artists are redefining their identity. Despite the traditional patriarchal Confucian hierarchy; lack of social, institutional, and political support; and stereotypic gender, cultural, and socioeconomic status expectations for women, a few have stepped out of their traditional roles as women and have become successful artists in Korea and America. The artworks of these artists are worthy of investigation because they appear to be a culturally, socially, and politically motivated artistic expression of the complex multifaceted Korean/Korean American life experiences as women and as Korean immigrant members of a cultural (ethnic) minority in American society. Therefore, two main research questions can be posed: [End Page 71] • Given that art can be constructed out of layers of different experiences and influences, to what extent do the dimensions of cultural identity, self-identity, and gender interweave and contribute to the function of art as a political act for Korean/Korean American women artists? • How do Korean/Korean American cultural, social, and female experiences influence the artistic expression of Korean/Korean American women artists? In order to answer these questions, I selected case study methodology2 and adapted elements of interpretive biography,3 and narrative approaches as developed by Wallace and Gruber.4 According to Denzin,5 interpretive biography involves the collection and analysis of personal experiences, life documents, stories, accounts, and narratives that describe turning-point moments in individuals' lives. Denzin argues that personal experiences and personal stories are derived from a larger cultural, ideological, and historical context. The intent of the biographical project is to problematize the social, economic, cultural, structural, and historical forces that shape, distort, and otherwise alter lived experiences. By using narrative case study methods, I explore elements of self-identity formation, cultural identity, gender issues, personal thoughts, artistic expression, meaning of artworks, professional achievement, and life circumstances. I examine each participant's life in the Korean and American historical, cultural, social, and political environments. I interpret participants' outer lives (what they do) and inner lives (feelings, thoughts, inner self) to capture their deep, profound life experiences. I examine salient themes of their art expression and how the role of art and artistic activity is a part of political, cultural, social, and feminist activism. I further investigate their professional activities in order to identify the multiple roles that contribute to personal and professional identity formation. For the purpose of this study, I selected the contemporary Korean woman artist Suk Nam Yun and the contemporary Korean American woman artist Yong Soon Min as primary participants. These two women artists, despite many social and cultural barriers, chose to become artists; feminists; and social, cultural, and political activists; in addition to fulfilling traditional Korean family and domestic roles. Yun and Min are regarded as the leading contemporary Korean/Korean American women artists whose artworks deal with issues of cultural, social, feminist, political, and hybrid identity and art as political activism. Lippard acknowledges that visual images play an increasingly important role in society.6 Art that connects everyday experience with social critique and creative expression becomes a vital means of reflecting upon the nature of society and social existence.7 Artworks can function as...

Extant research on social capital has well documented the effects and consequences of using internal (bonding) versus external (bridging) ties. However, research on the antecedents of internal versus external ties, especially at the national level, is sparse. We investigated the degree to which political instability, institutional support for entrepreneurship, culture, and average income influence the selection of internal versus external ties. We tested our hypotheses in a sample of entrepreneurs from eleven countries from different parts of the world. The results showed that political instability, institutional support for entrepreneurship, and culture significantly influence the types of relationships that are used by entrepreneurs.

Since the early 2000s, sustainable development in agriculture has attracted substantial political attention, institutional support, and financial commitment, raising expectations for tangible outcomes. Yet, measurable progress remains uneven. As a leading food exporter, Brazil, in particular, has come under global scrutiny for practices deemed unsustainable—such as deforestation, excessive use of agrochemicals, and socio-environmental conflicts—despite its agricultural sector being a vital contributor to global food security. To provide policymakers with a robust monitoring tool, this study develops a nonlinear regression model that quantifies rural sustainability across economic, social, and environmental dimensions. We selected seven indicators—gross value added, average rural income, life expectancy, schooling years, preservation-area deficit, legal-reserve deficit, and water-scarcity deficit—to compute individual sub-indexes. These are combined into a composite rural sustainability index and applied to data from 141 municipalities in Mato Grosso. The results demonstrate that only municipalities achieving high and balanced scores in all three pillars can be deemed sustainable. Our framework contributes to the growing body of triple-index methodologies by offering a replicable, statistically robust tool tailored to agrarian contexts. It provides actionable insights for regional decision-makers aiming to balance productivity, environmental preservation, and social well-being in agricultural frontier regions.

Adaptation strategies to climatic variability: A case study of small-scale farmers in rural Mexico

This chapter examines good governance because it is indispensable approach to poverty alleviation and the entire sustainable livelihood process. Good governance becomes even more crucial in ensuring efficient resource utilisation, which is essential for socio-economic development in a country. The components of good governance looked at in this chapter include political instability, institutional support or commitment to poverty reduction, i.e. planning, implementation and delivery. The authors have attempted an impact assessment of sustainable livelihoods and poverty reduction programmes in some selected countries. Finally, constraints and weaknesses of the programmes have been examined.

Risk sharing agreements: with orphan drugs?

Objective –The aim of this study was to provide an overview and identify the distribution of Brazilian municipalities that joined the Making Cities Resilient 2030 (MCR 2030) initiative. Methodology – This is a descriptive and documentary study with a quantitative approach, using secondary data obtained from the official list of Brazilian municipalities enrolled in the MCR 2030 initiative up to April 2025. Originality/Relevance –Brazil faces growing environmental and climate challenges. It is necessary to understand existing actions and explore possibilities for progress, but also recognize gaps within such initiatives. Results – By May 2025, 353 municipalities had joined, 81.3% of them located in the Southeast region. Regions such as the North, Northeast, and Center-West, although highly affected by disasters, show low participation, reflecting inequalities in technical and institutional capacity. The initiative offers technical, political, and institutional support, but building resilient cities requires more than formal membership: it demands continuous investment, intergovernmental coordination, and public policies aligned with sustainable development. Social and Environmental Contributions – MCR 2030 represents a strategic opportunity to promote climate justice.

Trends in global financialization, as well as global shocks related to the COVID-19 pandemic, climate changes, intensification of the interstate economic and political competition for limited natural, energy, water, food and skilled human resources, including the global economic recession, political and financial instability negatively affect the state of the economy and public finances of Ukraine. Further strengthening country’s defense capabilities, as well as solving urgent problems in the areas of health, education and science, social and pension provision, and overcoming mass poverty are impossible without scientific substantiation, institutional support, alongside with a broad political, social and popular support for strategic priorities. restoration of economic growth, balancing public finances. Protecting fiscal security at the regional level aims to increase the resilience of the national economy. The authors of the article emphasize that the anti-crisis orientation of territorial redistribution of funds should take into account the requirements of the most rational allocation of productive forces, business promotion, resolving contradictions that arise in balancing budget revenues and constitutional social obligations. The processes of the decentralization of budgetary and tax relations should be accompanied by strengthening their social orientation. The priority of vital national interests is the ability of the state to ensure sustainable development of territories, economic entities, as well as compliance with modern standards of welfare. Improving change management due to the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus disease requires strengthening the resistance to the unpredictable negative risks of unbalancing most areas of human activity in all aspects, from households to value chains of multinational companies. The formation of stable characteristics of the financial potential of regional development should take place along with the growth of fiscal activity of local governments.