The principles of international humanitarian law (IHL) have evoked considerable debate in the practice of humanitarian support, particularly in terms of emerging tensions with sovereign (national) law. Drawing on organization studies, we examine the emergent strategies aimed at resolving the ambiguous legal context in which humanitarian support operations in a conflict context are embedded. Our analysis of two missions revealed two types of emergent strategies, namely network and negotiation strategies, differentiated by particular contextual dimensions. We extend the humanitarian law debate by showing the strategic interplay between the operational humanitarian context and international humanitarian principles, thereby connecting the fields of international law and organization science.
This book analyses the values and processes that characterise DIY (do it yourself) digital infrastructure, relating networked initiatives to broader tensions in contemporary alternative media production, namely between ideology and practice in cultural and artistic networked initiatives. Adopting immersive and direct engagement methods, focusing specifcially on the case of A Traversal Network of Feminist Servers, this book shows that contemporary alternative media projects are defined mainly by the people and the networks they build — alternative infrastructures are about the process driving them, more so than the content produced. Small or local organisations intervene in infrastructures by building responses to extractivist platform models, but can be exclusive to the communities already involved in the process. Nevertheless, alternative media initiatives are culturally and socially significant, as they produce critical media discourses and network imaginaries that signify a call for better digital and technical literacy in society.
MULTIFILE
Integrated curricula seem promising for the increase of attention on science and technology in primary education. A clear picture of the advantages and disadvantages of integration efforts could help curriculum innovation. This review has focussed on integrated curricula in primary education from 1994 to 2011. The integrated curricula were categorized according to a taxonomy of integration types synthesized from the literature. The characteristics that we deemed important were related to learning outcomes and success/fail factors. A focus group was formed to facilitate the process of analysis and to test tentative conclusions. We concluded that the levels in our taxonomy were linked to (a) student knowledge and skills, the enthusiasm generated among students and teachers, and the teacher commitment that was generated; and (b) the teacher commitment needed, the duration of the innovation effort, the volume and comprehensiveness of required teacher professional development, the necessary teacher support, and the effort needed to overcome tensions with standard curricula. Almost all projects were effective in increasing the time spent on science at school. Our model resolves Czerniac’s definition problem of integrating curricula in a productive manner, and it forms a practical basis for decision-making by making clear what is needed and what output can be expected when plans are being formulated to implement integrated education.