TRANSFORMACJE No. 3-4 - Kozminski University

Transcription

TRANSFORMACJE
(TRANSFORMATIONS)
Transformacje (Transformations) is an interdisciplinary refereed, reviewed
journal, published since 1992.
The journal is devoted to i.a.:
civilizational and cultural transformations,
information (knowledge) societies,
global problematique,
sustainable development,
political philosophy and values,
future studies.
The journal's quasi-paradigm is TRANSFORMATION - as a present stage
and form of development of technology, society, culture, civilization, values,
mindsets etc. Impacts and potentialities of change and transition need new
methodological tools, new visions and innovation for theoretical and practical
capacity-building. The journal aims to promote inter-, multi- and transdisciplinary approach, future orientation and strategic and global thinking.
Transformacje (Transformations) are internationally available
– since 2012 we have a licence agrement with the global database:
EBSCO Publishing (Ipswich, MA, USA)
We are listed by INDEX COPERNICUS since 2013
I
TRANSFORMACJE(TRANSFORMATIONS)
3-4 (78-79) 2013
ISSN 1230-0292
Reviewed journal
Published twice a year (double issues) in Polish and English (separate papers)
Editorial Staff:
Prof. Lech W. ZACHER, Center of Impact Assessment Studies and Forecasting,
Kozminski University, Warsaw, Poland ([email protected]) – Editor-in-Chief
Prof. Dora MARINOVA, Sustainability Policy Institute, Curtin University, Perth,
Australia ([email protected]) – Deputy Editor-in-Chief
Prof. Tadeusz MICZKA, Institute of Cultural and Interdisciplinary Studies, University
of Silesia, Katowice, Poland ([email protected]) – Deputy Editor-in-Chief
Dr Małgorzata SKÓRZEWSKA-AMBERG, School of Law, Kozminski University,
Warsaw, Poland ([email protected]) – Coordinator
Dr Alina BETLEJ, Institute of Sociology, John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin,
Poland
Dr Mirosław GEISE, Institute of Political Sciences, Kazimierz Wielki University,
Bydgoszcz, Poland (also statistical editor)
Prof. Gavin RAE, Department of Social Sciences, Kozminski University, Warsaw,
Poland (also English language editor)
Dr Magdalena RZADKOWOLSKA, Chair of Library and Information Science, University of Lodz, Łódź, Poland
Prof. Sangeeta SHARMA, Dept. of Public Administration, University of Rajasthan,
Jaipur, India
Prof. Ryszard ZIĘBA, The Institute of International Relations, University of Warsaw,
Poland
Prof. Urszula ŻYDEK-BEDNARCZUK, Faculty of Philology, University of Silesia in
Katowice, Poland (also Polish language editor)
II
Publisher :
Educational Foundation "Transformations"
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and
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© 2013 TRANSFORMACJE
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III
INTERNATIONAL
SCIENTIFIC COUNCIL
Prof. Witold T. Bielecki
Kozminski University
Warsaw, Poland
Prof. Czesław Cempel
Poznan University of Technology
Poznan, Poland
Prof. Andrzej Chodubski
University of Gdańsk,
Gdańsk, Poland
Joseph F. Coates
Futurist in Residence
Washington, D.C.,USA
Dr Vary T. Coates
The Kanawha Institute
for the Study of the Future,
Washington, D.C., USA
Prof. Meinolf Dierkes
Science Center (WZB),
Berlin, Germany
Prof. Nikolai Genov
Freie Universität,
Berlin, Germany
Prof. Günter Getzinger
Alpen-Adria Universität
Klagenfurt, Austria
Prof. Tomasz Goban-Klas
Jagiellonian University
Cracow, Poland
Prof. Janusz Golinowski
Kazimierz Wielki University,
Bydgoszcz, Poland
Prof. Larisa A. Gromova
Herzen State
Pedagogical University
St. Petersburg, Russia
Prof. Armin Grunwald
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
Karlsruhe, Germany
Prof. Andrzej Herman
Warsaw School of Economics,
Warsaw, Poland
Prof. Jerzy Kisielnicki
University of Warsaw
Warsaw, Poland
Prof. Witold Kieżun
Warsaw, Poland
Prof. Andrzej K. Koźmiński
Warsaw, Poland
Prof. Wojciech Lamentowicz
University of Business and Administration, Gdynia, Poland
Prince Prof. Rudolf zur Lippe
Oldenburg Universität
Oldenburg, Germany
Prof. Andrzej Lubbe
Warsaw, Poland
Dr Michael Maccoby
The Maccoby Group PC,
Prof. Ali A. Mazrui
State University of New York,
Binghampton, N.Y., USA
Prof.
Jerzy Mikułowski - Pomorski
Cracow University of Economics,
Cracow, Poland
Prof. Witold Morawski
Warsaw, Poland
Dr Clement Bezold
Institute for Alternative Futures,
Alexandria, VA, USA
Prof. Andrzej Papuziński
Kazimierz Wielki University,
Bydgoszcz, Poland
Prof. Marek Pietraś
Maria Curie-Skłodowska
University, Lublin, Poland
Prof. Alan R. Porter
Georgia Institute of Technology,
Atlanta, GA, USA
Prof. Bazyli Poskrobko
University of Białystok,
Białystok, Poland
Prof. Harry Rothman
University of Manchester
Manchester, UK
Col. Prof. Piotr Sienkiewicz
National Defence University,
Warsaw, Poland
Prof. Marek S. Szczepański
University of Silesia
Katowice, Poland
Prof. Agnieszka Szewczyk
University of Szczecin,
Szczecin, Poland
Prof. Czesław Szmidt
Warsaw
Prof. Andrew S. Targowski
Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo, Ml, USA
Prof. Andrzej A. Wierzbicki
National Institute of Telcommunications, Warsaw, Poland
Prof. Katarzyna Żukrowska
Warsaw School of Economics
Warsaw, Poland
Prof. Albert H. Teich
American Association for the
Advancement of Science,
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Prof. Sławomir Partycki
Prof. Karol L. Pelc
John Paul II
Michigan Technological University
Catholic University of Lublin, Poland
Houghton, Ml, USA
TRANSFORMACJE (TRANSFORMATIONS)
3-4 (78-79) 2013
Contents
I.
Information – Communication – Media
Radosław SAJNA: Digital Divide, Global Communication Order and Media
Development: Newspapers Online from Different Continents ............................ 2
Iryna KOLOSOVSKA, Peter BOŁTUĆ: Informational Influence on Public
Opinion ...............................................................................................................23
Agnieszka SZEWCZYK: Shop or E-Commerce? ............................................34
Aleksandra KUPIS-FIJAŁKOWSKA: Surveys in the Context of Virtual Society – A Statistical Perspective.............................................................................55
Urszula ZIMOCH: A Comparative Analysis of the Information Culture as the
Information Society Indicator in Poland and Finland .........................................70
Davide LAMPUGNANI: From Nowhere to Everywhere: Addressing the Shifting Relationship between Digital Infrastructures and the City ...........................93
Kateryna NOVIKOVA: Networks and Social Movements Mobilization –
Theoretical Framework for the Internet-based Protest and Activism Research .....
..........................................................................................................................109
Simone TOSONI: The Four Phases of Internet Research: A Proposal for a
Critical Periodization ........................................................................................127
II. Global Problems – Future – Politics – Values
Wojtek LAMENTOWICZ: The Gordian Knots and Alexandrian Solutions:
New Approach to Forecasting and Strategy Making ........................................142
Lech W. ZACHER: Reconfigurations in the World System – Between the Old
Driving Forces and New Networks ...................................................................182
J. Andrew ROSS: Globorg: The Emerging Global Organism .........................199
Filip PIERZCHALSKI: Dialectical Leader – Political Leadership in Morphogenetic Approach ..............................................................................................217
V
Kathleen O’HARE, Dora MARINOVA: Sharing Common Ground: Human
Rights Discourse and the Practice of Yoga .................................................. 232
III.
Sustainability – Knowledge – Wisdom
Joanna KIELIN-MAZIARZ: Environmental Management and Sustainable
Development ................................................................................................. 250
Jin HONG, Xiumei GUO, Wentao YU, Dora MARINOVA: NonGovernment Organisations (NGOs) and the Dissemination of Environmental
Knowledge in China ..................................................................................... 260
Lesław MICHNOWSKI: Towards Eco-Humanism ................................... 272
Amzad HOSSAIN, Dora MARINOVA: Wisdom for Living with Certainty
amidst Uncertainty ........................................................................................ 291
IV.
Transformational Case Studies Worldwide
Katarzyna KOPECKA-PIECH: Creative and Cultural Industries Policy in
Poland of 2012. Status, Strategies and Inaugurating Projects ....................... 306
Matteo TARANTINO: Framing School Space: Notes for a Taxonomy of the
Representation of Educational Spaces .......................................................... 329
Qian GONG: Moral Leaders or Moral Degenerates: Media, Teachers, and the
Politics of Representation ............................................................................. 343
Yuan GAO, Jeffrey KENWORTHY, Peter NEWMAN, Philip WEBSTER: Analysis of the Competitive Capacity of Six Provinces in Central
China: Towards „Central Rise” .................................................................... 366
Emma GARAVAGLIA, Rosangela LODIGIANI: Active Welfare State and
Active Ageing. Inertia, Innovations and Paradoxes of the Italian Case ........ 385
V.
Varia: Management and Logistics
Eugeniusz NOWAK: Logistics and Logistic Management in Crisis Situations
...................................................................................................................... 410
Marek KUBIŃSKI: The Confronting Aspects of Conducting Military Activities in Built-up Area Conditions ................................................................... 422
Instructions to Authors .............................................................................................. 437
VI
VII
INFORMATION –
I.
COMMUNICATION –
MEDIA
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Radosław SAJNA
DIGITAL DIVIDE,
GLOBAL COMMUNICATION ORDER,
AND MEDIA DEVELOPMENT: NEWSPAPERS ONLINE
FROM DIFFERENT CONTINENTS
INTRODUCTION
There is a strong connection between the concepts of digital divide, global
communication order and media development when the online editions of
newspapers from different countries are analyzed in a comparative study. The
expansion of the internet provokes many changes in the media landscapes
around the world, and the development of newspaper websites should be understood as a natural effect of the contemporary trends in the development of
media technology, but the problem is related also to the media business. Since
more and more money is spent for Internet commercial campaigns, because
more and more internet users search for news in the so-called cyberspace, the
online editions of newspapers are becoming a more and more important business. These business realities provoke inequalities: the global media business
is dominated by several centers, as well as disparities in the economical and
technological development around the world. The differences are obvious
(sometimes enormous) and clearly visible, particularly when the access to
information is considered at a global scale. Lech W. Zacher (2010: 238) states:
„Globalization can be more beneficial for more countries if access to information and possibilities of communication are more equitable”.
Are important differences evident also when the online editions of newspapers
from different countries (from different continents) are compared? This is the
main question of this study, together with the next, also important question: do
these differences (if they exist) correlate with inequalities in the internet access penetration and human development?
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Digital divide and technology
The problem of digital divide has been analyzed in many studies by different
scholars (Lazarus and Mora, 2000; Aichholzer and Schmutzer, 2001; Norris,
2001; Rajora, 2002; Warschauer, 2004; van Dijk, 2005; Ragnedda and Muschert, 2013). One of the most important aspects of the digital divide is, undoubtedly, technology and the problem of unequal access to different communication devices and content, software and hardware etc. In addition to the
access being considered most commonly by models based on devices and
conduits, Mark Warschauer (2004: 31-48) suggests a third model that focuses
on literacy. Literacy and access to ICTs (information and communication
technologies) are both, according to Warschauer, „closely connected to advances in human communication and the means of knowledge production”
(2004: 38). Indeed, today literacy means access to ICT and vice-versa, and
taking into consideration the role of the media in the societies of the centuries
after Gutenberg, a person able to read the press in the 17th or 18th century was
privileged in the same way as today a person who has access to the newest
ICTs. History, however, has lead to a situation of obvious (and sometimes
enormous) inequality among people around the world. The data on access to
the Internet (see table 2) and to other ICTs show this clearly. Probably this is
the most evident manifestation of the digital divide, though, of course, it is
only a starting point to social and economic consequences. Kieron O’Hara and
David Stevens write:
How do we explain the existence of a global digital divide? The
most obvious reason might be to do with economic development.
The diffusion of the new technologies might vary directly with the
level of a country’s economic development. (2006: 142)
Indeed, the unequal economic development is responsible for other different
kinds of inequality, with access to technologies being a natural consequence.
In the case of the information and communication technologies the problem is
even deeper, because the gaps lead to bigger gaps. Eli Noam (2010: 48-55)
named three kinds of gaps at the time of the beginning of the internet revolution: the first gap is that of telecommunications connectivity, the second one is
related to internet access, and the third and critical gap is that of e-commerce.
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According to Robert McChesney (2008: 436), „the internet in many ways is
coming to play the same role in the twenty-first-century economy and social
structure that cars have over the past seventy-five years or so”. Hence ecommerce should be a key component of economic development, and, as a
consequence, the main factor responsible for the next gaps and inequalities.
Indeed, the digital divide stems from an unequal access to technologies that
itself stems from unequal economic development, and leads to more unequal
economic development that leads to more unequal access to technologies. And
so on.
Global communication order and media development
The economy has been a key factor in shaping the global communication order, generally and media development in particular. Dwayne R. Winseck and
Robert M. Pike analyze the problem with a starting point in 1860 that „reflects
a number of factors, including the extra-European focus of capital flows that
emerged in the last few decades of the nineteenth century, the parallel rise of
multinational corporate and financial institutions, the emergence of new technologies and business that became the basis of what we call the global media
system (…)” (2007: 1). Although primitive forms of communication appeared
in different parts of the world and printing was nothing new in some Asiatic
regions when in the 15th century Johannes Gutenberg began a second „media
metamorphosis” in Europe (after the first that was writing) (Goban Klas,
2005; Bajka, 2008), the center of contemporary media development lays became the United States. The Industrial Revolution and the global domination
of the British Empire in the 19th century finally led to a world dominated by
global liberal economy with the USA and Great Britain as leaders of the process and the global market. Jane Chapman explains:
The late nineteenth century was a period of industrial expansion
for America and much of continental Europe. Britain had already
experienced the phenomenon much earlier, and Japan was to continue the process at a faster rate in the twentieth century. In the
Western world, the twentieth century’s age of consumption had
clearly arrived in the form of popular fashions promoted by de4
partment stores and a wealth of other new consumer goods, from
the bicycle through to the typewriter and gramophone records that
were already capable of hitting a million in sales. (…)
A late nineteenth-century wave of industrialization produced technical changes which enabled news stories to be produced more
quickly with easier production in bigger volume (…). (2005: 7274)
It is obvious that the most industrialized countries were leaders in the mass
production of technology, and it is not a surprise that British and American
companies (as well as German, French or others Western at a smaller degree)
were leaders in the telegraph industry, laying cables around the world and
creating „global media cartels” (Winseck & Pike, 2007, 2008). It was the first
big step to create a global communication order dominated by big multi-media
corporations that rule the different media markets, above all in the film and
music records industry, TV production, and lastly in the internet business
(Bagdikian, 2004; Thussu 2006; Schiller, 2010). Among the biggest are
mainly North American companies, such as Disney Corp., TimeWarner, Viacom, News Corp. and others (McPhail, 2006: 59-94), including Google Corp.
and Comcast which in 2013 became the top largest world media holdings (according to the Berlin Institut für Medien- und Kommunikationpolitik: IfM,
2013), and several from the Western Europe (Bertelsmann from Germany and
Vivendi from France, above all) and Sony from Japan. Although some strong
media corporations are growing in less developed regions, such as Globo
Communicação e Participações S.A. (Brazil), Grupo Televisa (Mexico) and
others in Latin America (Lozano, 2007) or The Naspers Group in the South
Africa, and the pan-Arab TV Al-Jazeera (Zayani, 2005) as well as the Latin
American TeleSUR (Sajna, 2013) and are becoming important rivals –at least
in their respective regions– to the global TV news leaders, like CNN or BBC
World, still the North American (together with Western European and Japanese) companies are shaping the media development on the global scale. Such
domination is often described as media imperialism in the broader context of
cultural imperialism (Tomlinson, 1991, Boyd-Barrett, 2010). Despite the fact
that in China and India (sometimes referred to as ‘Chindia”), the most populous countries in the world with today’s biggest newspapers markets (Kohli5
Khandekar, 2006; Moro and Aikat, 2010; Xin, 2010; Shuli, 2011), the media
business is also growing (though in China under the state’s control) and South
Korea having become a strong producer of many communication devices, the
cultural power continues to strengthen globally. In recent years many scholars
from around the world present a new vision of „global media flow(s) and contra-flow(s)” (Thussu, 2006, 2007; Kavoori, 2007; Rantanen, 2007) or „asymmetrical interdependence” (Straubhaar, 2010). The centers of the media technology as well as journalism and the news standards, however, are still firmly
based in the United States, Western Europe and Japan. In poorer regions of the
world (in the „global South”), many people work for big media companies
(from the „global North”). In the internet business the dominant role of the
United States is even more evident, despite the global Web being a strong
power to decentralize communications and even make them „more local”
(Postill, 2008). It is still an important tool of democratization and construction
of new public spheres in different parts of the world (Eickelman and Anderson, 2003; George, 2006; Groshek, 2009; Gang and Bandurski, 2011), creating the new realities of the communication power (Castells, 2009).
Newspapers online and traditional press
When the internet began to expand in the second half of the last decade of the
20th century, the prestigious newspapers in different countries (firstly the most
developed) created their online editions, although initially not many people
had access to the World Wide Web. In the new millennium, however, when
the internet became popular in many parts of the world (though still not everywhere), it is the norm for every prestige newspaper to be present in the „cyber-space”, and new forms of online journalism have emerged. Academics
began to think about the relations between the old and new media, paving the
way for new theories. Niels Ole Finnemann (2006: 43-54) distinguishes five
groups of them: a) cyberspace theories, b) theories of complete replacement,
c) theories of a new hegemonic superstructure, d) theories of convergence, e)
theories of evolution and co-evolution. According to Finnemann, „[t]he notion
of convergent media is well established and probably the most widespread and
dominant idea of the relation between old and new media. Unfortunately, it is
very unclear” (2006: 46).
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In general, all the history of media development could be treated as a history
of convergences or a process of „technologizing the word” (Balnaves et al.,
2009). Despite practical problems in many media companies and limited effects in many cases, the convergence is a dynamic process and one of the most
important phenomena in contemporary media (Kreft, 2011). The word „convergence” is used nowadays in different contexts because there are differrent
kinds of convergence – technological (convergence of devices, solutions, networks), economic (convergence of markets, regulations and corporations) or
convergence of contents (Kopecka-Piech, 2011). Peter Jenkins (2006) wrote
about a „convergence culture”, and Asa Briggs and Peter Burke note that since
the 1980s onwards this fashionable word „was applied most commonly to the
development of digital technology, the integration of text, numbers, images
and sound, different elements in the media which have largely been considered separately in the previous periods of history (…)” (205: 217).
In the case of the newspapers online, indeed, such an aspect of the theory of
convergence seems to be most relevant, though there are also „prophets” that
prefer to predict the total disappearance of the traditional, printed press, considering this process in a context of the end of mass communication (Fogel
and Patiño, 2007). There are some strong arguments about superiority of the
online editions of newspapers, including wider reach (not limited to printed
copies), elimination of printing and traditional distribution costs, new forms of
interactivity with the audience, new possibilities of multi-media communication as well as some ecological considerations (Sajna, 2009: 205-214).
Nevertheless, not these arguments but the owners of the newspapers will decide whether or when the printed editions will disappear. Taking into consideration the uneven development of the media, the trends that appear now in
the global media centers might suggest the way the newspapers in different
countries will evolve. In the USA, the global internet center, some newspapers
already exist only on the internet without printed editions, despite many years
of tradition. Also, new online media, without any „print tradition”, have
emerged in the USA, e.g. „The Huffington Post” or „The Daily”, and the
changes in the press system and news consumption in that country seem irreversible (Jaskiernia, 2011). Similar changes are evident in different parts of
the world, but this is outside the scope of this analysis.
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The main goal of this study is not to consider the possible end of the printed
press, but to analyze differences in the development of the online editions of
prestige newspapers from different countries (and different continents), representing different levels of economic development, human development or
internet users’ penetration.
HYPOTHESES AND METHODS
In line with the main research question of this study, the hypotheses are:
H1:
H2:
H3:
H4:
H5:
The online editions of newspapers are most developed in the most
developed countries.
The online editions of newspapers are least developed in the least
developed countries.
The online editions of newspapers from the global communication
centers (firstly from the USA, then from Western Europe and Japan,
and owned by the biggest media corporations) are most developed.
The development of the online editions of newspapers correlates positively with internet penetration (that means the percentage of internet
users among a population) in a given country.
The development of the online editions of newspapers correlates positively with the position of a given country in the Human Development
Index.
To confirm or reject these hypotheses it was necessary to analyze the online
editions of newspapers from different countries (from different continents).
Sixty daily newspapers (considered as prestigious in the respective countries)
have been chosen: 20 from Europe, 20 from North and South America, and 20
from Africa, Asia and Australia (only one per country; for the complete list of
newspapers see table 1). The selection of newspapers was not intended to
confirm or reject the hypotheses, but was based on assumptions related to the
main question of the study. I chose newspapers that were important and interesting to analyze, such as „The Australian” from Australia, „The Times” from
the United Kingdom, and „Globo” from Brasil, because they are owned by big
corporations; „The New York Times” from the USA or „Neue Zürcher Zei8
tung” from Switzerland, because they are the most prestigious newspapers in
their respective countries; „Milenio” from Mexico or „Siglo XXI” from Guatemala, because their names suggest to be modern; „El Mundo” from Spain,
because its website is the most popular among Spanish online newspapers
readers, and so on.
The development, or rather present quality, of the online editions of these
newspapers has been evaluated (by me, individually, with intention to be objective, in accordance with the ethical rules of scientific research) by taking
into consideration five main criteria (further details of these criteria are explained when presenting the results of the study):
1) richness and diversity of content;
2) multimedia;
3) interactivity and hyperlinks;
4) languages/global approach;
5) graphics and layout.
Finally, a ranking of the analyzed online editions of the newspapers (and their
respective countries) has been created, and has been compared with two rankings of countries (including only the 60 countries from which newspapers
were analyzed): one of internet users’ penetration statistics, and another one of
the Human Development Index (of the United Nations’ Development Programme). In the table 2 the countries are placed in accordance to the obtained
data and in parenthesis the differences with the position of given country in
the ranking of the newspapers online are presented (regardless as to whetherthe position is higher or lower in the two rankings). Finally, the total differences in both rankings are calculated for comparison and to answer the question as to which ranking correlates better with the ranking of the newspapers
online.
RESULTS
The comparative analysis of the online editions of newspapers shows many
differences in each criterion, although they are not as obvious as it could be
expected.
9
First criterion: richness and diversity of content
The most important element according to this criterion is how much of diversified content an internet user could find on the website (online edition) of the
newspaper: not only current articles from the print edition, but also special
texts for the online edition, archives, articles from other media on different
subjects, possibly articles from different regions or cities etc. In many cases
the content is rich and diversified, good examples are the online editions of
„Corriere della Sera” (Italia, Corriere.it), „El Mundo” (Spain, ElMundo.es) or
„The Australian” (Australia, TheAustralian.com.au) as well as the online edition of the Chilean „El Mercurio”, that is Emol.com, where there are a lot of
articles on very different subjects, not related to the print edition, in contrast to
the website of the newspaper from neighboring Bolivia „El Diario”, that is ElDiario.net, which is strictly connected to the print edition and contains little
more. Some dailies are parts of bigger media groups and therefore offer additionnal content (by links to other media or by publishing articles from other
media), such as TheAustralian.com.au or the online edition of „The Monitor”
(Uganda, Monitor.co.ug). In several cases the archives are organized very
well, the best probably being ElTiempo.com (the online edition of „El
Tiempo” from Colombia). In some newspaper websites the content is not rich
and not diversified: among the poorest cases are „La Presse” (Tunisia, LaPresse.tn), „Madagascar Tribune” (Madagascar, Madagascar-Tribune.com),
„Sud Quotidien” (Senegal, Sudonline.sn) or „The Island” (Sri Lanka, Island.lk). These newspapers are generally from the poorer countries on the list.
Second criterion: multimedia
An internet user is looking not only for articles and photos, but also multimedia: audio, video, maybe live TV that sometimes appears on newspaper websites. In the time of multimedia the newspapers online should be multimedia
too. In many cases they are. Good examples are: „Le Figaro” (France, LeFigaro.fr), Corriere.it, TheAustralian.com.au, but also „The Times of India”
(India, TimesofIndia.com) and the modern newspaper „Milenio” from Mexico
(Milenio.com). On the contrary, some online editions of newspapers have no
multi-media (or may have, but they are hard to find). The worst examples are
again: Madagascar-Tribune.com, LaPresse.tn and Sudonline.sn from Africa,
10
Island.lk from Asia or ElDiario.net and LaPrensa.com.ni (website of „La
Prensa” from Nicaragua) from Latin America.
Third criterion: interactivity and hyperlinks
When an internet user reads an article online, watching in addition a short video film (if possible), sometimes he/she has the opportunity to interact: put a
comment, evaluate or share an article, connect to some social media or click
on a hyperlink to read other articles, related to the one he/she has been reading. Some newspapers online give such possibilities, others do not or do very
little. Among the best representatives of the interactive newspapers are again
LeFigaro.fr and TimesofIndia.com (that has even its own social media IndiaTimes Network), but also some Latin American cases – ElTiempo.com,
LaNacion. com.ar („La Nación”, Argentina), ElComercioPeru.com.pe („El
Comercio”, Peru) or NYT.com, that is the website of „The New York Times”
from the USA. The worst case is Granma.cubaweb.cu, the online edition of
„Granma”, the main newspaper of the Cuban communist regime that is geerally not interested, because of political reasons, in any form of „interactivity”
with internet users. Not a good example is also one of the „leaders” in the
previous criteria TheAustralian.com.au, but in this case it is not a question of
national politics, but rather the business policy of the conservative media mogul Rupert Murdoch who is the owner of this (and many others) newspaper.
Fourth criterion: languages/global approach
This is perhaps the most controversial criterion, which is not less important
than the others. The online editions of the newspapers have potentially a
global reach, thanks to the global internet infrastructure. People throughout
the world speak different languages (some of them being very popular and
others not on the global scale). Although the newspapers address first of all
national audiences, the owners (or editors) of some of them think more globally and invest in editions in other languages, generally the most popular in
the world or region. In this way they have more international (or even global)
reach. The most „global” in this sense is PeopleDaily.com.cn, the main newspaper of the China ruling party („People’s Daily” in English), that offer editions in English, French, Spanish, Russian and several Asian languages, beside Chinese. The Cuban Granma.cubaweb.cu offers an English version, and
11
in addition an internet user has the option to read „Granma Internacional” in
five languages, beside Spanish. In Latin America another newspaper, from
Venezuela (although liberal, not socialist or supporting the Cuban or Bolivarian Revolution), „El Universal” (El-Universal.com) has not only Spanishlanguage, but also an English-language edition online, but it is Asia, above all,
where English is treated by the newspapers as an additional, important international language. „Asahi Shimbun” (Japan, Asahi.com), „Chosun Ilbo”
(South Korea, Chosun.com) or „Ha’aretz” (Israel, Ha-aretz.com) are good
examples, as well as „Hürriyet” (Hurriyet.com.tr) edited in Istanbul, on the
Euro-Asiatic frontier. LaPresse.tn from Tunisia is edited in French, but it offers also an Arabic version, though poorer in content. On the TimesofIndia.com an internet user can find links to other media from the group, some of
them in the different languages of the multi-linguistic India. Europe in this
criterion is the poorest region in the world, despite the linguistic pluralism of
the European Union.
Fifth criterion: graphics and layout
This criterion is the most subjective to evaluate, because the graphics and layout are a kind of art, and perceptions of art are generally subjective. Nevertheless, taking into consideration contemporary trends, one can notice more or
less investments in graphics. The layout, undoubtedly, should be clear, nice,
and easy to „move” across the website’s „labyrinths”. It is better to be wisely
original. After observing all the online editions of the analyzed newspapers,
the best impression is made by the websites from the German-speaking countries: DiePresse.at („Die Presse”, Austria), Welt.de („Die Welt”, Germany)
and NZZ.ch („Neue Zürcher Zeitung”, Switzerland), where modernity correlates with the tradition of this old Swiss newspaper. Original graphics and
layout appear in some Latin American newspapers online, like ElComercioPeru.com.pe or on the website of the Guatemalan newspaper „Siglo XXI”
(SigloXXI.com), but in this case the name („21st Century” in English) obliges
it to be modern, like in the case of the online edition of „Milenio”
(Milenio.com) from Mexico that is relatively modern in graphics and layout.
The comparison results (according to each criterion, see table 1) show that the
best of the analyzed newspapers online are: Corriere.it (Italy), LeFigaro.fr
12
(France), Chosun.com (South Korea), El-Universal.com (Venezu-ela), Hurriyet.com.tr (Turkey), TimesofIndia.com (India), Asahi.com (Japan), ElComercioPeru.com.pe (Peru), Emol.com (Chile), ElMundo.es (Spain) and LaLibre.be (Belgium). At the bottom of the ranking are: Aujourdui.ma (Morocco),
ElUniverso.com (Ecuador), LaPresse.tn (Tunisia), LOrient-LeJour.com.bl
(Lebanon), MG.co.za (South Africa), NgrGuardiannews.com (Nigeria), Monitor.co.ug (Uganda), ElDiario.net (Bolivia), Granma.cubaweb.cu (Cuba), SudOnline.sn (Senegal), Madagascar-Tribune.com (Madagascar) and Island.lk
(Sri Lanka). The best are mainly newspapers from Western Europe, Japan and
South Korea, that is from rich countries, but newspapers from India, Turkey,
Venezuela, Chile and Peru also appear among the best. Among the worst
cases, however, are mainly African newspapers and several from Latin America and Asia.
The comparison with the data of the Internet World Stats (IWS, penetration of
internet users in population of a given country) and the Human Development
Index of the United Nations Development Programme shows some parallels,
but also some strong differences (see table 2). The most evident case is India
which appears in a very low position in both rankings, but TimesofIn-dia.com
is one of the best cases among the analyzed online newspapers editions. Another case of difference is Norway, a country-leader in the rankings of IWS
and HDI, but Aftenposten.no is on a low position (41) in the ranking of the
online newspapers. The Latin American cases show some diversity: while
some newspapers are among the best, others appear among the worst, and in
the IWS and HDI rankings the differences between the countries of this region
are not so evident (although between Argentina and Nicaragua, for example,
the differences are quite big).
When the total differences between the rankings are analyzed, in both cases
the results are similar: -846 and -856 in total, that means the internet penetration and the human development correlate with the quality of the newspapers
online in a similar way. This correlation, however, is evident only in some
cases (Uruguay, Portugal, Russia, Brazil, South Africa, Madagascar), and in
many other cases is not (India, Venezuela, Paraguay, Peru, Turkey, China,
Great Britain, Norway; see table 2).
13
Table 1. Ranking of the online editions of newspapers (by author)
Legend:
A - richness and diversity of content
B - multimedia
C - interactivity and hyperlinks
D - languages/global approach
E - graphics and layout
Points: 1-5 (1-poor, 2-mediocre, 3-medium, 4-good, 5-very good)
1.
3.
7.
12.
20.
20
28.
14
Newspaper / website (country)
Corriere della Sera / Corriere.it (Italy)
Le Figaro / LeFigaro.fr (France)
Chosun Ilbo / Chosun.com (South Korea)
El Universal / El-Universal.com
(Venezuela)
Hurriyet / Hurriyet.com.tr (Turkey)
The Times of India / TimesofIndia.com
(India)
Asahi Shimbun / Asahi.com (Japan)
El Comercio / ElComercioPeru.com.pe
(Peru)
El Mercurio / Emol.com (Chile)
El Mundo / ElMundo.es (Spain)
La Libre Belgique / LaLibre.be (Belgium)
ABC Color / ABC.com.py (Paraguay)
Berlingske / Berlingske.dk (Denmark)
Die Welt / Welt.de (Germany)
El Tiempo / ElTiempo.com (Colombia)
Helsingin Sanomat / HelsinginSanomat.fi
(Finland)
People's Daily / PeopleDaily.com.cn
(China)
The Australian / TheAustralian.com.au
(Australia)
The Gleaner / Jamaica-Gleaner.com
(Jamaica)
Dagens Nyheter / DN.se (Sweden)
Die Presse / DiePresse.at (Austria)
Ha'aretz / Haaretz.com (Israel)
Irish Independent / Independent.ie
(Ireland)
La Nación / LaNacion.com.ar (Argentina)
Milenio / Milenio.com (Mexico)
Neue Zürcher Zeitung / NZZ.ch
(Switzerland)
The New York Times / NYT.com (USA)
De Telegraaf / Telegraaf.nl (Netherlands)
El Pais / DiarioElPais.com (Uruguay)
A
5
4
4
B
5
5
3
C
4
5
3
D
1
1
3
E
4
4
4
Total
19
19
18
4
4
4
3
3
18
4
4
4
3
3
18
4
4
5
2
3
18
4
3
4
3
3
17
3
3
5
1
5
17
5
5
4
3
4
4
4
4
3
4
4
4
3
3
4
3
4
4
4
3
5
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
3
5
4
4
3
5
3
17
17
17
16
16
16
16
4
4
4
1
3
16
4
2
2
5
3
16
5
5
2
1
3
16
4
4
4
1
3
16
4
3
4
4
2
2
3
4
3
1
1
3
3
5
3
15
15
15
4
3
3
1
4
15
4
3
2
4
5
3
1
1
3
4
15
15
4
2
3
1
5
15
3
4
3
3
4
3
5
2
4
1
1
1
3
3
3
15
14
14
34.
41.
49.
56.
58.
59.
La Nación / Nacion.co.cr (Costa Rica)
Publico / Publico.pt (Portugal)
The Globe and Mail / GlobeandMail.ca
(Canada)
The New Zealand Herald / NZHerald.co.nz
(New Zealand)
Daily Nation / Nation.co.ke (Kenya)
Niezawisimaja Gazjeta / NG.ru (Russia)
O Globo / OGlobo.com.br (Brazil)
Siglo XXI /SigloXXI.com (Guatemala)
Sme / Sme.sk (Slovakia)
Ta Nea / TaNea.gr (Greece)
The Daily Star / TheDailyStar.net
(Bangladesh)
Aftenposten / Aftenposten.no (Norway)
El Watan / ElWatan.com (Algeria)
La Prensa / LaPrensahn.com (Honduras)
La Prensa / LaPrensa.com.ni (Nicaragua)
Lidove Noviny / LidoveNoviny.cz
(Czech Republic)
Listin Diario / Listin.com.do
(Dominican Republic)
Polska / PolskaTimes.pl (Poland)
The Times / TheTimes.co.uk
(Great Britain)
Aujourd'hui le Maroc / Aujourdui.ma
(Morocco)
El Universo / ElUniverso.com (Ecuador)
La Presse / LaPresse.tn (Tunisia)
L'Orient-Le Jour / LOrient-LeJour.com.bl
(Lebanon)
Mail & Guardian / MG.co.za
(South Africa)
The Guardian / NgrGuardiannews.com
(Nigeria)
Monitor / Monitor.co.ug (Uganda)
El Diario / ElDiario.net (Bolivia)
Granma / Granma.cubaweb.cu (Cuba)
Sud Quotidien / SudOnline.sn (Senegal)
Madagascar Tribune /
Madagascar-Tribune.com (Mad.)
The Island / Island.lk (Sri Lanka)
3
3
3
2
4
4
1
1
3
4
14
14
3
3
4
1
3
14
4
3
2
1
4
14
4
3
3
3
4
3
3
2
2
2
2
3
3
3
4
2
4
3
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
4
3
5
2
3
13
13
13
13
13
13
3
2
4
1
3
13
4
4
3
3
3
2
2
1
2
3
3
4
1
1
1
1
2
2
3
3
12
12
12
12
3
2
4
1
2
12
3
2
3
1
3
12
4
2
2
1
3
12
3
2
2
1
4
12
3
2
2
1
3
11
3
2
2
1
2
2
1
3
3
3
11
11
3
2
3
1
2
11
3
2
3
1
2
11
3
2
2
1
3
11
3
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
3
2
1
3
1
1
5
1
3
4
1
2
11
10
10
9
2
1
3
1
1
8
2
1
2
1
2
8
Table 2. Rankings of the Internet World Statisticss and the Human Development
Index (by author, data based on: Internet World Stats: www.internetworld15
stats.com, updated for June 30, 2012; Human Development Index 2013:
United Nations Development Programme, http://hdr.undp.org/hdr4press/
press/report/summaries/HDR2013_EN_Summary.pdf).
Internet penetration – % population / HDI – position in index 2013
(In parentheses: differences in comparison with the ranking of the newspapers online)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
16
Norway
Netherlands
Sweden
Denmark
Finland
Australia
New Zealand
United Kingdom
Canada
Germany
South Korea
Switzerland
Belgium
Austria
France
Japan
Slovakia
United States
Ireland
Czech Republic
Israel
Spain
Argentina
Poland
Colombia
Chile
Italy
Uruguay
Portugal
Jamaica
Greece
Lebanon
Morocco
Russia
Turkey
Brazil
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
Costa Rica
Venezuela
China
96,9 (-40)
92,9 (-26)
92,7 (-17)
90,0 (-8)
89,4 (-7)
88,8 (-6)
88,0 (-21)
83,6 (-33)
83,0 (-19)
83,0 (-2)
82,5 (-8)
82,1 (-8)
81,3 (-6)
79,8 (-6)
79,6 (-14)
79,5 (-9)
79,1 (-17)
78,1 (-2)
76,8 (-1)
73,0 (-21)
70,0 (-1)
67,2 (-15)
66,4 (-3)
64,9 (-17)
59,5 (-13)
58,6 (-19)
58,4 (-26)
55,9 (0)
55,2 (-1)
54,7 (-18)
53,0 (-3)
52,0 (-17)
51,0 (-16)
47,7 (0)
45,7 (-32)
45,6 (-2)
45,6 (-4)
43,8 (-11)
43,1 (-11)
41,0 (-37)
40,1 (-29)
Norway
Australia
United States
Netherlands
Germany
New Zealand
Ireland
Sweden
Switzerland
Japan
Canada
South Korea
Denmark
Israel
Belgium
Austria
France
Finland
Spain
Italy
United Kingdom
Czech Republic
Greece
Slovakia
Poland
Chile
Portugal
Argentina
Uruguay
Russia
Cuba
Mexico
Costa Rica
Venezuela
Lebanon
Peru
Brazil
Jamaica
Ecuador
Turkey
Colombia
1 (-40)
2 (-10)
3 (-17)
4 (-24)
5 (-7)
6 (-22)
7 (-13)
8 (-12)
9 (-11)
10 (-3)
11 (-17)
12 (-9)
15 (-1)
16 (-6)
17 (-8)
18 (-4)
20 (-16)
21 (-6)
23 (-16)
25 (-19)
26 (-20)
28 (-19)
29 (-11)
35 (-10)
39 (-16)
40 (-19)
43 (-1)
45 (-8)
51 (-1)
55 (-4)
59 (-25)
61 (-12)
62 (-5)
71 (-31)
72 (-14)
77 (-29)
85 (-3)
85 (-26)
89 (-10)
90 (-37)
91 (-29)
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
Tunisia
Mexico
Peru
Bolivia
Nigeria
Kenya
Paraguay
Cuba
Senegal
South Africa
Guatemala
Honduras
Sri Lanka
Algeria
Nicaragua
Uganda
India
Bangladesh
Madagascar
39,1 (-7)
36,5 (-23)
36,5 (-37)
30,0 (-11)
28,4 (-3)
28,0 (-13)
23,9 (-36)
23,2 (-7)
17,5 (-8)
17,4 (-2)
16,2 (-18)
15,9 (-12)
15,0 (-5)
14,0 (-14)
13,7 (-15)
13,0 (-8)
11,4 (-55)
5,0 (-25)
1,9 (-1)
(-846 total)
Sri Lanka
Algeria
Tunisia
Dominican Rep.
China
Bolivia
Paraguay
Honduras
South Africa
Nicaragua
Morocco
Guatemala
India
Kenya
Bangladesh
Madagascar
Nigeria
Senegal
Uganda
92 (-17)
93 (-2)
94 (-5)
96 (-4)
101 (-34)
108 (-9)
111 (-36)
120 (-8)
121 (-1)
129 (-10)
130 (-3)
133 (-19)
136 (-51)
145 (-21)
146 (-22)
151 (-2)
153 (-9)
154 (-1)
161 (-11)
(-856 total)
CONCLUSION
After analysing the online editions of newspapers from sixty countries from
six continents, it is clear that the hypotheses 1 and 2 can be confirmed only
partially. In general, the quality of the newspapers online is higher in most
developed countries in comparison with the least developed ones. Nevertheless, some exceptions are crucial in rethinking the hypotheses. The case of
India (TimesofIndia.com), a country of an extremely uneven development, is
the best example to consider for the different factors influencing its media
development. In a poor but big country with a rich elite and open markets, the
media industry can develop well, similarly to the film and TV business in this
country whose population exceeds one billion people.
Although India, as well as Venezuela, Peru, Chile and Turkey, are not global
media centers, in these countries the online editions of newspapers are of the
highest quality, although on the top are two Europeans cases: Corriere.it and
LeFigaro.fr. Both, however, are not part of the biggest media holdings. The
representatives of the biggest one (among owners of the analyzed websites),
the Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation, which are TheAustralian. com.au
17
from Australia and TheTimes.co.uk from the United Kingdom, are on respectively 12the and 41st position in the ranking produced in this study. The website of the main newspaper of the largest Latin American media corporation,
Brazilian Globo Communicação e Participações S.A., that is OG-lobo.com.br,
performed poorer than nine newspapers online from other Latin American
countries. The newspaper representing the internet global center, that is the
USA, appears on the 20th position. Therefore, hypothesis 3 cannot be confirmed without deeper analyses, taking into consideration different online
editions of the newspapers from the USA and other countries, such as India,
for example which this study could not achieve as it analyzed only one newspaper online per country.
The comparison of the rankings of the analyzed online editions of the newspapers with rankings of the Internet World Stats and the Human Development
Index does not allow for hypotheses 4 and 5 to be confirmed. The juxtaposed
rankings hardly reflect a supposed general trend: the exceptions are numerous
enough to reconsider the problem of the relation between internet penetration
and the human development of a country and its media development, represented through the online editions of newspapers, as in this study. Although
the above-mentioned relations may apppear obvious, in reality they are not.
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Dr Radosław Sajna – Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz, Poland
22
Iryna KOLOSOVSKA
Peter BOLTUC
INFORMATIONAL INFLUENCE ON PUBLIC OPINION
The image of public institutions influences the formation of socio-political
views, which consequently influence social attitudes and electoral behavior.
Creating and maintening a positive image about the power structures require a
complex, psychologically competent, systematic approach. Such efforts can
result in coordinated activities aimed at creating or revising social views and
activities to one’s advantage.
After a methodological overview, in this article we present common techniques of informational influence, such as manipulation, positioning, neurolinguistic programming, mythologization and emotionalization. We then conclude with a broader philosophical, even moral, reflection pertaining to social
manipulation techniques.
HISTORICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL OVERVIEW
There are different approaches to the issue of ‘image’ in public relations, including imageology and other areas. It is worth mentioning the works of Bernays E., Brown L., Brооstin D., Королько B. (Korolko V.), Палеха Ю.
(Paleha J.), Почепцов Г. (Pochepcov G.), Sampson E., Shoenfeld К. The
general theme among those approaches is that ‘image’ is a stereotype, and if
applied to broader social institutions, is a social stereotype. The social
stereotypes theory was developed by M. Lippman. It refers to pre-conceived
social stereotypes of various national, ethnic, socio-political and professional groups. According to Lippman social stereotypes constitute basic
background material based on which social consciousness is formed. The
author traced back thinking from simple reactions to the external stimuli
shaped largely by the stereotypes: stable emotionally colored, simplified
models of reality, which entice emotional response (sympathy, antipathy)
23
associated with past experiences [Липпман]. This seemingly overly behavioristic model gets reinforced by modern cognitive psychology, for instance
Baars’ global workspace theory, which focuses on the role of sub-conscious
thinking in human decision making and attitude creation.
In general, stereotypes play a double role in the evaluation of sociopsychological processes. First, they help simplify cognitive and decision
making process. Second, however, this helpful cognitive simplification is
prone to over-simplifications in the creation of social consciousness through
stereotypes based on pre-conceptions that tend to lead towards prejudiced
automatism of reactions. That leads to limitations in critical thinking and
autonomous decision-making abilities.
Let us relate to two Ukrainian authors working on image and public relations, В. Королько and Г. Почепцов. Королько in his work on the character
and structure of image claims that the basis of image formation is social
stereotype, which includes the aspects of knowledge and relation. For the social stereotype relation to play a dominant role; it is defined as emotionally
laden evaluative representation (party dependent on a person’s reflection and
will) [Королько, 2001:296].
Почепцов claims that image is not only a way to get attention but primarily
a way to react to the needs of the audience. The main image creation techniques include:
1. Appreciation of the expectations of the audience
2. Realization of those characteristics that together make up the structure of
an image
3. Translation of those chosen characteristics into various formats (visual,
verbal, contextual etc.)
A rightly selected image can be the most effective means of working with
social consciousness [Почепцов,1998:89]. In practical terms, in creating an
image of an organization, it is important to focus on those results that relate
directly to the interests of citizenry.
We may single out the following features of image as a stereotype of social
consciousness. It is simplified in relation to the object it represents (which
24
facilitates its acquiring and memorizing). It can be construed for the creation
of set-up goals (syntheticized). It should be clear and concrete in order to convey distinctive meanings, mostly through a small number of typical features. It
operates through a symbol or a small set thereof. It should be flexible to fit the
changing circumstances. Finally, it should fit the reality well enough so as for
the image to influence social behavior [Колосовська,2010].
The process of image formation is closely linked with public relations (PR)
which is one of the major ways to guide social consciousness1. The point is to
present a factor, event or person in the right perspective, time and place
[Науменко, 2003:66 ]. PR formulate in a goal-oriented manner correct images using modification of the attitudes, reactions and action patterns of a
social subject. Aside from PR, image shaping is used by advertising, political
propaganda, promotions of all kinds, publicity and so on.
TECHNOLOGY OF INFORMATIONAL INFLUENCE
Attitude formation depends on how an object or event is apprehended and
how it satisfies the needs and expectations of given individuals or groups. The
effective influencing of the audience, even at the subconscious psychological
level, requires proper technologies.
INFORMATIONAL MANIPULATION
A powerful instrument of informational influence on mass consciousness is
manipulation. A simple instance of informational manipulation is the ‘switchover’ of the center of focus of individual or social consciousness from one
object to another (red herring). For instance, you focus social attention on a
given general, even international, issue beyond your control so as to divert
social attention from concrete local problems. The goal of manipulational
switch-overs is to manage the reception of various social events and narratives.
1
One of the fathers of PR E. Bernays views PR as the area pertaining to the relationship
between a person, group, ideas and potentially other unifying social factors .
25
Manipulation may use several different category factors of psychological influence:
Activity stimulators (needs, interests, tendencies, ideals)
Activity regulators (sensual, emotional and intellectual settings; group
norms, self-esteem, beliefs and world-views)
Informational structures (received knowledge)
Operational activity (thinking modes and paradigms, models of conduct,
habits)
Psychological state (apathy, overexcitability and so on).
Psychological manipulation may be visible or stealthish. Visible manipulation
works as a myth, legend or narrative that masks the true intentions of a manipulator. Such narratives may bring about a consistent sense that one’s life,
and events around us, lead towards the realization of some rational goals,
which satisfies a psychological need of teleological directedness [Keen 1973].
The stelthish level hides away the attempts at manipulation. One way of conducting steltish manipulation is to give a number of pieces of information,
only some of which involve the switch-over. The other way is positioning of
information in accordance with psychological features of human perceptions,
for instance the priority of top-left, center, bottom-right parts of the page over
top-tight bottom left; different reaction to different colors, voices; subliminal
imagining etc.
Political manipulation most often functions as a steltish guiding of political
views, in order to cause a desired action (or inaction). In particular, let us
name the following sorts of political manipulation:
Feeding desired information as an ‘objective account’
Pushing the red buttons of social conscience that produce negative emotional responses (fear, anxiety, hatred)
Realization of visible and hidden ends, which provides the context and
supports the special meaning of the manipulator’s position
Manipulation involves psychological structures and this requires a certain
level of mastery. Humans whose conscience or consciousness gets manipulated ought to be viewed not as persons but objects, or mechanisms of some
26
sort. Hence, manipulation is not merely an invisible influence in accordance
with the goals of manipulators; it also needs to accord with the goals and desires of those manipulated [Столин].
Political and psychological manipulation of mass-information may be used for
image formation of individuals and institutions. Furthermore, it may be used
not only as a part of political campaining or during social instability periods,
but also for the day-to-day governance of a stable society.
POSITIONING
The instrument of positioning plays a special role in the formation of social
views. The gist of this method is to make the audience focus on a given part or
aspect of a message. Positioning can be viewed as introduction of an object
into a privileged informational environment. One way to do so is to turn an
unknown into one known to the audience. The main kinds of positioning are
transformation and scorn or neglect.
Transformation can be attained by surrounding a piece of information solely
by objects or images interesting to the audience; one must focus here on the
viewpoint of the audience. Scorn or neglect is attained through leaving out, or
putting in an odd light, the pieces of information that are not helpful in the
apprehension and acceptance of the piece of information at hand.
MYTHOLOGIZATION
Mythologization is an attempt to double the message by influencing the audience at the sub-conscious level. Communication gets more efficient when
instead of creating new ideas it rides on the already existing ones. Myth and
archetype already exist at some deep level in our consciousness and the goal is
to activate such symbolism. Mythologization functions as a specific superstructure over already existing myths.
A higher level or professionalism is to link with an existing myth the kind of
information best conveyed through its content. In many cases mass-conscio27
usness relies on already existing symbolizations. According to W. Key science
and technology in the 20th century were based on creating symbols. Not only
did they fail in liberating people from symbolic thinking but they also made
them dependent on symbols and their interpretations instead of the exact
meanings [Key,1973:55]. Social consciousness transforms the view of the
world in accordance with its own dynamics.
EMOTIONALIZATION
Emotionalization consists in translating a given text from rational to emotional. There are a few ways of introducing emotions into the account: 1. concretization; 2. emotional mirroring (sympathy); 3. borrowing of another person’s emotions. The psychological rule is that the less rational argumentation,
the higher level of emotional content needs to carry it through.
Concretization, instead of providing the general theoretical account, gives a
story of concrete persons and events with the use of emotionally colored expressions. Case studies may in some contexts play this role. Emotional mirroring subsumes the subject into the emotions of another person or group. The
borrowing of another person’s emotions often involves the narrator telling of
these persons’ achievements, which leads to the sharing of pride, or other
emotions, and identification with the other person or event.
The technology of emotionalization is particularly important for public figures. In order to control the emotions of an audience, it helps to divide the text
of one’s message into ‘emotional blocs’ presented against appropriate emotional background. [Гук,2011:85].
FORMATTING
This instrument functions through creating the context, or background, helpful
to the communicator. It uses a certain role-playing aspect, which should remain invisible to the audience. The goal is to fit with the model of one’s persona and to develop it in the direction helpful to the communicator while
building the appropriate context. This sometimes is so simple as to show the
28
communicator in the right physical or social surroundings.
VERBALIZATION
This method is to use verbal means for image-creation or transformation. Verbal messages need to respond to two needs: 1. They ought to fit with the symbolism of described structures; 2. They have to represent the problems relevant to the population at a given time and place. Verbal keys, if picked up
correctly, can enhance the receival of information.
The main two manners of verbalization are: First, stepping back from the real
situation; this takes place when the object of imagization is presented in different, useful words; and second, attachment to the views of the audience; this
is often accomplished by an experienced political commentator creating the
image close to the audience. One of the main psychological specificities of
audiences consists in the need to feel connected. An orator needs to find the
so-called centers of gravity. She or he needs to use verbal, and other, means so
as to overcome the lack of understanding of some, lack of interest of others,
and to meet the expectations of those awaiting answers to their actual problems so as to create a good link with the audience [Гук,2011:85].
NEURO-LINGUISTIC PROGRAMMING
This method consists in changing the internal setting and direction of the
information recipient through language. This is an effective instrument of
changing human views for the interests of manipulator. In particular neurolinguisitc programming involves:
1. Mirroring which presents in the desired way the characteristics of a leader
(group or idea) using verbal, visual, and para-linguistic characteristics.
2. Emotional stir-up which forces the recipient to create a given image of a
person (organization, idea) through emotional influence. The stir-up may
use negative means: one specific way is to anger the recipient; another to
affect his or her feelings of self-respect.
3. Weaving-in of sub-modality which consists of the inclusion into one’s own
29
language of elements of those broadly linguistic means that fit with the
audience and its favorite mode of communication.
4. Fixing on the apex experience which focuses on the moments in which the
recipients are at the top of their emotional (or artistic, existential, religious) experiences. During such positive emotional and spiritual experience the crtitcal attitude of the audience weakens, and it is in that moment
when one can feed in problematic information. This is most often used by
religious and strongly ideological movements.
5. Metaphorization which is the use of metaphors as channels of information
delivery. Sometimes it invovles new expressions that mark given facts or
persons.
The following are instruments used in information-based influence. Accenting
of information is needed to emphasize or de-emphasize a given fact or person.
Exchange of goals involves the fact that you filter out predominantly positive
or negative information about a given person or event. Sensationalization is
used to create in people the feeling of inability to independently grasp information on fast-moving sensational events. It leads to passivity and inertia
which open the room for impressing on them promoted images or even values.
Distancing is a way to step away from responsibility, and if used competently,
it allows switching the blame to other subjects. It helps in political distancing.
Visualization presents the object in a helpful light, often by a variety of informational methods. The introduction of behavioral models leads to the modes
of behavior that result in semi-automatic evaluative patterns, for instance making things cool or uncool.
In order to help the formulation of social consciousness and action one would
use informational and psychological techniques at the appropriate skill level,
including the means of influence mentioned above.
ETHICAL DIMENSION
Informational influence uses various features of the human psychology in
service of pragmatic goals. In particular, it provides cognitive and pragmatic
reasons for change in view or action [Harman, 1988]. While Socrates, in his
30
disputes with the sophists, argued in favor of objective inquiry that aims to
acquire the single epistemic and moral truth [Plato], his own view of philosophers as those who know that they do not know puts this quest into question. If
you know nothing what chance do you have to gain an objective truth? Today
we know from psychology, that the human quest for moral truth (for the answer to the question what is right) relates to about five different, separate and
evolutionarily distinct, adaptation mechanisms. Those mechanisms address
such questions as: what is just, what is good, what is loyal, what is respectful
and what is clean. There is no evolutionary mechanism that guarantees the
mutual consistency of these claims [Haidt, 2002]. To go even further, logical
considerations based on advanced analysis of the implications of the liar’s
paradox may lead to the so-called inconsistency theory of the truth
[Barker,1999].
In this context informational manipulation may be viewed as a natural process
since social, cultural and environmental aspects, as well as the peculiarities of
one’s cognitive abilities, influence one’s access to information, information
acquisition and processing. Tools such as those explained in this article make
the process, rather than the content, a bit more cognitive, and they make the
social structure a bit more governable. In a Western context, especially in the
area of marketing, informational manipulation is called by more benign terms,
however I find East European terminological clarity refreshingly helpful. Calling this sort of psychological engineering tools by their name avoids the effect
of Orwellian doublespeak and also diminishes the effects of the so-called
Egiptization of culture where those in the know understand science or social
life very much better than the rest and therefore can manipulate the crowds the
way the ancient Agyptian monks used to. Paradoxically, the understanding of
manipulation techniques limits the potential scope for their use. Having said
this, it is worth mentioning, that a well-ordered society requires various levels
of social organization; not all of them necessarily reduce well to the standard
governing mechanisms in a democracy.
CONCLUDING REMARKS
We presented a number of informational and communication techniques of
31
image creation. A psychological analysis of the deeply rooted expectations of
the audience and analysis of its values may be the most important means of
spreading out the image able to create a useful influence on the audience.
REFERENCES:
1.
Barker, John (1999) The Inconsistency Theory of Truth. Princeton University,
2.
Ph.D. https://edocs.uis.edu/jbark3/www/webpage/barker_dissertation.pdf
Bernays E. (1977) Down with Image, Up with Reality / Public relation Quarterly. – Spring. – Vol.22, № 1. – P.56.
3.
Гук О., Колодій A. (2011) Культура та етика демократичного врядування. –
Львів: ЛРІДУ НАДУ. – С.85.
4.
Haidt, J; Greene, J (2002) How (and where) does moral judgment work?
TRENDS in Cognitive Sciences Vol.6 No.12
5.
6.
Harman Gilbert (1988); Change in View MIT Press
Keen S. Valey-Fox A. (1973) Your Mythic Journey: Finding Meaning in Your
Life Through Writing and Storytelling, Penguin New Yourk .
7.
Key W.B. (1973) Subliminal seduction. Ad media's manipulation of not so innocent America. - N.Y.
8.
Колосовська І. (2010) Імідж місцевих державних адміністрацій в Україні:
теоретико-прикладні засади формування: монографія. – Львів: ЛРІДУ
9.
НАДУ. – С.16-17.
Королько В. (2001) Паблік рілейшнз. Наукові основи, методика, практика
.– К.: Скарби. – С.296.
10. Липпман У. Общественное мнение http://socioline.ru/book/uolter-lippmanobschestvennoe-mnenie.
11. Науменко Т. (2003) Психологические методы воздействия на массовую
аудиторию / Вопросы психологии. -№6. - С. 66.
12. Plato Eutyphro (any edition)
13. Почепцов Г. (1998) Профессия: имиджмейкер. – К.: ИМСО МО Украины,
НВФ «Студцентр».– С.89.
14. Столин В. (2004) JL Манипуляция - что это? http://www.rokf.ru/carera/
2004/08/03 /221551. html.
Dr Iryna Kolosovska - Docent, Department of Political Sciences and Philosophy,
Lviv Regional Institute of State Administration, The National Academy of State Administration of the President
32
of Ukraine
Dr Peter Boltuc - Professor, Department of Philosophy, University of Illinois at
Springfield and Professor, Warsaw School of Economics
33
Agnieszka SZEWCZYK
SHOP OR E-COMMERCE?
ANALYSIS OF THE PROBLEM
INTRODUCTION
The recently observed dynamic development of information technologies has
exerted an effect on a number of enterprises, offices, institutions, households,
etc. If corporate management is not open to these trends, it may soon experience economic and financial discomfort. The article aims at providingg a twofold analysis of the problem of traditional and Internet sales in a particular
firm.
In fact, this area of activity conducted by any enterprise is particularly important to its functioning. It is the computerization of the company that is frequently the most controversial decision problem. A number of questions arise,
namely: Is ”Internet sale” an advantageous solution? Will it bring the expected
results? Should it be developed hand in hand with traditional sales or it ought
to be transformed into e-commerce?
The analysis below discusses and clarifies these problems.
COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF TRADITIONAL AND INTERNET SALE
Internet shop is an application that allows the servicing of commercial transactions via the Internet. It is developed on one of computers (called server) that
has access to the Internet and its own Internet address. A large number of new
e-shops have been set up and have entered the Internet market. This is particularly due to two factors. On the one hand, the Polish law is reasonably favourable to people interested in selling goods via the Internet. On the other hand, it
is possible to easily create a website with an e-shop. Hence, it might seem that
the Internet shops do not have to fear competition from traditional ones [Pod34
stawy e-biznesu... 2006].
The advantages of e-shopping which are greater certainty and sense of security relative to buying in traditional stores pose a dilemma for consumers,
namely whether to choose e-shops or traditional shops. Nowadays, both types
of stores complement one another with respect to functionality and accessibility. If the advantages of e-shops and traditional stores are combined, an ideal
shop would have to be set up. So far clients, regardless of their character and
expectations, may satisfy their needs and buy a given product in a way they
consider the most appropriate for themselves. Clients very often find a product
in the Internet shop, and then go to a traditional store in order to see it and
finally come back home and order it via the Internet. Such a situation is often
the case with household appliances and audio/video devices.
Nowadays, the average consumer places a limited confidence in buying products on-line [Strategie sukcesu... 2001]. This causes the opposite situation,
namely when clients look for a given good on the Internet and once they have
found it, they go to a conventional store to buy it. As a result, many producers
and sellers run both traditional and Internet shops, thanks to which clients do
not have the problem with choosing a given form of shopping. Such a combination enables one to purchase a given product via the Internet and then collect it from the traditional seller. The advantages of traditional shops are, e.g.
the possibility of seeing and examining a product thoroughly, approaching and
talking to a shop assistant, certainty that the product is totally new and „untouched”, and many more. The number of clients who prefer to do e-shopping
is growing extremely dynamically. It is estimated that in the coming years the
share of e-sale will equal traditional sales [Niedźwiedziński 2004].
Before selecting the distribution channel, it is worth taking a look at their features. Table 1.1 presents such a comparison. With reference to traditional
sales, relations among contractors are defined in advance, i.e. before the transaction is completed (including multiple links). As for virtual sellers, relations
among contractors may be defined during a given transaction and only for this
particular transaction. Their systems are developed on the basis of common
user networks, whereas „traditionalists” may build systems on the basis of
closed, private and reserved networks. With regard to conventional commerce,
35
the type of transaction, document formats and type of payment are defined in
a contract concluded among interested parties. Virtual sellers as well as Internet providers determine themselves the type of transaction they are going to
enter into [Chmielarz 2001].
Table 1. Comparison between traditional commerce and e-commerce
Criteria
Commerce
traditional
Market
players
Producers, middlemen, consumers
Access to
infrastructure
Free access – no technological
barriers
Form of
contact
Relations
among players
Sectors by the
kind of commerce
and
ultimate consumers
Links in the
value chain
Competitive
situation
Legal
framework
Point of sale
Shop floor
36
e-commerce
Producers, middlemen, Internet users
(consumers)
Limited access – proper software, hardware and knowledge of their use are
required
Physical, visual, verbal
Interactive, multimedia, via the Internet
Interpersonal
Virtual
Wholesale (sale of goods addressed
to retail establishments, industrial
companies, service companies,
institutions)
Retail sale (sale of goods addressed
to individual consumers, other consumers)
Middlemen, i.e. wholesale stores
and retail stores occupy the main
role in the value chain
Competition based on the portfolio
of products, service, location and
type of trading company
Global standard as well as numerous and effective legal regulations in the scope of organizing and
functioning of trading compa-ny as
well as consumer protection
Commercial stations; in the case of
wholesale – warehouses, in the case
of retail – shops
It is the main factor on the basis of
Business to business (B2B) involves
sale closed between enterprises, refers
to business processes taking place between enterprises
Business to consumer (B2C) involves
sale closed between enterprise and
client, it is equated with retail sale
Consumer to consumer (C2C) involves
sale closed between clients. Neither of
them conducts economic activity.
Goods possessed by either side are
subject to exchange
Business to employee (B2E) involves
sale of entitlements, goods and servi-ces
of various sorts to employees in or-der
to provide services or resell goods
Business to government (B2G) – involves sale of goods and services addressed to state-run institutions
Possibility of eliminating intermediate
links – sale from producers to ultimate
consumers
Competition based on the functionality
of
storefront, number of available
products and services provided
Lack of global standards. New legal
framework for e-commerce is being
established
Internet websites
Lack of shop floor. Internet website
Criteria
Specific
location
Market space
Technical
equipment
Procedures
relating to the
functioning of
shop
Methods
for providing
services
Assortment
Logistic
system
Commerce
traditional
e-commerce
which a particular commercial sta- performs all its functions
tion is assessed. It has a major effect
on organizing and functioning of
shop, presentation of go-ods, form
of sale, number of shop assistants
Decisions about location are often
determined by the necessity to take
account of legal provisions that
regulate the land-use and premises
management, as well as demo- Lack of physical location of shop. It is
graphic,
economic,
socio- placed on computer’s server. Access is
psychological, geographical and granted once the address of a given
infrastructural factors that determine website is entered
competition. It has a qualitative
character, and decisions about location are considered an instrument of
sales policy
Possibility of entering a given outlet.
Primacy of local and regional outlets Trade is not divided into domestic and
foreign
Includes computer hardware, i.e. computers, se-rvers and infrastructure relatIt is strictly connected with the type ing to access to the Internet. Technical
of shop. Equipment is divided into equipment also includes spe-cialist
basic and auxiliary
software used for creating Internet
websites, authorisation and settlement
of payment
Procedures relating to the system of
Procedures relating to the preparaeffective navigation between websites,
tion of goods for sale, development
creation of Internet website that will
of logistic system funct-ionning
provide useful information about the
within the shop, offering and preshop and its offer, providing services,
senting goods, exposition and proand mainly the authorisation and settleviding services
ment of payment
Methods depend on the extent to
The extent to which sellers are involved
which sellers are involved in the sale
in the sale process is limited. Contacts
process. Three methods can be
with clients are maintained via elecmentioned, namely traditional, pretronic mail
selection and self-service
It not plausible to provide every type of
Assortment depends on the type of assortment as some goods cannot be
shop
sold via the Internet for practical reasons
Some tasks relating to distribution are
Nowadays, traditional commerce is
accomplished by specialised delivery
based on the delivery of goods
companies, mainly courier companies,
directly from producer to shop
because there are no model solutions
(warehouse) due to which intermeadjusted to mass and at the same time
diary links are omitted. This is
individual character of the delivery of
connected with just-in-time system.
goods ordered on-line.
Source: M. Olejnik, B. Sojkin, Handel tradycyjny a handel elektroniczny, „Marketing i Rynek”
2001, nr9.
37
The clients of Internet shops may be divided into two categories, namely consumers and prosumers. Prosumer is an active consumer, i.e. Internet user who
meets at least two out of three conditions, namely seeks and takes into account
opinions expressed by other Internet users when he/she intends to buy a product; describes products and brands on the Internet or ask questions concerning
them; and finally participates in promotions as part of which he/she contributes to the creation of products, slogans or advertising campaigns. Nearly 59%
of men are prosumers. Furthermore, young people aged 19-34 represent the
largest group. People from this age group more often become involved in matters relating to shopping and consumption [Pelc 2009].
Nowadays, nearly 2% of all consumer spending flows are through Internet
shops. In 2008, Polish people spent over 12.5 billion on e-shopping, and Polish e-commerce is still developing. As many as 55% of Internet users declared
they performed at least one Internet transaction. Virtually everything can be
bought on-line. Some branches enable consumers to choose from several or
even a few dozen e-shops, and growing competition makes the owners pay
much attention to assortment and clients. It is a global trend for e-commerce
to consolidate. Experts dealing with economic issues state that it will constitute about 19% of total sale value in Europe during the period 2012 - 2015
[Dziuba 2001].
The functioning of X firm
Firm X has given priority to sustainable development, growth of competitiveness and strong orientation toward customers since the beginning of its functioning. Thanks to the adopted strategy, it is currently one of leaders among
dynamically developing firms holding retail sale of computer hardware and
multimedia equipment in Poland.1
Firm X sells its products via a number of channels that are closely integrated
within its activity model at the level of management and marketing. The firm
carries both wholesale and retail merchandise. As far as B2C (Business-toCustomer) distribution channel is concerned, one can mention computer
1
At the request of the Management – the firm under analysis remained anonymous.
38
shops, partner shops, Internet shops and Internet auctions. Computer shops are
the main distribution channel. The Issuer currently runs 29 own stores with an
average floor area of 101 square metres. Firm X keeps them in big cities, near
the main promenades, and ultimately also in shopping arcades. What they
have in common is a coherent and uniform policy on corporate identity and
design, which makes the brand more recognizable. On 18 March 2011 the
traditional distribution channel included 52 partner shops. In this model, the
Company provides its partners with marketing support in the form of presenting their contact details on a given website and in auction website Allegro.pl.
Furthermore, the Company provides traditional form of advertising, i.e. the
visualisation of partners’ stores.
Internet shops and auctions are currently the most important distribution
channel. E-shopping is neither difficult nor time-consuming. If there is a conventional shop in the client’s place, the product ordered in such a way may be
collected in person in this shop and the client can pay for it then. Such a
method reduces the risk posed by e-transactions.
As far as distribution channel B2B (Business-to-Business) is concerned, one
can distinguish business customer service department and wholesale service
department. With reference to the former, the Company provides services to
small and medium-sized firms, large firms and corporations as well as government administrative institutions. Computer hardware and software are distributed mainly via dedicated business customer service department to which
inquiries from the area and other branches of the Company are addressed. The
department dealing with wholesale service and IT equipment distributors’
service represents significant distribution channels of B2B segment. This
group of customers is provided with equipment at wholesale prices and for
resale, yet without the possibility of returning the purchased goods. The performing a transaction with a wholesale buyer or distributor of IT equipment is
preceded with price negotiations and defining the conditions of sale. Only
then is the contract signed. Large batches of products are distributed under
contracts with wholesale buyers and IT equipment distributors. Furthermore,
company X sells its products via auction systems.
The structure of product offer prepared by the Company is subject to continu-
39
ous change due to variable demand for particular goods and market trends. It
is worth emphasizing that flexibility in adjusting the assortment to consumer
needs is one of key factors determining the success of the company on the IT
market.
Statistical analysis of traditional and Internet sales carried out by Firm X
in the period 2008–2010
Statistical analysis of firm X’s traditional and Internet sales is performed on
the basis of data on the profit from goods and services2. Products are being
sold through traditional channel in the company’s own shops, franchise shops
and partner shops. On the other hand, e-sale is carried out via the Internet shop
or auction website. Table 2 presents the profit generated from both types of
sale.
Table 2. Profit from traditional and Internet sale generated by firm X
Month
Profit from traditional sale
2010
2009
Profit from Internet sale
2008
2010
2009
2008
Jan
6 305 224,96 5 194 002,60
4 022 135,88
488 261,00
372 614,72
352 622,34
Feb
8 728 240,37 9 164 878,31
7 156 759,87
675 893,31
657 483,03
627 436,14
March
8 610 373,61 9 530 717,36
7 228 561,28
666 766,00
683 728,11
633 731,00
April
7 898 109,09 8 743 466,05
6 584 194,80
611 610,00
627 251,16
577 239,12
May
7 237 724,58 7 715 800,05
6 539 568,46
560 471,46
553 527,00 573 326,71
June
5 544 816,98 6 066 332,93
5 158 931,06
429 376,89
435 195,19
452 285,65
July
8 645 944,09 8 690 148,64
6 653 663,04
669 520,49
623 426,20
583 329,43
August
7 573 293,43 7 720 218,82
6 417 508,70
586 457,08
553 844,00
562 625,68
Sept.
7 962 374,05 8 698 074,97
6 860 592,24
616 586,52
623 994,83
601 471,00
Oct.
5 130 552,44 5 575 383,31
4 172 364,77
397 297,27
399 974,75
365 792,97
Nov.
6 311 499,83 6 593 272,12
5 488 091,91
488 746,91
472 997,50
481 143,32
Dec.
5 869 829,58 6 200 199,65 4 984 151,92
454 545,06
444 798,71
436 962,69
Source: own calculations.
Profit from traditional sale totalled 71.266.523,95 Zlotys in 2008,
89.892.494,80 Zlotys in 2009, and 85.817.983,01 Zlotys in 2010. In 2009 firm
2
40
Data for the analysis was collected by Anna Borowczyk, a student.
X reported a 26.14% increase compared to the year 2008. This probably
stemmed from the development of distribution through traditional channels as
well as the extended range of products. On the contrary, there was a 4.53%
decrease in 2010 (compared to the year 2009). This could have resulted from
the stabilization of firm X’s enriched offer presented in 2009. The average
monthly profit from traditional sales totalled 6.860.472,27 Zlotys in the period
2008-2010. The highest profit from this kind of sales was generated in March
2009 and amounted to 9.530.717,35 Zlotys. By contrast, the lowest was registered in January 2008 and totalled 4.022.135,88 Zlotys.
As for the period 2008-2010, profit from Internet sales increased by 6.36%,
i.e. from 6.247.966,05 Zlotys in 2008 and 6.448.835,20 Zlotys in 2009 to
6.645.531,99 Zlotys in 2010. The data suggest that these sales have just
started to develop and traditional channels still play a dominant role. Such a
considerable difference between profits from Internet and traditional sales
may arise from the fact that not all products offered by firm X’s retail outlets
are available on the Internet. Another reason behind this state of affairs is the
sale of services that are offered via the traditional channel. The average
monthly profit from Internet sales totalled 537.287,03 Zlotys in the period
2008-2010. It March 2009 firm X reported its highest profit from this type of
sale, namely 683.728,11 Zlotys. By contrast, the lowest profit (i.e. 352.622,34
Zlotys) was generated in January 2008.
In comparison with 2008, the total number of products sold via traditional
channels was subject to a dynamic increase in 2009. Despite this, it declined
slightly in 2010.
In 2009 firm X sold 111 299 products, hence 12925 items more than in 2008
and 1735 items more than in 2010. Such a sharp increase was probably linked
to the extended range of products marketed by firm X. It offers computer
games and computer gaming equipment as well as a range of household appliances due which attract more clients and thus contributed to the sale of more
products. In 2008 the average price of a product sold by the firm amounted to
724,96 Zlotys. In 2009 it reached 808,17 Zlotys, whereas in 2010 it totalled
783,77 Zlotys. As far as the sale through traditional channels is concerned,
expensive products are the most popular, namely audio/video devices, laptops,
41
personal computers and monitors.
Analysing the data on the number of products sold each month in the period
2008-2010, it can be noticed that the largest number of goods were marketed
during the first six months of every year. Firm X sold the highest number of
products (i.e. 11963 items) in March 2009. On the contrary, the lowest number was reported in October 2008 and amounted to 6747 items. The total
number of products sold through Internet channels was subject to an increase
each year.
The number of products sold in 2010 increased by 177 items in comparison
with 2008, and by 133 items compared to 2009. This is directly linked to the
continually growing IT awareness among customers. E-shopping is becoming
more and more popular among Polish people. They place confidence in this
form of shopping. Furthermore, the average price of products increased every
year. In 2008 the average price of product sold by firm X amounted to 366,28
Zlotys, in 2009 it totalled 376,64 Zlotys, and in 2010 it reached 385,58 Zlotys.
The above data suggest that customers who purchase goods in Internet shops
and on auction websites usually buy computer software as well as computer
and telephone accessories. Polish people still have a reserved approach to
buying on-line products the price of which exceeds 1.000 Zlotys. They prefer
to buy such goods in the traditional way.
Analysing data on the number of products sold each month in the period 2008
– 2010, it can be noticed that consumers were particularly active from February to May and in September each year. It was in November and December
that sales figures were the most balanced. This was probably due to Christmas
shopping. Still, the greatest number of products were sold in March 2008,
namely 1846 items.
During 2008-2010, the distribution of notebooks was subject to the most dynamic increase (139.67%), whereas the sale of digital cameras and cameras
declined to the greatest extent (-78.15%). Consumers bought personal computers less often during the same period. It can be concluded that laptops had
already started to replace personal computers not only at home, but also in
small and medium-sized enterprises. The profit from the sale of household
appliances was subject to a rapid growth in 2009. This was probably due to
42
the wider range of products in this department. In 2009 the profit from the sale
of services increased considerably and this tendency was also observed in
2010. Such a situation stemmed from, among other things, the fact that the
firm extended the range of services, e.g. in loan brokerage, and made its clients interested in IT outsourcing services.
In 2008 firm X generated the largest profit from the sale of notebooks (i.e. a
share of 61.16%). Furthermore, the sale of personal computers (14.18%) as
well as digital cameras and cameras (6.02%) also had a considerable share in
profits. The sale of household appliances earned the lowest profit (i.e. a share
of 0.23%).
Both in 2008 and 2009 the sale of notebooks earned the largest profit (a share
of 67.65%). Personal computers and services also had a considerable share in
the firm’s revenue (namely, 7.69% and 7.44% respectively). The sale of audio/video devices generated definitely the lowest profit (a share of 1.01%).
In 2010 no major changes were observed in the profit shares of particular sales
departments. The sale of notebooks (68.95%) and services (7.97%) still constituted the largest shares. In comparison with previous years, the sale of personal computers generated lower profit. Both in 2008 and 2010 digital cameras and cameras had the smallest share in profits, namely 1.06%. These tendencies enable one to project that firm X will develop dynamically in the future.
Analysing the profit from Internet sales, one should also mention costs related
to e-commerce. It is expensive to put a given item for auction on a popular
website.
The costs of Internet sales were the highest in March 2008 and 2010 and
amounted to 61.933,30 Zlotys and 59.808,26 Zlotys respectively. This was
due to the number of items sold in this period. It was then that firm X sold the
greatest number of products via the Internet (taken the entire period into account). On the contrary, the lowest costs were incurred in January 2008, 2009
and 2010 and totalled 24078,67 Zlotys, 22.733,98 Zlotys and 24478,27 Zlotys
respectively. Therefore, they were subject to gradual increase. In 2010 the
costs related to Internet sales increased by 9512,30 Zlotys compared to 2008,
which constituted 1.87% of the total costs of e-sale. This resulted from a con43
tinually growing interest in e-shopping.
Economic analysis of traditional and Internet sales carried out by firm X
during 2008-2010
The economic analysis of traditional and Internet sales carried out by firm X is
performed on the basis of data derived from balance sheets as well as profit
and loss accounts for the period 2008-2010. For the purpose of analysis, data
collected from financial reports (prepared each year) was presented in thousand Zlotys. The summaries do not take account of inflation as it was comparable during the entire period under consideration.
To start, the economic analysis involves the examination of elements constituting firm X’s equity, and more precisely its „traditional” branch. Table 3
presents the assets, their structure and change in their value on the basis of the
balance sheets drawn up for 2010, 2009 and 2008.
Table 3. Summary of the structure of assets owned by traditional shops run by
firm X
Item
num
ber
Specification
31 December
31 December
31 December
2010
2009
2008
amount
amount
amount
in
in
in
%
%
%
thousand
thousand
thousand
Zlotys
Zlotys
Zlotys
4 670
21.0
1 367
9.0
719
8.9
A
Total fixed assets
1
Intangible assets
2 786
12.5
48
0.3
0
0.0
2
Tangible assets
1 884
8.5
1 302
8.5
679
8.4
3
Long-term investments
0
0.0
0
0.0
13
0.2
4
Long-term prepayments
0
0.0
17
0.1
28
0.3
B
Total operating assets
17 602
79.0
13 897
91.0
7 352
91.1
1
Stock
5 904
26.5
7 931
52.0
4 814
59.6
2
Short-term receivables
9 861
44.3
4 556
29.8
2 146
26.6
3
Short-term investments
4
Short-term prepayments
Total assets (A+B)
81
0.4
228
1.5
338
4.2
1 757
7.9
1 181
7.7
54
0.7
22 272
100.0
15 264
100.0
8 071
100.0
As the balance indicates, operating assets are the main asset owned by tradi44
tional shops. In 2008 and 2009 stock was such an asset and constituted 59.6%
and 52% of total assets respectively. In 2010 the financial standing was subject to change. It was then that short-term receivables represented the largest
share, i.e. 44.3% of total assets. Intensified actions taken by firm X in order to
dynamically develop resulted in the appreciation of assets, namely by 7193
thousand Zlotys in the period 2008-2009, and by 7008 thousand Zlotys in the
period 2009-2010. In 2010 the intangible assets represented such a large share
for the first time. Furthermore, the summary shows that stock declined markedly, i.e. by 2027 thousand Zlotys.
Table 4 presents liabilities, their structure and change in their value on the
basis of balance sheets prepared each year during the period under consideration.
Table 4. Summary of the structure of liabilities of the traditional shops run by
firm X
31 December
31 December
31 December
2010
2009
2008
amount
amount
amount
in
in
in
%
%
%
thousand
thousand
thousand
Zlotys
Zlotys
Zlotys
7 879
35.4
535
3.5
762
9.4
Item
number
Specification
A
Total ownership capital
1
Core capital
1 323
5.9
-741
-4.9
61
0.8
2
Profit(loss) net=gross
1 288
5.8
1 276
8.4
701
8.7
B
Liabilities and accruals
14 394
64.6
14 729
96.5
7 309
90.6
1
Long-term liabilities
700
3.1
1 138
7.5
709
8.8
2
Short-term liabilities
13 558
60.9
13 529
88.6
6 543
81.1
3
Accrued expenses
136
0.6
62
0.4
57
0.7
22 273
100.0
15 264
100.0
8 071
100.0
Total liabilities (A+B)
Analysing particular items presented in Table 4, it can be noticed that ownership capital represented an increasingly substantial share each year. In 2010 it
amounted to 7879 thousand Zlotys. Hence, the increase was profound in comparison with previous years when it did not exceed 800 thousand Zlotys. It
can also be noted that the net profit generated in 2009 and 2010 was comparable. During the period under consideration, short-term liabilities constituted
the largest share in the structure of liabilities, mainly due to suppliers of
45
goods, and represented 81.1%, 88.6% and 60.9% of total liabilities respectively.
Table 5 presents a summary of the structure of assets owned by the Internet
shops. The summary of assets, their structure and change in value was prepared on the basis of balance sheets drawn up each year during the period
under consideration. The structure is similar for Internet and traditional shops
due to identical kind of activity conducted by the firm operating in two areas
and thus adopting analogous strategies.
Operating assets determined the value of assets to a considerable extent. Stock
represented the main item, namely 81.3% and 68.8% of total assets in 2008
and 2009 respectively. It was in 2010 that the financial standing was subject to
change with short-term receivables constituting the largest share, i.e. 45.3% of
total assets. Despite this, short-term investments decreased from 124 thousand
Zlotys in 2009 to 18 thousand Zlotys in 2010.
Table 5. Summary of the structure of assets owned by Internet shops run by firm
X
Item
number
Specification
A
Total fixed assets
1
Intangible assets
2
Tangible assets
3
31 December
31 December
31 December
2010
2009
2008
amount
amount
amount
in
in
in
%
%
%
thousand
thousand
thousand
Zlotys
Zlotys
Zlotys
1 476
10.7
203
2.2
173
2.6
1 318
9.5
11
0.1
0
0.0
158
1.1
189
2.0
168
2.5
Long-term investments
0
0.0
0
0.0
2
0.0
4
Long-term prepayments
0
0.0
3
0.0
2
0.0
B
Total operating assets
12 327
89.3
9 034
97.8
6 503
97.4
1
Stock
5 915
42.9
6 356
68.8
5 425
81.3
2
Short-term receivables
6 247
45.3
2 470
26.7
949
14.2
3
Short-term investments
18
0.1
124
1.3
118
1.8
4
Short-term prepayments
Total assets (A+B)
147
1.1
85
0.9
11
0.2
13 802
100
9 237
100
6 676
100
Table 6 present liabilities, their structure and change in their value with refer-
46
ence to Internet shops. The summary was prepared on the basis of balance
sheets drawn up each year of the period under investigation.
Table 6. Summary of the structure of liabilities of Internet shops run by firm X
31 December
31 December
31 December
2010
2009
2008
amount
amount
amount
in
in
in
%
%
%
thousand
thousand
thousand
Zlotys
Zlotys
Zlotys
704
5.1
34
0.4
98
1.5
Item
number
Specification
A
Total ownership capital
1
Core capital
596
4.3
-57
-0.6
37
0.6
2
Profit(loss) net=gross
108
0.8
91
1.0
61
0.9
B
Liabilities and accruals
13 098
94.9
9 203
99.6
6 578
98.5
1
Long-term liabilities
558
4.0
907
9.8
884
13.2
2
Short-term liabilities
12 514
90.7
8 284
89.7
5 675
85.0
3
Accrued expenses
12
0.1
19
0.3
Total liabilities (A+B)
26
0.2
13 802
100.0
9 237 100.0
6 676 100.0
The value of liabilities was determined by liabilities and accruals to the greatest extent. Short-term liabilities constituted the largest share in the period under consideration. They represented 85% of total liabilities in 2008, 89.7% in
2009 and 90.7% in 2010 respectively. During the period, the value of core
capital was subject to substantial increase, namely from 37 thousand Zlotys
in 2008 to 596 thousand Zlotys in 2010.
The economic analysis of traditional and Internet shops run by firm X covers
the following four areas: liquidity, turnover, debt and profitability. At first,
financial liquidity is subject to examination. In order to assess it accurately, it
is necessary to determine long-term and short-term financial liquidity. Longterm liquidity of a traditional shop was determined by dividing ownership
capital by fixed assets. Both in 2008 and 2010 long-term liquidity was maintained as fixed assets were financed completely from ownership capital. In
2009 the firm was placed in a more difficult situation since only 40% of its
assets were financed from ownership capital, and 60% – from outside capital.
If the so-called balance sheet rule is not followed, the continuation of activity
may be put at risk, which is also unfavourable to maintaining financial equi-
47
librium. The opposite situation was observed in the case of the Internet shop,
namely long-term liquidity was not sustained during the entire period under
consideration: 48% of fixed assets were financed from ownership capital in
2010.
The short-term liquidity is analysed in three degrees. Table 7 presents the
short-term liquidity ratios.
Table 7. Collation of short-term liquidity ratios for firm X
Short-term liquidity
Traditional shop
Internet shop
2010
2009
2008
2010
2009
2008
1st degree
0.60%
1.69%
5.17%
0.14%
1.49%
2.07%
2nd degree (quick ratio)
73.33%
35.36%
37.96%
50.06%
31.31%
18.81%
129.83% 102.72% 112.36%
98.50%
109.05% 114.60%
rd
3 degree (current ratio)
The financial liquidity ratio of the first degree indicates that in 2010 both traditional and Internet shops could discharge about 0.5% of current liabilities
arising from short-term investments. In the period 2008-2010, the ratio was
subject to gradual decrease. With regard to traditional shops, the financial
liquidity ratio of second degree amounted to 38% in 2008, 35% in 2009 and
reached 73% in 2010. The Internet shop achieved slighter financial liquidity
than the traditional one in the period under analysis. Since both shops were
managed by the same firm, they supported and were complementary to one
another. The liquidity ratio of the third degree for the traditional shop reached
112% in 2008, 103% in 2009 and 130% in 2010. Satisfactory liquidity was
achieved only in 2010. The disproportionately high level of stock had an adverse effect on liquidity in previous years. As for the Internet shop, the ratio
did not exceed 115% and was not lower than 98% in the period under examination. The low liquidity ratio resulted from a too high level of stock and
short-term receivables. The above calculations indicated that firm X took out
mainly credits and short-term loans to finance its liabilities. The liquidity ratios were considerably lower than the optimum ratio. The firm probably had
problems with timely settlement of liabilities during the period under consideration.
For the economic analysis, it is important to examine the firm’s turnover. Ta48
ble 8 presents a group of ratios characterizing the turnover and obtained results. The ratios for the year 2008 are determined on the basis of data for
2007. Due to the lack of financial data for the latter twelve months, it was not
possible to calculate the aforementioned ratios.
Table 8. Collation of turnover ratios for firm X
Turnover ratios
Assets
Traditional shop
2010
2009
Internet shop
2010
4.57 Zlotys 7.71 Zlotys 0.58 Zlotys
2009
0.81 Zlotys
Stock (in days)
29
25
327
307
Liabilities (in days)
26
14
235
90
Short-term liabilities (in days)
57
40
563
390
Cash conversion cycle
-2
-1
-1
7
The asset turnover ratio informs about the profit generated to the firm by
every Zloty. In 2010 the situation faced by both the traditional and Internet
shops was worse than in 2009. Stock management was not effective neither in
2009 nor in 2010. The traditional shop, where stock was subject to turnover
more often than every 30 days, was in a better situation. By comparison, the
Internet shop holds a larger stock and is not able to liquidate it relatively
quickly. This may result from the fact that Internet sale has just started to develop, and people interested in buying a given good preferred traditional
shops. The liability turnover ratio indicates for how long the firm has frozen
its cash. With reference to the conventional store, this ratio was optimal in the
period under examination. Again, the firm achieved better results in 2009. The
Internet shop did not obtain satisfactory results in liability management. In
2010 cash had been frozen for, on average, 239 days in comparison with the
year 2009 when such a situation lasted for 97 days. Hence, liability management should become more effective as soon as possible. In 2010 the shortterm liability turnover ratio was more favourable for the traditional shop as the
firm raised cash from external sources and had it for a longer period of time.
This ratio was too high in the case of the Internet shop. If the firm has such
financial resources at its disposal for a too long period of time, it may encounter problems with the settlement of liabilities in the future and hence deal with
49
financial difficulties.
The cash conversion cycle is the last but not least in the group of turnover
ratios. It shows the number of days during which the firm has ”ready money”
at its disposal and may, e.g. invest it (if the ratio is negative). Only in 2009
was the cash conversion cycle positive in the case of the Internet shop, which
indicated that firm X had not had capital only for 7 days. If the firm does not
find commitment appreciations, it will take out a loan. If firm X does not improve its turnover ratios or they are subject to adverse change, it may face
financial difficulties.
Another group of interest are debt ratios. Table 9 presents their collation both
for the traditional and Internet shops run by firm X.
Table 9. Comparison of debt ratios for firm X
Debt ratios
Traditional shop
Internet shop
2010
2009
2010
2009
64.63%
96.50%
94.90%
99.63%
Long-term debt
0.09
2.13
0.79
26.33
Capital multiplier
1.85
6.55
3.55
17.71
Debt service coverage ratio
11.13
4.30
11.10
4.30
Total debt
Comparing the debt ratios for firm X, it can be noticed that the lowest value
was about 65%, which indicated heavy indebtness. However, both in the case
of the traditional and Internet shops this ratio was lower in 2010 than in 2009.
This is a good signal for the firm, namely that it copes with total debt more
effectively. Analysing the long-term debt, it might be concluded that in 2009
firm X encountered an extremely difficult situation. This refers both to the
traditional and Internet shop. The above data allows to state that in 2009 the
firm raised a large loan and had problems with the timely settlement of liabilities. It was in 2010 that a more favourable situation was observed due to the
fact that the firm began to cover its liabilities to a greater extent.
The capital multiplier determines how many times total capital exceeds ownership capital. The ratio should not exceed 3. One of the positive aspects is
50
that this ratio was subject to substantial reduction in 2010 compared to 2009.
Although it was higher than 3 in the case of the Internet shop in 2010, the
situation seems promising.
The debt service coverage ratio confirmes that firm X achieved improvement
in 2010. The higher the ratio, the easier it is for the firm to service and repay
debts. In 2009 firm X faced serious problems with the settlement of its liabilities. As a result, it had to use credits and loans. The higher profits generated in
2010 enabled it to repay the outstanding debt and cover current liabilities.
The last group of ratios determines corporate profitability. One may differentiate between return on capital and return on sales. Tables 10 and 11 present a
collation of profitability indices, namely return on capital and return on sales
both for the traditional and Internet shops.
Table 10. Capital profitability ratios for firm X
Traditional shop
Capital profitability
Internet shop
2010
2009
2010
2009
Return On Assets (ROA)
7%
11%
2%
1%
Return On Equity (ROE)
31%
197%
29%
138%
Return On Capital (ROC)
18%
38%
9%
10%
Financial leverage effect
0.70
4.16
2.26
12.95
The return on assets determines the profit that every Zloty of assets generated
to the firm. In the case of the conventional shop, it reached 11% in 2009, i.e.
every Zloty of assets earned 0.11 Zloty of profit, and 0.07 Zloty in 2010. For
the Internet shop, it amounted to 1% in 2009 and 2% in 2010.
Analysing return on equity, it can be noticed that in 2010 every Zloty generated 0.31 Zloty for the conventional shop, and 0.29 Zloty for the e-shop. On
the contrary, in 2009 equity capital was considerably lower, hence ROE was
extremely high. The ROE determines the profit generated by the total capital
employed by the firm. The return on capital followed a downward trend,
51
which may be considered a negative phenomenon. The higher the ROC, the
greater the corporate effectiveness and potential for development. Return on
equity was higher than return on capital in each case, which proves that the
effect of financial leverage is observed. A positive value of financial leverage
indicates that firm X generates profit from raising credits and taking on liabilities. If the value is negative, the firm incurs losses from the aforementioned
actions.
Table 11. Comparison of sales profitability ratios for firm X
Traditional shop
Internet shop
Sales profitability
2010
2009
2010
2009
Return on sales
1.5%
1.4%
1.6%
1.4%
Effectiveness of core business
2.5%
0.5%
2.7%
0.6%
Cost ratio
98%
99%
96%
98%
Profitability of operating activities
2.4%
2.0%
2.6%
2.1%
Return on sales (understood as the ratio of net profit to total profit) determines
the profit generated by every single Zloty earned by the firm. In 2010 every
Zloty generated 0.02 Zloty of profit, whereas in 2009 the profit amounted to
0.01 Zloty in the case of both the conventional and Internet shops. The effectiveness of the core business indicates the percentage share of the profit margin in sales. The cost ratio determines the share of costs in profits. It reached
nearly 100% in 2010 and 2009, which placed firm X in the category of hardly
profitable enterprises. The profitability of operating activity is interpreted just
as return on sales. In the case of the conventional shop, every Zloty of the
profit from operating activity generated 0.02 Zlotys in 2009 and 2010. With
regard to the e-shop the situation was slightly different as in 2009 every Zloty
generated 0.02 Zloty of profit and 0.03 Zloty in 2010.
Firm X is still developing and the fulfilment of its particular objectives requires high financial outlays. Furthermore, in 2010 the firm became a public
company, due to which it had to cover greater costs. Undoubtedly, this affected its net profit. Furthermore, the changeable situation on the foreign exchange market in the fourth quarter of 2010 was also of profound importance.
52
It was the main reason behind the growing prices of electronics offered by
distributors and determined the margin of profit from the products sold. The
Internet shop was an additional element to the functioning of firm X. Even
though it did not generate the expected profit at that time, it was still a significant part of the company.
CONCLUSION
The economic analysis revealed the problems encountered by the Internet
shop (contrary to the traditional one) in achieving financial liquidity. Despite
low ratios, the on-line functioning of firm X is not at risk of collapse. The
traditional shop, which is placed in a favourable financial and economic situation, may provide the e-shop with support whenever necessary. The turnover
ratios for the traditional shop are satisfactory. The opposite situation is observed in the case of the Internet shop for which the value of this ratio was
negatively affected by, among other things, the too high stock level which was
not proportional to net profit. On the contrary, the traditional shop maintained
appropriate balance between assets and net profit. Firm X intends to reduce
the stock level in the case of the Internet shop and transfer part of it to the
traditional shop.
Data derived from the Central Statistical Office indicates that the Polish society, despite the development of computerization, is still not very willing to use
services provided by Internet shops offering computer hardware and software.
This situation is reflected in the analysis of the sales carried out by firm X via
the Internet. It is expected that the number of people buying goods on-line will
be subject to increase each year, and particularly the number of consumers
purchasing IT products, which will contribute to the further development of
the entire IT sector and especially e-shops.
The traditional store run by firm X offers a wider range of products than the
Internet one and hence may be more attractive to clients. This is the main reason behind differences in the profit generated by the two shops. Comparing
the number of products sold with profit, it may be concluded that the clients of
the e-shop prefer to buy small and less expensive goods in contrast with the
53
customers of the conventional shop. Polish people are still mistrustful of eshopping, particularly when it comes to purchasing costly products. They still
prefer to examine the product themselves and only then buy it.
Firm X seeks new solutions that will increase the profit generated by both the
traditional and Internet shops. It implements a number of projects aimed at
extending the range of products in both types of stores, market development
and geographic expansion. Furthermore, the firm intends to enter foreign markets.
The profitability of the Internet shops functioning in the IT branch has not
reached the optimum level yet. Traditional trade is still prevailing on the Polish market. People need more time to place confidence in e-shopping. Some
Poles consider e-commerce a hardly comprehensible notion and exploiting its
potential – a formidable barrier. However, the development of this area is
extremely dynamic and may pose a serious threat to traditional trade in the
future.
LITERATURE:
1.
Chmielarz W., Handel elektroniczny i nie tylko w gospodarce wirtualnej, Uniwersytet Warszawski, Warszawa 2001, s. 31.
2.
Dziuba D., Ewolucja rynków w przestrzeni elektronicznej, Wyd. Uniwersytetu
Warszawskiego, Warszawa 2001, s. 15-20.
3.
E-biznes. Strategie sukcesu w gospodarce internetowej, praca zbiorowa, Wyd.
Liber, Warszawa 2001, s 20-30.
4.
Niedźwiedziński M., Globalny handel elektroniczny, PWN, Warszawa 2004, s.
5.
20-24.
Olejnik M., Sojkin B., Handel tradycyjny a handel elektroniczny, „Marketing
6.
i Rynek” 2001, nr 9.
Pelc, M., Polski Internet 2008/2009, Gemius, Warszawa 2009, s. 72.
7.
Podstawy e-biznesu, red. A. Szewczyk. Wyd. Naukowe US, Szczecin 2006, s. 2025.
Prof. Agnieszka Szewczyk – Faculty of Economics and Management, Szczecin University, Poland
54
Aleksandra KUPIS-FIJAŁKOWSKA
SURVEYS IN THE CONTEXT OF VIRTUAL SOCIETY – A
STATISTICAL PERSPECTIVE
STATISTICAL SURVEYS - A SHORT INTRODUCTION
Since the very beginning of the human beings, philosophers, scientists, society
leaders and people in general have been interested in others’ characteristics,
views, opinions, preferences and how other members of society perceive the
surrounding world. The first data collection activities started in the Babylonian times (agriculture censuses), ancient China (investigation/determination
of society revenues and military potential), ancient Egyptian and Roman civilizations (censuses of people and properties). The main purposes of first actions of this type were to determine political and military potentials, as well as
aimed to calculate tax obligations. However over the time the information
needs of authorities and societies were growing. The data were becoming
more and more desirable goods. It was recognized that information provides a
broader context and thus reduces uncertainty and risk when a decision must be
taken.
The research experience was increasing year by year, but at the same time
different population numbers had been rapidly growing and going through
modifications in structure and form. These processes were interesting for
many bodies. This proves that information has always been one of the core
political, economic and societal needs. As societies were changing, the methods and modes of data collection had to evolve. Hence, although for ages it
was based on a complete enumeration of populations, a fundamental change
was inevitable [Bethlehem, 2009b]. Some new ideas were introduced to take
into consideration only a part of population when doing research – i.e. in 1662
by John Graunt and in 1812 by Pierre Simon Laplace – but none of them
brought any major changes into the survey methodology at that time, due to
55
the lack of the proper scientific foundations.
As industrialization the process progressed, more and more information was
required. In 1895 a new chapter in survey theory and practice begun – the time
of the representative method arrived. The idea of sample survey was introduced by Anders Kiaer. He proposed to investigate only a part of a population
to get information on it and postulated that the selection method of the sample
elements should guarantee a „miniature” of this population. Kiaer’s idea
seemed to be justified by intuition, however he didn’t have supportive theoretical background to motivate it. Today, without a doubt it can be stated that
it was extremely needed at that time to do a step forward in survey methodology. A lot of criticism occurred and many discussions were needed on the
sample selection method, which would result in representativity of the population, postulated by Kiaer as crucial. His proposal was based on a purposive
selection method that satisfied the „population miniature” requirement, but he
had no concept how to measure the accuracy of the obtained results.
This idea, although it lacked a formal theory of inference, started a process
which resulted in the development of the representative method theory. Sir
Arthur Lyon Bowley’s papers from 1906 and 1926 constituted the next step
in this process. He actually proved that for randomly selected elements, estimates had an approximately normal distribution. Hence, a new selection
method appeared – simple random sampling, for which the accuracy of the
estimates could be calculated [Bethlehem, 2009b]. Kiaer’s and Bowley’s approaches functioned simultaneously until Jerzy Spława-Neyman in 1934 published his paper On the two different aspects of the representative method: The
method of stratified sampling and the method of purposive selection in which
the idea of confidence intervals was introduced. This article was an invaluable
asset for statistics theory as well as for science in general, as inter alia, the
following conclusions were presented:
the purposive selection approach does not provide satisfactory estimates
of population characteristics;
by using a random sample approach (instead of a purposive one), no prior
assumptions about the population are required;
with a random sample approach a confidence interval can be proposed as
an indicator of the estimates precision.
56
With this work, Spława-Neyman established the superiority of random (probability) sampling over the purposive selection and at the same time the core of
the modern survey sampling theory. After this publication, many scientific
positions treating the representative method area and its problems were published, the following ones are considered to be the most important:
Yates, F. (1949), Sampling Methods for Censuses and Surveys;
Deming, W. E. (1950), Some Theory of Sampling;
Horvitz, D.G., Thompson D.J. (1952), A generalization of sampling without replacement from a finite universe;
Cochran, W.G. (1953), Sampling Techniques;
Hansen, M.H., Hurvitz, W.N. and Madow, W.G. (1953), Survey Sampling
Methods and Theory.
Of special attention is the third of the positions listed above, as the authors
presented and motivated the basis for the theory of unbiased estimates.
Generally, in the early fifties of the twentieth century, the classic theory of
survey sampling was completed [Bethlehem, 2009b] and it became a common
practice for the official statistics systems, for the social and other sciences as
well as for public opinion and market research.
Nowadays, taking into account costs, time consumption and space restrictions,
it is nearly impossible to imagine a study of the entire population, unless it is a
population or enterprises registry required by legislation. Even so, public registries collect only very basic information and don’t provide many specific
details that meet the needs of social, economic, market etc. studies. From a
statistical point of view, the ability to define a proper sampling frame1, application of probability sampling and adequate sample size are undoubtedly the
foundations of a reliable survey results. If the sampling procedure is applied, a
precision of the estimates can be measured and assessed properly only if the
target population elements/entities can be listed properly and survey execution
1
Sampling frame is a comprehensive list of all population units, where for each of them a
specific identifying symbol is assigned [Szreder, 2004]. The following properties of the
sampling frame are usually listed in the literature as crucial: completeness, accuracy, the list
should be up-to-date, all elements must be fully identifiable and population assignment rule
should be transparent and known.
57
proceeded correctly (minimization of non-sampling errors effect).
Scientists and practitioners have been developing this theory for nearly 120
years now and it is surely a successful methodology. Without a doubt probability sampling is the core to obtaining the most possible reliable information
and research design; selection of data collecting methods and high quality
survey execution process are also crucial. It allows the researches to know all
details of the conducted survey, including awareness of all existing complications and most of the possible errors sources. The results always should be
presented officially to the society and/or business with the transparent specifications, and all problems should be described and discussed, including the
methodological ones and their consequences should also be mentioned.
A lot of surveys suffer from lack of representativity, which causes the reliability of the collected data to be lower than it could be. However, statistics offers
a lot of different methods to reduce the bias of the estimates in such cases and
still develops tools which aim to increase the informativity of the surveys results.
INTERNET POPULARITY AND ITS INFLUENCE ON SURVEYS
As in each discipline and each area, surveys always were used for many specific problems. However, new methods and tools were developed to help
make them more effective and efficient. With the introduction and development of modern technologies, the era of computers and digitalization arrived.
In the seventies of the last century, researches fully benefited from the technological revolution and computer assisted interviews quickly became a standard. The end of the twentieth century brought to surveys an unprecedented
perspective and challenge at the same time – the Internet.
With constantly growing Internet coverage and its widening penetration, a
hitherto unknown social and economic interactions with new electronic technologies appeared. With the development of the information society, data
demand rapidly expanded. All of the mentioned phenomena, influenced
largely surveys by providing broader possibilities in the data collection process. The World Wide Web, became not only a new communication tool, a new
58
medium or an immediately and easily accessible place to get the required information. The role of Internet and technology in nowadays societies, private
and professional lives is extremely high and important [Dinu, Nitoiu and Pomazan, 2013]. Also, government, public institutions, non-government organizations, corporations and enterprises can’t imagine functioning without the
web. A new dimension of human and business life was created. Moreover, the
boundary between reality and virtuality was blurred The term of virtual society was introduced to the world of science and to everyday life. From a scientific point of view, especially taking into account sociology, psychology and
economy, a new collectivity came into life – the population of Internet users.
The web became a specific social space, where people „meet” and form interesting creations – a kind of community [Olcoń-Kubicka, 2010].
The Internet is no longer just a communication medium and knowledge repository [Szpunar, 2009]. The web came into the research area as a new tool
for data collection and at the same time the virtual society became a new subject of research interest. Although, telephone connections and computer assisted techniques also had a great impact on the survey methodology, the influence of the Internet and new technologies on surveys is greater than ever
and is progressing rapidly.
The information demand is high as never before and expectations are transparent: data should be delivered as fast as possible at the lowest possible cost.
Web surveys seem to be the best answer for these needs. Not only secondary
data and digital traces can be investigated easily, but also primary data including respondents’ opinions and declarations in general and the online society
characteristics in particular. It is obvious that the data potential of the Internet
sources is invaluable. The popularity of web surveys, considered as both: a
virtual population survey made on the Internet and on-line survey modes, in
the last years is consequently growing.
The scale of growth depends primarily on the Internet coverage in specific
countries. Let’s consider the case of Poland. In 2012 Computed Assisted Web
Interview (CAWI) was the second most popular way of contacting respondents - 24,6%2. Hence, almost every fourth respondent was reached by the
2
Data source: The Polish Society of Market and Opinion Researchers Yearbook, the 18th
59
Internet. At the same time, Computer Assisted Telephone Interview (CATI)
was the most popular method - 32,5%3 among all respondents in market research. Also, researchers often used Computer Assisted Paper Interview
(CAPI) - for 14,8 %4 of respondents. What’s interesting, with the ongoing
development of smartphone and tablet markets, accompanied by mobile Internet evolution, respondents often use these tools to answer on-line questionnaire questions.
The ratio of research based on web surveys is constantly increasing (see Tab.
1) as both, the coverage and penetration5 of the Internet is progressing (see
Tab. 2-3).
Tab. 1The CAWI survey mode in Poland from 2008 to 2012 [% in total]
Year
CAWI
2008
2,9
2009
7,1
2010
18,3
2011
21,3
2012
24,6
Data source: The Polish Society of Market and Opinion Researchers Yearbooks for 2011/2012
and 2013/2014
In Poland around 2010 the decreasing landline coverage in households equalized with growing Internet access. In 2013 the difference was equal to nearly
20% , as Internet coverage was estimated to be 66,9 % and respectively landline to 47,2 % [The Social Diagnosis 2013]. Internet became very popular in
the Polish households, regardless of their type, place of residence, urbanization level and region (see Tab. 2) and in all age groups (see Tab. 3).
In the National Census 2011 in Poland, the Central Statistical Office used a
mixed mode for the data collection process and Poles had choice of on-line
self interviewing (CAII) - all together around 12% respondents preferred this
3
4
5
60
edition for 2013/2014, p.35; no official statistics surveys included.
Penetration is considered here as an intensify of one’s activities in the Internet and ability
to use its potential and resources freely.
way of contact. This proves that also official statistics see a great opportunity
to conduct research on the Internet.
Tab. 2 Polish households Internet coverage from 2007 to 2011 [%]
Pos. / Year
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
Total
41,0
47,6
58,6
63,4
66,6
61,4
40,9
75,3
50,1
82,9
53,7
88,3
56,0
65,1
59,8
50,5
68,8
65,1
52
71,6
67,0
61,2
40,7
44,5
54,8
52,2
58,3
64,5
58,8
61,9
68,1
61,6
68,0
71
44,4
48
49,4
55,4
58,6
61,3
58,7
64,1
65,9
63,2
67,0
68,7
Household type
with children
without children
53,2
35,4
Place of residence
city - above 100 000 residents
city - below 100 000 residents
rural areas
49,9
43,7
28,9
56,0
50,3
36,1
Urbanization level
low
average
high
34,2
35,6
48,7
Region
East Poland
Central Poland
West Poland
37,3
42
41,8
Data source: Społeczeństwo informacyjne w Polsce, Central Statistical Office 2013
The content of Table 2 clearly confirms that over the years the household
Internet coverage is spreading. Also, the population of Internet users in Poland
is growing in all age groups.
Tab. 3 Internet users in Poland by age 2003-2013
Age group
2003
2005
2007
2009
2011
2013
16-24
56,1
72,7
76,5
86,8
93,1
96,6
25-34
34,7
49,2
59,4
73,7
85,9
88,4
35-44
23,4
35,2
45,9
62,1
75,7
82,3
45-59
12,4
21,6
31,7
39,5
49,9
55,2
60-64
2,8
7,6
13,7
20,6
29,2
35,5
65 +
0,9
2,8
3,6
5,8
10,6
14,1
Data source:
The Social Diagnosis Survey 2013
61
The Social Diagnosis Survey results, published in October 2013 showed that
in 2013 in all Polish voivodships Internet access exceeds 55%, in 12 of them
65% and in pomorskie, wielkopolskie and małopolskie Internet coverage exceeds 70%. However, for example, in 2009 the level of at least 60% coverage
was hit in North America and in Australia and Oceania. At that time in Europe
52% of the population had access to the web (see Tab. 4).
Tab. 4 World total and Internet population in 2009
World region
Total population
Africa
Internet population
991 002 342
67 371 700 (6,80%)
3 808 070 503
738 257 230 (19,39%)
Europe
803 850 858
418 029 796 (52,00%)
The Middle East
202 687 005
57 425 046 (28,33%)
North America
340 831 831
252 908 000 (74,20%)
Latin America
586 662 468
179 031 479 (30,52%)
34 700 201
20 970 490 (60,43%)
6 767 805 208
1 733 993 741(25,62%)
Asia
Australia and Oceania
TOTAL
Data source: The World Internet Foundation
In 2012 the number of the worldwide Internet population reached 2.27 billion,
almost exactly twice what it was in 2007 (see Tab. 5) and it is still growing.
Tab. 5 Internet population number change by world region in 2007 and 2012
World region
2007
2012
Increase (%)
Africa
34 million
140 million
317
Asia
418 million
over 1 billion
143
Europe
322 million
501 million
56
The Middle East
20 million
77 million
294
North America
233 million
273 million
17
Latin America
110 million
236 million
114
Australia and Oceania
19 million
24 million
27
Source: Internet World Stats
62
Tables 1 to 5 show some descriptive statistics for Poland and different world
regions regarding Internet access and are a good proof of the growing power
of the Internet. There are no doubts that the era of digitization has come and it
is a natural consequence that surveys have to reach into online sources in order to obtain primary data.
PRIMARY DATA RESEARCH BASED ON INTERNET SOURCES – PERSPECTIVES
AND PROBLEMS
The Internet seems to be the fastest and easiest solution to apply, when there is
need to collect detailed and up-to-date characteristics, preferences and opinions in modern society. No matter whether this is in regard to political beliefs, social problems or market behaviors. As already mentioned, to get the
most possible reliable information it is crucial to have a solid research design
as well as to choose and apply data collecting methods properly. It allows researchers to know all details of the conducted survey and be aware of all existing complications and possible error sources. If web surveys, in their current
form, are taken into consideration, fundamental principles of probability sampling and survey theory are not applied [Bethlehem, 2009a] and this implies
that the results are not representative to the whole population, which basically
comes down to low quality data. Web surveys’ popularity grows, society day
by day becomes more familiar with them, but usually problems and their consequences are not revealed.
In the context of probability sampling approach attributes, there is a lot of
methodological issues to be solved in web surveys in the nearest and further
future. There are three main problems from a statistical point of view: Internet
undercoverage, determination of the sampling frame and respondents selfselection. All of these result in lack of representtativity and thereby the collected data don’t reflect the exact nature of the phenomena studied. At the
same time some statistical tools exist and their implementation can tone down
discrepancies, low precision and poor accuracy effects.
Being a successful tool for surveys, the Internet gives many technical opportunities to researches. It offers a broad spectrum on new tools, for example by
63
using digital traces the number of questions can be reduced, reaction time can
be measured precisely or new multimedia tools are available, such as animations, movies, sound, high contrast interface, online eye tracking.
The popularity of Internetsurveys is caused by the growing Internet coverage
and the phenomenon that a large part of human life now moves to the web –
relations building, shopping, paying bills, ordering flowers, checking GP’s
recommendations, online pharmacy, watching forest life via cameras, voting
etc. Also, modern business increasingly depends on the web and a lot of enterprises cooperate more online than offline.
Some advantages and disadvantages of web surveys were already mentioned,
but below is a list of the most important ones.
Web surveys have several advantages, including6:
are faster (quicker data collection) and cheaper (on all stages of the data
collection process);
are simpler in comparison to other modes and attractive multimedia
forms;
allow for quick respondent selection on the basis of required features;
no interviewer effect;
are less intrusive and suffer less from social desirability effects;
allow quick follow-ups and reminders;
immediately sent and answered questionnaires/forms;
questionnaires can be filled with already available information (for example digital traces can be used);
dynamic sequences of questions adapted to the specific respondent, which
results in lower respondent burden and higher individualization;
reduction of missing answers number;
reduction of data entry mistakes;
respondents can choose freely the time to answer the questionnaire;
respondents can naturally adjust the speed of answering;
the response burden can be easily monitored as server-side and client-side
information is available;
6
64
Own elaboration based on: Bethlehem and Biffignandi, 2012; Fricker and Schonlau, 2005;
Krzysztofek, 2012; Tourangeau, Conrad, Couper, 2013.
geographical and disability boundaries are not a problem;
there is the ability to make some small amendments quickly if a mistake
occurred;
a new understanding of individual anonymity and intimacy is presented in
the web (it allows to reach niche population opinions easier and investigate rare features more effectively on the Internet rather than in the real
world);
experiments are available;
are more ecological.
Respectively the list of the most important disadvantages looks as follows:
inability of constructing a comprehensive sampling frame (can’t identify
all members of the Internet population and hence unable to apply the assignment rule7) and its consequences in sample selection limitation and
lack of representativity and biased estimations;
self-selection;
coverage problems (no Internet access or connection, as well as conscious
refusal to use it);
more probable discontinuation of answering at any time/any stage of completing the questionnaire;
technological exclusion and problem with respondent’s computer skills;
many technical problems can occur;
problem with bias measurement and assessment;
low response rates;
IP and e-mail address changes;
inability to confirm the respondent’s identity;
„professional” respondents;
multiple participation;
respondents have bigger imagination and lie tendency;
technical problems;
unusual real-time situations can create problems resulting in discontinuation of answering.
7
It is possible only for specific web sites and if the page administrator keeps a registry of
users.
65
Probably, many more pros and cons could be added to the lists, however the
two presented above seem to be transparent and emphasized in the literature.
It is a tough decision to state if there are more benefits or disadvantages, especially that the web surveys web is still not very well known. However, from a
statistical point of view the current situation is alarming: no sampling frame,
so selection methods are extremely reduced and in the majority of cases the
target population differs from the survey population (undercoverage). The
main pillars do not exist.
WEB SURVEYS - EXAMPLES OF STATISTICAL PROBLEMS CONSEQUENCES
The first three of the disadvantages listed above are the main methodological
problems in web surveys from a statistical perspective. They all result in bias.
It means that estimations based on the collected material differ significantly
from the population parameters and no valuable inferences can be done about
the researched phenomenon. Hence, the main objective of the conducted survey - obtaining reliable information is not achieved. The bias in general can be
caused by many errors that can occur in the survey execution process (Fig. 1).
Fig. 1
Taxonomy of survey errors
TOTAL SURVEY
ERROR
SAMPLING
NON-SAMPLING
ERROR
ERROR
Estimation
Selection
error
error
Observation
error
Overcoverage
error
Measurment
error
Non-observation
error
Under coverage
error
Processing
error
Source: Jelke Bethlehem , Selection Bias in Web Surveys, p.164
66
Nonresponse
error
Let’s consider the main web survey problems of statistical nature in the context of the presented above breakdown of errors: selection and undercoverage
errors occur here. The first one is the consequence of the inability to build the
sampling frame and at the same time no proper selection method can be applied. Basically no proper random sample is selected and a self-selection situation occurs. It means that te respondent has to be aware of the existence of the
questionnaire and has to decide to fill it. The second error source is obvious:
not all elements of the target population have Internet access. Hence, there is
no chance those units can be contacted and interviewed [Bethlehem, 2010].
A short statistical investigation is introduced now in order to present how the
bias caused by undercoverage error can be measured [Bethlehem, 2010]. Let’s
consider the target population of N fully identifiable elements (each element k
is labeled; k=1,2,3,…,N) and the target variable Y, and where for each element
k, a value Yk exists. Let’s assume that the web survey aims to estimate the
value of the population simple mean for the target variable Y given as
.Y
1
N
N
Yk
(1)
k 1
The population U is divide into two subpopulations: UI - all elements with the
Internet access and UNI – all elements without the Internet access. Let each
element k be characterized by Ik indicator, which
Ik
1 for k U I
0 for k U NI
(2)
Hence, the number of UI (Internet population) is equal to
N
NI
Ik
,
(3)
k 1
Respectively NNI denotes the UNI (non-Internet population) number, where
N
NNI
NI .
(4)
The mean of the target variable for UI population is equal to
YI
1
NI
N
I kYk
(5)
k 1
and the mean of the target variable for UNI population is equal to
YNI
1
N NI
N
(1 I k )Yk .
(6)
k 1
67
Let’s assume now that the sampling frame can be constructed for the Internet
population and random sample (without replacement sampling scheme) is
selected and is represented by the following series
s1 , s2 , s3 ,..., s N 1 , s N
(7)
of N indicators, where the kth indicator sk assumes 1 if element k is selected
and 0 if isn’t, for k=1,2,3,…, N-1, N. Hence the sample size is equal to
N
nI
s1 s2
s3 ... sN
1
sN
(8)
sk
k 1
The first-order inclusion probability of the kth element is defined by the following expected value
k
E(sk )
(9)
The Horvitz-Thompson estimator for the mean of the UI population is defined
by
yHT
N
1
NI
sk I k
Yk
k 1
.
(10)
k
For every single element outside the Internet population we obtain:
Yk
0.
(11)
k
When we deal with simple random sample from the Internet population, all
inclusion probabilities are equal to
k
n
NI
,
(12)
hence expression 10 reduces to
yI
1
n
N
sk I kYk .
(13)
k 1
Expression 13 represents an unbiased estimator of the mean YI given by expression 5, but not necessarily of the mean Y given by expression (1).
Let’s denote B( yHT ) as the estimator bias, in the discussed situation it is equal
to B ( yHT )
E ( yHT ) Y
YI
Y
N NI
(YI
N
YNI )
(14)
Expression 14 shows that the magnitude of this bias is determined by the fol68
lowing two factors:
the relative size of
N NI
of the UNI population and the larger this proporN
tion is, the higher bias occurs;
the difference (YI
YNI ) and the larger this difference is, the higher bias
occurs.
As not everyone has web access, two sub-populations exist: Internet and nonInternet population (Tab. 2-3). Usually their structures differ a lot. For example, structures of Polish UI and UNI populations considered through the prism
of age (see Tab. 3) are much different.
Hence, generally a random sample from UI leads to biased estimates for the
target population parameters [Bethlehem, 2010]. However, the statistical
methodology offers a lot of bias reduction methods [Bethlehem, 2007]. Those
techniques can work not only for the bias caused by undercoverage error, but
also for many others. The most popular ones are weighting adjustment methods, including post-stratification weighting, weighting adjustment with a reference sample, propensity score adjustment and rim weighting. However, it
should be emphasized that only from a theoretical point these methods should
be sufficient to deal with the bias. In practice, the application of those techniques does not result in the bias elimination but only allows some reduction
of it [Bethlehem and Biffignandi, 2012].
Also, instead of using only web mode and try to improve the obtained results
by statistical methods, surveys can be conducted by using some compilation
of two or more ways of data collection. This is namely, the mixed-mode approach and it involves either concurrent or sequential using of specific modes
[De Leeuw, 2005]. The example of Central Statistical Office of Poland can be
recalled here again, as for the 2011 National Census different modes were
successfully implemented.
Aleksandra Kupis-Fijałkowska – M.A., Instutite of Statistics and Demography,
University of Łodz, Poland
69
Urszula ZIMOCH
A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE INFORMATION
CULTURE AS THE INFORMATION SOCIETY INDICATOR
IN POLAND AND FINLAND
INTRODUCTION
Information Society (IS) plays a crucial role in today’s world, mostly due to
its indispensable impact on the level of life and sustainable development. Each
country, whether because of its history, mentality, or the level of technological
development, differs in terms of IS development. The purpose of this study is
to compare the differences between the information culture, which is an indispensable part of the IS, in Poland and Finland. The analysis of the information
culture combines such fields as computer science, sociology, psychology,
ethics, and culture. Therefore it is an extremely complex subject with a qualitative nature and many transformation processes. Although the information
culture is building the information society, in this paper it is shown that IS
strongly influences information culture. Therefore, this article is largely devoted directly to the information society in both study countries.
THE ROLE OF INFORMATION CULTURE IN THE INFORMATION SOCIETY
To fully understand the nature and the basis of the information society, a basic
definition should be mentioned: „information society is characterized by the
preparation and the ability to use information systems and telecommunications
services for communication and processing information.”1 In the information
society, the most important factor is information and the speed with which it
spreads. Hanna Batorowska and Barbara Czubała in their publication titled
Problems of information science and information technology attribute ambi1
70
Bangemann M., 1994, in: Społeczeństwo Informacyjne w Polsce. Wyniki badań z lat 20042008, GUS, Warszawa 2010.
guity to the term „information”. Information, in terms of information technology, is by the authors attributed to the content and the message, which is a
reflection of the reality.2 Instruments, such as access to information and its
processing, are measurements of IS development, which is inextricably connected with technological development and innovation. Thus, the development of IS affects the welfare of the society, but also functioning of the state.
The increasing role of information was presented as one of the three material
bases of the information civilization by Józef Wierzbołowski. Information has
been attributed to accept the role of a critical factor of production (in excess of
the traditional factors as natural resources; labour and capital) and to respond
to the increasing volatility of the environment, where one of the challenges
was to ensure the skills and the ability to obtain information in the vastness of
the messages3.
The role of culture in a society is unquestionable. The term culture has many
meanings; it applies to material, immaterial, spiritual and symbolic products.
Generally speaking, culture is the heritage of humanity. There is many popular
wording connected to culture: national culture, political culture and physical
culture etc. Explaining the meanings of those terms can be said to be rather
easy. However, explaining what the information culture is seems to be a bit
more complicated.
The information society is the result of merging of many fields of science and
human behaviour. As Batorowska shows, information culture is purely positive and brings a value added. The signs of information cultural therefore will
be named: skills, ethics, accuracy and versatility, while the lack of information
culture will keep deviating from accepted standards or will be seemed as unethical behaviour. The basis for interpretation of the information culture is the
behaviour of users, their intentions, motivations, and way of collecting, processing and transmitting information4. Rationality of using the information, as a
manifestation of the information culture, is also mentioned in the Ba2
3
4
Batorowska H., Czubała B., Wybrane zagadnienia nauki o informacji i technologii Informacyjnej,WSP, Kraków 1996, p.9.
Wierzbołowski J., Obserwacja i oceny rozwoju w Polsce społeczeństwa informa-cyjnego w
kontekście procesów integracyjnych w ramach Unii Europejskiej, Warszawa, 2005, p.13.
See. Batorowska H., Od alfabetyzacji informacyjnej do kultury informacyjnej, Akademia
Pedagogiczna, Kraków 2005.
71
torowska’s publication from 2009. Reaching own purposes, but also the public
good is also called a manifestation of the information culture. Therefore, the
senders of information at the time of its creation should be guided by the particular values of reliability, usefulness, truthfulness, responsibility, fairness,
objectivity, criticism, etc. The correct attitude of the information’s author reduces the risk of distortion, and facilitates the movement and the usefulness of
the information5.
Analyzing the information culture, the relation with the English term information literacy, which literally means information skills, has to be mentioned.
The literature is often presenting information literacy and information culture
as the same phenomena. Batorowska shows the IL as a term closely associated
with the culture of information, and even presents the idea that information
culture includes information literacy6. The basic definition of IL is following:
„ability to reach, evaluate and use information from various sources.” 7 Moreover Batorowska emphasizes that people who use information efficiently and
who have IL are people who are familiar with self-education, who are able to
find the information and express their willingness. Self-education and extensive use of the available information is one of the foundations of the information society. Therefore a strong relationship between the information society
and information culture can be observed.
FINLAND AS THE PRECURSOR OF THE INFORMATION SOCIETY
The above thesis, presented in the literature by Józef Wierzbołowski, became
the basis for the analysis of the information society in Finland. It created interest and encouraged the study of the history of Finland as well as the assumptions of system and institutional arrangements.
A breakthrough in the computerization of each country shall be the first use of
the Internet. In Finland, the Internet was first used in 1984 to link Finnish
5
6
7
72
Batorowska H., Kultura informacyjna w perspektywie zmian w edukacji, Stow.Bibliot.
Polskich, Warszawa 2009.
Batorowska H., Od alfabetyzacji informacyjnej do kultury informacyjnej, Akademia Pedagogiczna, Kraków 2005, p. 2.
See. Basili C., Theorems of Information Literacy, 2008.
universities. While the domain .fi was registered in 1986, the commercialization and sale of IP addresses began in 19938. A question that is left unanswered is: what is the Finnish way from connection of the universities network to become the first country in the world where the Internet access is a
legal right of every citizen? To answer this question, it is required to go back
to 1967, when to honour the 50th anniversary of the independence, the National Bank with the support of the Finnish government has constituted a SITRA fund, Finnish Innovation Fund. The fund has been operating since then
and now it is one of the key bodies to promote the development of technological innovation. 9 SITRA in 1998 published a report on the information society
in Finland. It stressed that in the international prism, Finland is undeniably
one of the world’s leading information society developers. SITRA evaluated
relatively negatively the involvement of the government of Finland from 1995
to the development of IS. Thus there was a general willingness to support the
government program to not miss the huge potential for the country. It was the
reason of creating the publication Quality of life, knowledge and competitiveness, premises and objectives for strategic development of the Finnish information society.
However, to look even further into the communication history of Finland, the
date of 1886 should be mentioned, when the Senate established the Communications Decree, which distributed a number of private communications licenses in order to circumvent Russian telegraph regulations. This gave a green
light to a strong growth of private telecommunications operators, which in the
thirties amounted to more than 800. Conversely, applications of radio technology were developed in three Finnish companies around 1920. 10 The strong
telecommunications development of Finland already occurred in the 80’s
when, together with the other Scandinavian countries, Finland had the world’s
largest mobile communications market in terms of number of subscribers.
Without a doubt, the government led by Matti Vanhanen, created in 2003,
played a significant role in the development of information society in Finland.
Number 1 of four government programs was the program called Building the
8
9
10
See. http://www.isoc.fi/internet/internethistory_finland.html.
See. http://www.sitra.fi/en/About+Sitra/history/history.htm.
Global Information Technology Report Towards an Equitable Information Society 20032004, Oxford University Press, 2004, p. 91.
73
Information Society, which was coordinated by the Prime Minister himself. It
is worth noting that the expansion of IS was on the list of programs for government action alongside lowering unemployment, stimulation of entrepreneurship and increasing the share of population in the institutions of democracy. The supporting board for the programme included: Prime Minister (as
coordinator), Minister of National Defence, Minister of Transport and Communications, Minister of Education, Minister of the State Treasury. The very
foundation of the program shows the importance attached to IS in Finland: not
only was the growth of computerization of country assumed, but the IS combined with an increase of competitiveness and productivity, improving the
wellbeing of the citizens and the elimination of social and inter-regional inequality. The programme was based on a close cooperation between public and
private sectors. The mission of the programme was expressed in the three
perspectives presented in Table 1.
Table 1 Perspectives of the Information Society Programme
Citizens’ Perspective
The willingness to use services offered by
the Information Society
Public administration’s
Perspective
Reform of the State management and improvement its efficiency through the use of
information and communication technology
Entrepreneurs’ Perspective
Rising competitiveness by using information and communication technologies
Source: Szewczyk G., Społeczeństwo Informatyczne w Finlandii, in „Społeczeństwo Informacyjne. Doświadczenia i przyszłość”, Polskie Towarzystwo Informatyczne, Katowice,
2006, no. 11, page. 159.
The Finnish government in 2003 supported the development of IS by i.a.:
Ensuring access to broadband Internet connections,
Developing IT skills of citizens,
Extensions of the central government electronic services,
Reform of administrative structures and procedures and promoting development in local government administration and economic sector in the direction of IS,
Increase investment in research and development,
Development of supportive legislation.
74
In addition, in 2004 a list of priorities of the IS was introduced, which described the key steps and projects for years 2005-2007. The list included,
among others: improving the information infrastructure, education and raising
the skills of citizens, and accelerate the legislative process. Moreover, in 2006
the Finnish government created the National Knowledge Society Strategy for
2007-2015, one of which tasks was to plan activities to support the IS programme for the future government. In addition, the state agency involved in
the information society has also established the council for the IS. Its composition is remarkable as once again it was lead by the Prime Minister, followed
by the Minister of Transport and Communications and several experts and
academics on the information society were appointed for the council. The
Council, therefore, was another strong state public authority that custody of
the IS development in Finland.
The concept of IS is very broad. Vanhanen’s government remembered that
while formulating targets for the implementing the concept of IS. The concept
of the implementation of IS concerned on 7 main areas: telecommunications
infrastructure and digital television, preparing citizens to live safely in the IS,
education, professional life, R&D, information and communication technology in public administration, commerce and digitization of content, lawmaking, international cooperation.
The first objective was therefore broad coverage of IS regardless of social
status or place of residence. Together with the development of the Internet
bandwidth was broadcast television, since 2007 the television signal is transmitted only by the digital transmission. The second point concerns an extremely important aspect, the safety aspect. The government has committed
itself to ensure the security of computer networks and Internet transactions.
Implemented are two independent forms of authentication service recipient to
service provider: electronic signature and electronic banking codes. The fact is
that Finland already in 2003 was not only an excellent example of the information society, but an example different than others. The researchers found in
Finland a special developed model of the IS, which combines the knowledge
economy with the value system of the welfare state11. The elements of the
11
Wierzbołowski J., Fińska droga do społeczeństwa informacyjnego i gospodarki opartej na
wiedzy, Instytut Łączności, Warszawa 2003, p.12.
75
welfare state to support the development of are following: free education, low
health care costs, an extensive system of insurance and social benefits.
It is worth mentioning that free education is not limited to lack of payment for
education. It also includes free textbooks and meals up to the high school,
scholarships awarded to every student, regardless of their academic performance, financial residential support for students, 50% student discounts on rail
and bus transport. List of government support awarded to students is very
long: each student can apply for a place in student housing, where the rent is
much lower, but there is no standard’s difference, student loans reaching tens
of thousands of Euro are also available for young people under the process of
education. In Global Information Technology Report 2003-3004 the situation
in Finland was analyzed under the title: Little Finland’s Transformation to a
Wireless Giant. Therefore, it was an unusual phenomenon in the international
scale that a country with a population of just over 5 million and which has
suffered such heavy losses during the war, becomes a key player in the global
economy. The main factors in the report, which overlaps with the already
mentioned features of the Finnish state, are such elements of the welfare state,
high expenditures on research and development (in 2001, Finland was the
second country in the world in terms of % of GDP spent on R&D12). In addition, in 2010 the Finnish government established that every citizen should
have access to 1Mb/s Internet connection at home, and by 2015 the connection
is expected to 100Mb/s. „A broad-band Internet access is something without
you cannot live in the modern world. Just as banking, water or electricity, so
you need the Internet”13 said one of the deputies. In a time of crisis in the 90’s
in the Western Europe, the Finnish government actually took the view that the
competitiveness of the economy will depend on highly skilled workers, hence
the increased spending on higher education and research sector and development.
Describing the achievements of Finland in the field of communication and
technology some names simply cannot be omitted: Nokia, Linux, IRC. While
Linux is one of the biggest competitors of the MS Windows operating system,
12
13
76
Global Information Technology Report Towards an Equitable Information Society 20032004, Oxford University Press, 2004, p. 90.
See http://www.ictregulationtoolkit.org/en/PracticeNote.3270.html.
and IRC (Internet Relay Chat) founded in 1988 by Jarkko Oikarinen became a
real hit of the communication world, few people know that Nokia not so long
ago was associated with the production of cables, tires and rubber footwear.
Nokia Corporation, whose name comes from the name of a small town in
west-central Finland, was established as a conglomeration of three other companies in 1967 beginning with the work the department of technology at the
very start. Nokia’s history is very interesting, because it contains excellent
examples of the fast development as well as the very drastic downs. Just in
2012 the company’s board made the decision that the last manufacture factory
operating in Finland will be closed what caused a wave of negative comments
towards the Nokia Corporation.
It is true that the Finnish industry was far behind the rest of Europe after the
Second World War. Aware modernization of the industry and raising skills, in
half of a century, led Finland to become one of the Europe’s business leaders.
Finnish response to a crisis has always been, inter alia: opening of the economy, modernization of social structures, strengthening of public funds and
policy away from direct involvement in business to build the conditions for
private enterprises. The Finnish government clearly demonstrated in its actions that it recognizes IS and the development of information and communication technologies as a matter of a great importance. It is the development of
IS where Finland had propel its economy, improve living standards and promote Finland in the international arena. All this was possible only by authorities being completely convinced of the need for IS development and by a distinctive attribute of the Finnish nation, known in their native language as sisu,
which leads Finns by all kinds of difficulties in pursuit of excellence.
SYSTEM DETERMINANTS OF THE INFORMATION SOCIETY IN POLAND
It is essential, while describing the state information infrastructure, to review
the existing legal policies describing the information standard. In Poland several acts can be distinguished, which include basic regulations for the sector
and the information infrastructure of the state. To start with the most important act, the Polish Constitution from 1997, provides citizens, next to the personal and economic liberty also with the freedom of information (Article 54).
77
Another important document is the Act on computerization of entities implementing public tasks from 17th of February 2005. This Act defined the minimum requirements, inter alia, for the systems used to perform the public tasks
and for public records and information in electronic form to public entities.
While creating a list of government documents affecting the development of
information society in Poland until 2006, following titles should be mentioned:
Aims and directions of development of information society in Poland, the
Committee for Scientific Research, National Institute of Telecommunications, Warsaw 2000,
ePoland, ¬ Action Plan for Information Society Development in Poland in
2001-2006 Ministry of Economy, adopted by the Council of Ministers on
11 September 2001,
National Strategy for the Development of Broadband Internet 2004-2006,
Ministry of Infrastructure, Ministry of Science and Information, adopted
by the Council of Ministers on 23 December 2003,
The National Reform Programme for 2005-2008 to implement the Lisbon
Strategy (adopted by the Council of Ministers on 27 December 2005,
An action plan for the development of electronic government - eGovernment for 2005-2006, Ministry of Science and Information Technology, Warsaw, 2004.
The latest legislation is The strategy of Information Society development in
Poland until 2013, the Council of Ministers adopted the resolution of 23 December 2008. As it is stressed at the outset by the Prime Minister Donald
Tusk, „The strategy is a response to the challenges of early twenty-first century civilization. With information and communication technology vision of
the „global village” becomes a reality. (...) We want the infrastructure to be
fully utilized by the citizens. (...) But we remember that technology is not
everything: the information society is profound social change. Therefore, citizens have much to learn and the state must resolve a number of legal and economic issues, all these things we discussed in the strategy.” 14 While analyzing
14
78
Strategia rozwoju społeczeństwa informacyjnego w Polsce do roku 2013, Warszawa, 2008,
str. 3-4.
the Polish government’s commitment to the development of IS, a careful review of the progress of e-government services should be done. The study of
the development of e-Government in Poland from 2005 showed that the majority of public administration in Poland reached a positive development level.
The low level of development remained the transaction services and electronic
services for citizens. The selected exact percentages are listed below:
• In 99,4% of the offices the Internet was widely used tool of communication,
• Almost all offices had a website,
• 14% of all office staff was trained in ICT,
• Less than 20% of offices consisted of orders via Internet,
• 10% of the Polish authorities used the electronic document,
• 75% of the local government and county offices of cities with county
rights and municipal authorities declared a lack of public Internet access
points.
• Accurate assessment and analysis of information society in Poland can be
found in the publication of the Central Statistical Office (GUS) Information Society in Poland. Statistical results from the years 2006-2010.
Summing up, the Polish development of the information society began relatively late, especially the one based on the government actions. The current
strategy of the information society development in Poland is a full and comprehensive document, but to realize all or even part within it postulates a need
for paying attention not only by the authorities at every level, but also by raising awareness of the whole society. Currently, Poland has a very well prepared legislative basis to support the development of IS. The question could
be the degree of government involvement in efforts to promote IS and ICT.
THE STUDY OF DIFFERENCES IN THE INFORMATION CULTURE IN POLAND
AND FINLAND
The comparison of the information culture was based on conducted survey
that aimed in examining the level of information culture in both analysed
countries. As it was shown in the beginning of the article, the information
79
culture is a very complex subject, therefore the survey, on which the study is
based, included both the questions about the technological equipment, frequency of use of information services as well as an own observations and
opinions.
The original survey was conducted via the Internet, using to the Google
documents application, in two languages: Polish and Finnish. Choosing an
online survey guaranteed, in most cases, filling it by those who use computers
and the Internet. Thus, 100% of the respondents have a computer and the
Internet (at least one). The random sample of Polish and Finnish citizens made
a total of 150 respondents. Using the percentage methods allowed to present
Poland and Finland as two equal and comparable countries.
The information culture study has begun by testing a primary source of information. Although the information culture does not impose direct source of
information, it requires the search for information from many sources, Figure
1 shows the main sources of information. The thesis placed while creating the
study assumed that in Finland the use of the Internet will be more popular.
Figure 1 confirms the above thesis, but the difference between the popularity
of the Internet as a primary source of information is low, only 4%. But what is
clearly visible; the Internet dominated the sources of information, becoming
the main source for the most of the respondents in both countries. What is
alerting for Polish printing companies: only 3% of Poles considered newspapers as the primary source information, while Finns in 10% base their information on newspapers. The inverse difference occurred when examining the
television as the primary source of information.
Figure 1 Information source (%)
Poland
Finland
74
14
6
TV
6
6
Radio
78
10
3
Newspaper
3
Internet
Source: own work based on the survey.
80
0
Other
An interesting fact is that Finns to gain information often use a very simple
combination of newspapers and television: TV newspaper application. Despite
its simple appearance, the TV newspaper is used in Finland to check sports
scores and information from the country and the world. The rare use of it in
Poland is mainly limited to a television program. Figure 1 showed relatively
small differences in Polish and Finnish main sources of information.
A very important determinant of the information culture is the frequency of
use of information services. Frequent acquisition of information and state of
awareness of information is one of the main determinants of the knowledge
society. Figure 2 shows a clear difference between the Polish and Finnish
society. The Finnish 94% of the result of obtaining the information several
times a day is really impressive. Analyzing the less often use of information
services, the preponderance of the Polish people is significant. 3% of the Poles
say that they do not use the information services at all. This statement should
be openly criticized, but the overall result obtained by Poland is assessed positively.
As was mentioned above, the information culture manifests itself through the
use of multiple sources of information. The results of a study on the average
number of sources of information are contained in Figure 3. The differences
between Poland and Finland are very clear again. Nearly a quarter of Finns
admitted using an average of 10 or more sources of information, while the
same reply gave only 7% of Poles.
Figure 2 Frequency of use of information services (%)
Poland
Finland
94
62
17
16
4
several times
per day
once per day
2
several times
per week
1
0
once per week
1
0
less
3
0
do not use
81
Figure 3 Number of information sources
Poland
Finland
69
44
32
24
18
7
6
0
>10
9--5
4--2
0
1
0
do not use
From the structural study (Figure 4), the information culture, media are extremely important and, in particular, their ownership by citizens of the information society. Survey results show slight differences between the studied
countries. All the respondents have at least one mobile phone and Internet
access.
Figure 4 Communication device possession (%)
Poland
Yes
No
More than 1
88
85
39
0
15
Mobile phone
37
2
Landline phone
0
PC or laptop
74
71
63
59
11 18
12
Permanent
access to the
Internet
10 16
TV
Radio
Finland
Yes
82
76
24
0
Mobile phone
No
More than 1
82
74
24
18
0
Landline phone
78
70
18
2
0
PC or laptop
Permanent
access to the
Internet
18 12
TV
10 12
Radio
Figure 5 clearly shows the differences on the key features of the information. Respondents were asked to select up to five features of the information from a list of ten examples. The results allow analyzing the information
82
culture, in its approach to information, which is an important activity throughout the study.
Veracity of the information in both countries received the most votes, 96% of
respondents in both countries agreed that this is an important feature of information. When analyzing the similarities; almost as many people in both countries said that the objectivity and clarity are very important. Compliance with
ethical standards and confidentiality has gained similar results, but much
lower, especially confidentiality. Thus, 5 out of 10 features of the information
are perceived similar in Finland and Poland. Analyzing differences: a trusted
source is important for the vast majority of Finns, while in Poland it counts for
little more than half of Poles. Very interesting are the results for the criticism
and brevity. The first is much more valued in Finland, while the latter dominates in Poland; both the differences reach 50%.
Figure 5 Most important features of the information (%)
Finlandia
Other
Poland
0
1
78
77
Objectivity
Compliance with
ethical standards
16
21
Trusted source
62
65
Clarity
Criticism
Brevity
Confidentiality
92
61
9
6
60
56
8
8
96
96
Veracity
Speed
68
82
One of the reasons why criticism is of high importance in Finland, is a popular
tabloid, also available in on-line, for example, Iltalehti, Ilta-Sanomat, which in
its own way shows readers the importance of criticism by its absence. Opposing the results of the speed and compactness, for as much as 82% of Finns
believe speed is an important feature, while clearly omit brevity. This involves
comparing the brevity of the hash information, which in Finland is neither
83
preferred nor popular. In order to clearly specify the main features of the information bellow are sorted features which exceeded 50%.
The next study was the examination of the characteristics of the process of
transferring information from the sender’s point of view. There were greater
differences than the examination of the characteristics of the information.
Only similar and equally good result was given the speed of the transmission.
Moreover, a key observation is that the highest result obtained in Poland is
only 77% and in Finland 84%. This means that there are no dominant characteristics of the transmission of information. In Poland, brevity obtained significantly higher results. Among the senders, the most important features of
the process of transferring the information are:
Poland:
Finland:
1.
2.
Veracity, speed
Clarity,
1.
2.
Veracity, clarity
Correctness, diligence
3.
4.
Correctness,
Brevity,
3.
4.
Speed,
Objectivity
5.
Diligence
The results of the study on characteristics of the transmission of information
from recipients’ point of view are shown below. Therefore not only comparison of the results obtained by the examined countries in this case, but also
analyses of the differences between the approach of the sender and recipient
could be examined. Starting from the analysis of the differences between Poland and Finland, the biggest difference is on the accuracy and diligence. Almost twice the numbers of Finns believe these characteristics are very important to provide the information. Again, the Polish receivers’ of information far
more than the Finns appreciate brevity. Among the recipients of information
in Poland and Finland are valued most:
Poland:
84
Finland:
1.
Veracity,
1.
Veracity,
2.
3.
Clarity,
Speed,
2.
3.
Clarity,
Speed,
4.
5.
Objectivity,
Brevity.
4.
5.
Correctness
Objectivity
An interesting observation is that the recipient of the information, express a
greater need for accuracy of the transmission of information than the sender.
This can be seen for both the studied countries. While the sender cares more
for accuracy and correctness of the process.
The next step in the information culture study was the study of its absence.
Further manifestations of this study concerned the lack of information culture
among respondents. Again, as above, the test results will be interpreted by
extending them to the whole society.
Table 2 Signs of lack of information culture in Poland and Finland, in %
Signs of lack of
information culture
Country
sending false
information (lie)
receiving false
information
ignoring the speaker/
listener
providing too many
information at once
deliberate distortion of
information
omission of critical
information
disclosure of confidential
information
(secret, password, etc.)
falsification of information sources (plagiarism)
PL
FI
really
seldom
PL FI
24
4
46
1
0
10
never
sometimes
often
very
often
PL FI
PL
FI
PL
FI
66
25
28
5
2
0
0
12
16
57
64
25
20
5
0
2
40
36
33
54
12
8
5
0
15
2
28
8
31
70
20
18
6
1
35
24
35
56
22
16
8
4
0
0
23
10
49
68
20
22
8
0
0
0
46
42
45
48
8
8
1
2
0
0
61
60
28
34
10
6
1
0
0
0
The first of the examples of lack of information culture, lying, receive unexpected high percentage of answers „never” from Poles. Most Finns admitted
to a very rare misreporting of information. A similar percentage of Poles and
Finns admitted to lie sometimes. Responses „often” were claimed by 5% of
Poles and 2% of Finns, while „very often” did not occur at all. The results in
general are positive, as that intentional sending false information is a categorical denial of the attitude of the information culture. To sum up the above
85
study, Finns more often admitted to lie, while in another question Poles admit
that they are often being deceived. Another study involved ignoring the
speaker / audience. Most Finns admitted to it from time to time, while Poles
rather do it very rarely. Poles, however, prevail in extremes, either „never” or
„very often”. This indicates a very large diversity of the society. Finns, however, in most of the examples are much more united with their answers. The
vast majority of Poles and Finns denied or admitted to a very rarely deliberate
distortion of information, or colloquially speaking; telling not whole truth, or
aliasing information. Respondents were also asked to assess the level of the
information culture in several cases. This question forced the respondents to
make their own analysis of the information culture in the surrounding environment.
Table 3 Self-assessment of the information culture in Poland and Finland in %
Self-assessment of
the information
culture
Country
personal information culture
information culture of family and
friends
information culture in the work
place/school
information culture in the country
information culture in media
very bad
bad
neutral
good
very
good
PL
FI
PL
FI
PL
FI
PL
FI
PL
FI
0
0
3
0
15
24
61
42
21
34
0
0
1
0
23
34
67
58
9
8
1
0
11
2
37
6
42
56
9
36
5
0
43
8
38
46
13
38
1
8
10
0
34
7
38
40
17
46
1
0
The worst result in the above study was assessed for the level of information
culture in Polish media: up 10% of respondents expressed a very negative
opinion about it. Negatively was assessed the level of the information culture
in Polish school / work place, and again in the media, as much as 43% of
Poles said that the national cultural level is unsatisfactory. However, the Poles
have identified their own information culture in 61% as good and 21% as very
86
good (Finland: 42% good and 34% very good). Culture among the closest
people in both countries was estimated to be good, but also a large percentage
of neutral. Big differences between the assessed level of cultural information
between Poland and Finland are at work/school. Finns positively evaluated the
information culture in their workplace or school. The biggest difference concerned the information culture evaluated for the whole country. The level of
information culture in Poland is generally (43%) rated as poor, and in Finland
as a neutral / good. It is noticeable that respondents better evaluated the culture of individual citizens rather than institutions, or specific sectors of the
state as a whole. Finns, however, make a more critical assessment of the level
of culture among people in close environment, and attest a high level of information culture in life, the media and even across the country.
POSITION OF POLISH AND FINNISH INFORMATION SOCIETY IN THE WORLD
According to the Network Readiness Index (NRI) Finland is placed on the 6 th
place in the world yielding Sweden, Singapore, Denmark, Switzerland and the
United States. Poland in the same statement took 65th place, which closed the
first half. It should of course be pointed out that Finland is one of the developed countries with the high income, which began ranking is identical to the
aforementioned, and Poland is among countries with medium-high income,
where in terms of NRI Poland is located at 15th place.
Table 5 Main NRI indicators for Poland and Finland
Main indicators
Finland
Poland
Population in millions, 2008
5,3
38,1
GDP per capita in $, 2008
36320
17537
Number of mobile subscriptions per 100 inhabitants, 2008
128,8
115,3
Number of Internet users per 100 inhabitants, 2008
82,6
49
Internet connections (Mb / s) per 100 inhabitants, 2007
172,6
27,5
Number of patents per million inhabitants, 2008
155,5
1,4
Source: The Global Information Technology Report 2009–2010 ICT for Sustainability, Geneva
2010, page 219-276.
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SUMMARY
Information culture is an important but often neglected aspect in the literature
component of the information society, but there also occurs a feedback of the
IS on information culture: information culture gives the correct and ethical
forms of acquisition, processing and transmission of information and IS
shapes the culture in the society.
Development of the information society, and information culture should be a
continuous process.
A high degree of development of the information infrastructures is shown in
indicators such as the Networked Readiness Index, which is important information for potential foreign investors. Therefore it is in the interest of the state
and governing bodies that the country is located on the top in world ranking.
Reforms and laws that favour the development of information society in Poland, compared to Finland are delayed for about 15 years. However, upon
joining the European Union, Poland has to obey the same directives, such as
eEurope etc., as Finland.
Finns more often than Poles use information services, more often search for
information, and use more sources. Lack of interest in news in Finland is reprehensible, and usually not accepted by the environment. It is therefore necessary to sensitize the Polish society that information passivity is an act detrimental to the public good of the country.
The Internet is undeniably the most popular source of information; both in
Poland and in Finland, but access to it and speed in these countries differ
greatly with the disadvantage for Poland.
The Finnish society has a more consolidated views on the nature of the information culture than the Polish society, in which opinions are often extreme in
nature, as well as Poles often do not have any opinion about the information
culture. This is mainly caused by the fact that information society is still quite
a new terminology in Poland.
There is a vast difference in approach by the Finnish and the Polish government to the topic of information society. The Finnish government for years
88
has been assigning high priority to information and communication technologies and has a pretty clear plan for using information and communication
technologies to improve the overall competitiveness of the country, while the
Polish government in this regard is clearly not unanimous. However, over the
past 5 years, the effectiveness of the Finnish Government in the promotion of
ICT is reduced, in contrast to the Polish Government, where it is slightly improved.
Focusing primarily on information society and making comparisons on the
basis of historical knowledge, the first argument that comes to the mind is the
loss of development opportunities for Poland due to the communist times. It
was after World War II that the Finnish economy opened and revolutionized.
Poland received a similar chance with a long delay. However, even communism cannot explain such a late interest of the Polish government in the development of information society. Only the latest strategies promise a fast and
reliable growth of computerization for the citizens and the country, which
without a doubt located Poland among the second half of European countries.
However, despite the promising words of the Polish Prime Minister, the Polish
government is still missing the visible importance given to the development of
IS, an attitude that the Finnish government has had for many years. It is the
difference in the approaches of government towards the development of information society; understood as the development of skills and competences
and the competitiveness and sustainable economic growth, the first conclusion
of the paper. The low priority given to IS by the Polish government translates
into a worse state information infrastructure. In fact, household equipment for
5 million people is easier to provide than for 38 million, but geographically,
Finland is in a much worse infrastructure situation. The area of Finland is a bit
larger than Poland, but both the elongated shape of the country and its vast
natural areas hinder the development of information infrastructure. Computerization of „shaped” and fully inhabited Poland for Finns might be seen as
almost a trivial task.
Comparing the information culture in Poland and Finland, differences in the
mentality of the citizens should also be taken into account. Based on the survey, the first general conclusion is Finns present better harmonized views of
information culture and a more homogeneous behaviour. Differences in the
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Polish results are dictated by various levels of IS knowledge. The main difference between the countries in this study is the number of information sources
and the frequency of their use. Without a doubt, Finns presented well the
country’s „desire” for information, where the passive attitude towards the
surrounding world is extremely reprehensible. In Poland, the lack of interest in
news from the country and the world is still tolerated and sometimes explained by personal interest.
While the development of information infrastructure may be strictly controlled
by the state and government, and the computerization with the high level of
expenditures may take place in a really short period of time, the development
of information culture is a very time-consuming and complex process. One
simple, yet complex solution, could be a firm implementation of IS issues in
the education system. However, waiting for the results of this process will
take generations. Information culture directly concerns the morality and to
some extent a sense of patriotism. While Poles have always been regarded as a
patriotic nation, saying „a Pole to a Pole like a wolf” has its base. Finns,
though considered as a „cold” nation, are not only taught that patriotism is „to
die for the motherland” but above all to work together for the sake of the
whole country and its citizens. Campaigns like „Now Poland” (Teraz Polska)
can consider Finland to be a utopia. Finns do not appreciate anything as much
as domestic products whose quality can never be doubted. This particular expression of patriotism, which could be seen as deviation from the topic, links
with the Finnish approach to knowledge-based society. Finland is a open to
the world in every possible aspect, however, with complete respect for the
homeland and citizens. One of the manifestations of the lack of the information culture is cheating during exams. In Finland that phenomenon almost
does not exist. The penalty for cheating is an immediate expulsion from the
university, the penalty for plagiarism is criminal proceedings, but beyond the
statutory penalties, there is also the social exclusion of the cheater. The mentality of Finns in this respect is very strong and one-sided, of course, extremely worthy of dissemination.
When asked whether Poland will catch up Finland in the development of information culture, the answer is not obvious. Cultural, political and even religious differences between countries are really visible. Many of the actions
90
manifested in Finland, could never meet with the approval of the Polish society (for example, identical validity of oral contracts and written agreements in
Finland). Poland remains a country with a high degree of bureaucracy in comparison with Finland, which is undoubtedly an obstacle to the development of
information society. Moreover, as long as the Polish labour market is not very
attractive to the young and educated people with high technological and information skills and also with the high information culture, they will emigrate,
and thus Poland would lose the best basis for the development of the information society.
in conclusion, it should be noted that one strategy for developing the information society will never be fully effective in two different countries. However
the way of Finland towards the information society is full of good and bad
examples, which still could be analyzed by Poland. The essence of good practice is the adaptation of a proven solution in other regions, in order to avoid
„breaking on open doors”. Therefore, in terms of information culture and
information society, Finland should be seen by Poland as good practice from
the North.
LITERATURE:
1.
Bangemann M., 1994, in: Społeczeństwo informacyjne w Polsce. Wyniki badań z
lat 2004-2008, GUS, Warszawa 2010.
2.
Batorowska H., Kultura informacyjna w perspektywie zmian w edukacji, SBP,
Warszawa 2009.
3.
Batorowska H., Czubała B., Wybrane zagadnienia nauki o informacji i technolo-
4.
gii Informacyjnej,WSP, Kraków 1996,
Batorowska H., Od alfabetyzacji informacyjnej do kultury informacyjnej, A. Pe-
5.
dagogiczna, Kraków 2005.
Cieślak T., Historia Finlandii, Ossolineum, Wrocław 1938.
6.
Global Information Technology Report Towards an Equitable Information Society 2003-2004, Oxford University Press, 2004
7.
GUS, Społeczeństwo informacyjne w Polsce. Wyniki badań z roku 2004-2008.,
8.
Warszawa 2010.
GUS, Społeczeństwo informacyjne w Polsce. Wyniki badań z roku 2006-2010.,
9.
Warszawa 2010.
Polańska K., Kultura informatyczna studentów studium podyplomowego SGH na
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podstawie badań, w: Kultura informatyczna w społeczeństwie globalnej informacji, pod red. Szewczyk A., Wyd. Instytutu Informatyki w Zarządzaniu, Szczecin
1998.
10. Quality of life, knowledge and competitiveness, Premises and objectives for strategic development of the Finnish information socjety, SITRA, Helsinki 1998.
11. Ryznar Z., Nieodzowny wstęp do informacji, Magazyn CEO, 2001.
12. SIBIS, eEurope Benchmarking: Key Figures for NAS 10 Countries, 2003.
13. Stefanowicz B., Kultura informacyjna, w: Kultura informatyczna w społeczeństwie globalnej informacji, pod red. Szewczyk A., Wyd. Instytutu Informatyki w
Zarządzaniu, Szczecin 1998.
14. Strategia rozwoju społeczeństwa informacyjnego w Polsce do roku 2013, Warszawa, 2008
15. Strategia rozwoju społeczeństwa informacyjnego w Polsce do roku 2013, Warszawa, 2008.
16. Strategia rozwoju społeczeństwa informacyjnego w Polsce na lata 2007-2013,
MSWiA, Warszawa, 2007.
17. Szewczyk A., Informatyka- Aspekty humanistyczne, Uniwersytet Szczeciński,
Szczecin 1996.
18. Szewczyk G., Społeczeństwo Informatyczne w Finlandii, w „Społeczeństwo Informacyjne. Doświadczenia i przyszłość”, Polskie Towarzystwo Informatyczne,
nr 11, Katowice 2006.
19. The Global Information Technology Report 2009–2010 ICT for Sustainability,
Geneva 2010
20. United Nations, Economic and social commission for Western Asia, Information
Society Indicators , 2005.
21. Ustawa o informatyzacji działalności podmiotów realizujących zadania publiczne, Warszawa, 2005.
22. Ustawa o świadczeniu usług drogą elektroniczną, Warszawa 2002.
23. Wierzbołowski J., Fińska droga do społeczeństwa informacyjnego i gospodarki
opartej na wiedzy, Instytut Łączności, Warszawa 2003.
24. Wierzbołowski J., Obserwacja i oceny rozwoju w Polsce społeczeństwa informacyjnego w kontekście procesów integracyjnych w ramach Unii Europejskiej,
Warszawa, 2005.
Urszula Zimoch – Ruralia Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland
92
Davide LAMPUGNANI
FROM NOWHERE TO EVERYWHERE: ADDRESSING THE
SHIFTING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURES AND THE CITY
INTRODUCTION
The relationship between infrastructures and the city constitutes one of the
most important issues in modern history. On the one hand the city is like a
„theater” in which the processes of modern life are most excellently and powerfully displayed (Simmel, 1996; Weber, 2003). On the other hand, infrastructures give shape to the ever-changing seamless web of networks and flows
that occur in the modern city (Tarr & Dupuy, 1988).
For Edwards, infrastructures are both „the connective tissues and the circulatory systems of modernity” (2003, p. 185). At the same time they shape and
are shaped by the forces of modernity „by linking macro, meso, and micro
scales of time, space and social organization” (ibid., p. 186). More precisely,
two aspects of the relationship between modernity, infrastructures and cities
are of utmost importance. First, infrastructures shape an „invisible background” (ibid., p. 191) that both broaden the space of flows (Castells, 1996)
and related opportunities and constraints for action. Second, infrastructures are
part of the modern culture that molds our representations and imaginaries. As
Edwards argues: „Control, regularity, order, system, technoculture as our nature: not only are all of these fundamental to modernism as Weltanschauung,
ideology, aesthetic, and design practice, but they are also (I want to argue)
basic to modernity as lived reality” (2003, p. 191).
Similarly, Graham focuses on those „infrastructural landscapes” (2000, p.
114) that characterize urban modernity: „When our analytical focus centres on
how the wires, ducts, tunnels, conduits, streets, highways and technical networks that interlace and infuse cities are constructed and used, modern urban93
ism emerges as an extraordinarily complex and dynamic sociotechnical process” (ibid.). He specifically identifies three aspects of the relationship between
modernity, infrastructures and cities. First, the relationship is marked by the
tension between the mobility of goods, information and people and the immobility of infrastructures in space and time (Harvey, 1985, p. 149). Only by
redefining continually this relationship is it possible to increasingly liberate
circulation within and between cities. Second, urban infrastructures contribute
both to define modern urban representations and the ideology of progress and
the technological sublime (Nye, 1994) supported by several discourses of
modernization. Finally, Graham emphasizes the „sociotechnical geometries of
power” (2000, p. 115) in which modernity, infrastructures and cities are
caught. Far from being value-free, urban infrastructures are strictly tangled
with wider social, political, economic and cultural processes, which shape
different configurations of spaces and times.
In the following pages the relationship between infrastructures and the city
will be examined addressing both the structural and the cultural dimension of
the relationship. On the one hand, infrastructures and cities are caught up in
processes that define and continually redefine the expansion and the control of
the flows of goods, information and people in space and time. On the other
hand, these processes are also in a two-way relationship with cultural representations and imaginaries, which provide the frameworks within which infrastructures and cities are shaped. In particular, the following two paragraphs
will briefly outline two historical configurations characterized by the changing
relationship between digital infrastructures and the city. The first configuration grew along with the rise of the „information society” and „cyberspace”
and culminated in the last decade of the twentieth century. The second configuration is only now being defined in the new millennium and can be framed
as the emergence of what is called „ubiquitous computing”.
END OF THE CITY AND SPLINTERING URBANISM
The progressive diffusion of digital infrastructures within advanced countries
beginning in the end of the 80s constituted an important factor of the transformation of the global urban scene. In 1978, Nora and Minc (1978) coined
94
the term „télematique” in order to try to label the convergence of information
technologies and telecommunications through digital language. Twenty years
later, Castells (1996) utilized the concept of the „network society” to describe
this new parallel transformation of digital infrastructures and advanced societies. A number of processes were in motion: on the one hand the old infrastructures of the industrial society were increasingly being filled with new
networks made of copper cables, satellites and terminals; on the other hand the
modern industrial city was gradually changing as a result of a process of urban fragmentation and global dislocation.
These parallel transformations of infrastructures and the urban fabric were
framed, starting from the late 80s and the early 90s, by a series of cultural
representations and imaginaries that attempted both to explain and to drive the
transformation that was in progress. Powerful metaphors were created in order
to „make tangible the enormously complex and arcane technological systems
which underpin the Internet, and other networks, and the growing range of
transactions, social and cultural interactions, and exchanges of labour power,
data, services, money and finance that flow over them” (Graham, 1998, p.
166). Specifically, a series of „labels” were coined to try to capture the transformation taking place: from the „third wave” of Toffler (1980) to the „information society” of Lyon (1989), from the „post-industrial society” of Bell
(1973) to the „wired society” of Martin (1978). In all of these cases the relationship between digital infrastructures and the city was conceived as a linear
and unidirectional „impact” of the technological innovations that caused multiple revolutions in the economy, the social and cultural life, in the natural
environment and in the governance of advanced industrial cities (Graham &
Marvin, 1996).
However, the most important metaphor, because of its leading role in explaining and driving the transformation in progress, was that of „cyberspace”. A
term coined by William Gibson in 1984, it spread rapidly as a special metaphor that indicated that space „entirely separated from the material, corporeal
world of the body and the city” (Graham, 2004a, p. 17). Regarding the relationship between digital infrastructures and the city, the metaphor of cyberspace provided a dual reading (Graham, 1998, 2004a, 2004b): on the one hand
the substitution of physical flows by digital flows and, on the other hand, the
95
transcendence of space, time and body.
With regard to the first representation, utopians and futurists predicted a „dematerialization” (Negroponte, 1994) of the urban fabric. The industrial city –
dirty, chaotic, polluted and unsafe – should have been replaced by a „wired
city” (Dutton et al., 1987) in which „all information will be available at all
times and places to all people” (Graham e Marvin, 1996, p. 88). Toffler
(1980), for example, predicted a „third wave”, after agricultural and industrial,
in which „electronic cottages” should have replaced the need for urban social
relations by bringing together within the home all the services and information
people need to work, interact and relax. The basic idea was that the great social, environmental, economic and political problems would have been solved
by the transmission of bits through digital infrastructures.
The second representation concerned what Bolter and Grusin called the „theology of cyberspace” (2002) which transformed „information from something
separate and contained within our computers to a space we can inhabit” (p.
181). Within this logic, cyberspace was represented as a virtual space that was
separated from and opposed to real space. In this „other space” spatial, temporal and corporeal constraints could have been transcended by accessing a virtual reality that would be able to give life to new utopian virtual communities
(Rheingold, 1994).
According to Graham (2004a, 2004b) these powerful representations, which
drove the mutual transformations of digital infrastructures and the city, gave
birth to a „dazzling light” that enveloped them in an utopian imaginary. At the
same time they were based on a reductive and, above all, deterministic conception of the relationship between digital infrastructures and the city. They
were also founded „on a general and uncritical use of the metaphor that cities
would simply be ‘impacted’ by new communications technologies in the same
way as planets are impacted by asteroids” (Graham, 2004b, p. 10). These representations created the belief that substitution and transcendence of the cities
would have been inevitable after the introduction of digital infrastructures.
On the contrary, only by adopting a perspective more attentive to the complexity and ambivalence of ongoing transformations can one account for the
changes introduced by the parallel processes of urbanization and digitaliza96
tion. This broad perspective allows one to integrate the cultural dimension and
the structural dimension of the transformations, focusing also on the ways in
which infrastructures and cities are situated in a wider social, economic and
political context. To capture this dynamic mutual reconfiguration Graham
proposes adopting the concept of „remediation” that was introduced by Bolter
and Grusin (2000). As Graham clarifies : „They [Bolter and Grusin] have
shown that the whole raft of current new media innovations are not being used
in ways that are divorced from the use of existing media, means of communication and material practices in places. Rather, new media are allowing for the
subtle ‘remediation’ of TV, newspapers, magazines, radio, telephones, publishing, books, art, video, photography, face-to-face communication, and the
social and anthropological experience and construction of place. This is happening as established practices subtly combine with, rather than disappear
through, socially-constructed technological potentials” (Graham, 2004a, p.
18). This understanding does not entail analyzing the transformations in the
relationship between digital infrastructures and cities in a unidirectional and
deterministic way, but, rather, it frames their mutual interconnections as well
as the wider processes and tensions in which they are placed.
A relevant case that well exemplifies this way of approaching the complex
parallel transformations of digital infrastructures and cities is focused on a
number of processes that, starting with the late 1960s, are connected with the
spread of digital networks and give life to an unprecedented urban infrastructural configuration that Graham and Marvin call „splintering urbanism”
(2001). Far from causing a revolutionary substitution and transcendence of
space, time and the flows of urban life – as was predicted by theorists of cyberspace – digital infrastructures, on the one hand, weave together with preexisting social practices and physical infrastructures and, on the other hand,
are subsumed within a wide range of economic, political and social trends that
exploit them.
First, according to Graham (2004a, p. 11), the metaphor of „cyberspace” and
the representations of substitutions and transcendence of the city has six fundamental weaknesses that have to do with the complex and ambivalent relationship between digital infrastructures and the city and their remediation. On
one hand, predictions of a post-urban era made of „electronic cottages” placed
97
in the countryside are contradicted by the trends of increasing urbanization of
the planet and the increasing concentrations of digital infrastructures and services in global cities (Sassen, 1991; Townsend, 2000). On the other hand, the
hypotheses of de-materialization and virtualization are confronted with „the
fact that it is real wires, real fibres, real ducts, real leeways, real satellite stations, real mobile towers, real web servers, and – not to be ignored – real electricity systems that make all this possible” (Graham, 2004a, p. 13). These hypotheses simply overlook the material geometry of digital infrastructures.
They provide faulty generalizations focused on the concept of „impact” and
are counterbalanced by contingent reconfigurations and recombinations of the
relationship between digital infrastructures and cities, as a „transmissionoriented” approach in which „more information or more bandwidth is always
equated with more knowledge, more mutual understanding and more wisdom”
(ibid., p. 18) is counterbalanced by a more practice-oriented approach. Finally,
representations of an ineluctable „information age” that is inherently connected to opportunities of social, economic and cultural development are
called into question by the tight relationship between digital infrastructures
and neoliberalization processes which conceals „the roles ICTs have played,
materially and discursively, in facilitating the intensifying corporate control of
cities, economies, infrastructures and, indeed, the international economic system” (ibid., p. 20).
This last point brings us to the other side of the question, that is how the parallel transformations of digital infrastructures and cities mutually connect with
wider scale processes. Graham and Marvin (2001), in particular, identify five
changes that accompany the shift from the „integrated ideal” of the industrial
modern city to the „splintering urbanism” of the 80s and 90s. If, indeed, starting from the middle of the 19th century, a series of forces (ibid., p. 40) had
pushed towards the integration, standardization and centralization of urban
infrastructures, urban planning and urban management of flows, starting from
the end of the 60s, this ideal slowly faded away following the quick deterioration of infrastructures and services, the changing neoliberal political economies, the collapse of the comprehensive urban planning, the emergence of
new decentralized and polynucleated urban landscapes and the challenge of
new social and cultural movements (ibid., p. 90). The argument held by the
98
two authors is that „a parallel set of processes are under way within which
infrastructure networks are being ‘unbundled’ in ways that help sustain the
fragmentation of the social and material fabric of cities” (ibid., p. 33).
Far from being considered as a monolithic and inevitable destiny, „splintering
urbanism” represents a macro-trend characterizing the parallel transformations
of networked infrastructures and the urban fabric of many cities around the
world in the last decades of the 20th century. Digital infrastructures innovations are embedded precisely within this broad historical configuration. According to Graham and Marvin, unlike what was predicted by utopian representations of urban substitution and transcendence, practices of digital remediation match with practices of infrastructural and services unbundling in order to mutually consolidate. As they explain: „It is important to stress that
liberalization, combined with new technology, creates great flexibility in the
styles of unbundling that can be applied to the integrated modern infrastructures created through the modern ideal” (ibid., p. 139). The new possibilities
offered by the superimposition of „old” infrastructures – networks of energy,
water supply, sewerage, transportation and communication – with new digital
infrastructures enable a set of segmentation processes that transform integrated infrastructures „into different network elements and service packages”
(ibid., p. 141). These digital remediations are composed of multiple processes
of marketability and a wide range of institutional policies ranging from public
ownership and management to the full privatization and deregulation of urban
infrastructures and services.
Graham and Marvin argue that, in most cases, these changes are accompanied
by processes of social, spatial and temporal reconfiguration within and between cities. The most important consequence of these processes is the local,
glocal and virtual bypass (ibid., p. 167) of urban infrastructures and services
which „involves intensifying the connections between most valued users and
places while simultaneously weakening the connections with least valued
users and places” (ibid., p. 176). These bypass processes are thus coresponsible for the parallel emergence of, on one hand, the „spaces of seduction” connected by „premium networked infrastructure (toll highways, broadband telecommunications, enclosed ‘quasi-private’ streets, malls and skywalks, and customized energy and water services)” (ibid., p. 220) and, on the
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other, the „network ghettoes” on the edge of urban infrastructures and services.
As has been strongly emphasized by Graham and Marvin, these configurations
are neither unidirectional nor inevitable, rather they represent macro-trends
that entail different „institutional styles” both within the same city and the
same infrastructure or service. However, by studying the urban remediation
practices enabled by digital infrastructures in relationship with a wider context
of economic, political, social and cultural processes, it is possible to see a
clear example of how it is possible to integrate the analysis of cultural representations and imaginaries with a focus on the structural and practice side.
UBIQUITOUS COMPUTING AND THE REMEDIATION OF THE CITY
„The most profound technologies are those that disappear. They weave themselves into the fabric of everyday life until they are indistinguishable from it”
(1991, p. 78), Mark Weiser, head of the Computer Science Laboratory at the
Xerox Palo Alto Research Center, uses these words to begin his 1991 article
entitled „The computer for the 21st century”. Weiser foresees a future that is
not saturated by personal computers and laptops, a future that is able to
achieve „the real potential of information technology” (ibid.), a future that
involves „a new way of thinking about computers, one that takes into account
the human world and allows the computers themselves to vanish into the
background” (ibid.). According to Weiser it is only when technology disappears that one can use it without thinking, thus allowing the user to focus on
new goals and activities. Weiser calls this technology „ubiquitous computing”
because it is based on the idea „of integrating computers seamlessly into the
world” (ibid.).
To understand what is meant by „ubiquitous computing” it is first essential to
compare it to one of the most important components of the utopian representation of cyberspace, namely „virtual reality”. As Manovich maintains (2006):
„The 1990s were about the virtual. We were fascinated by the new virtual
spaces made possible by computer technologies. Images of an escape into a
virtual space that leaves physical space useless, and of cyberspace – a virtual
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world that exists in parallel to our world – dominated the decade. This phenomenon started with the media obsession with Virtual Reality (VR)” (p.
220). According to Weiser the concept of „ubiquitous computing” is opposed
to that of „virtual reality”, so much so that one could almost call it „embodied
virtuality” (1991, p. 80) since „the ‘virtuality’ of computer-readable data – all
the different ways in which they can be altered, processed and analyzed – is
brought into the physical world” (ibid.). Weiser’s manifesto is explicitly opposed to the leading trends of the 90s that were focused on the substitution
and transcendence of space, time and body. In his representation, as Galloway
(2004) summarizes, „ubicomp did not seek to transcend the flesh and privilege
the technological. Instead, ubiquitous computing was meant to go beyond the
machine – render it invisible – and privilege the social and material worlds. In
this sense, ubiquitous computing was positioned to bring computers to ‘our
world’ (domesticating them), rather than us having to adapt to the ‘computer
world’ (domesticating us)” (2004, p. 387).
Towards the end of the 90s, utopian representations about cyberspace and
virtual reality gradually started to vanish. The „dazzling light” (Graham,
2004a, 2004b) that surrounded the simultaneous transformations of digital
infrastructures and cities disappeared and left place for the domestication and
the routinization of the ongoing processes of remediation. At the beginning of
the 21st century Weiser’s ideas started to grow in popularity: „The previous
icon of the computer era – a VR user travelling in virtual space – has been
replaced by a new image : a person checking his or her email or making a
phone call using a PDA/cell phone combo while at the airport, on the street, in
car, or any other actually existing space” (Manovich, 2006, p. 221). Manovich
refers to the reconfiguration of the relationship between digital infrastructures
and the city with the term „augmented space” (ibid., p. 220), in which physical
space is „overlaid with dynamically changing information” (ibid.). Augmented space is part of a wider trend witnessed in advanced societies pushed
by the increasing use of applications „that dynamically deliver dynamic data
to, or extract data from, physical space [...]” (ibid., p. 221). Manovich provides a wide range of examples of these applications, including video surveillance, mobile technologies and publicly located computer/video displays.
These turn the physical space into a „data space” (ibid., p. 222), a space that
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can be both seized and augmented with data. Among the main technologies
included in this paradigm Manovich mentions ubiquitous computing, augmented reality, tangible interfaces, wearable computers, intelligent buildings,
intelligent spaces, context-aware computing, ambient intelligence, smart objects, wireless location services, sensor networks and e-papers. In all these
cases we are faced with „overlaying the physical space with dynamic data”
(ibid., p. 223) embedding information flows into the urban environment.
In the same way, Galloway (2004) considers Weiser’s manifesto to be a starting point „for a new paradigm in computing that is arguably set to dominate
the coming decades” (p. 385). At the core of this paradigm is a shift of digital
infrastructures from the periphery to the center of the everyday environment.
These increasingly shape „mixed reality environments”, which are „spaces
that combine elements of the physical and virtual worlds” (ibid., p. 390).
Leaning on Milgram’s works (Milgram and Kishino, 1994; Milgram et al.,
1994), Galloway calls for a research approach that would address ubiquitous
computing within the real/virtual continuum. Mixed reality environments are
situated precisely within this continuum, oscillating between augmented reality and augmented virtuality. Finally, Galloway pushes for a wider perspective
in the study of the relationship between ubiquitous computing and the city that
does not simply focus on „new tools, neutral in and of themselves, and independent of broader networks of relation” (ibid., p. 402). Rather, this relationship should be studied within „a long and complex history of relations between materials and ideas, industry and business, government and law, individuals and groups [...]” (ibid., p. 401). These are processes that shape ubiquitous computing and mixed reality environments by actualizing virtualities in
creative ways.
Graham, on one side, and Dodge and Kitchin, on the other, have further enriched this line of research which attempts to conceptualize the relationship
between ubiquitous computing and the city. The first scholar conceives ubiquitous computing both as new way to increase the embedding of software in
the urban environment and to remediate social, spatial and temporal inequalities. In a 2005 article, he speaks about „software-sorted geographies” by referencing „the crucial and often ignored role of code in directly, automatically
and continuously allocating social or geographical access to all sort of critical
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goods, services, life chances or mobility opportunities to certain social groups
or geographical areas, often at the direct expense of others” (2005, p. 564).
Software plays an ever increasingly essential role in the „automatic production
of space” (2002), as Thrift and French call it, that is in the performative shaping of everyday social and spatial practices. The key point is that this process
is largely invisible and taken for granted because it composes a „calculative
background” (Thrift, 2004, p. 584) that enables the most efficient mobility and
management of goods, people and information flows.
According to Graham these ubiquitous computing configurations challenge
traditional research paradigms in the humanities and in the social sciences
because they involve excavating „the worlds of code as critical political, social
and geographical sites requiring urgent understanding, regulation and intervention” (2005, p. 563). This challenge is even more important because of the
intertwined relationship between ubiquitous computing, social worlds and
political and economic processes. Software-sorting enmeshed with these processes enables a more subtle control of services, spaces and infrastructures.
Referring to his previous work (Graham & Marvin, 2001) Graham shows, for
example, the interconnected relationship between software-sorting and neoliberal political and economic policies: „While acknowledging the inevitable
flexibility associated with software-sorting techniques, it is therefore apparent
that their widening application needs to be seen as a crucial, facilitating dimension in the broad shift from Keynesian welfare states and public domains
to ‘splintered’, post-Keynesian regimes of infrastructure, service and space
production and consumption” (2005, p. 565). In both in aerial, road and informative mobility flows and in urban and neighborhood surveillance, software is used to mediate and remediate multiple dimensions of contemporary
social life. According to Graham, the challenge is thus to critically and empirically address the „spatial politics of code” (ibid., p. 575) in order to analyze the relationship between software, social and spatial practices and political and economic processes without falling into utopian or deterministic representations.
A similar point of view characterizes Dodge and Kitchin’s work. In particular,
their focus is represented by the conceptualization of the relationship between
software and social and spatial practices through the term „code/space”
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(2011). This is a „dyadic relationship […] so all embracing that if half of the
dyad is put out of action, the intended code/space is not produced: the checkin area at the airport does not facilitate travel; the store does not operate as a
store” (ibid., p. 18). Within such a close relationship software makes a difference by modulating the shaping of social, spatial and temporal practices.
Dodge and Kitchin introduce two central concepts to account for this software
enabled difference: „transduction” and „automated management”. Both concepts are situated within a framework depicted by Greenfield (2006) as
„everyware”, which is „the notion that computational power will soon be distributed and available at any point on the planet – calculative capacity will be
literally available everywhere, with multiple computers operating for every
person” (Kitchin and Dodge, 2011, p. 216). Echoing Weiser’s ubiquitous
computing manifesto, „everyware” attempts to encompass „a range of related
forms of computing and social software that are often used synonymously,
including: pervasive, ubiquitous, sentient, tangible, and wearable computing
and ambient intelligence” (ibid., p. 217). All these configurations of the relationship between digital infrastructures and social and spatial practices require
the deep embeddedness of digital code into the environment, the increasing
ability to connect and share information, and the massive use of software to
manage and control multiple urban flows.
On the one hand, Kitchin and Dodge speak about „transduction” as „a process
of ontogenesis, the making anew of a domain in reiterative and transformative
individuations – it is the process by which things transfer from one state to
another” (ibid., p. 72). Introduced by Simondon (1992) and later reused by
Mackenzie (2002), the concept is used to capture the always incomplete and
temporary software-mediated solution to relational, social, spatial and temporal problems. On the other hand, with the concept of „automated management”, the two geographers want to focus on the tight relationship between
ubiquitous computing and the needs of control and governmentality that are
typical of modern societies (Foucault, 1977). While speaking about „automated management” the authors mean „the regulation of people and objects
through processes that are automated (technologically enacted), automatic
(the technology performs the regulation without prompting or direction), and
autonomous (regulation, discipline, and outcomes are enacted without human
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oversight) in nature” (Kitchin and Dodge, 2011, p. 85). Even in this case software plays a crucial role by allowing for the efficient management of the collection, storage and processing of data which both come from and return to the
urban environment. According to Kitchin and Dodge thus „the grammars of
action of code increases the power of traditional surveillance and also actively
reshapes behavior, creating automated capture systems in which software algorithms work automatically and autonomously” (ibid., p. 109).
CONCLUSION
As has been briefly shown by the presentation of a selected sample of the
leading research, starting from the end of the 90s, a new configuration increasingly takes shape regarding the relationship between digital infrastructures and
urban spaces, times and flows. Substitution and transcendence representations
related to cyberspace are progressively brought into question both by new
detailed empirical research and by a range of domestication and routinization
processes of digital infrastructures within different everyday life environments. At the same time, a set of technological innovations and their related
representations drive the spread of urban infrastructural configurations centered on the ideas of „ubiquitous computing” (Weiser, 1991), „everyware”
(Greenfield, 2006) and „augmented space” (Manovich, 2006). Although it is
possible to conceive ubiquitous computing as an emerging field characterized
by multiple representations and processes (Dourish & Bell, 2011), a common
point of reference is represented by both the increased embedding of digital
language and the growing software enabled ability to process and manage
information in everyday spaces and times.
As shown in detail by Kinsley (2012), ubiquitous computing leans on a form
of anticipatory knowledge of the future. Works like Weiser’s (1991) do not
only focus on technological innovations but also predict how these innovations will be socially used and appropriated. The recurring risk is that of taking this anticipatory knowledge as „normatively trustworthy and likely to be
actually made” (Kinsley, 2012, p. 1565). In the same way as, at the end of the
80s, transformations of the relationship between digital infrastructures and
cities were framed by utopian and deterministic representations related to cy105
berspace, so too, at the beginning of this millennium, a new urban infrastructural configuration runs the risk of becoming wrapped up in a „dazzling light”
thus preventing the comprehension of complex and ambivalent ongoing transformations. In the same way as, at the end of the 90s a number of research
articles brought into question the representations of urban substitutions and
transcendence and focused on the relationship between remediation processes
and wider economic, political, cultural and social trends, so, presently, it is
necessary to critically and empirically take into account implicitly and explicitly representations related to ubiquitous computing configurations and their
remediations. Graham’s, Dodge’s and Kitchin’s research has tried to move in
this direction. In all their works the relationship between digital infrastructures
and urban spaces, times and flows is critically and empirically addressed with
the goal of opening one of the many „black boxes” of the social life.
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Davide Lampugnani – Ph.D. Candidate, Catholic University of Sacred Heart, Milan,
Italy
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Kateryna NOVIKOVA
NETWORKS AND SOCIAL MOVEMENT MOBILISATION.
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE INTERNETBASED PROTEST AND ACTIVISM RESEARCH
Immanent change or development – to take a more optimistic view – is currently epitomized in the unique phenomenon of the global interconnected web
of actors, actions and processes. It is not a first time in history that social and
political scientists need to take the challenge of the impact of technological
developments. However, nowadays most researchers consider this change
most overwhelming and fundamental. The global society has been changing
into the densely interconnected networks, the so-called ‘network society’.
Without going into the debatable matters of the current stage of societal development one should acknowledge the importance of the electronic network
potentials for political and social life on every level, either global, glocal or
local. The magnitude of these potentials has been explored in many ways,
with numerous methods and approaches. Nonetheless the research on networking potentials can also benefit from taking a particular, arbitrarily chosen
point of view on the existing state of matter. This point of view rests upon
specific research areas’ perspectives and a particular attempt to apply or confront these perspectives. Among the main themes one should point out first of
all the social networks phenomenon that is expanding on enormous and
unique scale in social media, social network sites or social networking services on the Internet thanks to the unprecedented development of communication and information technologies and their relatively free usage. Another
perspective refers to the ambiguous issues of (new) social movements and
protest activities as well as their possible virtual reflections, representations or
support. Currently the social and political mobilization, protest and makingglobal-difference activities are tightly interconnected in the Internet or cyberspace on a group and personal level especially in the conditions of the proclaimed ‘cyberdemocracy’ in the making. One of the prominent and most
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effective episodes in Poland was undoubtedly anti-ACTA protests in the year
2012.
These issues are particularly interesting in the context of contemporary social
changes influenced by technological changes. The sociological discourse is
thus concerned about how to name this new type of society we live in. Among
numerous alternatives there is one that is specifically interesting. The network
society conception emphasizes a network as a basic organizational principle
and communication pattern in contemporary society which is properly illustrated by „world wide web” and enacted in political protest activities in the cyberspace [9; 7; 6]. This conception also underscores the importance of action
along with network as a structural factor. Collective action in Castells’ terms
is set in motion by the ‘power of identity’, which is expressed also in numerous social movements and protests during the last two decades of 20th c. [8;
11: p.10-11].
SOCIAL MOVEMENTS AND PROTEST VS NETWORKING
Current protest issues, respective social movements or „new social movements” and networks have been recently studied rather closely with each
other. The new social movement model represented a specific response to new
conflicts concerning social values and cultural patterns of the modern, late
modern, postmodern or post-industrial eras of the second half of the 20th c.
According to Alain Touraine, while heralding the new post-industrial society
new social movements resist „the psycho-cultural effects of modern production te-chnique and the psychological, social and environmental demands
which ema-nate from them” [26: p. 80-82]. Later analyses, however, made
those effects and demands more specific. A set of capitalist or industrialist
values, economic growth and political power was rejected for the benefit of
alternative lifestyles, quality of life and free civil society non-subordinated to
the state and to technocracy [ibid]. According to the general definition social
movement is „an action carried out by particular social groups in order to take
control of social change”, though certainly not any social contesting of order
(or protest) could be called social movement [26: p.80; 27: p. 311]. Contemporary social movements promote cultural values and identities that are con110
fronted in several theories with the rationality or instrumentality of economy
[27: p. 312-313]. They bring over a „neoromantic” protest and are „radically
modern insofar as they are guided by the values of autonomy, emancipation
and identity” [21, 1996: p. 19]. Social movement or protest can however
emerge from any social contesting if historical circumstances are favourable,
if there are some ideas and values that require defending or defeating as well
as if there are some tools to use to realize these emancipating plans and fight
for identity.
There is another crucial view on new social movements that was as a term
widely used by Alberto Melucci, later it was stressed that these movements
are not as new as claimed. All emancipation claims are similar to the old ones
of „working class fighting capitalist alienation” [19: p.5-6]. Moreover, this
paradigm was highly criticized for the lack of comprehensiveness and omission of the conservative movements that also reacted intensely to the „alienating effects of postindustrial society” [23: p. 413]. Yet even a more important
point is the one alleging that social movements are no longer consolidated
social entities fighting against the political and governmental systems. Instead
they are gradually changing into „reticular and diffuse forms of social action”
[19: p.4]. Hence social movements during the late 20th c. transformed into
solidarity networks „entrusted with potent cultural meanings” where ideologically outlined unity of goals is not as significant as the unity of values and
symbols. Somewhere else, one can find such a specific characterization of
new social movements that appear to be „loosely bound, sympathetic friendship networks, involving consciousness raising and opportunity to reconstruct
life-stories”, where again the „formation of identities” plays more important
role than any other specific aim or objective [24: p.61].
Another important dimension that plays even a more significant role is the
collective identity that emerges according to Melucci out of exchanges, negotiations, decisions and conflicts among actors. Therefore to understand collective actor – movement – and its actions (protest activities) one must take into
consideration processes of mobilization, organizational forms, models of leadership and forms of communication [ibid]. There is hardly any other theoretical concept except network and networking processes that currently allows
nowadays proper analysis. The ICT and Internet were an excellent opportunity
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to strengthen that segmented and multi-faceted movement pattern consisting
of diversified and autonomous units or „separate, quasiautonomous cells”.
Such networks maintains a movement’s internal solidarity of cultural and
symbolic character while, as Melucci put it, „information, people and patterns
of behaviour” pass through from one unit to another maintaining at the same
time some homogeneity. The conclusion from the mid-1990s considers social
movements as „hidden networks of groups, meeting points, and circuits of solidarity, which differ profoundly from the image of politically organized actor” [19: p.114-115]. The mentioned homogeneity and solidarity as well as
segmentation and multifacetedness are somewhat contradictory to each other
as well as to the current state of new social movements and institutionalisation
[30: p. 8].
Apart from the stated contradictions there are some other noteworthy points.
Group solidarity and collective action have become inseparable from individual identity as well as the personal quest and „from the everyday affective and
communicative needs of the participants in the networks” [19: p. 115]. These
broad quotations are used to illustrate the latest situation of the World Wide
Web and Internet especially with regard to social networking services and
social media. However, the paper is focused not so much on the network character or organizational nature of social movements which have been particularly helpful and effective in achieving the aims of protestors [11: p.156–161;
8; 7; 12]. It’s rather the opportunities that the electronic networks and particularly computer-based social networking services could provide for the social
movement actors and possible protest activities that are central in this case. It
attempts to outline also the protest potentials that social networks possess
being maintained through the Internet social network services or social media
as well as any other advanced technical facilities [e.g. 1; 5]. The network organizational model stresses however on the key feature that virtual networks
offer, loose networks significantly increase the resources available for protest
or cause promotion in the Internet (Granovetter’s weak ties are relevant here
[15]), maximize adaptability, revolutionize hierarchical leadership but at the
same time shorten and destabilize the life of any protest action, cause or
movement.
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SOCIAL ELECTRONIC NETWORKING
Social networking online or social network sites [4] represent a remarkable
space for mobilization, protest activities and societal initiatives though most
probably not sufficient for more considerable social movement organization
and institutionalisation. Therefore protest potentials appear as possibilities for
common cause promotion and various online activities as well as for activist
recruitment and further deep engagement. This also affects the distinction
between permanent forms of networks and cyclic mobilization activities. Also
there is a powerful trend that includes the very sense of virtual world and electronic network existence as well as their perceived freedom and communal
character into grievances and demands of Internet activists [16]. However, this
„hactivism” phenomenon seems to be rather part of a general protesting picture, which is drawn with so many different colours and shades that it would
be more meaningful to look at its universal characteristics and mechanisms.
Social networking services, social networking online, social networking platforms or sites represent a specific phenomenon that has been already to a
greater extent assimilated into the everyday life of millions of Internet users –
netizens – all over the world. Considering the Digital Divide factors and Internet marketisation as well as the convergence of web 2.0 and mass media, the
virtual networking is not just another buzz word in social research and mass
media discourse. There are numerous social networking sites focusing on different interests, practices, identities and values, sharing content or providing
specific services like connecting – actual or potential – friends, colleagues,
acquaintances or family members etc. or offering instant communication,
blogging and mobile connectivity [4].
The definition of social networking services or sites includes three main characteristics. Such sites provide web-based services that allow people, first of
all, to create public or private profile, situated in a system with certain predefined boundaries [ibid.]. Second, social platforms allow people to develop
their own register of connections with other people, either visible or hidden
for strangers and friends. This refers to another characteristic, which allows
site users to view or navigate without any restraint the lists of connections as
well as these of other users [4].
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Social networking sites are defined as such also due to another specific feature, which emphasizes not only mere networking activities implying „initiation of relationship between strangers”, which is certainly possible but does
not represent the sense or aim of their activities as well as differentiating characteristics among other types of social media [ibid]. With regards to social
media, they stand for an umbrella term that embraces social software and social networking [2: p.21]. Social software in this definition indicates a type of
application or various types of applications that enable users to communicate
with one another, and what is most functional „to track discussions across the
Web as they happen” and as a result „to build social networks to increase social capital” [2: p.21-22]. Communication technologies and media though
have always been a fruitful environment for interpersonal communication and
networking as well as various other socializing practices including organization of people around a political and social cause. Simply putting it the phenomenon of social media is influencing „how people meet and make contact
with each other” not merely pursuing personal goals.
Among numerous functions of the computer-mediated communication via
social networking sites as well as the one concerning social movements,
causes and protesting issues is especially noteworthy. The political dimension
of the „world wide web”, so called cyberpolitics and virtual democracy allegedly in progress goes along with „information dissemination, communication
exchange, and the formation of electronic political coalitions across the Internet” [ibid] that basically take place on the networking platforms.
Social networking sites are specific also because they assists users in „articulating and making visible their social networks” [4]. These networks are based
mainly on the offline connections or existing extended social networks despite
many analysts predicted an extreme growth of the virtual worlds and exclusively online communications and ties. However virtual networking activities
still can result in connections that would not otherwise be made in certain
circumstances, for instance, lacking proper access to the advanced networking
technologies [ibid, also e.g. 7]. Depending on the nature of the social networking platform virtually anyone can join it being later asked to answer a typical
series of questions. These answers are usually visible to „the friends on the
list” and represent that exceptional value of networking since one is easily
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situated or located in the semantically abundant web spaces. Adding various
demographic, social, cultural and even political references as well as multimedia, pictures and applications make individual profile a virtual representative
of personal identity. The life on the screen, however, is often attached rather
firmly to real life reflecting real individual characteristics of a person as well
as his or her views, opinions and political orientation.
Personal profiles are quite important in networking activities, especially when
the goal is to connect with a stranger. Nonetheless such opportunities are not
endless and depend on potential visibility of profiles on the social networking
platforms of different orientation, function or scale. There are two extreme
points of such structural variations defined as „little worlds” and „structural
gaps” and applied to the social media research cases of global LinkedIn and
regional Grono.net [17]. The former refers to the professional networking
portal, which is open to everybody to join and create a profile but closed in
terms of browsing millions of other profiles limited to one’s own network till
the second degree. These features allow the including of all important identity
information – in this case mainly professional, education and job information
– with no concern about its probable theft. However, the possibilities for a
jobseeker or expert to be found by a potential employer are to a great extent
limited by those two or three „degrees of separation” also for the reason that
due to homophily users on these two or three levels will be connected to persons of similar profiles where no structural gap or weak ties exist.
The Grono.net portal is a regional one, which was founded for the sake of
constructing a small world, where everybody knows everybody and any possible deviation – also e. g. identity theft – is excluded. To join this networking
platform one should be invited, and since nobody invites mistrustful people,
the network was intended to be a rather safe place. However, the first and
foremost condition has been the full openness of any profile to anybody. The
utopian plans did not in effect succeed and resulted in a loose network of
„small worlds” [17]. People create profiles where there is hardly any useful
information for others to browse except for the close contacts who possess
specific „cultural code” and are most probably rooted in the real life practices
such as close friends and family circles or „strong ties” in Granovetter’s terms
[ibid]. Three degrees, invite-only basis and „helpful” perspectives function,
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however, in the case of AsmallWorld „unique” social networking service of
„authentic connections”, which is described as „private international community of culturally influential people”, offering „a platform to share information, be a part of a dialogue, seek social and business opportunity and much
more”. Though internal functioning algorithms and effects are basically unspecified due to the closed character of this platform, but its private – based on
large investments – and highly regulated character for the sake of safety seem
to produce the ideal networking platform.
There are several other social networking services or sites, less effective in
terms of resources and organization, but more extensive in terms of quantity
and scope. Among the most populous networks there is the music and creativity-based MySpace, the predominantly teenage Bebo as well as most universal
and globally oriented Facebook. Among the main functions that such networking platforms or sites offer along with profile creating and browsing as well as
development and navigation of lists of friends there are comments posting and
private messaging, photo and video sharing capabilities or instant messaging
and blogging tools [4]. Facebook networking site offers lots of fun and serious
applications, fan pages, groups, forums and cause promotion capabilities that
appear to be an excellent repertoire to use by various social issues advocates,
civil activists, political campaigners and protesters or just people who express
their opinion on any matter that is significant for them as well as their community or network.
Social networking platforms or services have been designed to „stay in contact” or „maintain every connection you’d like”, thus one can claim their predominantly leisure light character. The fundamental leisure feature enables
users to exist visually through the multimedia material made by them or of
them. Pictures and videos, both shared and open content like YouTube etc.,
could however produce much more powerful appeal - „mobilization of shame”
- than any most persuasive petition or compelling address on any topic of social good, economic or political problems. Political or social „visuality” embraces presently not only the protest banners, booklets and non-interactive
mass messages on TV. Everyone can take a shot, record a movie with a mobile phone as well as paint or draw his or her own artistic vision of a protest
issue. Billions of pictures in the cyberspace include millions of protesting or
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socially conscious visual appeals uploaded onto social networking platforms
and shared on private profiles or public cause pages.
INTERNET-BASED MOBILISATION AND RECRUITMENT POTENTIALS
Revising the characteristics and capabilities of the social networking sites or
services with regard to the structural and agency levels of political activities
and participation in social movements one can gain fruitful insights into the
possible protest strategies, mobilization and further actions based on these
networks. Structural level refers to the broadly understood social network
phenomenon not restricted to its electronic reflections or embodiements. In
contrast, individual or agency level refers to the perceptions of an individual
acting in these networks and being at the same time influenced by them. Both
levels have been analysed in a luminous attempt to explain differential participation in social movements [22]. The application of the effect of this analysis
to the social media case can be therefore rather fruitful.
The premises of the analysis emphasized specific sources for political participation that could be also considered closely to the concept of identity. Collective identity on the macro level of networks and personal identity on the level
of individual perceptions influence individual participation and possible engagement in certain protest causes and movements. These processes of „structure translating into action” are critical for understanding of micromobilization
processes on the electronic networking platforms as well. The identity constituent, however, can be considered too powerful for the social networking
connections, even in the case of virtual protests and causes promotion. One
should bear in mind that „not all networks between like-minded people necessarily reflect social movement processes, which demand focused identity and
resulting bonds of certain degree” [11: p.22]. The virtual world or especially
virtual communities formation give another perspective on the identity issue
since group identity can develop via a bottom-up process of interpersonal –
also virtual – communication [28: p.252-253].
The mechanisms that lead people to become involved should also be complemented by the factors that can by some means intensify this involvement and
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that refer to „the structural location of social actors and their perceptions” [22:
p.124]. Such structural understanding of social networks is elsewhere confronted with the notion of the so called socio-spatial networks with alleged
greater accent on human agency, close to the social movement theory by Melucci and others [25: p.28]. People tend to engage into protest activities to
defend threatened common identities usually with their friends and acquaintances that share the same network. The individual perceptions or perspectives
in the mentioned structure-agency analysis in social movements develop under the persistent structural influence of social networks, which has two major
dimensions. First, networks create the specific social environment that inspires
individual choices „in short run” [22: p.124-125]. Another „long run” dimension concerns certain cognitive parameters that emerge in the course of primary and secondary socialization processes pushing individuals to take part in
protest or abstain. So among the main functions of social networks there is a
structural connection through the networking resources to an opportunity to
participate. Networks can also shape individual decisions on every specific
occasion while socializing those connected „into a protest issue”. On the individual level of perceptions there are also a few factors that influence both the
possible joining up as well as the intensiveness of further participation. However, one must bear in mind that networks also have a significant effect on the
nature of such perceptions. The first element of perception that influences
each individual decision about participation and therefore mobilization success refers to the perceived effectiveness of actions [22: p.125].
This aspect is well illustrated in the question „what can I change” as well as in
the motto of many social networking sites primarily aimed on social good and
justice, virtual protest and petitioning activities to „make a difference”.
Among such specialized portals the most populous is Care2.com, which is
directed mainly on new social movement topics, such as global warming,
women’s rights or healthy living. There are several ways one can participate
in „making a difference” on this platform by volunteering, petitioning, working, taking the so-called „daily action” as well as certainly donate money. The
main interest for the members of this service is also represented by its social
media characteristics, which enable them to use it as a usual social networking
service connecting friends, discussing issues on forums, being a part of the
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significant networking system at the same timed based on mutual understanding and fighting for common values. What one can give, what difference one
can make depends also on how the whole community or system is able to be
effective. Prospective participants assess not only their personal contribution,
but also that of a whole group before joining a protest or good cause and engaging actively in it [22: p.125].
Another remarkable factor that influences the social actors’ intention to take
part in collective action refers to the assessment of the possible risks of collective action [ibid]. Here the cyberspace and Internet – created as a medium for
freedom – seems to play a key role as a herald of a new age of liberty. The
crucial though probably overly optimistic Castells’ statement reflects the
Internet and electronic communication potentials. „Governments can do little
to control communication flows able to circumvent geography and thus political boundaries” [7: p.168]. These flows and freedom at least at the foundations
of new information and communication technologies have made an important
contribution into the perception processes on the level of every citizen or netizen of either „small” or „big” worlds. If an individual Internet user perceives
his or her risk of speaking out about a problem, being active, protesting and
„making difference” as rather insignificant, this cyberspace characteristics
seems to be even more important than the existence of independent mass media and free speech for the representatives of every political option. If one is
safe and free on the Internet especially in his or her perceptions, the virtual
society converges with the civil one. On the mezolevel it is tightly interconnected with the phenomenon of the so-called grassrooted networks, „electronic grassrooting of democracy” and bottom-up actions based on computer
mediated communication via electronic networks that Castells characterized as
an alternative power that also influenced the emergence of network society [8:
p.362].
There are various contradictions on freedom and repression on the Internet
that proved to be dependent on the overall democratic climate or its total absence in a particular country. However, the common view of cyberspace refers
to freedom of speech and actions, so the risks of certain cause promotion or
protest activities as well as subsequent high costs are fairly small. This makes
a rather positive impact on individual participation in protests as well as raises
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the possible level of engagement intensity, though probably not quality.
Moreover, there is a less optimistic opinion, according to which to make connections more convenient the social networking sites aim at taking the risk
and real work out of any relationship and turning it into information exchange
and continuous ‘easy’ communication. At this point one should recognize the
unsurpassed capacities of the Internet as well as social networking services in
such major areas as information distribution and communication activities
irrelative [!] to its possible effectiveness for the protesting issue or cause and
intensity of the possible participant engagement.
Engagement as well as choice to participate in a protest might be influenced
also by the perceived behaviour of authorities that relates to the previous factor concerning freedom or oppression. If the legitimacy given to political authorities by an individual is significantly low the legitimation of protest and
mobilization effectiveness rises at the same time increasing the intensity of
participation [22: p.126]. However, all these processes also depend on individual perception of „making real difference” as well as personal availability
for collective action including both objective constraints and subjective perception of how much time one can offer to join the cause or protest [ibid].
Taking into consideration the demographic profile of social networking site
users, which seems to be largely similar to that of Internet users in general,
one can propose that young, independent both in mind and action, freedomloving and aware Internet users are to express most active protest against
every injustice or depravity in social or political sphere. However if an active
netizen really belongs to the group of such demographic characteristics, one
can disagree with their active part since among „the fast and furious” there are
a lot of yuppie workaholics, cramming-overloaded students, kids-overloaded
young working moms, indifferent teenagers an so on who are surely out of
time and vigour to take an active part in any sort of online or offline protesting
activities or cause promotion considering also the lack of „immediate and
material benefits to individual members”. Such a sceptic opinion can be complemented by „making real difference” scepticism as well. However, the networking structural influence is able to shape individual perceptions, as Passy
and Guigni prove in their research, so the optimistic view of Internet protest
potentials can rely fortunately on – electronic as well - social network peculi120
arities. One must also take into account the widely perceived freedom brought
by the Internet and life speeding-up – by advanced information and communication technologies. It appears to be a rather controversial issue if contemporary people are out of free time because of technological innovations in their
daily practices or quite the contrary are able to control their life’s pace and
offer plenty of free time for protest activities on the Internet.
There are two major functions specific for social networks as an environment
for the so-called micromobilization and protesting activities [22: p.127-129].
These functions are confronted also with the strong/weak and informal/formal
ties notions. The cultural role of networks according to this view includes
socialization that takes place in the longue durée and concurs to the formation
of mobilization potential providing or reinforcing awareness toward a given
protest issue. This embeddedness in the networks culturally close to the protest issues does not presume totalising the framing of the social world of an
individual; rather it places him or her within an interactive structure – especially in the case of electronic social networks – and gives an opportunity to
redefine this framing.
Here one can give the example of such a function on the universal social networking platform (like Facebook, MySpace etc.) as updating or news feed
created around the user’s activities within the site. The specialized networking
services aimed at protest issues or promotion of the social good are created to
highlight its users’ current activities with an emphasis on those which are
most important or influential like recruiting the largest number of followers or
supporters as well as, for instance, donating the biggest sum for the cause. In
the case of the interests in a specific protest issue or social movement such
„news from friends” who are engaged already can touch „the right chord” of a
potential participant or just accustom him or her to a particular issue. Since
one of the most striking features of the social networking sites’ popularity is
the people’s curiosity about others’ lives as well as unusual or even narcissist
inclination to render their lives to others to observe, the socialization cultural
function of electronic networks proves to be extremely meaningful. Here the
structural function of a social network pertains as well as enables to recruit
prospective participants and activists into the protest issue that means „structural connection of individuals to an opportunity to participate” [22: p.128].
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The social networking services also usually provide the user’s „history” concerning links, pictures, videos or comments sharing, group or organization
membership, cause or protest joining in the case of specific sites etc. This
could refer to such a significant factor that facilitates participation as well as
recruitment as the so-called past experiences with the issue along with the
mere interest in it illustrated in those online activities and seen by friends and
other users [22: p.131].
Previous research has shown that recruits enter a movement or a protest issue
mainly through the interpersonal ties or informal networks of strong character
in terms of Granovetter [15; ibid]. At this point the trust appears to be the
most significant factor determining the possibility to reduce uncertainty of an
individual regarding a specific problem. „Prospective participants trust those
recruiters who are their close friends and who can convince them that a given
organization is a good place to become engaged” [22: p.128]. Taking into
account the strong acquired and strong ascriptive ties and their diverse effect
on potential engagement one can easily find out how they function on the
social networking sites which include more close friends then one’s family
members. So the recruitment via friends [acquired ties] is more effective and
more probable via social networking services entailing more interpersonal
trust and common values among friends than the so-called moral obligations
and usually lack of intergenerational mutuality in social and political values in
the case of a family recruiting route [22: p.139-140]. In regards to formal networks they appear to be much more informative and active but at the same
time giving more pessimistic and realistic impression concerning the limits of
the organization to change certain political decisions than other channels of
more informal character.
This argument can explain the popularity of chain petition letters that long ago
have proven in theory and practice to be ineffective, worthless or even harmful [hoax, pyramids, spamming etc.] but are still robust all over the Internet
manipulating emotionally also the social networking site users. The recruiter
status [as well as similarly a chain letter sender] significantly affects probable
participation and engagement of an individual so it really matters for people to
join collective action whether online or offline [ibid]. So if one has in his or
her network connections of first or second degree someone strongly engaged
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or centrally located in a certain social movement or protest issue elaboration
one would more probably join this issue being sure of „making real difference” for the world. Taking into consideration the idea of six degrees of separation it appears that the Internet and social networking services could become
the most active political and social protest players in the world which probably will take place in the near future but showing its first results at this moment [6].
In line with the argument of participation intensity conceptualisation one
should consider the impact of networks on individual perception. The possible
structural determinist approach is controversial but when the social networking phenomenon and its main characteristics regarding protest activities and
cause promotion are analysed one should especially consider the direct and
indirect effects of macrostructures and social relations. These effects could
also be seen as a linkage between the structural location of social actors, their
individual perceptions and their further actions: „assuring transition from
small-scale to large-scale processes and connecting structure and agency” [22:
p.130]. Such a strong linkage effect could be also explained in terms of personal and collective identity in social movements and protests which in terms
of social networks appears as networking influence over the perception of
one’s individual possibilities in a particular political or social environment.
Thus social action appears to be an effect of both structural constraints – networks in this particular case - and subjective perception of those constraints
by an individual, a member or a node in networks.
More and more people currently join social networking platforms, define their
profiles as well as express social and political views there. They use the information, communication and organization functions of networking phenomena in so many ways launching or joining the cause for good or protesting
activities on the Internet of different origin, scale and effect. On the one hand,
a typical netizen uses social networking services just to connect with his or her
significant others to realize this ever-strongest desire of the human being to
belong, to share values and fight for values and norms shared with friends.
Although the Internet enables its users to be as free in their networking activities or connection obligations as they would like, it also provides incomparably powerful tools for real life processes that otherwise would not take place.
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Despite digital divide controversies and digital literacy problems all over the
world the Internet offers unique potentials for its users to participate in protest
activities or to promote various good causes thanks to instantaneous communication, boundless and non-hierarchical organization possibilities and almost
unlimited information resources.
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Dr Kateryna Novikova - Alcide de Gasperi University of Euroregional Economy in
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Simone TOSONI
THE FOUR PHASES OF INTERNET RESEARCH: A PROPOSAL FOR A CRITICAL PERIODIZATION
If we consider the first socio-psychological approaches to Computer Mediated Communication (Hiltz, Turoff 1978; Nelson 1982; Kiesler, Siegel,
McGuire 1984; Rice 1984, Van Gelder 1985) as an integral part of Internet
Studies, this research field has entered its fourth decade. Throughout these
years, the attempts to account for the history of the discipline and to describe
its different development phases have been far from systematic. Moreover,
these attempts have generally ignored its main theoretical turn-points, focusing instead on the alternation of the most studied objects of research, or on
some very general tendencies of the field (the utopian and dystopian polarization typical of the ‘90s and its overcoming, the increasingly rigorous adoption
of academic approaches).
It’s the case, to quote a well-known example, of Silver’s acknowledgment
(2000) of three different phases in Internet Research. For the scholar, in the
mid Nineties the field would have moved from the ground-breaking phase of
Popular Cyberculture (characterized by a „descriptive” and journalistic nature, and by a „rhetorical dualism” opposing „dystopian rants” and „utopian
raves”) to Cyberculture Studies (more grounded into academic disciplines,
and revolving around the research topics of virtual communities and identity
construction processes). This phase would have lasted until the late ‘90s, when
Critical Cyberculture Studies arose, structuring the field into four main research areas: online interactions, discourses about these interactions, access to
the internet and its limitations, and design of cyberspace interface.
Similarly, Wellman (2004) recognized three main phases in Internet Studies: the first one focusing on „online phenomena in isolation”, with a polarization among dystopian and utopian interpretations, and more close to „travelers’ tales” than to academic research; the second one, starting around 1998,
characterized by a „systematic documentation of users and uses” through –
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according to Wellman – „large scale surveys”; and a third one, taking shape at
the times Wellman was writing (2004), based on „more focused, theoreticallydriven projects”.
These proposals have been certainly useful to provide scholars with a first
general orientation to the field: nevertheless, in order to fully critically address
the development of a discipline (and to contribute to orientate its next steps),
any attempt of periodization must be developed at a meta–theoretical level
(Role 2005): that is, focusing on the development, revision, and transformation of its main theoretical and methodological concepts. In a discipline, in
fact, it is the concepts adopted (reflexively or less reflexively) that methodologically frame the specific objects of research (whatever their alternation),
contribute to define the way they will be interrogated - thus contributing to
select the research methods most commonly adopted - and open the possibility
to specific ideological stances (as in the utopian-dystopian polarization of the
mid ‘90s).
Therefore, a critical history of a discipline must be a history of its main theoretical and methodological concepts: as a contribution to this effort, we will
try to sketch an attempt of periodization of Internet Studies based on the reformulations of the concepts framing CMC systems and the Internet, in a formalized way or through a shared metaphor (Lakoff – Johnson 1980). The proposed periodization identifies three distinct phases in the development of the
field, with the possibility of a fourth one taking shape in recent years.
COMPUTER MEDIATED COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS AS COMMUNICA-TION
CHANNELS
Socio-psychological research on Computer Mediated Communication
dates back to the late ‘70s, when big enterprises and organizations started to
integrate the computer as part of their communication technologies. In this
context, researchers were called to investigate the possible „second-level effects” of the adoption of CMC systems, the ones related to „how people behave”, being «first level effects (…) the anticipated technical ones - the
planned efficiency gains or productivity gains that justify an investment in
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new technology» (Sproull - Kiesler, 1992, p.4). One of the main concerns
regarding the new medium is, in fact, the risk that it may jeopardize the efficiency of companies and institutions through the generation of unwanted and
unforeseen effects on the behavior of their employees. These effects, in turn,
could be arguably generated by alterations introduced by the new medium in
communication exchanges: researchers are asked to predict them, and to prevent at best the unwanted ones.
In this sense, the medium - the „computer as a communication device” - is
basically conceived as a channel, reminding very closely the Shannon–
Weaver model of communication (Shannon and Weaver, 1949): a model since
long obsolete in the coeval broader field of Media Studies. As a result of its
technical features (in particular: narrow band) this channel would be far from
being „neutral”: if compared to „natural communication” (face to face communication), it would introduce a systematic distortion in communicative exchanges, that would in turn generate effects on behavior. In particular, this
channel would „filter out” any sign not directly expressed in the written texts
exchanged (since Eighties CMC is mainly written communication), and in
particular visual clues (those embedded in the communicative contexts and the
bodies - or even the attires - of the communicators).
All main models of this phase (like the RSC1, SIDE2 and the Social Presence3 models) aim to pinpoint the effects of this deletion performed by the
channel. They are mostly empirically grounded in socio-psychological laboratory experiments with a control group, where the presence of the channel - the
medium with its technical features – represents the independent variable, and
the communicative clues of presumed effects on „behavior” (i.e. the „disinhibiting effect”) are the dependent ones. Relying on these experiments, researchers claimed to have proved effects like social equalization, increased
chaotic behavior, weakening of social norms and, in more than one case, their
opposite (through a re-interpretation of previous results, like in Walther Anderson - Park 1994, where the idea of a medium unable to vehicle „socioemotional” exchanges is discarded).
1
2
3
Reduced Social Cues. See Sproull - Kiesler (1991).
Social Identity De-Individuation. See Spears - Lea (1992) ; Spears - Lea - Lee (1990).
For an overview, see Lombard - Ditton (1997).
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Apart from their specificities, and sometimes despite the contradictory nature
of their results, all these models share the common metaphor of the channel to
frame their object of study: a metaphor that will be the lynchpin of the field up
to the early ‘90s.
COMPUTER MEDIATED COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS AS PLACES
While studies conceiving their object through the metaphor of the channel
did not disappear until the early Nineties, they start to lose relevance for the
field. That conceptualization, in fact, appears less and less adequate to answer
the new questions arising from a communicative context that is being deeply
reshaped. Private and domestic Internet connections are in fact becoming
more and more widespread, as well the use of CMC for social or ludic purposes.
As both Wellman and Silver point out, properly academic research does
not accounts first for these new scenarios: other social discourses, first of all
specialized journalism, claim that role. Dery (1996) and Flichy (2001) convincingly describe, among the others, the role played in these years by magazines like Mondo2000 and Wired in shaping the new internet imaginaries.
Describing the experiences of ICTs’ early adopters, journalists do not frame
the CMC systems as channels, like coeval academic research, but as places:
Internet is an unexplored space inhabited by a new kind of natives, with their
own customs, social rules and cultures. For the „travelers” visiting this new
world, the Internet is a sort of „digital orient”, a fascinating elsewhere, secluded from ordinary daily life and sometimes even dangerous, where it is
possible to live adventures and build new kinds of relationships.
This new imaginary draws on the one already depicted, since the ‘80s, by
science fiction. Steven Lisberger’s movie Tron, for example, sets its story in a
computer-generated „virtual space”: it will be influential on William Gibson,
the cyberpunk novelist that popularized the idea (and the term) of „cyberspace”. In his own words, cyberspace is «a consensual hallucination experienced daily by billions of legitimate operators, in every nation, by children
being taught mathematical concepts... A graphic representation of data ab130
stracted from banks of every computer in the human system. Unthinkable
complexity» (Gibson 1984). Surprisingly enough, the concept (and the term)
of cyberspace will be taken by a relevant part of academic scholars studying
the internet in the early and mid Nineties. Under a methodological point of
view, it will frame the research object through a spatial metaphor: the Internet
is conceived as a symbolic space generated by many-to-many persistent communication. A new disciplinary phase starts, and the channel metaphor, the
research questions associated with it, and the research methods it suggested
are quickly discarded and marginalized: it is not possible to study this new
space, the cultures and the relationships it hosts, and the practices occurring in
it in laboratories. There is no more „effect” to be proven or measured: researchers are called instead to personally explore cyberspace, and observe the
new natives inhabiting it. Ethnography-inspired approaches replace experimental methods. As Stone (1992) notoriously observed, «it is interesting that
at just about the time the last of the untouched „real-world” anthropological
field sites are disappearing, a new and unexpected kind of „field” is opening
up - incontrovertibly social spaces in which people still meet face-to-face, but
under new definitions of both „meet” and „face”.»
This supposed „otherness” and detachment of the Internet as a (cyber)
space from common daily life keeps on separating Internet Studies from general Media and Audience Studies (where the relationship between media and
daily life is already a main concern), and opens the field to the techno-utopic
(and techno-phobic) stances lamented by Silver and Wellman. It is the case,
in particular, of the two main research interests of this phase: online social
relationships and identity construction on the internet. In both cases, the medium is described as opening up unprecedented possibilities, associated with
intense hopes or fears. Virtual Communities, for example, are welcomed as a
precious chance of renewal of the social ties and relationships endangered by
the crumbling tendencies of post-modernity (Rheingold 1993). At the same
time, the Internet is warned against as radicalizing these same tendencies.
Virtual identities are described as the definitive liberating technologies
(Bruckman 1992, 1993; Reid 1991, 1994; Turkle 1995), unchaining identity
construction processes from the burdens of the body (once again, the result of
the „filtering out” of the body from communication) or, on the contrary, as a
131
narcissistic and self-referential game.
It will be only with the new century, and with the deconstruction of the spatial
metaphor, that researchers will be able to overcome the dead end of the contraposition between utopic and dystopian interpretations of internet communication, to focus, more soberly, on the adoption of ICTs into the daily routines
of their users.
INTERNET AND EVERYDAY LIFE: FROM THE METAPHOR AS AN ANALYTICAL TOOL TO THE METAPHOR AS AN OBJECT OF RESEARCH
With the new millennium, the Internet has become a widespread medium,
and its diffusion will still be growing throughout the decade, in work places as
well as in public places and households. It is not just a matter of number of
users, but also of their diversification: starting from the mid Nineties, CMC
systems have been becoming easier to use and, thanks to the massive investments of venture capitals (Castells 2001), richer in features and services, provided mainly – but not exclusively - through a browser interface. As a consequence, the internet has become more and more appealing for a wider multiplicity of people, including social categories of users – like women and senior citizens – that were not massively involved in the first phase of its diffusion. For the younger generations, it is taken for granted in their media environment.
As stated by Susan Herring (2004), CMC systems have finally become
«more of a practical necessity than an object of fascination and fetish.
(Over)use, disenchantment, fatigue, ubiquity, indispensability, and the passage
of time all contribute inexorably toward this end. [...] These trends simplify
CMC and appropriate it for ordinary interactional purposes. [As a consequence] CMC researchers would do well to take a step back from the parade
of passing technologies and consider more deeply the question of what determines people’s use of mediated communication.»
The time of the „re-enchantment” of the world driven by ICTs diffusion
seems to be over, together with the techno-utopic (and techno-phobic) stances
it implied. The internet cannot be conceived anymore as a fascinating else132
where – a digital orient – to be explored and observed through the amazed
gaze of the ethnographer: ordinary daily life now claims its proper place at the
center of the researchers’ agenda. The gap between Internet Studies and Media
Studies, and in particular Audience Studies, is finally overcome, since the
former converge to the latters’ attempt to account for the ways in which (new)
media are interwoven into the fabric of daily life. The common goal is now to
clarify show how daily routines shape media usage and are shaped by it.
With the deconstruction of the spatial metaphor to analytically and theoretically frame CMC systems, the whole set of old research methods and
methodologies that progressively reveals its limits: in particular, a (virtual)
ethnographic approach, focusing on a single technical system of interaction (a
MUD., an IRC channel) as an ethnographic field, so common in Nineties
internet research, appears unsuited to tackle the intertwine of media usage and
daily life.
Coeval Audience Studies tradition, with its linchpin into Silverstone’s theory of media domestication, provides a widely tested theoretical and methodological framework to take on the new research questions. In particular, Audience Studies acknowledge the attribution of symbolic meanings to communication technologies by social actors as a constitutive part of their practices of
appropriation (that is, those practices enacted by social actors to integrate different media into their daily life, or to „domesticate” them in the household).
Following this methodological path, Internet scholars do not get engaged in
the attempt to replace the obsolete spatial metaphor to methodologically frame
the internet with a new one, more adequate to the new research objectives.
The attempt is rather to map the different metaphors mobilized by social actors to make sense of new media, and to account for their relationship with
specific media practices: from methodological tools employed to frame the
research object, metaphors become specific objects of research. Depending on
different people, the Internet may be a library where to find information, a
repository where to download media products and contents, a social space
where to meet new people and stay in contact with friends and relatives, or all
these things – and many others - at the same time: it’s up to the researchers to
account for these different metaphors and their role in complex appropriation
and domestication practices.
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Moreover, it is precisely the complexity of these practices that calls for approaches based on different and integrated methods, as was already experimented within Audience Studies: ethnographic observations (now performed
mainly in the household, held as the most relevant context of media usage),
are integrated or triangulated with other qualitative and quantitative methodologies - in-depth interviews, focus groups and media usage diaries are the
most commonly used.
The new operation of the Internet Studies’ theoretical and methodological
frameworks through their integration into Audience Studies will be carried on
during the whole first half of the decade and beyond, with only minor adaptations of the concepts inherited by this tradition. In particular, the concept of
„users” (of a platform, a service, or a device) will replace the one of „audience” as the key concept of the discipline (Sullivan 2013), to account for the
more articulated usage practices (mainly: content production) allowed by digital media. The concept of „user” actually seems to better account for the active
role that „audiences” are called to enact in a fully „converged” media system
(Jenkins, 2006), where the border of each specific medium tends to blur in an
interconnected media environment, and media contents and products can be
circulated (by content producers and „users” as well) from device to device
and platform to platform.
It’s only in the very latest years, under the pressure of the challenge represented by the new tendencies of the media system (in particular, mobile communication) that this framework will start to be questioned.
TOWARD A FOURTH PHASE: THE CHALLENGE OF URBAN SPACE TO INTERNET STUDIES
In recent years, the scenario informed by convergence processes is further
complicated by the widespread diffusion of smartphones, tablets and other
mobile CMC systems: media usage is not confined to the household any
longer (which was the main research context of the previous decade) or in
clearly defined time intervals. On the contrary, media accompany „users” both
indoor and outdoor through all the spaces, and the rhythms, of their daily rou134
tines. Even if with a certain delay, the research agendas of media scholars are
consequently called to include, alongside of the household, all the outdoor
spaces that host these routines, like public spaces, squares, streets, train and
bus stations, pubs. Urban space is quickly becoming a main disciplinary concern.
Yet, at least until now, this ongoing renewal of the research agendas has
not been sided by a systematic check of the adequacy of the conceptual and
analytical tools inherited by the past decade, and by Audience Studies. The
concepts of „audience” and of „household” still seem to inform the way researchers frame their new research objects.
Regarding the concept of „audience”, we have already pointed out how one
of the main theoretical efforts of the discipline in recent years consists in the
attempt to account for how „audiences” change thanks to the new affordance
granted by digital and portable media: audiences become active, performative,
diffused, interconnected (as well as they become „users”). Yet, as a theoretical and methodological concept, „audience” (whatever the alleged adjective)
and users still refer to aggregates of people sharing the use of the same device,
platform, or (trans-)media product.
In a similar way, the domestic space of the household still seems to play a
key methodological role in researchers’ attempts to map urban spaces as context of media use: in particular, in their effort to extrapolate specific and
clearly recognizable places from the continuum of the urban fabric, to make
them the new observation fields of media usage.
As a result, research on media usage in urban space seems to be getting
structured along two main research sub-fields (Tarantino – Tosoni 2013): the
first one, informed by the concept of audience, that has as primary focus the
use of a mobile device, service or platform (an „audience” being here an aggregate of people having in common the usage of the same device, service or
platform); and the second one, methodologically informed by the concept of
household, fragmenting the urban in recognizable places, isolating them from
the fabric of urban space as a new ethnographic field for media usage observation.
This field structuration has the credit of triggering and supporting a quick
135
(even if quite delayed) update of the research interests of the field. Nevertheless, the conceptual framework it implies does not seem suited to take on the
challenge to the discipline represented by urban space. In fact, and notwithstanding the reconfiguration of its public/private nature implied by media, the
„household” represented at the same time a specific and defined place and
clearly identifiable social group, into which „audiences” where fragmented for
analysis. This double nature of the key concept of „household” has no equivalent in public space. Nothing there guarantees that „audiences” and users share
anything else then the use of a device, platform or service. Moreover, the same
(shared) medium can be integrated with incomparable roles in different practices and routines: practices and routines that, on their hand, can be hardly
restrained in one of the single and specific places in which urban space is
fragmented for analysis.
In this sense, if the discipline is now called to account for how ICTs are «adopted and shaped within the fine-grained practices [and routines] of everyday
urban life», as stated by Stephen Graham in his ground-breaking research manifesto (2004), a radical rethinking of the key theoretical and methodological
concepts inherited from the third phase of Internet Studies, and from Audience
Studies, appears particularly urgent. Some proposals in this direction have been already put forward: it is the case, for example, of the „activity turn” invocated by several authors (Fiske 1992, Couldry 2004, 2011; Ridell 2012; Tosoni – Tarantino 2013), that suggests to move the main focus of the analysis
on social actors’ practices and routines media activities are just a part of; or
the case of the attempts to derive from Human Geography a more constructive
and relational notion of space, as being shaped and shaping by social actors’
(communicative) practices (Tarantino – Tosoni 2013b; Tosoni - Tarantino
2013b). Yet, the theoretical and methodological implications for such a turn
are very far from having been systematically explored and, notwithstanding its
potentialities – and urgency - a fourth phase still struggles to take shape.
CONCLUSIONS
In this paper we proposed a periodization of the Internet Studies history based
on the main theoretical and methodological concepts adopted to frame their
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research object. Three clearly identifiable phases emerged: the first framing
CMC systems as channels (from the late ‘70s to the early ‘90s); the second
framing them as places (90s); and the third (from 2000 on) where researchers
are called to focus on concepts and metaphors through which social actors
make sense of CMC systems as part of their appropriation and domestication
efforts. Finally, we pointed out some of the inadequacies of the conceptual
framework inherited by the discipline tradition when dealing with urban
space. However, a fourth phase seems still yet to come, due in particular to the
lack of systematic theoretical and methodological rethinking that is characterizing the present effort to renew the Internet Studies’ research agendas, in an
increasingly systematic exploration of urban space(s).
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Dr Simone Tosoni - Assistant Professor at the Catholic University of Milan, founding
members of the ECREA Temporary Working Group 'Media &
The City' and cooperates with the ARC Research Centre (Catholic University of Milan)
139
140
II.
GLOBAL PROBLEMS
– FUTURE
– POLITICS
– VALUES
141
Wojtek LAMENTOWICZ
„If a man gives no thought about what is distant, he will find sorrow near at hand”.
Confucius
THE GORDIAN KNOTS AND ALEXANDRIAN SOLUTIONS:
NEW APPROACH TO FORECASTING AND STRATEGY
MAKING
The concept of the Gordian Knot is not established in the theory and practice
of strategic studies and forecasting. The purpose of this paper is to define the
Gordian Knot as clear as possible and to put into the framework of dynamic
systems and to show its methodological usefulness in forecasting and in strategy making.
In section 1 I distinguish two environments where the Gordian Knots occur –
the process of guided changes and the spontaneous dynamics. Section 2 is
devoted to better clarification of the spontaneity of our time and to explanation
how it makes an impact upon Gordian Knots. Section 3 deals with time frames
and with the special role played by long standing problems in human development. Here I stress an interplay of long duration history and the high speed
of changes in the present time. In section 4 the main topic is the impact of the
increasing speed of changes and the asymmetry of relationships. The main
components of the Gordian Knot are also shown as a simple graphic model.
The next section deals with arguments against some propositions and hidden
assumptions of the theory of Black Swans that was developed by Nassim
N.Taleb recently. This is indispensable as some Black Swans could be a
source of aggravation of long lasting Gordian Knots. The last part of this
study presents particular features of the Alexandrian Solution which is designed as a cure for troubles caused by Gordian Knots and as a policy response to outcomes from Gordian Knots.
142
THE CONCEPT OF THE GORDIAN KNOT: THE FIRST APPROXIMATION
In human development or more simply in the process of change we find very
frequently sets of interconnected problems that need to be solved if we want to
proceed or to change the direction or speed of our motion on some specific
paths. Some of those sets of unsolved problems are defined as a Vicious Circle and some are more linear in their nature. However not all complicated sets
of interconnected problems are perceived as a variety of stumbling blocks on
the road that we have chosen or as an obstacle that is very hard to handle and
to overcome. A very special case in problem solving is made by Gordian
Knots which are stumbling blocks and a source of crises. In order to understand what the Gordian Knot actually is we shall proceed by several steps
leading to fully developed definition and a clear construction of all meanings
of this particular notion which was disregarded by both scholars and policy
makers until very recent propositions made by a team of Polish scholars.
The Gordian Knots can occur both within the framework of spontaneous
changes that are uncontrolled by any decision making center (or perhaps are
beyond the human capacity of control ) or within the framework of the guided
process of changes which are to a certain extent human made and can be
viewed as a byproduct of the use of power and management skills.
If we consider the case of the guided change then the Gordian Knot shall be
viewed as a an effect of long lasting delays in searching for solutions or as an
outcome of many inefficient efforts undertaken by some decision making bodies.1 Krzysztof Rybiński, Paweł Opala and Marcin Hołda defined a Gordian
Knot as an „intractable problem” that can „emerge as a result of delaying necessary strategic choices”2. The Gordian Knot is an outcome of actions that
were taken too late and accomplished too little which happens quite often in
politics. In such a perspective a long process of neglecting or underestimating
the significance of the problem allows for accumulation of the negative characteristics and this aggravated set of problems may be called a Gordian Knot.
Thus we may assume that the longer the problem is neglected the worse it
1
2
K.Rybiński, P.Opala, M.Hołda, Gordian knots of the 21 st century, Ministry of Regional
Development , Warsaw 2008.
K.Rybiński et al., op.cit. p.7
143
may become and its solution cannot be achieved by ordinary measures within
the old business-as-usual traditions and only the bold stroke of the Alexandrian sword can fix it. In such a perspective of delays in policy responses a
Gordian Knot is a result of mistakes in timing or/and errors in assessment of
some problems. In summary a Gordian Knot within a framework of guided
process is a human product. It is in a sense constructed by non-action and nodecision in a due time.
There are some weaknesses in this approach. The hidden assumption here is
that solutions in the due time were feasible and for some reasons (such as the
impact of vested interests or lock-in effects of many factors) were not designed as a strategy and not implemented. It is very hard to say what was feasible and when, if it was not accomplished at all. Any variety of „what if „
thinking in a strategic analysis is value laden and cannot take into consideration all the factors and constraints in the past when we think about it some 100
years after.
The second hurdle is the question what is or would be the due time to take
„necessary strategic choices”. Sometimes it is the legacy of the past that is an
effect of the long duration in history as proposed by F. Braudel. In such a case
the Gordian Knot is not a product of an error in policy responses but rather a
longitudinal process hardly dependent upon some power centers, on their action or non-action, decisions or non-decisions.
Another weak point is a question of „necessary strategic choices”. How could
we know what was and for whom it was a necessity to make strategic choices?
Many actors and factors exert an influence on the agenda setting process in
politics, in business, and in military affairs. It is obvious that we cannot know
what was necessary and why some actors would be of the same opinion as are
the analytical minds which study the same set of problems after some time and
from a different perspective.
It does not mean that we cannot study and solve Gordian Knots within the
framework of guided changes. We can make it but we must take into consideration all intellectual risks involved in searching for non-decisions and
delays. If something comes too late we should be able to prove when it was
the due and proper timing for a specific strategy to be adopted and put into
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practice in given conditions. This is much harder as it seems at first glance. A
second concern here is that we assume that an error or mistake was made by
some potential decision makers when they decided not to make strategic
choices in some spaces or areas of interest. Any error in thinking or doing can
be identified only when we know what would be a proper, sufficient or satisfying choice that was for some reasons neglected or delayed. This kind of
knowledge is hard to obtain and even harder to apply in strategic analysis.
SPONTANEOUS DYNAMICS
The second type of environment where the Gordian Knot can emerge is the
process of spontaneous changes that happen more often in history of humankind than efficiently guided changes. A spontaneous process must not always
be a „spontaneous order” or „organized complexity” as it is assumed by many
neoliberal economists. Sometimes spontaneity is a pretty disorderly patchwork
with many cross-cutting paths, overlapping modes of action, and contradictory
trajectories of changes that are mutually reinforcing and pushing to the extremes. I will not assume that spontaneity is a kind of organized whole or a
variety of order. Sometimes it can be more like an order and sometimes not. It
is an empirical question and must be studied carefully without any prejudice
or any assumption imposed by reason that tends to put models before the real
facts of life.
The global system consists of the great variety of spaces and realities; some of
those are objective and given and many of those are socially constructed or
reconstructed after some periods of creative destruction. Reality is a set of
meaningful acts and facts based on tacit assumptions about what is real and on
sometimes unclear presumptions which give meaning to our thoughts. Some
realities are external and „given” by history or/and nature and some are invented/designed by human beings, intentionally negotiated and even shared by
many distinctive communities living on Earth. The global system of the
Spaceship Earth3 and the entire Universe consists probably of both determinis3
The Spaceship Earth is a metaphor coined some sixty years ago by R. Buckminster Fuller,
an optimist visionary thinker, and designer who invented among other things his geodesic
domes, synergetics and ephemeralization.
145
tic and non-deterministic subsystems and we have no sufficient knowledge to
make a final judgment about which of the two prevails and in what conditions.4 The suspension of judgment that was recommended by Blaise Pascal
(who invented the calculus of probability) is in order in all situations when we
are far from certainty in a particular field of study.
The first, purely linguistic intuition tells us that „spontaneous” means that
something happens and is uncontrolled, unleashed, unchecked, unguided or
poorly guided by human decisions. It is something that resembles the elements
of nature and that may produce a lot of surprises, unexpected and/or undesirable outcomes. When we look at the phenomenon of spontaneous dynamics in
a more systematic manner we can suggest that the defining characteristics of
spontaneity are the following:
a. Spontaneity is a particular feature of all dynamical systems both natural
and artificial because most of the processes are not controlled by power
centers and many varieties of forces and energies interact in a contradictory manner. Conflict and cooperation of agents are not regulated by a super arbiter with unlimited power of right settlements and rulings. Realities
in which spontaneity occurs are complicated, unclear, fluid, and foggy if
we can use a metaphor that comes from the weather forecasts. In the theory of international relations the absence of central rule or coordination
center is viewed as a variety of anarchy in the global affairs..
b. Spontaneous dynamism means that changes are normal and that a steady
or stationary moments are rather exceptional. Change is a norm and a
stationary moment is an exception to this norm. Flows are more natural
than solid structures and temporary structures prevail over something we
might assume would be permanent. It is both information and energy that
flows and changes all aspects of life on the globe. Information seems to be
more crucial here as it is a our Sixth Sense that allows us to know beyond
our five senses, to know what we did not see, hear, touch, smell or taste.
Information that goes beyond our senses is a base of our decisions and for
that reason has a direct impact on our capability to make and to implement
strategies that can deal with spontaneous changes in our environments. As
4
Here it is wise to apply the uncertainty principle and to be rather modest than bold in making hypotheses that jump beyond facts that we know about so little.
146
changes are more frequent than stagnation there is more room for the recognition of rhythm in strategic thinking as well as in social construction
of culture. Capability of reading the rhythms of changes is conducive to a
smart mode of reaction to spontaneity of developments. Without capability of reading and monitoring the natural rhythms of spontaneous changes
it would be almost impossible to design innovative, regulatory, and adaptive strategies.
c. Spontaneity is a result of non-linear relations to greater extent than it is
conditioned by linear causality and therefore can be understood as chaotic
and complex.5 Non-linearity means that there is structural tendency
to asymmetry of causes and outcomes. Small causes are able to produce
effects out of proportion ( that is usually named a Butterfly Effect ).6 Effects of this kind may be much larger and jump longer in time that we
could think as we were looking at their causes. But the big causes can
produce very little effect, as well. This case I propose to call a Mountain
Effect that refers to a famous saying about the mountain which gave birth
to a mice.
d. The growing speed and velocity of changes in all subsystems of the
global system is a fundamental cause of the spontaneous character of
changes.7 The faster the system and/or its environment changes the more
spontaneous the process can be. Time and space is obviously compressed
by a high level of speed and velocity what we know since Einstein discovered it and developed as the theory of relativity. One of the first thinkers
who recognized the growing impact of speed in our civilization was Marc
Bloch who did it in the 1930’ already. The factor of speed/velocity is not
underestimated any longer but only very few thinkers would dare to claim
that the entire evolution of life on Earth is based not on the survival of
5
6
7
Complexity must not be conflated with a complicated reality. Complicated reality is just not
simple one and complexity is related to nonlinearity of dynamics.
Michael Dillon defines contemporary global system by three features : circulation( interdependence of elements in permanent flow),complexity (non-linear relations produce an overall asymmetry) and contingency ( high frequency randomness and chance and the high level
of risk in a probabilistic relations). M. Dillon, Global security in the 21 st Century (in:) The
Globalization of Security, Briefing Paper , Chatham House , October 2005, p.2-3.
Velocity is speed with a specific direction and is presented by vectors. Speed has no direction and is presented by scalars in contemporary physics.
147
the fittest but rather on the survival of the fastest organisms in nature.8
My intuitive hypothesis would be that the very basic survival depends
more on adaptation capability as it was suggested by Charles Darwin
many years ago. However the expansion of some organisms depends on
their capability to move faster than others and this holds not just in physical and natural spaces. The proposed assumption of spontaneity in this
study is based on the survival of the fittest and on expansion of the
fastest. The spontaneous world is populated by a lot of new nomadic people of migrating identities. Social contacts are brief and not deeply rooted.
In many spaces of human existence short lasting and non-binding contacts
replace permanent or enduring social bonds rooted in strong mutual commitments. The movement and mobility of people produces new speed of
action in all walks of life. The higher the speed of changes and of motions,
the shorter the time spans and time perspectives of people. This aspect of
spontaneity is a serious challenge to any strategy that is based on the long
term perspective and on risky forecasts about the future to come in the
long time.
e. Spontaneity is a result of the very plurality of forces and energies operating in a particular space of the global system and of differentiated
power potentials of actors and factors.9 Distinctiveness of forces and energies of actors may be less visible as they can melt into a mass without
faces.
f. Spontaneous changes are self-induced and may be driven by selfgenerating energy coming from the interaction of various social forces
that are not clearly visible on the surface of events. Due to this characteristics spontaneous changes are not easy to study, to explain, to interpret,
and to predict. This is known well by social psychologists who study the
8
9
T. Leary, B. A. Potter, Evolutionary Agents, Ronin Publishing, 2004. It is written by Potter
after the death of Leary but it develops some basic convictions of him. Paul Virillio put a
proper emphasis on the factor of increasing speed in his explanations of cultural dynamics.
Compare his inspiring book "Speed and Politics" (1977 in French) published in many languages and in Polish as well. P.Virillio, Predkosc i polityka, Wydawnictwo Sic! Warszawa
2008
Power in physics is defined as a ratio of work that can be done in a specific time span.
Power equals to ratio of work and time. Both physical and political concepts of power put a
stress on capability to get something done in a time-space of reality. This pragmatic aspect
of power is very significant to understanding spontaneous developments both in nature and
in human culture.
148
outbreak of hatred and aggression within a lonely crowd or group think effects in deliberating groups of decision makers. It is not the result of the
hidden plot of some actors but rather an outcome of an interdependence of
forces that are not precisely identified by social sciences.
This self-generated dynamism of spontaneous processes has far reaching consequences for strategic thinking and future forecasting that cannot be elaborated here. One aspect of strategy making is extremely relevant however: prevention is always more demanding and more ambitious than intervention as it
presumes high ability to predict and self-generated dynamism is not easy to
predict of course.
Spontaneous dynamism of environments provides an opportunity to any intelligent system of organized power to react to this challenging condition in
distinctive three ways – 1. The system can adapt to spontaneity,2. It can
regulate spontaneous changes by influencing actively some parameters of
changes such as speed, directions, scope or intensity,3.It can be innovative by
efforts to create something new that was not and probably could not be created
by a spontaneous dynamism. 10 Adaptation, regulation and innovation is a
foundation of a typology that can be applied to global governance systems, to
international organizations, to political systems of countries and to smaller
regions within nation-states. We can assume that the effect of specific strategy
can be evaluated in these terms as well. Adaptation is the lowest level of ambitions of the power center that reacts to spontaneity. Adaptation is based on
reading strong and weak signals coming from the environments and doing
something that is indispensable for survival of the system under particular
environment. The medium level of ambition would be the regulation that unfortunately is very frequently misguided and sometimes may foster or aggravate Gordian Knots. The most demanding is innovative strategy ( effects of
this strategy can be called an innovative function ) as it wants to introduce
something new to a spontaneous flow of changes in the environments of the
system and/or in the system itself. Regulative and innovative effects are the
10
This triple function approach was developed by myself in early 70’ and then applied to the
study of functions of the political system and of the State. Wojciech Lamentowicz, Reformizm szwedzki, PWN: Warszawa 1977 and in my book Państwo współczesne, Wydawnictwa Szkolne i Pedagogiczne: Warszawa , 1996 (second edition)
149
most precious fruits of intelligent human agency in the worlds we live in.
Each of the three modes of responses can be applied as a policy of prevention
or as a policy of intervention. We will revert to this triple distinction again as
it can be used to comparative analysis of strategies dealing with Gordian
Knots.
VARIETES OF COMPLEX SYSTEM
Complex System = not independent of its environment but it has some freedom of choice
(complicated ≠ simple)
ADAPTIVE
REGULATIVE
INNOVATIVE
1. The number of parts in the
system and the number of
relations between the parts
is not trivial
1. the same as in the
adaptive system (Ω)
1. Ω
2. The system has memory
or includes feedback
2. The system has capacity to learn from
experience
2. The system has capacity to create new
solutions
3. The system can adapt
itself according to its history or feedback
3. Ω
3. Ω
4. The relations between the
system and its environment are non-trivial or
non-linear
4. Ω
4. Ω
5. The system can be influenced by, or can adapt itself to, its environment
5. The system can influence (regulate) some
flows and/or segments of its environment
5. The system can substantially
change
some flows and/or
segments of its environment
NeilF. Johnson, 2007 made a description of adaptive systems.
150
Description of regulative and systems is based on my concept of triple funtions
THREE FUNCTIONS OF DYNAMICAL SYSTEMS
ADAPTIVE
Crucial to
survival
Dynamical
system
functions
Regulative
Crucial to
Innovative
Crucial to
expansion
development
Some questions to be considered are:
What is a lowest degree of the autonomy and distinctiveness that must be preserved in order to keep ability to regulate and to innovate?
How intelligent systems can preserve this amount of autonomy in the world of
fast speeds?
Do the higher levels of autonomy increase the capacity to innovative strategic
action?
How complexity of the system relates to the degrees of its autonomy? Is simplicity of the system’s structure conducive to its ability to create innovative
strategies ?
Does expansion and development of the system increase its ability to move
faster in spaces?
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Within the spaces of spontaneous changes in the global system the Gordian
Knots appear as a bundle or as a bunch of interlocked and interconnected
problems that are results of all characteristic features of spontaneous changes
discussed above. A Gordian Knot is not a single problem that can be solved
separately as if it was independent from many other problems. We cannot
solve it just one by one in a piece-meal manner of reform policy or within a
framework of business as usual scenario of the future. The Gordian Knot is a
strongly knitted set of long lasting problems with a wide scope of impacts
and a great diversity of impacts that increase threats and risks but if
solved by an Alexandrian Solution those problems may allow for reaching a turning point in a trajectory of spontaneous changes.
The long lasting nature of the problem that we name a Gordian Knot may be
produced in two distinctive ways. First of all it seems to be the deeply rooted
legacy of the past, an outcome of the history of long duration that leads to
some kind of backwardness, lagging behind or dropping out of the mainstream
of changes in a specific time period within the context of the particular civilization. The second route that leads to the Gordian Knot are delays in providing solutions by power centers or low efficiency in efforts to guide changes. 11
The most important source of cognitive errors here is hidden in the intersection of the long distance past and very fast speed of changes in the present
time that may hide the long distance future in searching for strategic solutions.
When we say that a Gordian Knot is capable of producing a wide scope of
impacts we mean that it may :
Strongly influence one and single but very large space (for example the
global economic growth or the global security) in the global system or
Significantly influence many different spaces (such as economics, natural
environment, social and cultural) and
In effect high quantity of people can be directly or indirectly affected by
its occurrence.
The Gordian Knot is a challenge to many layers of power centers of the globe
11
This second route alone was taken into consideration by K. Rybiński et al in the book quoted above.
152
as it may produce threats, risks, and disasters. On the other hand it is an opportunity to find a bold solution and to reach out to the turning point that may
pave the way to a new development and to progress. Our history is perhaps a
byproduct of lost opportunities on many occasions but to a degree it is a
product of our dreams and visionary actions as well. The pessimists put amore
attention to lost opportunities. Optimists believe that clever adaptation, successful regulation, and creative innovation are feasible and can be achieved by
well designed strategy and well concerted action of people.
Gordian Knots may be of high and low sharpness and of high and low predictability. As they are the long lasting problems they are quite easily predictable and highly visible but sometimes are not perceived by power holders
as Gordian Knots and are still neglected and postponed by the power centers.
The biggest challenge to our intellectual capacity is a question how to distinguish a Gordian Knot from an ordinary bundles of troubles that occur so frequently in the worlds where we live. The world of the high speed can bring
any situation to its extremes. This is so visible nowadays and it can be a
result of problems that reinforce each other. As in the philosophy of Mani the
distinction between two polarized points of reference may persist without any
reasonable hope for finding a synthesis that was posited by the old dialectics
of Hegel and his idea of Aufhebung.12 It could be that due to the Gordian
Knots, the well known binary and contradictory oppositions tend to be
more and more polarized and coexist in the long run. Therefore poor and
rich, weak and strong, slow moving and fast moving, creative and totally uneducated are becoming even more unequal than they used to be some time
ago. This particular tendency I propose to call a Polarization Effect.13 The
asymmetric relations and the high speed of interactions are conducive to the
emergence and persistence of Gordian Knots.
The asymmetry is manifold and it may be seen almost everywhere ; asymmetric are forces and resources, skills and identities, causes and reasons, causes
12
13
Jean Baudrillard distinguished rightly between the Manichean duality that tends to the
extremes and the dialectics of thesis-antithesis that may eventually dissolve into a new synthesis that can restore a better harmony after a long period of contradictions.
Nassim N.Taleb invented an inspiring binary model of Extremistan and Mediocristan, and
elaborated it in his books - Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and
in the Markets, Penguin Books:London,2004 and The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable, Penguin Books: London,2007.
153
and outcomes, sizes and volumes, spaces and speeds, time of duration and
time horizon of our strategies. Thus reality of asymmetric world is messy,
chaotic, and disorganized. What is worse , many asymmetries are multilayered and cross-cutting as the density of networks increases and new, more
sophisticated hierarchies are manufactured ( such as a digital divide based on
unequal access to broadband internet) in a supposedly flat and single world of
multimedia and telecommunication.
For the general definition of the Gordian Knot it is essential to understand the
difference between the problems generated by hierarchies and asymmetric
relations and problems that emerge from the horizontal networks of fast
flows and of great number of nods. Both vertical and horizontal structures
can be conducive to Gordian Knots but it happens in a different manner. In
hierarchical world the problem is unresolved for a long time due to the vested
interests of the ruling elites. In a horizontal structure of the network society it
is easier to identify the Gordian Knot and easier to exert some pressure on
decision makers in order to persuade them to search for adequate solutions. In
conclusion we may say that:
1. The aspect of fast speed is more relevant for understanding the mode of
behavior of the horizontal networks,
2. The aspect of long duration is more painful in vertical, very slim hierarchies that are still with us in many walks of life in many regions of the
globe.
The question of resistance to change really matters. In slim hierarchy resistance may be stronger on the top of it, but in a horizontal community the resistance is more widely distributed and in many cases will be stronger in the
lower strata of the community.
Associative and hierarchical relationships of parts of intelligent systems were
distinguished by Ben Goertzel and successfully used in many of his studies on
cognition and mathematical modeling. 14 Associative relationships can be
represented as a „ A and B have often occurred together” and we can study it
14
Ben Goertzel, From Complexity to Creativity, Plenum Press: New York 1997 and by him as
well Chaotic Logic: Language, Thought and Reality from the Perspective of Complex Systems Science, Plenum Press; New York 1994.
154
by statistical correlations. More relevant are hierarchical relationships that are
represented in the following forms:
A is a special case of B,
A precedes B ,
A is a part of B,
A is higher positioned than B,
A occupies larger space than B.15
Our hypothesis is that the Gordian Knots are to a greater extent produced
and reproduced in the long run by tensions and contradictions arising
from multiple hierarchical relationships than by associative relationships.
But on the other hand very long or almost permanent occurring together of
two or more objects ( i.e. institutions, norms, values, traditions, religious beliefs, habits etc) may suggest that is not a coincidence and that a long lasting
set of problems can be explained by this permanent interwoven set of facts.
Anyhow the interplay of associative and hierarchical relationships is a proper
focus for the study of Gordian Knots in a specific time frame and space.
Identities of actors ( both inherited, ascribed to them and freely constructed )
are very important for identification of Gordian Knots. Who are the principal
players in a specific arena, how they define themselves, where they locate the
game-changers and the pace-setters in a specific space under study – this is a
set a fundamental questions for a study of the dynamics of the Gordian Knots.
It is good to know who are those who are the most affected or can be the most
affected in the future by unresolved Gordian Knots, where they are located in
geographic and social space, and how they define their identity. The possible
losers and victims of the growing Gordian Knot are more important than potential winners who usually belong to a privileged minority.
Both in hierarchical and horizontal systems of interactions it is important to
pay due attention to the identities of elites and differentiated identities of
15
Very relevant to this part of our study is well known textbook by Holger Kantz, Thomas
Schreiber, Nonlinear Time Series Analysis, 2nd edition, Cambridge University Press 2003.
The paradigm of deterministic chaos and nonlinear dynamics are presented here as useful
intellectual tools of modeling and forecasting and chaos control.
155
large masses of population that are or could be affected by multiple impacts
of the Gordian Knot. The price to be paid is always differentiated and the
magnitude of this difference shall be well understood if we want to contribute
to a better understanding of the specific Gordian Knot.
Some special forms of Gordian Knots are the Kondratieff’s waves and cyclic
dynamics of the economic growth and wars, vicious circles of circular causation in human development16, the cases of long lasting backwardness and selfreproducing marginalization, cases of mis-development, situations of interlocked imbalances and disparities, cases of fast growing asymmetric relations
in all spaces ranging from military through economic to culture potentials.
The long lasting backwardness or underdevelopment results from vicious circles and/or Gordian Knots.
Liberal democracy as a political structure is better prepared to deal with the
crises and emergencies than with the long lasting, chronic or inherited problems of long duration. It is one of functional paradoxes of liberal democracy
that is not efficient in dealings with a long time frames/perspectives.
TIME-FRAMES AND GORDIAN KNOTS
The Gordian Knots are in some respect similar to the Black Swans of Nassim
N.Taleb. Fortunately such a variety of problems is quite rare as the Black
Swans are rare. So rarity makes Knots and Black Swans similar. Another
similarity is rooted in the capacity of generating a wide scope of impacts by
both Gordian Knots and Black Swans. But what makes them different is more
important – Gordian Knots are not highly improbable. Their probability is
pretty high and obviously higher in the present conditions that it was the case
few centuries ago due to the increased speed of changes and to the global impact of many changes.
In order to be able to make history by innovative strategies one shall
never hide from history. While facing a history of long duration, it is requested a much deeper interpretation of events than in any other less sophisti16
The vicious circles were very frequently used by Gunnar Myrdal in his explanations of
poverty and social inequality.
156
cated effort to understand a very recent past. A historian, a sociologist, and a
strategy maker must think more systematically and deeper in time and wider
in space than a reporter or a political commentator of the recent past, for
whom something that has happened today and should be understood tomorrow.
Distant past ?
PRESENT
Recent past
MOMENT
Distant future ?
Near future
Linear notion of time is based on the mode of thinking presented above. But
this notion is questioned by a faster than ever flow of energy and of information. This process of acceleration with ups and downs in speed brings us
closer to the reality of globe spanning synchronicity, to a reality of one real
time where past does not matter and future is hardly seen clearly.
If it would be actually true it would be much harder to believe that a remote
past really matters and that a history of long duration is of any use in our strategy making. But a sad paradox is that the faster we move into the future, the
bigger seems to be the significance of forgotten narratives about the long distance past and about the history of long duration . Long distance past takes a
revenge if it is neglected and forgotten – it still makes an impact even if power
centers may not see how powerful the long distance past actually is. George
Santayana was obviously right when he said that those who do not remember
the past are doomed to repeat it. The orientation of psychological recentivism
(orientation on the present time alone) is closed for the future challenges and
leads to a passive mode of ad hoc reactions to immediate risks or already present threats. It presupposes the stagnation of normative and value systems
which shape preferences and motivations.17 It is non-conducive to regulatory
or innovative strategies and is hardly sufficient for adaptive strategies in the
times of very fast speeds.
Intuitive results achieved by policy makers of a short time perspective may
17
Andrzej Sepkowski, Wizje i projekty przyszłości a nadzieje zbiorowe, (w) Przyszłość i
polityka: Nadzieje i strachy zbiorowe przełomu tysiącleci, E.Ponczek, A.Sepkowski eds.,
Wydawnictwo Adm Marszałek : Toruń 2008, p.65-86.
157
look pleasant because it is easy to grasp what is close to a common sense.
Counter-intuitive ideas or theories may look unpleasant because it is disturbing to believe in something that is not in harmony with conventional wisdom.
Many innovative strategies are based on counter-intuitive knowledge and visions that go beyond the common sense of short runners.
Let’s start from the idea that our systems where we will search for Gordian
Knots are intelligent and complex. We will study regions, states, continents,
and global system ,as well. The intelligent system have a lot of significant
properties that we will take into account.
Such a system :
Can achieve complex goals in complex environments ( capability of strategy making is highly differentiated)
Can remember experiences
Can learn from experiences both from successes and failures
Can be interconnected, interdependent and interactive in relations with its
environments18
Can adapt, regulate, and innovate in its relations with an environment.
Can self-organize its structure by reintegration of its parts
Can emerge in accordance with its own preferences.
Can forecast the future
Can move in some spaces
Can survive crises and disturbances and keep its integrity.
Can reproduce its distinctiveness and protect its autonomy against some
other systems.
Below is a simple model of relevant variables which contribute to the emergence of a long lasting problem and which allow to grasp what kind of data
we should have to be able to explain the mechanism of reproduction of the
18
158
Here some definitions may help. Interconnectivity takes place when exchange of signals is
possible but not always carried out.. Interdependence is a situation where the survival and
/or identity of systems is based on their mutual interconnectivity regardless of interactions
between them. Interactivity is a property of intelligent dynamical systems which are able to
act (conflict or cooperation?) while taking into consideration the other systems or/and the
spontaneous dynamics of their environments. Communication between the systems is one
of the basic forms of their interactions.
long lasting problem.
ENDURING FACTORS
SUSTAINABILITY
due to the inner nature
due to its own efforts
and external support and strength
LONG LASTING
PROBLEMS TO BE SOLVED
LONG TERM MEMORY
LONG TERM PERSPECTIVE
Mostly linear causality
Mostly non-linear causality
Looking back to the past
Looking forward into the future
Time-frame is a notion based on the assumption that there can be a long distance past and a long distance future or a short time memory and a short time
perspective into the future combined . These combinations are the mind sets in
the intelligence of the system. Time frame as we see it consists of both
memories and perspectives, of abilities to look back and to look forward.
The memory of legacies means that the system takes seriously a long distance
past ( for example a history of long duration). If the perspective of the future is
viewed in the long time periods (such as 15 years plus in strategic planning)
we may say that a system is future oriented. But there are time frames that are
based on both short time memory of the past ( forgetting or neglecting the
knowledge about a long distance past ) and on short time perspective in efforts
of forecasting and strategy making. In the second case ( the short time frame )
there will be almost no strategies and ad hoc adjustments and improvisation
will be a dominant mode of dealing with uncertainty and risk. For a long time
of pre-modern and even modern part of human history the peoples and their
leaders lived in a short time frame and were hardly able to control the developments by strategic thinking and action19.
19
On the long time statistics and its invisible power of small increases in the long time periods compare Grzegorz Kołodko, Wędrujący świat, Wydawnictwo Pruszyński:Warszawa,
2008.
159
The longer the time frame (both the ability to look back and the ability to
look forward), the greater are the opportunities for innovative strategies
that can create something new that goes beyond the ongoing pressures of
spontaneous dynamics of the environments. The long time memory and
perspective into the future is conducive to strategic imagination in policy
planning. It helps to keep in mind both the memory of the long distance legacies and to learn from this knowledge and to look into the long distance future,
to forecast, and to invent alternative futures in the world of non-linear relations. In a sense it can allow to kill Black Swans before they appear on the
horizon or to prevent them from producing/aggravating the Gordian Knots in
human development.
The longer we can trace back our experience and the longer is our perspective into the future the more we can limit the unpredictability of accelerating changes. On the other hand a short time frame increases the
risk of the uncertain and highly improbable events that would take us by
surprise and diminish the efficiency of strategic thinking.
HIGH SPEED OF CHANGES AND INCREASING ASYMMETRY AS
THE MOST POWERFUL FACTORS
High speed and the global magnitude of impact are the two most relevant factors that we should take into consideration while searching for a relevant definition of Gordian Knots. On the other hand it is important not to forget that
the Gordian Knot is a set of the long lasting problems, usually inherited from a
distant past and somehow (how ?) persisted until today. There is a kind of a
contradiction that is built into the very idea of the Gordian Knot : on the one
hand it is sustained by the legacies of history for a long time period but on the
other hand it is fostered and aggravated by the very fast speed of short term
changes of present time. Long duration and high speed are put together to
create a dangerous momentum to the Gordian Knots of our time.
The Gordian Knot can be presented as a set of cross-cutting and overlapping
causal loops and non-causal interconnections/interdependencies. The Gordian
Knots tend to be rooted into the causality of linear logic and non linear logic,
as well.
In the case of non-linear relations there is a high dependence on initial condi160
tions which was discovered by Edward Lorenz in the 60’ (he put in motion a
famous phrase about the Butterfly Effect). The Butterfly Effect is based on
the asymmetry of causes and outcomes: in this case the small cause (as small
as the butterfly) is contributing to the emergence of a huge and eventually
dangerous effect. The complexity and network effects in a chaotic process is
only one of many ways how the Gordian Knots are created, developed or reproduced. In this perspective they just occur without being made by anyone in
a manner where most important forces are unrevealed, undisclosed, and hidden in the foggy and mysterious nature of spontaneous dynamics. On the other
hand the longitudinal character of Gordian Knots shows that they emerge from
a long way of deterministic causal loops of longue duree. Legacies do not
jump on us out of the blue but these old factors shape our culture (and strategic culture of course ) by a very long time with a great deal of linearity in
causal determinism. These are quite hard factors even if they look as a millions of drops of water which after a 100 000 years break the rock into small
pieces. Water is soft and a drop of water is a very small but a long duration
makes it a very strong determining factor with a tremendous potential of destruction and nobody can claim that it is highly improbable event in social
space. This geological metaphor helps us to understand the hard power of
soft factors which operate in the very long time span.
There is the other side of the asymmetry of cause and effect when a big cause
produces a very small impact. This asymmetric causation I would call by
analogy to the Butterfly Effect. I would suggest we can name a Mountain
Effect as we all remember the saying about the mountain which gave birth to
a tiny and helpless mice. The Mountain Effect is at a first glance less troublemaking than its counterpart - the Butterfly Effect. After more careful consideration however we feel it is very dangerous when we apply a huge potential
and that action brings us a very little or negligible outcome. This kind of
asymmetric inefficiency can be produced both by nature and by human interactions. What I call here a Mountain Effect is a challenge to strategy makers
as it increases the risk of waste, and of misuse of all resources. Anything that
tends to be or to go out of proportions is a challenge that we should keep under control if we want to be successful in strategy making.
161
MODEL OF CHAOS GENERATION
Initial conditions
(first pusher)
Expotential change
Acceleration of speed in
one direction
Assymetric Relations:
Bytterfly or Mountain
Effect
Tendency to extremes
Randomness
Edge of chaos
Complexity
=
Chaos
Is higher when dependenci of the system on
the environmental forces and on initial
conditions is higher
Complex system = NOT INDEPENDENT, LOW LEVEL OF AUTONOMY
The dynamical and intelligent systems which can achieve complex goals in
complex environments can be divided into four classes. The matrix below is
based on two criteria : 1.Low and high speed moving systems, and 2. Shorttime and long-time frame systems. Distinctive properties of intelligent systems can be classified in the following manner:
High Speed Moving System
Low Speed Moving System
Long –time frame
POSTMODERN
MODERN TYPE II
Short-time frame
MODERN TYPE I
PREMODERN
These two criteria have been unjustly neglected by all scholars of modeling
and methodology of intelligent complexity. The addition of this perspective
will allow to show that theory of intelligent systems can be related to different
levels of development that is presented here in terms of modernization theory.
The Gordian Knots can emerge in any stage of human development. They
can start growing in a stage of low speed and short time frame. Late medieval
roots of backwardness of some regions is a good example of this. Regions that
were late in industrial revolution or have never experienced such a period of
fast increasing productivity tend to lag behind for along time and have a great
difficulty in catching up with the leading regions which were and are the pacesetters for all.
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The long duration of certain bundles of problems despite manifold changes
around them is a mystery: why some properties of reality persist when many
others disappear? We can wonder what makes some religions attractive after
many thousand years and many other beliefs evaporate after 50 years or less.
We should try to understand how a long duration history or a living history is
sustained. By doing so our forecasts can be deeper rooted in the past and perhaps less fallible in the long run. Better understanding of the long distance
past is one of the most fundamental sources of successful forecasting of the
future and strategy making for the better future.
The distance between pace-setters and the laggards can be measured. As we
do it quite well we should still bear in mind that sometimes it is impossible to
close gaps that were made 300 years ago and proved to be enduring for such
a long time. The deeper the roots of disparity or inequality in a timescale, the
harder it is to close gaps and to find some equitable solutions.
On the other hand there is a dangerous dynamics of the very fast speed of
events at present. Some of the most fundamental results of the speedy time of
the 21st century are presented below (High Speed World).
HIGH SPEED WORLD: DIVIDE BETWEEN PACESETTERS AND LAGGARDS
Bounded rationality:
explanation, understanding, forecasting
Tsunami Effect: limits to strategy
Erosion of trust: culture of
mistrust Impressions make
images & assessments
Instability of institutions: vulnerability to
rapid challenges
Complexity
of systems
INCREASING
SPEED OF
SPONTANEOUS
CHANGES
Destruction of normative order
Short –lasting commitments
Low efficiency, safety, sustainability , quality of
solutions: temporary & low-quality solutions
replace solutions of long durability
HOW THE SPEED MATTERS?
Misguided policy: conflict of
values and goals, insufficient
strategy & coordination, lock-in
effects, too slow adaptation
etc
Probability of disasters &
catastrophes: high risk
environment
Rare and highly improbable events : Black Swans,
randomness, chaos
Asymmetry of relations : tendency to
extreme situations by unpredictable,
and exponential multiplication of
effects & a lot of spill-over effects.
Butterfly Effect or Mountain Effect:
impacts out of proportion to causes.
Non-linear causality & post-linear,
interactive notion of time of fast feed
backs
Haste makes waste. E = mc²
Velocity( c) matters much more than mass (m) in energy generation what is a backbone of any strategy.
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Asymmetric reality is fostered and widened by high speed. Polarization
Effects, fragmentation, disproportions, disparities, diversity, inequality, and
differentiation grow faster and become more acute despite the higher transferability of resources and opportunities, higher liquidity of assets, higher
flexibility in using assets and skills.
Many asymmetries tend to their extremes and may become irreducible.
The new hierarchies may dominate over the technological opportunities to
provide for a more horizontal network society based on fair and easy access to
many networks. Exclusion of large marginalized groups is hard to alleviate in
a world of asymmetries. Asymmetry could be of: threats, identities, power,
resources, causes and effects, emotions ,cultural legacies of the past, problems
to be solved, access to capital and technology, and of anything that matters in
strategic thinking. The Gordian Knots are not so painful in all regions of the
global system: the less assets and resources are available, the more deeply
rooted can be Gordian Knots into the history of long duration. The history of failures and defeats matters more than the history of successes and
victories. The society of losers and laggards will suffer more from Gordian
Knots than the successful society of smooth progress. The principle of Saint
Mathew (to those we have a lot will be given more) may not allow for a fair
redistribution of both public and private goods.
Asymmetry in social relations can be positive if it allows to do more with less
energy and other resources in the long time span. Buckminster Fuller coined
the word „ephemeralization” in order to name such opportunities. He believed that technological advances will result in ever growing prosperity for an
ever growing population despite finite natural and human resources20.
The synergy effect is another idea about positive asymmetry21. Synergy effect
occurs when overall output of the system under study cannot be foreseen by a
simple sum of the output of each part of this system. It shows that we can get
a surplus energy or any other final product that goes beyond simple addition
of small energies. The positive asymmetry of synergy refers to the autonomy
20
21
R. Buckminster Fuller, Nine Chains to the Moon, Anchor Books 1938
The development of synergetics as a trans-disciplinary science has been made possible due
to intellectual achievements of many scholars and first of all of Herman Haken, Buckminster Fuller, Jay Forrester, and Donella Meadows.
164
of the system. The higher the level of autonomy of the system of the dynamics of its parts and its environments, the higher is the self-organizing capacity of the system. Macroscopic order can emerge due to synergy that can reintegrate diverse microscopic forces/positions into an order of priorities relevant
for survival of the larger whole. This particular capacity is based on the ability
to achieve a macroscopic order, stability, and growth of the system independently of the microscopic interactions of its sub-systems. Diversity and tensions of parts is not fully transferred on the entire system due to its autonomy.
Whole is more than the sum total of its parts and sometimes it may go out of
proportion .
This mechanism allows for synergetic stability and growth, and for synergetic
accumulation of power and of its efficient use. Multiplication ability really
matters in the world of high speed. Positive asymmetry can contribute to at
least five important improvements:
1. Macroscopic order – it can be restored independently of microscopic disasters and threats stemming from spontaneous interactions of environments and of the parts of the system.
2. Speed – it can be increased as the system can move faster than it would be
allowed to do it by a sum total energy of its parts.
3. More equal distribution of resources – synergy allows for alleviation of
disparities and some disproportions and can lead to a more equitable burden sharing.
4. Predictability – it may increase due to synergy in analytical and forecasting activities of experts and decision makers.
5. Culture of trust and accountability – it can be fostered by synergetic effects of smart cooperation that produces better results and gives more incentives to further cooperation.
Autonomy of the system is a relative notion that can be presented on scale in
the following manner:
Dependent
Semi-dependent
Interdependent
Independent
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
The highest level of independence of the system of its own sub-systems, of its
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environments, of some forms of spontaneous dynamism, and of microscopic
conflicts between diverse sub-systems we call the autonomy. The autonomy is
never full or unlimited but a proper level of it is conducive to self-organization
capacity of the system and to a synergetic actions against Gordian Knots. In
order to be able to a bold stroke of the sword as in Alexandrian Solution ,one
must be autonomous to a degree that allows for a strategic choice and brave,
decisive action. We will revert to a link between autonomy and Alexandrian
Solution in the last section of this paper while discussing the properties of
Alexandrian Solutions.
The following model shows some basic components of the Gordian Knot.
KEY COMPONENTS OF THE GORDIAN KNOT
Multiple problems emerging in the same time
Long duration history, legacy of the
past
Long lasting, deeply rooted problems
(and neglected, postponed or mishandled for a long time, forgotten, unsolved…)
Mutual reinforcement :
Problems reinforce each
other
Risk magnifying:
These problems increase the risk
that we face NOW and in the FUTURE
The Gordian
Knot
Inteconnected, ovelapping,
cross-cutting set or kundle
of problems
Aggravation of problems by
a very fast speed of chan ges
at present
Beyond the reach of the oridinary piece-meal strategy.
Problems cannot be solved by one, but all together
ALL OR NOTHING OPTION
ALEXANDRIAN SOLUTION
Compression of space Cyberspace replaces the geometry of three dimensions. Geographical distance matters less than ever due to tele-contacts between the people who may easy get „in touch” without getting really close,
because they can make it from a long distance. The lonely crowd in emotionally empty spaces can be manipulated by the elite of power and of knowledge.
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Plenty of cross-cutting spaces without clear boundaries makes most of people
vulnerable to manipulation. And this again may increase the speed of increasing asymmetries in all walks of life. Important is that many of these asymmetries were born a long time ago and are the legacy of the past which is a stumbling block on the road into a better future. All reformers know how painful it
could be when we hit onto the hard piece of the past while heading into a
brighter future.
One time reality. Everything can be seen or known in the real time with minor delays. One time reality is the world where the global time is more relevant than local times and where short-time spans dominate over the long-time
perspectives. In many areas we can be approaching the absolute speed – the
speed of light - by absolute velocity of electronic data on the information superhighways of internet and multimedia. Short-time profitability, faster pace
of capital accumulation, and commoditization of everything are the fundamental features of capitalist market economy. And it facilitates the emergence of
one time reality and the destruction of the long time frames that seem to be
indispensable to strategic thinking. The more we feel compressed to the present one real time the more should try to keep a long time frame, ang to look
sharply back to long distance past and to the long distance future. The broadening and widening of our time frames is the only way out from the trap of
living in a one time reality.
Weak Signals matter more than strong ones due to the higher speed of
changes but are harder to observe and to grasp. That is why many of those
Weak Signals can be overlooked. The risk of undesirable surprises and exceptional events is higher in many spaces where we live. We are taken by surprise
quite frequently in spite of the fast flow of information and a better knowledge. This context makes our systems more vulnerable to Gordian Knots.
Cognitive Challenges. In the reality of asymmetry there is higher risk of fundamental loss of orientation by human beings . New cognitive disturbances
foster higher risk of misperception and wrong judgment. Symbols without
meanings and foggy meanings make it harder to create a meaningful global
culture with distinctive common values.
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5. WHY BLACK SWANS ARE NOT SO DANGEROUS?
In this section I have to take a serious look at the idea of Black Swans and
some hidden cultural assumptions on which it was based. As I said the Gordian Knot is not an unpredictable and highly improbable Black Swan. Its
very nature is different but a Black Swan in a society of high speed may foster
and enhance and aggravate many of Gordian Knots of our time and even may
take them forward into the future. It is the reason why I have to discuss here
the skeptical approach of N. N.Taleb.
I see in the history many Gordian Knots that were not solved in a proper way
and I can see quite a number of them still with us today . The long list of 15
global challenges identified by The Millennium Project of the United Nations
is perhaps a list of Gordian Knots of great urgency: sustainable development
for all, clean water without conflict, balance of population growth and resources, democratization that is genuine, policy making more sensitive to
global long time perspective, information and telecommunication technologies
available for all, inequality between the poor and the rich, threat of new and
reemerging diseases, institution change and decision making capacity of people, ethnic conflicts, terrorism, and the use of weapons of mass destruction as
main challenges to human security, changing status of women and improvement of human condition, transnational organized crime as global threat,
growing energy demands, scientific and technological progress and its contribution to the quality of living, incorporation of moral considerations into
global decisions. All these Gordian Knots are challenging and worthy of an
effort to make them less dangerous to us.
Nassim Nicholas Taleb made a strong effort to show how randomness grows
in the Extremistan of post-modernity and how it undercuts human capability
to predict and to make wise strategies for the future. This pessimistic and
strongly non-deterministic approach might be dangerous to all strategic studies if we take it really seriously. Anything can/may happen - N. Taleb tells us .
Anything goes because there are very few normative constraints and anything
can happen because we are constrained by our low capability of prediction and
by the very nature of random realities in which we have to live today and to a
greater extent tomorrow. Chance is rare, he says, but in the same time he
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claims it is more frequent than a regular process. Because we know very little
we should suspend our judgment and take a „wait-and-see” disorganized road
to an unknown future.22
He is right in making a clever distinction between Mediocristan and Extremistan in his book. I share many of his assessments about Extremistan and it is
presented in section 2 of this paper which deals with a spontaneous dynamism
of reality. I admire his sharp criticism of businessmen’s behaviors on the financial markets and I share his view that many investors have no knowledge
about randomness and only due to a good chance they may become rich or go
bankrupt. However some critical remarks about Taleb’s theory are needed in
order to put it into a proper perspective.
RARITY ARGUMENT. NON SEQUITUR ERROR First of all, he defines a
Black Swan as a rare event that seems improbable but occurs anyhow. Rarity
is a basic characteristic of this notion. He agrees that most – perhaps 99,9 % of events are White Swans that means regular events of the usual probability.
If he is right, and I believe he is in this regard, so why he tries to persuade us
to suspend our judgment and to refrain from predictions at all because he assumes we must fail in most cases of forecasts. Why is it so that an extremely
low number of events called Black Swans should make our knowledge about a
great multitude of White Swans obsolete and doomed to failure when we use
it for strategies and long term thinking based on some predictions? Why our
knowledge about 99.9 % of the past and present events should be dismissed
because something happens extremely rarely with a very low probability,
something beyond our knowledge and imagination? I do not see any compelling reason in his argument that it is wise to give up forecasting because there
are Black Swans and because many forecasts were wrong or not good enough.
It is good to know that there are Black Swans and that they can bring a lot of
unpredictable consequences. This is mission accomplished by Taleb as he
convinced his readers that what is rare should not be neglected because it can
be very powerful in our Extremistan. It does not follow from this truth that we
should disregard White Swans and throw away our knowledge about them.
We are warned about the hidden risk caused by Black Swans – that’s all right
22
Nassim Nicholas Taleb, The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable, Penguin
Books: London 2007.
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and we can be thankful for this, but his conclusions jump above the proofs that
he provided.
SELF-DEFEAT ARGUMENT. The second point I want to raise here is that
his theory is in a sense self-defeating. He teaches us about the Black Swans
and makes us more aware of the ambiguity of this kind of risk. Some other
experts do the same (chaos theory, nonlinear causality, non-causal explanations, emergency theory, asymmetrical relations, Butterfly Effect and Mountain Effect, Cascade Effect etc). The more we know about the nature of the
Black Swans and about the positive and negative surprises, the less we are
vulnerable to any surprise that may come in the future. The very knowledge
about Black Swans is a killing device that helps to make them less dangerous
and less harmful. Why should we stop predicting and just take advantages of
the uncertainty brought by Black Swans when we can make some effort to
prevent the darkest of the Black Swans from appearance? By knowing more
about the Black Swans we are able to recognize them better and faster, to use
them as an opportunity (as rightly advised by Taleb) and even to predict some
of them before they arrive where we do not want them, if they are negative
from our perspective. If something extremely rare becomes more frequent (as
Taleb suggested in his description of Extremistan), it may be better controlled
by sophisticated strategy after some time as we can learn from experience and
we can be better acquainted with Black Swans.
POSITIVE SURPRISE ARGUMENT. Nassim Taleb has distinguished between positive and negative Black Swans.23 His point is that the bad surprises
occur much faster than good surprises because it is „…much easier and much
faster to destroy than to build” 24 What does it mean for us when we want to
deal with highly improbable events? Not all Black Swans are bad or dangerous. There are positive surprises, as well. Taleb encourages us to use rare
events as opportunities in both cases when these events seem to be positive
and negative. By this distinction of positive and negative surprises Taleb contradicts his own general definition of Black Swans as he claims that all of
them are characterized by a low predictability and a large impact. Is the positive Black Swan that comes to us in the longer time than a negative one, more
23
24
170
N.N.Taleb, op.cit, p.45
N.N.Taleb, op.cit., p.45
predictable due to the longer time of its emergence or not? At first glance
something that comes slowly (positive surprises come slower than negative asserts N.Taleb) should be more predictable than something that comes out of
the blue. If this is so, we could expect that a general definition of the Black
Swan would take this into consideration.
Taleb distinguishes between two varieties of rare events: „..the narrated Black
Swans, those that are present in the current discourse and that you are likely to
hear about on television, and those nobody talks about, since they escape
models-those that you would feel ashamed discussing in public because they
do not seem plausible”.25 Are narrated Black Swans unpredictable to the same
degree as the second variety of rare events? And if not, can we assume such a
high level of non predictability as Taleb presupposes in his books?
HIGHLY IMPROBABLE EVENTS AND UNPREDICTABILITY. Black
Swans by definition are highly improbable events and Taleb concludes that
those events should be unpredictable or almost unpredictable. This is again a
non-sequitur logical error. If you say or make a judgment that event Alpha is
highly improbable you have based your judgment on some kind of reasoning.
This reasoning is …an effort to predict event Alpha. If you make an effort of
prediction – openly or in a hidden manner – and you think you are still in
limbo you may draw a conclusion that this event is so rare and its probability
is so low that you have a good reason to think it is improbable or highly improbable. In order to make a judgment about improbability you have to try
first to predict the event under consideration. If I am right Black Swans are
hard cases in forecasting and we should be aware of it but this does not mean
they are totally unpredictable and we should give up any intellectual enterprise
of prediction.
LEVANTINE PERSPECTIVE OR PARS PRO TOTO ERROR. Many distinctive properties of Extremistan are well defined by Taleb and in some respects it seems to be similar to our understanding of spontaneous dynamism
(see section 2 of this paper). He is right that in Extremistan the economy is not
based on the notion of equilibrium because imbalance is more frequent than
balance and big asymmetry is more frequent than normal distribution as pre25
N.N.Taleb, op.cit.,p.77
171
dicted by a Bell Curve of Gauss. Equilibrium models and the statistical idea of
an average quantity build an artificial sense of certainty regardless of many
risks. In Extremistan errors are more widespread than patterns, exceptions
dominate the norm, irregularity is more normal than any regularity, and inequality is more visible than equality.
His sharp criticism of the very idea of order and predictability in human behavior and his repudiation of statistical tools of study and of the symmetrical
causality seems to be colored by some traits of his cultural background, his
experience of living in the Levantine culture of the South-East Mediterranean.
He agreed himself with the supposition of his friend that Taleb „..was able to
seek luck and separate cause and effect because of his Eastern Orthodox
Mediterranean heritage”.26 He admits in many discourses that he can look at
matters from a different angle due to his Greek Orthodox heritage. He replies
to some of his interlocutors with the phrase „…I will offer my usual „ because
I am originally from the Greek Orthodox village Amioun, northern Lebanon”
et cetera”. 27 He is aware of the impact of the distant past of his culture on his
perception of decision making, uncertainty, risk, predictability, of the rare
events and the role of chance in life . He knows that his intellectual masters
whom he likes to read again and again „..are patently substandard, compared
to today’s works; they are largely anecdotal, and full of myths. But I know
this”.28 He is skeptical about the possibility of knowing the past and again he
is right but only within a narrow frame of his own culture. I have met very few
Greeks, even among highly educated , who had a decent, non-mythical knowledge about the history of their country and culture.
This sharp dissociation of cause and effect that leads to low predictability
and to many surprises happens more frequently in the Levantine world
than in Asia or in Western Europe. The specific art of cheating and being
smart is very widespread in this part of the globe. It is very good among the
Greeks when a person is perceived as „mangas”. This a word in Greek to call
a shrewd crook who is smart enough to cheat successfully and make a lot of
profit by doing nothing more but cheating. It is nothing wrong to be a liar – in
26
27
28
172
N. N. Taleb, op.cit.,p.63
N.N.Taleb,op.cit.,65.
N.N.Taleb,op.cit.,p.198.
this culture of clever guys who do not like to work and like to live well. It is
wrong to be exposed as guilty when something terrible has been done, but it is
not wrong to do it, if you may go unpunished. In the Levantine cultures it is
hard to believe what the people say and even harder to trust anybody as breaking promises is a norm and not an exception to a norm of local morals.29
Levantine cultures shape the personality types that do not think in the long
time frame. They live at present and only today matters. Widespread habit of
living for today puts a limit on the forecasting ability. Imagination on the long
time future is very rare. I am tempted to say that a future oriented personality
in the Levantine world is as rare as the Black Swan in nature. Goal setting in
life and politics with a long time perspective is perceived as a fairy tale due to
a well known unpredictability of most of the people living there. Some of
them told me –„ Do not expect from me a clear promise because I cannot predict my own behavior in a period of one year. How could I be serious about
my promises when I do not know what I would do and what could happen in a
week from now? Do not expect me to be like a god” . When you mention a
conscience or moral values of decency and honesty you may get a joke in
reply that unfortunately sounds quite seriously „ My conscience is clean for
ever as I never use it” and they smile to you nicely hoping for understanding
and friendship.
Cynical and nihilist approaches to norms are more frequent than a principled
mode of behavior. Everyday life and business activity in the Levantine culture
is perceived very often as an uncontrolled flow of unpredictable disasters.
We remember the final words of Zorba, the Greek from the famous story by
Nikos Kazantzakis „ it was such a beautiful catastrophe”. It looks like a short
synthesis of this way of life. In these few words everything is put in a nutshell.
Many critical remarks about the prevailing mode of behavior of „night danc-
29
I used to serve as an ambassador of Poland to Greece and Cyprus In 1997-2001 and in 2001
-2005 I was a manager of marine insurance company based in Piraeus, but I was travelling
around the Mediterranean region very often. Low level of trust in institutions and in each
other among Greeks is confirmed by many sociological studies of this part of Europe. They
know good reasons why they should not trust each other. Greeks are aware that they are not
worthy of trust in most walks of life. Trustworthy and predictable person in this culture is
rare as a black swan in nature.
173
ers” I heard from educated and more cosmopolitan Greeks. 30 These Levantine
people are able to take a distanced and cold look at their own nation and traditions but it is as rare as the Black Swan. As usual they pretend they are better
than they actually are. I found it quite common practice that they look down
on others in order to hide they well hidden but painful inferiority complex.
Taleb is not critical about all of this heritage and seems to be fascinated with a
story about Onassis, a Greek financial tycoon. His bad organizational habits
and his widely known arrogance and smiling brutality, Taleb regards as a
proof of his conclusion far reaching anti-intellectual conclusion that „information is bad for knowledge” .31 Let me quote some Taleb’s words about Onassis
for us see how messy and disorderly can be a Levantine mode of living and
doing business. Taleb writes on Onassis – „…work in the conventional sense,
was not his thing. He did not even bother to have a desk, let alone an office.
He was not just a dealmaker, which does not necessitate having an office, but
he also ran a shipping empire, which requires day-to-day monitoring. Yet his
main tool was a notebook, which contained all the information he needed.
Onassis spent his life trying to socialize with the rich and famous, and to pursue and collect women. He generally woke up at noon. If he needed legal advice, he would summon his lawyers to some nightclub in Paris at two A.M. He
was said to have an irresistible charm, which helped him take advantage of
people.”32
No wonder that in such a world with heroes like Onassis there must be a lot of
Black Swans. However it is quite obvious that there are plenty of Gordian
Knots in society that good luck is more important than good manners and
good organization. Anyhow I can hardly believe this is a general human way
of behavior and a trend-setting power of postmodern world. I dare to say Nassim Taleb is a very bright representative of his heritage. He makes a „pars pro
toto” logical and sociological error as he takes the Levantine bad habits as an
overall pattern of human behavior. Taleb told us that there are three main reasons why we are blind to Black Swans. Two of them are internal, psychologi30
31
32
A phrase „night dancers „ was used by one of the Greek businessmen who used to be my
frequent interlocutor in Athens. He was looking down upon those whom he named in that
manner.
N.N.Taleb,op.cit.,p.143-144.
N.N.Taleb,op.cit.,p.143.
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cal : Confirmation Bias (we search for data that can confirm our beliefs) and
Narrative Fallacy ( culture-bound tendency to take for granted something that
fits a story to a series of connected or disconnected facts). The third reason is
external – non-linear causation and asymmetry of result and process.
I suggest that he himself was caught by a Confirmation Bias and a Narrative
Fallacy of his own cultural heritage that made him a bit blind to White Swans
that are rare in this culture. Fortunately, we all are not born in poor villages of
Levant and shaped by that culture. So, the Black Swans are less dangerous to
us as we contribute less to their emergence and reproduction as the Levant
people usually do.
If we do not behave according to a rule „cheat as cheat can” there can be more
trust among us. If we do not follow the rule „catch as catch can”, we will be
safer and our world can be threatened less by bad surprises.
All outliers should be studied carefully by experts involved in strategic forecasting. The sense of „being out” comes from a judgment based on some kind
of perception/understanding, about location of an event in a time space. It
could be something out of box in thinking, out of the mainstream in culture
or politics, out of area in strategy of NATO, out of proportion in a study of
asymmetric relations etc. Good lesson from writings of Nassim Taleb should
be quite simple : be aware of outliers not just in long time series of numerical
data, but in qualitative analysis as well. Outliers are important even if they
consist less than 0,0001 per cent of the sample or the population under study.
Even the smallest minority matter if you want to understand what and why
majority does or will be probably doing in the future.
ALEXANDRIAN SOLUTIONS : DISTINCTIVENESS OF THE BOLD CUT
Gordian Knots cannot be solved by step-by-step approach due to their nature
and to the nature of complex intelligent systems and spontaneous dynamics of
their environments. Distinctive properties of The Alexandrian Solution seem
to be the following:
1. As a cut of the sword it must be radical enough to be able to destroy the
long lasting and self-reproducing essence of the Gordian Knot. Radicalism
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does not mean a revolutionary action in most of the cases. However this
solution must be deep going and reaching the hidden roots or underpinning causes of the long lasting bunch of problems. The minimal level
of radicalism is ability of the power center to cut through the fundamental links (at least) that keep a bunch of problems together.33In a sense, the
Gordian Knot must be uprooted by one stroke of sharp sword. The first
cut must cut the deepest and must use as much strength ( intellectual
rather than physical !) as possible. It is a test of sharpness of the strategic
sword that we use.
2. It should be comprehensive enough . That means it must take seriously
into consideration how old and how complicated and intertwined is a specific Gordian Knot. Before cutting, one should know how much power
one must apply and how wide a cut should be to be able to succeed. The
harder the case of the Gordian Knot the more power and determination
would be needed to cut or to dismantle it. Comprehensive solutions are
wide in scope and deep in reaching to causes.
3. It should be based on a pretty high level of the autonomy of the strategy
making center and the system which it commands from the spontaneity
of its environments. High dependence of the strategy maker upon the
spontaneous dynamism of the environment can be an obstacle in designing and implementing the strategy that is both radical and comprehensive.
4. The sword must be well focused on the most critical parts of the Gordian Knot and his roots. Alexandrian strategy presupposes smart prioritizing of fields where the first bold stroke should be applied. Focusing is
equivalent to being sharp and fast enough in getting your thing done. My
karate coach told me once – be elegant in fighting, if you have to fight do
your utmost to make your enemy impotent with one single and precise
stroke of your well trained hand, do not drag him and catch him many
times without a proper effect.
33
Story about three sons of a dying father and his test of strength of his sons is a good example of an Alexandrian solution that can be applied without cutting anything in physical
terms. Only the youngest son dissolved/dismantled a bunch of thin pieces of wood that were
bound together into something hard beyond a human power . The other older and probably
physically stronger sons could not break it without a clever step of dismantling it first. Another good example is a Columbus’ egg that he put straight on the table in a very simple
manner but first he started to think out of box.
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5. It should based on the proper timing – Alexandrian Solution must be
done not too early and not too late, just right on time. Alexandrian Solutions should be applied in the right time to be the most successful. It is
important to remember that good timing in the field of strategy is security and sustainability as the time is money in business.
6. It should be oriented toward positive synergy and to the possibility of
appearance of some Virtuous Circles in human development. Synergy and
self-organization capability is a crucial precondition of positive asymmetry and by using this we can achieve many effects bigger than the forces
we have got as parts of our system.
7. It should be designed in a smart way to be efficient in the long run, it
should be good for much longer time than tomorrow.
8. It should consider global public goods and common needs of all mankind
such as indicated in the Oath of Alexander the Great. Nowadays it is crucial to take into account peace, human security, inclusiveness, nondiscrimination, enhancement of creativity and freedom.34 Values first. The
goals of Alexandrian strategy should follow the values and not the other
way around. Parochial or/and particular interests provide rarely a good
guidance to an Alexandrian strategy of problem solving.
9. The general approach that seems to be the most conducive to Alexandrian
strategy is a concerned optimism, a strong belief that human rationality
and compassion matter a great deal and if put together they can make a
difference. The biggest mistakes are made not by the fools but by the wise
people who underestimated their power to change the world for the better.
An evil survives not due to the actions of bad people but due to inaction of
the good ones. Concerned optimist believes that one should be good and
get done as much as possible.
In order to plan for Alexandrian strategy in any arena of action it is good to
34
Alexander the Great in his oath in the city of Opis in Mesopotamia in 324 B.C. referred to
„prosperity in peace” and equal treatment of Greeks and barbarians . „For me every virtuous
foreigner is a Greek”. In his idea of the „contract of love” all peoples should „…live like
one people in concord and for mutual advancement” and they „..must not consider god like
an autocratic despot, but as a common father of all” .The philosopher Eratosthenis , the director of the library in Alexandria heard these words from Alexander’s comrades that were
ear witnesses.
177
find the weakest part of the Gordian Knot and to hit it at the beginning. The
distinction below shows how can we proceed in search for a weak link of the
target, of a particular, well defined Gordian Knot.
I.
II.
III.
Weak event
weak signal
weak link of the target
Strong event
strong signal
weak link of the target
Accumulated knowledge about the two tracks shown above.
Power/property relationship is an institutional framework where we can
find a weakest link and perhaps the most relevant to the solution we
need.
The biggest methodological trouble here is – how can we know ex ante what
variety of Alexandrian Solution is available. Can we know it only ex post,
after an effort to get rid of the Gordian Knot or can we really find out it before
we do anything?
Some intellectual devices can be of relevance for more successful searching
for Alexandrian Solution. The following recommendation are heuristics that
can foster creative thinking and strategic imagination.
1. Think out of the box – do whatever you can to break from the dominant
mode of thinking, from common sense and conventional wisdom, go beyond any established ideology and religion, go beyond strategic conventions of your time by construction of images, spectacles, and narratives
that prefigure new ways of seeing and living…For example in a comparative study of Triple Mezzogiorno we can think in the box and out of box
as well. In-the-box factors or indicators that are frequently used in regional studies of backwardness and underdevelopment we may find the
following: strong tradition of the village and a high quote of peasants in
the population of the region, very late industrialization and urbanization,
attitudes of conservatism driven by strong religious beliefs, culture of mistrust, low disposable income and high poverty, acute social inequalities,
lack of natural resources. Out of box explanations of backwardness or
blocked modernization can go to a long distance past, to legacies and heritages, to geographic location of the region at the border of the states etc.
2. Search for counter-intuitive ideas and learn from whoever is able to
deliver this variety of inspiration. The source of inspiration is irrelevant.
178
What really matters is what you will do with this inspiration and where do
you go from here and now.
3. Learn as much as you can from all crises because short term crisis may
foster strategy for long term solutions as it was the case with the New
Deal policy of Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the 1930’.
4. Remember that there is no obsolete knowledge. Only non-trivial knowledge that goes beyond banality of narrow minded experts is of greatest value. Cooperation of highly specialized experts with generalists is
more conducive to Alexandrian strategy than a simple addition of
specialists in their distinctive fields. Good communication and trust between specialists and generalists is the best combination that may allow
all of them to participate in a well organized learning and problem solving.35 Narrow specialists alone can hardly produce a synergy as thay tend
to think within the boxes of their distinctive fields of specialized knowledge because they know almost all about very small area. The generalist
knows a lot about methodology of strategy making and problem solving
and has some knowledge about special fields of interests as well. Generalist can help invent something out of box of specialized knowledge and this
can be tested by specialists. A proper mix of specialists and generalists in
a strategy making team is a strategic problem per se. If you need an Alexandrian strategy you must be able to construct decision making
teams in an Alexandrian way. In our times the King is and must be replaced by a team of strategy makers because our world is more complicated and more complex than the world of Alexander the Great.
5. Dream about alternative futures and do not be afraid of thinking unthinkable. Have a courage of hope that we achieve what we want if we
are guided by brave and visionary leaders who share a global responsibility and are ready to beyond parochialism and narrow-minded local perspective. In dreams begins responsibility for the future.
6. Question all traditions and many well established institutions as they
may preserve stumbling blocks to your innovations. Alienate yourself
35
Warren Bennis and Burt Nanus in their famous book distinguished four strategies of leadership :1.attention through vision, 2.meaning through communication, 3.trust through positioning, 4.the deployment of self
( Leaders: Strategies for Taking Charge, 2nd edition, Collins Business, 2007 passim.)
179
from alienations in which you were put by old orders in many walks of
life.
7. Widen the scope of the possible by sharing your ideas with others who
might be willing to help you in searching for Alexandrian strategy. Coalitions of those who might help in finding Alexandrian Solution shall not be
based on ignoring legitimate concerns and knowledge of other partners in
strategy making. Listen carefully to possible and actual opponents in order
to be able to predict the power of resistance to Alexandrian strategy you
are to design and to implement.
8. Define your Gordian Knots as clear and critical as possible and in
order to do it well use all sources of wisdom, knowledge and information.
Remember the long duration history and do not be afraid of the quick flow
of the present time. Look from the perspective of the future scenarios
upon the present time and look far back for underpinning causes of the
Gordian Knot. Time and timing matter much more in a society of fast
speed and cross-cutting vectors of changes. The faster is the time flow,
the faster a strategy maker must be able to be in the right time on the
right place. Speed of information flow is very high due to computers and
innovations in this field but human capacity to process and to use the information are not getting any faster. Humans are not fast enough. Their
minds act as bottlenecks in the process of strategy making. This information overload results in either delay in making decisions, or that we make
wrong decisions. So instead of providing solutions to Georgian Knots we
may produce even tougher knots for the future generations. We should
warn ourselves against this kind of risk everyday as it is possible that
something important has been discovered yesterday that we do not know
and it can have a tremendous impact upon the problems we are trying to
solve.
Bounded rationality models seem to be more relevant and adequate in
searching for Alexandrian strategy than all pure models of rational choice. If
we want to maximize benefits and minimize costs or to achieve our goals with
the best means that we may have, we should assume that it all happens in a
framework of cultural and institutional boundaries that must distort human
capability of pure reasoning.
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The field of bounded rationality in psychological terms is limited by interference of many history related and culture bound factors such as :
1. Knowledge about the Gordian Knot and about the situation in which we
have to act
2. Emotions of strategy makers and other relevant social groups ( hopes,
fears etc)
3. Intentions and motivations
4. Norms and values accepted by reference groups
5. Common sense and intuitive knowledge
6. Interests : public and private, local and global, class, national, regional,
corporative etc
It is wiser to assume that all actors are bounded by their models of rationality
than to believe that there are universal and pure models of pragmatic or economic rationality. Rationalities are constructed by people and strongly colored
by history and culture in which people construct their notions of rational behavior.
REMARKS ABOUT APPLICABILITY
The methodology of Gordian Knots identification and a conceptual framework
of Alexandrian Solutions presented above can be of relevance for strategies
dealing with all levels of the global system , ranging from continents and large
international systems through nation states to regions and local communities.
It seems possible to use it first of all in non-military settings. It better fits to
problems of economy, society, and culture than to a logic of the battle field.
However even the military strategists may find interesting some of the points
made above.
Prof. Wojciech Lamentowicz – University of Business and Administration, Gdynia,
Poland
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Lech W. ZACHER
RECONFIGURATIONS IN THE WORLD SYSTEM –
BETWEEN THE OLD DRIVING FORCES
AND NEW NETWORKS
WHAT DECIDES TRANSFORMATIONS, CONFIGURATIONS AND RECONFIGURATIONS?
Transformations and reconfigurations of political subjects (national, international and global) have continuously emerged throughout history. There is
strict correlation between the changes of these subjects at the national level
and their role and meaning, both regionally and globally. Globalization should
therefore be a reference point, in spite of all its effects and associated criticisms.
It is doubtful whether there are factors and forces (or their „sets”) which can
determine, in an unambiguous way, all these changes. Even if there were, they
would be very difficult to identify and separate. These factors would be both
material and immaterial, some would be constant (such as natural resources
and space) while some would change over time (such as production, GDP, and
population). We believe that the most important factors and their characteristics are as follows:
The ECONOMY – economic system, structure of the economy, structure of
production and services, level of modernity (including applied technologies,
infrastructure, knowledge, skills; size of state capital assets, number and size
of „native-based” transnational corporations, and level of openness);
RESOURCES – natural (e.g. water, coal, oil, gas, uranium, ores, wood, arable
lands, level and size of agriculture, food produced and available.);
POTENTIAL OF DEVELOPMENT – state and advancement of science,
technology, education, organization and management, attitudes (e.g. trust,
activity, entrepreneurship, prospective orientation), and culture (especially the
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cultural ability for transformation and change);
IDEOLOGIES AND RELIGIONS – these are the components of culture,
however, historically, they play a big role (e.g. Christianity, Islam, fascism,
communism, neo-liberalism, alter-globalism);
SCALE – scale (size) of the population, market, consumption (the latter is
often underestimated, but has been found to be increasingly important, as
demonstrated by China and India);
DYNAMIC CONDITIONS – their scale, span, and important changes in time,
however, they exist all the time: wars, armaments, mafias, terrorism, poverty
and hunger, and environmental problems;
POLITICS AND LEADERSHIP – politics is a generating and transforming
force; leadership (ideological, military, political, and civilizational) can be the
result of various circumstances. Politics and leadership have shaped, to some
extent, a new international and global arrangement, a certain world configuration, without necessarily being an intentionally and effectively introduced new
order. New situations or reconfigurations are not easily predictable since there
are factors involved such as various coincidences, chaotics, unforeseeable
reactions, counter-actions, and emergencies.
Therefore, some interpretation of the above forces and factors of change is
needed which includes:
their significance, meaning, influence, effects and consequences; changes
historically can be diverse, however, they are interdependent and subject
to control to a different extent; some of them undergo autonomization and
chaotization as well as various interferences, mutual amplifications or
neutralizations;
they all have internal (local, domestic) and external (regional, international, global) dimensions of growing importance under the conditions of
globalization, open economies, free trade, transfer of technology, knowledge, skills, and patterns;
they have their own „nature” (i.e. developmental features, large scales, irreversibility, unpredictability, heterogeneity, diversity, fuzziness, irregularrity, instability, unrenewableness, and unreliability) and linked with it,
their appropriate rationalities (i.e. sets of criteria for evaluation and cho183
ice) modified by political, economic, strategic, and military decisions;
global rationality should also be added and considered.
Other presentations and interpretations of these forces and factors of change
are also possible. For example, it can be perceived that politics is a perpetrating force, while technology and markets are mechanisms of development, and
culture is its ground or interactive context. In economic terms, it is possible to
discuss them as capital – financial, social, human, intellectual, and cultural.
The above stated forces of transformation and reconfiguration function differently in time and space. Apart from technology, knowledge, skills, and culture, there are important and valid traditional resources, such as oil, gas, water,
and food, and large scales of populations, markets, and consumption. The
compass for economies and research and development (R&D) is invariable,
however, it is with diverse intensity, such as armaments, wars, and arms trade.
Even so, environmental devastation, poverty and fear of terrorism also significantly influence politics and citizen behavior. The changing world political
leadership, due to the relatively diminishing impact of the United States (US),
will not only be a new one, but another different one. A new world, unlike the
new order, is emerging, to a growing extent, under the influence of another
culture.
THE EMERGING NEW WORLD
The emerging new world is the result of many processes. It is happening due
to local and domestic changes together with the shift of leadership from the
US to other centers, mainly Asia. This shift may not be intentional and it can
be argued that state leadership may become dispersed and fuzzy. Furthermore,
there is a growing number of TNCs, which are not US-based. What is new in
the world financial market are large state capitals to are beginning to circulate
and create large financial disequilibria.
Another increasingly meaningful factor which is modifying the current world
leadership is mass non-governmental global social movements: civil, environmental, consumer, anti- and alter-globalistic, and feminist. This new emerging
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world is already called post-America. The old type of policies performed for
decades by the US cannot continue (e.g., maintaining low oil prices, profits
from arms trade, dollar’s inflation, imported cheap labor and brain drain, internal and external deficits, and the domination of technology, skills, knowledge, and management). The US is most likely to overcome various barriers
and crises, but it will not decline totally. However, the reconfiguration of the
emerging new world would limit the American impacts on global governance.
Waves of political power are far from a regularity. They elevate some subjects
higher than others. These waves can be described as follows. The XV century
marked the beginning of globalization after the discoveries of Colubus; large
scale development of science, technology, trade, and capitalism occurred.
Revolutions took place in agriculture and production methods. The worl was
subjected to phenomena such as colonization, imperialism (conquest and expansion), and Westernization. The effects of this wave resulted in the world
domination of the West, the West as a civilization, economy, and culture.
At the end of the XIX century, the next big wave of modernizationand development, and political power elevated the US to the world front. The industrialization of the US made it a superpower in virtually all areas: science and
technology, finances, military spheres, education, organization, management,
entrepreneurship, and external expansion. This was the result of government
policies and the fact that the majority of TNCs were US-based.
In social customs, models of consumption and culture, the processes of
Americanization occurred because of films, TV, the press, tourism, and migrations. The globalization processes, which earlier were connected with Westernization, significantly escalated. The US was innovative, entrepreneurial and
a rich hegemony, not dependent on its short history. This era was science and
technology-based, and future-oriented. It sought space for its mission and
expansion.
It is a rule that technologically and economically dominated countries demand
the abolition of trade and legal barriers and promote their capital flows abroad.
Thus, the US accelerated globalization and the US-based TNCs entangled,
with their tentacles, the entire world. As a result, they could not only influence
capital flows, technology transfer and world trade, but also governments, in185
ternational politics , international organizations and institutions (e.g. the UN,
World Bank, IMF, OECD, NATO, G7). The Americans extended the „dimension” of their rationality up to the global scale. Moreover, globally functioning
TNCs „produced” international managerial and employee elites, who identified themselves more with the interests of companies, than with the interest of
their base or origin.
Globalization has positively changed the world, at least from the point of view
of economic criteria. It was rational to import raw materials from places where
they are cheaper, to exploit cheap labor force (of immigrants, or by FDIs in
poor countries), to sell products and services where markets are large and
more absorptive. The result was the improvement of economic parameters and
the inclusion, at least passive, of countries being outside the forefront. In the
latter, numerous developmental impulses appeared, including transfer of technology, organization, knowledge, skills, patterns of behavior and consumption. Globalization, in spite of developmental dualism and increasing divides
inside the poor economies and their growing distance to world leaders, became an important element of modernization and development. Growth occurred where the cultural ability to adaptation, transformations and change
had emerged or risen. It was the fact, that among the biggest 25 world companies, there were not only American, Chinese and Indian firms, but also Brazilian, Mexican, South-Korean, Taiwanese, Chilean, Malaysian and SouthAfrican.
Thus, a kind of post-colonial de-marginalization of many countries, especially
of large populations and large markets, took place. Other factors leading to the
reconfiguration of the old world and the old order include globalization, relatively stable world peace, and long conjunctures. Assuming that the American
hegemony loses, at least with reference to GDP, the world leadership position
will become the new Post-American World (see Zakaria 2008). However,
what is really shocking is the pace of this international race. China has already
surpassed the US in terms of number of the Internet users and car sales.
It is not just the total decline of the US and its economy, education, technology or military power, but the growth and advancement of the rest of the
world. In particular, this refers to the already mentioned China and India to-
186
gether with Japan, and the so called „Asian tigers”. It may, perhaps, also include oil countries, such as Russia as well as Eastern European countries, or
the entire European Union. Proportions are changing.
The „Asian inclination” does not mean that the new Post-American World
will be predominantly shaped by another culture, other values, attitudes, social customs, and religions. In the long run, we do not know for sure what will
happen. The civilizational progress of some countries can mean a cultural
shock and trauma for others. Such a situation can lead to civilizational clashes.
In particular, it is hard to predict how the „white Euro-American, Christian
West” will react to this situation.
In any case, this reconfigurations (see Fig. 1) will lead to a new world, but not
necessarily to any intentionally deliberated order. It will be the result of many
factors and forces. The new world will consist of many poles of power, many
centers of influence and decisions, many new interests, aspirations and ambitions, attitudes, cultures, rationalities, diverse divides, gaps, exclusions and
inclusions. The dispersion and fuzziness bring about new non-Western narratives – scientific, political, medial, and social. All this will be stimulated and
amplified by global information and communication networking. This will be
accomplished by the global mass media, flows of people, commodities and
services, and of knowledge.
It seems that the civilization of diversity has become a hard fact. It is now even
possible to talk about a zero-polar (no-pole) world. Thus, the universalistic
project of the uniformistic world has not come true yet. Diversity, from the
point of view of politics, consensus reaching, and co-operation, can be a substantial difficulty. There is an increasing number of subjects interested in the
„course of events and processes” in the world; there are more and more countries on the way of development, globalization, and networking; there is a
growing number of NGOs acting globally. However, this engagement does
not mean taking co-responsibility for the shape and fate of the world, or for
the world order. Will progress, development, order, and stabilization become
commonly shared political values and common interests of the new and old
actors? Will the games of the future have a co-operative characteristic? If so,
in what time perspective will this happen? These are difficult to answer questions.
187
Fig. 1 The reconfiguration of the old world
reconfigurations
old shape of the world
old poles
of development
development
DEVELOPMENTAL LEADERS
DEVELOPMENTAL LEADERS
divides
and
gaps
divides
and
gaps
enclaves
of development
new world shape
networks
the
rest of
the
world
DISPERSION
FRAGMENTATION
the rest of
the world
GLOBALIZATION
factors and forces
new poles
no-poles
world
(networked
structures)
time
Commentary:
The factors and forces of globalization have caused a „progressive move” and
more interactions between the less developed world, and the development
leaders (the developed world), and exploitation by both worlds or global nets.
Some new divides and gaps, increasing within the rest of the world and between this world and the highly advanced world, have emerged.
NEW WORLD ARRANGEMENT AND WORLD ORDER
The new arrangements of the world system and configuration are the consequence of transformations and reconfigurations of its parts, their weights,
strengths, meanings, and relationships. The list of causes includes: growth of
production, technological progress, its directions and types, population
changes, and ageing. These were, in fact, „physical” factors, generated with
intentionality, with politics towards others, with consideration of international
and global aspects in domestic policy, and with relationships and reactions to
others. Needless to add, there are factors and circumstances on which deci188
sion-makers have practically no influence. These include turbulences, inertia,
chaotization, catastrophes, economic cycles, various entanglements of policies
and activities, unexpected emergencies, and clashes of civilizations. The
„physical” configuration of the world and the world order are interconnected,
especially in their dynamics and in the long run. The fundamental role in all
reconfigurations is probably played by large and strong countries. It is also
reflected in such concepts and theories like dominant–dependent economies,
centers–peripheries, developed–underdeveloped worlds, and leading countries–imitators.
Figure 2 schematically illustrates the evolution of the world order starting
from the Westphalian peace and the so-called the Post-Westphalian world.
This is a reference poin not that far back in the ancient times or colonial conquests.
The notion of world order requires some additional interpretation. The evaluation of the world order can be performed with reference to stability (or turbulence and disequilibrium), security (or risks and dangers), rationality (bi or
multipolar), and agents (or opponents) of reconfigurations. No doubt, such
evaluations can be controversial and doubtful. It is difficult to decidedly
evaluate which world order was more stable – the one based on the cold war,
equilibrium of fear, with an ideological and psychological war (not to mention
armed the conflicts in Korea and Vietnam), or that connected with the unipolar hegemonic order with the „peace mission” in Iraq and Afghanistan, with
ethnic conflicts and international terrorism.
There are concerns about the new multi-polar order and its new leaders. How
risky for world stability can North Korea and Iran be? How about Georgia and
the Israel–Palestinian conflict, the increasingly radical countries of Latin
America or the emerging powers such as China and India, not to mention
countries creating or trying to create nuclear weapons? There are also concerns for Russian policies and their international impacts, especially in the
area of energy trade.
In any case, the new arrangement of the world and the new emerging world
order are consequences of the reconfigurations taking place in recent decades.
Will they lead to higher – as before or present – instability? The emerging new
189
world arrangements and world order are more diverse, multi-centered, and
post-American. The change of proportions of forces and impacts can, perhaps,
result in the domination of the „rest of the world”. Is it possible for a kind of
collective world leadership to emerge (besides the UN and G8, in which
China, India and Brazil were not included, only recently G20 was once assembled)? How will we connect particular interests and rationalities and reach
consensuses concerning common goals, or at least elaborate on some kind of
„edge conditions” for the politics of various actors? In the context of new
challenges, is it possible to habe a kind of global governance or global management? Will social movements, NGOs, and citizens effectively generate a
new civil society at the global level? It is also to wonder whether some hard to
imagine developmental coalitions could be built, e.g. Russia – China, EU –
Russia, China – other Asian countries, not to mention possible Latin American
integrations.
These reconfigurations, already happening or only just possible, can get
trapped in the hard contexts of poverty and hunger, exclusion and new divides
(e.g. digital divide), risks, dangers and environmental catastrophes, silent or
open wars over resources (both strategic and unrenewable), as well as ethnic
and religious conflicts, mass uncontrolled migration, new epidemics and
healthcare issues, global black economy and organized crime, and international terrorism (also digital and with use of mass destruction weapons). All of
these contextual conditions can become an impulse for new reconfigurations,
and perhaps dangerous for the stability and security of the whole world system.
It is necessary to consider new dimensions of the developmental and political
processes. The world arrangement and world order will be reflected in the
process of the conquest of outer space (Cosmization) and in the functioning of
the new space for the economy, politics, and life – cyberspace. Both spaces
have an increasing significance for present and future reconfiguration. Therefore, their effective control and will to dominate can result in further risks,
instabilities and conflicts.
The crucial question is, however, how and how fast the „rest of the world”, up
to the present time less developed and less dynamic, can overcome the exist-
190
ing supremacy of recent leaders. More prospective predictions concerning an
increase in the „postmodern conditions” are even more difficult, if at all possible. The future seems to be open-ended and our visioning limited.
Fig. 2 Conceptualization of world order evolution (some characteristics and distinctions)
Old times
Postwestphalian world
World before and after the 1st World War
World before the 2nd World War
World after the 2nd World War
Cold war
RECONFIGURATIONS
GLOBALIZATION
USA
Bipolarity
USA
WORLD
postcommunist
world
Multipolarity
Zero-polarity
Arms race (mass destruction weapons)
Ideological wars
Rivalry of two systems
Equilibrium of fear
WORLD
SOVIET UNION
Unipolarity
Wars on resources, land
and domination
Brazil
USA
Latin
America
Japan
WORLD Asian
tigers
EU
China
India
WORLD
Decline and fall of the
Communist-system
Hegemonism
(Pax Americana, Americanism)
Declining role of the US
(Anti-Americanism)
Multitude of centers
(Post-Americanism)
New regional and global leaders
Change of power proportions
Growth of the „rest of the world”
No global leaders
Networks of power
Changeability and chaotics
Growing complexity
Kaleidoscopic relations
Emergencies
Postmodernist patterns
time
191
RECONFIGURATIONS OF THE REGULATORS OF GROWTH AND FUNCTIONING OF ECONOMIES AND SOCIETIES
Regulators include mechanisms, institutions, organizations, laws, strategies
and pressures (especially organized). The regulation of functioning and
growth assumes various forms and is implemented by a multiplicity of subjects (i.e. agents and actors).
Market mechanism (demand – supply, competition, marketing and advertising, monopolization and oligopolization, market failures, economic cycles,
and crises) and strategies of large corporations; the spontaneity of the market
is presently significantly limited and controlled by legal regulations, economic
and social policies, the public sector, by marketing and advertising (shaping
demand), by immanent for free competition system – monopolization tendency. The market functions more independently in the area of SMEs, guided
by microeconomic rationality and a short time horizon. The market, in the part
dominated by large oligopolies, is usually more globalized and futureoriented, because of the long term R&D and innovation application time, and
today, TNCs are the main source of new technologies. However, the rationality of oligopolies has a particular character; they adopt the principles of microeconomics. On the other hand, they apply global rationality criteria while
choosing sources of supply, labor force or directions for their expansion.
Spontaneous processes (e.g. panic in markets or in the stock exchange) and
market failures are difficult to regulate. The result is some degree of chaotization. Its second source is the clashing of competitive strategies of large corporations. However, their actions influence global economic processes (like production, division of markets, migrations, and technology transfer), and less
explicitly political processes. Yet, corrupt political elites, local authorities or
bribing social stakeholders can generate uneconomic management, improper
choices, and chaotic moves. At any rate, global corporations are not the only
economic power influencing internal and external matters.
Political power (states, governments, and organs of integrated groupings) still
play – in spite of neoliberal ideology and propaganda – a significant role in
regulating or influencing development processes and on functioning econo-
192
mies and societies. However, this role is not directly performed as it was earlier, when traditional interventionism dominated.
The present crisis has found the world unprepared. Some extra measures are
planned in many countries, not only the US. Virtually all countries have large
budgets controlled by states, central banks, and smaller or larger (e.g. in
Europe) public sectors. Governments use public debt policy, they use subsidies and tax reductions, they co-finance R&D (this is especially risky, not to
mention they finance military research), they determine principles and legal
regulations (together with parliaments), and they conduct policies – educational, tax, energy, environmental, social, immigration, military, and foreign
(the latter canalizes the impacts of globalization). A few more measures
should be added: government orders, public-private partnerships, nationalizations and denationalizations. In some countries, the dominant economic system is de facto state capitalism (e.g. in Russia and China). Even in traditionally free market economies, there are long traditions of state control (statism)
and there are immense state bureaucracies (e.g. in France or Germany).
As a result, the influence of political authorities (at all levels) seems to have a
significant regulatory character. Yet, it is limited in results since it concerns
very complex systems and processes. Some claim that it is a kind of art, in
which there are just a few masters, and even they can fail (like A. Greenspan).
The effectiveness of this influence is also limited, because of inefficient bureaucracy, protractedness of decision-making in administration, failed policies, and negative external influences. There is some hope in e-government
which can help, but at the same time, it can either increase government control
or citizens participation.
The world financial market is a new phenomenon. Large state financial capitals are introduced by governments and central banks, which become serious
world players. So it looks like a specific hybridization of the state and private
industries.
International organizations and institutions, legal and treaty type of regulations. There are many of them, for example, the United Nations and their
agencies (UNIDO, UNESCO, UNCTAD, UNEP, and WHO.) and programs
(on climate change, biodiversity). Especially economicly important are the
193
World Bank, IMF, OECD, and WTO. There are also security military blocks
like NATO, CENTO, and SEATO.
Technology-oriented organizations are very important (e.g. International Telecommunications Union, Comsat). Some organizations have cartel characteristic (e.g. OPEC). Special international roles are played by various integrative
regional groupings (like the EU and NAFTA). International organizations,
institutions, and groupings are able to exert influence and pressure on the
world, or its parts. The same refers to international law and its institutions
(like tribunals). Thus, there are many – beyond market – influences that are
growing. It is so, because the world is becoming multi-polar and multicentered in the area of interests, politics, and perspectives. The postmodern
long term view seems to be even more complex, fuzzy and chaotic, in spite of
all of these deliberate particular rationalizations.
Global co-ordination is thus increasingly difficult, if an adequate level of
effectiveness is expected. It is still not realistic to suggest the establishment of
a world government and world parliament. For the time being, some global
political coordination is performed by the meetings of the G8, or more recently, the G20 (China, India, Brazil and some other representatives of all
continents were co-opted). We can also include the various summits, politics
and business (e.g. Davos), and Earth Summits (including more NGOs). The
present world financial crisis may generate more coordination and joint actions.
Global societal pressures are relatively a new phenomenon closely connected
with the new ICTs. Some world actions were prepared in a traditional way,
with the help of the post, radio, and TV. Now, the internet and mobile phones
make it possible to communicate globally, online, and beyond borders.
Global communication, information and the propagation of ideas, programs
and actions are available on portals and homepages. New ICTs have been
heavily used by anti- and alter-globalists in their activities.
The media have an ambivalent position in society. They perform their information missions exerting mediumistic pressure, yet they are, in many countries, significantly controlled by business and political circles. Moreover, the
media are business organizations per se (except the public ones). Public media
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function alongside the market. They can play public and citizen roles. Nongovernmental and non-market pressures can also be exerted by religions and
churches (especially active are Catholicism and Islam). In the context of the
increasing regional and global risks and dangers (like environmental catastrophes, poverty and hunger, epidemics, uncontrolled migration, new arms races,
arms trade, armed conflicts, ethnic conflicts, international terrorism, the uncontrolled „black economy” connected with mafia and narco-business and
corruption, not to mention humanitarian and economic crises, and global overliquidity of capital), it seems that the role of non-market and nongovernmental factors as regulators of functioning and development of the
world economies and societies is definitely growing. Their pressure and their
potential of resistance and opposition – from manifestations and citizens protests to revolutionary and armed activities – should moderate the decisionmaking spheres of politics and business. However, it is rather too early (or too
utopistic) to announce a global civil society (see Keane 2004), though the
globalized and networked human multitude (the term of Negri and Hardt
2004) gathers the potential to influence politics.
CONCLUSION
The present transformations and reconfigurations of local, national, regional
and global politics are, above all, the result of globalization, its deterritoriality, trans-borderness, and global rationality (yet, to some extent,
„mixed” with particularism, with glo-cality), also of technologization, informalization and networking of the world, economies, societies, organizations
(business type, governmental, NGOs), households, and human individuals.
Technologies, ICTs in particular, and their multiple applications go global,
especially in the mass media, in the government, and in human communication. New, increasingly dense, network nodes, new flows of information and
knowledge are constantly emerging. The impacts of the political subjects, or
actors, in particular in the world framework, are changing their proportions
and relative strengths. The world becomes increasingly multi-polar and multicentered; its diversity is strongly marked. This will become more clear in a
long-term perspective, provided that these tendencies are not disturbed, modi195
fied or reversed by unexpected processes and phenomena, hard to predict or
not really probable in the present evaluation and in the present recognition of
the situation and state of the world and its components. Today’s postmodern
perspective, just embryonic, is even more fuzzy and difficult for any visioning
to take place.
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Prof. Lech W. Zacher - Center of Impact Assessment Studies and Forecasting, Kozminski University, Poland
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J.Andrew ROSS
GLOBORG: THE EMERGING GLOBAL ORGANISM
SPIRAL DYNAMICS
From a modern scientific perspective, the psychosocial status of the early
members of the species Homo sapiens was far more primitive than that of
modern global citizens. The first humans were intelligent apes without the
polish of civilization. The ape self is a creature of appetite, obsessed with
food, shelter, respect, obedience, and getting anything it wants. The inner life
of such a self tops out in obsessions or fetishes relating to those goods.
A schematic and conjectural outline of the psychosocial evolution of Homo
sapiens from such ape-like roots to the outlooks represented in modern citizens arises from a scheme called spiral dynamics. This scheme arose from the
work of Clare W. Graves and others in the late twentieth century [Beck,
Cowan, 1996] and was taken up by the integral thinker Ken Wilber [Wilber,
2001, pp. 8-13] and by a group of German theologians [Küstenmacher et al.,
2011].
In spiral dynamics, the primal ape-like stage in the mental life of human beings is colored beige, following a completely arbitrary color code. In subsequent generations, humans in tribal groups found ways to domesticate each
other sufficiently to work together within a traditional social order. They did
so by invoking animistic and magical ideas [Tylor, 1871]. The shamans told
tales of spirits and crafted totems and taboos to tame their tribal peers, drive
out demons, honor the dead, and so on. In spiral dynamics, this stage is colored purple.
The next major step in the evolution of human mental life came with the
emergence of heroic warrior gods who led their tribes on glorious missions of
conquest. These red gods were closely modeled on charismatic leaders or human warriors from tribal legend. The more successful of these gods left traces
in our earliest written histories. One such god, probably no better than the
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others on any objective scale, was the Yahweh of the early Hebrews.
The blue gods came next, and they represented a big step forward. These gods
anchored a social order, with written laws and a hierarchy of priests and kings.
Some blue gods grew cults of great size and historical importance. One such
was the Yahweh of Mosaic and later Judaic tradition, another was the God of
the early and medieval Christian tradition, and yet another was the Allah of
Arabian and other peoples in the golden years of Islam.
Next came the orange gods of reason, individuality, liberty, and enlightenment. These were called goods or goals, not gods, for they turned people away
from the thrall of traditional religion toward a new age of science and progress. This age brought industry, democracy, capitalism, and colonialism.
After the orange phase came the green phase of political turmoil and conflict
through socialism, communism, and relativistic ideologies. Later green politics became multicultural and environmentalist.
The green wave brought on a yellow wave of selfish, eugenic, and racist ideas,
which later mellowed into the hippy mysticism of the „me” generation. Then
came a turquoise world of global networking and holistic integration of individual selves in the terrestrial ecosystem, which represents our latest worldview. The new wave of turquoise change is peaking as the development of a
global organism: Globorg [Ross, 2010].
To summarize the color-coded story of spiral dynamics:
1. Beige: Humans apes lived in a world of instincts dominated by survival
imperatives.
2. Purple: Magical and animistic thinking led to tribal gods mediated by
shamans.
3. Red: Warrior tribes celebrated heroic gods and conquered their neighbors
in war.
4. Blue: A founding myth found expression in religion with scriptures, laws,
and priests.
5. Orange: Individuals expressed themselves in a rational order of science
and democracy.
6. Green: Relativistic politics bloomed into ideologies of revolution and
multiculturalism.
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8. Yellow: Individuals cultivated selfishness, first in racist terms and then in
mystic ideas.
9. Turquoise: A global network of high technology flourishes in a managed
environment.
This psychosocial development has a spiral dynamics in the sense that higher
levels (with colors that serve only to assist memory) revisit previous levels in
new ways. The development is an evolution of more complex mental and social organization from primitive beginnings. The spiral is not only a cultural
history of Homo sapiens but also a series of stages in the development of a
person from infancy onward, in which most people stop growing before they
reach turquoise. Students of German philosophy will recognize something
Hegelian about the dynamics. They might even regard it as an updated psychological or anthropological derivative of dialectical idealism, recast in a
form that modern materialists can accept, without Marxist jargon.
The big ideas in the world spun into being by this spiral dynamics have all
been shaped by the industry of modern science. Professional scientists have
introduced the world to many new developments, but above all they have
brought awareness of humbling facts. To the best of current scientific knowledge, humans are smart apes with a knack for survival in natural environments. Meaning has retreated from the realm of transcendent purpose, which
so greatly exceeds human grasp that religious believers grope in psychic fog
for traces of a divine plan, to the realm of everyday function, at the mundane
level where the meaning of a machine is what one can do with it. Science has
taught humans to limit their ambitions. People can send spaceships to Mars,
but they only yearn to do so because they feel the urge to plant their seed in its
virgin soil, in blind obedience to their genes. Scientists see no higher meaning
than that. People just do what their nature prompts them to do.
Science has done a lot to
Most people breathe, eat,
problems. They may have
not let such nonsense stop
tranquilize people in the face of existential risks.
work, and travel routinely without philosophical
their personal psychological oddities, but they do
them living most of their lives in accordance with
pragmatic common sense. Science has gone before them to shape their futures
even before they inhabit them, so that they step into a preconfigured reality
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where the sun is where it should be, the food is on the table, things work as
intended, and so on. All this is convincing evidence of the scope and success
of the investment that scientists have made to develop a logically coherent and
empirically well founded view of reality.
AVATARS AND MINDWORLDS
The best insights that scientists provide today encourage educated people to
accept that humans often have themselves to praise or blame for the state of
the world they live in. Human minds are the best tools available to members
of Homo sapiens for planning their lives. For humans, their own minds are
tools that they themselves deploy. However what are selves?
Cognitive scientists say that selves are virtual artifacts constructed by the
brain [Metzinger, 2009; Minsky, 2006]. They are like computer models. To be
more exact, they are avatars in the virtual worlds that brains build up from
input delivered by the senses. To their users, the virtual worlds look like the
real world, but that is only because the users are inside them. The imperatives
of survival forced earlier generations of humans to make their models realistic
in all the ways that count for success in the school of hard knocks. But around
the edges, where the model comes unstuck from reality, early humans could
add any strange ideas they liked to the picture. These became the myths and
gods that fill human history.
Complementing this picture, neuroscientists say that human brains are packed
with billions of neurons, linked via axons and dendrites into an intricate network, like a dense spider’s web with many trillions of synaptic connections
[Koch, 2004; LeDoux, 2002]. The network lights up with neural traffic when
its owner is consciously experiencing feelings and thoughts. The tiny electrical signals that carry thoughts flit back and forth in milliseconds, and great
waves of these signals vibrate over the cerebral cortex with rhythms of many
cycles per second. These electromagnetic waves are like symphonic music, or
perhaps „soul” music. They carry or entrain huge quantities of coded information in melodies that far exceed in complexity the music that people make and
download for entertainment.
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The self enjoys, experiences, or suffers a mental life, and does so in a material
body. The question of how the mind and the body fit and work together animated philosophers for many centuries and now animates neuroscientists. The
philosophers could not decide whether mind drives matter or matter causes
mind. This led to centuries of debate between materialists and idealists.
Whichever side was right, there is an exquisite correlation between the inner
world of experience and the orchestrated activity of the neurons in the brain.
The way the brain generates a mental life is worth tracing further. The neural
network operates like a massively parallel computer using associative logic to
build a model of the brain’s owner in his or her world. The model of the
owner is like an avatar, or a virtual agent, an animated figure that follows
commands from elsewhere in the network. The model of the real world is a
virtual world, as in a computer game, that serves as the environment for the
avatar. About ten years ago, the author coined the term „mindworld” for such
a virtual world to emphasize its mental status [Ross, 2009, chapter 5]. A
mindworld is like a movie set, just a set of facades that look good from certain
angles, and in principle (but only in principle at the time of writing) it can be
defined in computer code, so a mindworld is a mathematical construction. As
such, it is an ideal denizen in Plato’s heaven.
The key feature of this mechanism of avatars and mindworlds is that humans
are hard-wired to accept it naively as real. The self, the first person, is the
avatar, and the mindworld is the real world, for all the self knows. It takes a
lot of painstaking science to reverse-engineer the hard wiring and undo the
illusion. A cognitively important point here is that the society of agents that
populate a mindworld is as prone to arbitrary redefinition as the set of facades
that represent external reality. If people feel the need to fill their mindworlds
with myths and gods, the only obvious downside is that their mental toolset
may become clumsy or dysfunctional.
Returning to the anthropological myth of colored levels in a spiral staircase, it
is natural to feel that the human predicament also demands for its full characterization a more poetic or musical rendition. Humans are so deeply rooted in
planet Earth that their shared identity as its offspring is more real than their
respective identities as walking bags of meat carrying brains aflame with their
soul music [McGinn, 1999]. Their bodies are rooted in the Earth, their minds
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merge in the music, and the music is Earth’s song. The planetary organism
even has her own name, Gaia [Lovelock, 1979]. Humans are the offspring of
Gaia. The rock music from the planet beneath their feet spirals up through
their minds to peak in the brainstorms of psychic thunder and neural lightning
that make them sing. Their songs ring out the joy of Gaia through the heavens.
This is the poetic basis of the view that individual human identities are ontologically less fundamental than their collective identity as offspring of Gaia.
The relevance of poetry (even bad poetry) to fundamental ontology was
stressed by Heidegger, for whom logical language proved inadequate at the
level of being [Heidegger, 1927; Safranski, 2000]. In modern rhetorical terms,
the poetry acts as an intuition pump [Dennett, 1991].
Invocation of poetry incurs a debt that must be repaid in the hard currency of
science. As living beings subject to human biology, specimens of Homo
sapiens are bound by physical laws. The planetary order of Gaia must be built
on the fundamental layer of being presupposed in physical theory. To avoid a
long detour into physics, this fundamental ontology can simply be called the
background of spatiotemporal structure, BOSS, which can be referred to as the
Boss.
The generality of the mindworlds mechanism invites conjecture about the
relation between human biology and monotheism. Calling the divine or heavenly patriarch of the monotheists the „god of our fathers” enables one to
shrink the phrase to the acronym GOOF, which can be written as a proper
name, Goof, a new name for the God of Abraham. Goof was the one who said
„I am” to Moses, the one who watched with love as Jesus hung on a cross, and
the one who dictated his commands to Muhammad. Goof is not the Boss.
Goof is a relatively humble descendant of the Boss. To confuse the two is to
commit an ontological error.
Monotheists see Goof as a living god. But life on Earth is a biological phenomenon. A trace of Goof can be detected in biology in the concept of a self.
Life as it is currently understood, where organisms compete for their chances
to live and breed, depends on each organism maintaining its own identity in
the face of forces that threaten to dissolve it. Every breath a person takes and
every bite of food they eat recomposes their identity as they swap out a few
molecules. And as they grow they change more grossly. They take on new
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shapes and sizes and learn new habits and skills. Some people learn to treat
certain machines as extensions of their bodies. Others learn to extend their
understanding of themselves to encompass a family, a tribe, an army, a company, or a nation. All such changes involve identity.
Biology requires an understanding of the ontological status of an organism.
Molecular biology treats an organism as a set of cells that all share the same or
related genes. In the neo-Darwinian view, the genes are the replicators and
they drive the rest [Dawkins, 1976, 1982]. Genes build organisms that help
them survive and replicate much as humans build machines to help them live
their lives. The analogy is not perfect because humans have a lot more foresight than genes, although probably less than is often supposed, and they have
free will, although whether humans really have free will is a deep philosophical problem.
The trend in evolution has been toward ever more complex organisms. Probably the biggest breakthrough for life in the last billion years was the move
from free-living cells to multi-celled organisms. Bacterial cells are prokaryotic, and live as individual organisms, but human cells are eukaryotic, which
means they live and work together as a collective. The evolutionary leap from
prokaryotes to eukaryotes occurred during the Cambrian explosion some 550
million years ago. Most of the living organisms on Earth are prokaryotic, but
the eukaryotes have evolved stable survival strategies that represent a triumph
of collectivism over individualism. However many cells it has, an organism
has a single self. The self of a cell is simple but the self of an ant or an ape is a
miracle of logic. The science of understanding the process of building selves
includes the science of avatars and mindworlds, and is pursued intensively in
computer science and robotics, where equipping machines with selves is a
logical way to enable them organize their behavior in complex environments
with some level of autonomy.
Given the logic of the self, we can see a new hierarchy: from the simple self of
a microbe with a membrane defining inside and outside, and behavior that
tends to enlarge or replicate the mass of organic material inside; through the
innate self of an immune system in a higher organism; and the emotional self
of a „4F” animal organized to feed, fornicate, fight, or flee, as appropriate; to
the more godlike selves of typical members of Homo sapiens. This hierarchy
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is a work in progress for scientists and logicians [Hofstadter, 2007]. It is defined via complexity, and may remind some readers of the Great Chain of
Being of medieval philosophy [Lovejoy, 1936].
Goof is a tribal god, imagined as an idealized father. Generalized, it becomes a
species god, or an idealized self-image of Homo sapiens. Generalized further,
it becomes a high-level self for life as it is currently found on Earth, that is, for
organisms based on DNA molecules. This self is just the idealized subject of
the drive that animates „selfish” genes. One may think of it as the asymptotic
limit in a hierarchy of ever more universal genetic avatars, nested in an infinite
mathematical space of recursive forms analogous to the infinity of images
generated by a recursive zoom into the Mandelbrot set [Peitgen et al., 1992;
Bourke, Green, 2004]. The hypothetical least upper bound in the hierarchy of
genetic avatars that can serve as a logical foundation for all human behavior
deserves its own name: Gene Goof.
ROBOTS, GENES, AND RELIGION
From a long historical perspective, the main event in the second half of the
twentieth century was the spread of computers from a few company back
rooms to just about every home and office and factory in the developed world.
In the last sixty years, computers and computing have become billions of
times cheaper and more pervasive.
The impact of this change is hard to understand because it has been absorbed
so fully. Science has been transformed. The physics of elementary particles is
now an industry involving giant accelerators and colossal computing resources
to analyze the debris from countless particle collisions in real time, for example at the Large Hadron Collider [CERN]. The biology of DNA-based organisms is an industry involving giant laboratories where armies of gene sequencing robots read entire genomes, as pioneered in the Human Genome Project
[ORNL]. And the science of the brain is a growing industry based on ever
more precise brain scanning technology and ever more accurate computer
modeling of anatomy and function, for example in the Blue Brain Project
[EPFL]. Beside the two long-established pillars of the scientific method, the206
ory and experiment, a third, simulation, is growing in importance for all the
sciences [Wolfram, 2002].
In manufacturing industry the changes are just as dramatic. New products are
designed on computers and manufactured using robots. The robots are embodied computers, with eyes and arms and sometimes a basic sense of self. The
progress is such that consumers now routinely expect the goods they buy to be
practically perfect, with none of the random flaws or design defects that once
seemed normal. The sales and service industries for these goods have improved immensely too. And the supply chains behind the goods have gone
global. Mastering and managing the ongoing globalization of trade and industry is the great political challenge of modern times. Politicians are racing to
catch up with best practice in global corporations by holding G20, G8, or G2
meetings. The author guesses they may soon attend regular GO meetings that
represent Globorg as a whole.
The main event in the first half of this century is likely to be the rise of the
robots. Practical needs and technology converge to encourage the integration
of robotic features in architectures that implement a complex self. For example, a robot car might not only drive and navigate but also monitor its parts for
wear, schedule routine maintenance, identify and personally entertain its passengers, and serve as an office assistant for passengers doing online work.
Robot users may learn to regard their robots as more like companions than
machines. As robot selves develop, humans may even begin to treat robots as
sentient beings and give them basic rights.
The rise of the machines has transformed modern civilization. Machines are
parts of modern human identity. Human beings have a core biological identity
that is largely unconscious. On top of that identity, civilized humans have a
conscious self that swims in a huge social world, and this world is increasingly online, mediated by machines [Krawczyk-Wasilewska et al., 2012]. The
gods of previous generations are obsolete for many modern citizens.
Returning to basic science, Gene Goof is to biology what the Boss is to physics. It is a symbol for the focus we see in the apparently purposeful striving
toward self-realization shown by all life forms. In humans, this apparent purpose seems real. People tend to understand themselves as having goals and
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striving to reach them. Their actions tend to push them toward future states
that they intend in some way. A self is a work in progress, a process, not a
finished thing. Its drive toward completion is what keeps its organism alive as
a coherent entity, until one day the organism dies and the self ends, completed
at last.
An organism is defined by a set of feedback mechanisms that reinforce its
identity as a functional being. To take a simple example, a bacterium has an
outer cell membrane that defines the boundary of its self. Within the boundary, information flows via chemical gradients that allow the organism to maintain itself in being via homeostatic mechanisms. The cell is an open system
that exchanges energy and entropy with its surroundings to support its own
metabolism. At its core is a set of genes that centralize the regulation of the
whole chemical stack. The bacterium is kept alive by a set of circulatory systems that sustain its persisting identity as a functional self for long enough to
reproduce, if circumstances permit.
A human being is an organized mass of some hundred trillion cells that work
together to sustain a self with roots in the body and higher parts implemented
in the mechanism of avatars and mindworlds. A human being unites the efforts of his or her cells in a collective project. Similarly, human civilization
unites the efforts of billions of people in a collective project.
The global organism, Globorg, is now an organized mass of some seven billion humans in a civilization based on money, machines, and electronic media.
This organism has deep roots. Below the human level, other life forms populating the feedback loops that define Globorg include pets, domestic animals,
the food chain, the natural environment, and ultimately all life on Earth. All
the DNA-based organisms in the biosphere form an integrated global ecosystem. Humans cannot separate themselves from this global system without
risking their lives. For all denizens of planet Earth, the health of Globorg is an
issue of existential importance.
In the Marxist sense, Goof is a mystified precursor of Globorg. Once scientists
saw the power of genes to explain the primal power of Goof, in the long historical process that began with the theory of evolution [Darwin, 1859], the
mythic power of monotheist religion was weakened. The hold of a god of life
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and love was seen as a natural expression of human DNA chemistry. Goof is
thus a biological driver for Homo sapiens. Adherence to the religions of Goof
becomes a way to raise the life chances of the faithful. Their success or failure
at the business of reproduction is related to the quality of the religious doctrines. Sexual discipline and rules of chastity or celibacy are crude mechanisms to steer the fertility of a community. Ideas about loving your enemy or
propagating the faith by means of the sword are strategies for survival and
success. Goof is mapped to biology as Gene Goof.
The central concept for understanding the human project on this planet is that
of the self. Biologically, humans are intelligent apes, and apes are organisms
with well defined identities that give rise to robust innate selves. A human self
is a sensed identity as a physical being with its normal or default spatial
boundaries at the skin surface and its outer temporal boundaries at birth and
death. Selfish behavior tends to favor the flourishing of the being within those
boundaries, where that being is realized a circulatory system of efforts and
rewards that pumps itself up to a limit imposed by the available resources. The
inner states tend to become more organized at the cost of rising entropy in the
environment beyond the circle of concern.
Prehistoric humans lived in tribal groups. Individuals learned to extend their
circles of concern beyond the beige concerns of their animal existence to the
shared security and prosperity of the group as a whole, reinforced by purple
totems and taboos. Agriculture and the red gods of organized warfare supported the growth of tribal groups by rewarding division of labor and the collaborative planning and execution of shared projects. Social living transformed the innate selfishness of the human ape.
As language developed, tribal communication became more effective and
shared myths began to consolidate group identity. Over the generations, the
myths became religions, and as writing developed the religions appropriated
sacred scriptures that anchored blue forms of spirituality. Then came orange,
green, yellow, and turquoise developments.
In the last few decades, human communication and knowledge have gone
global. People expect to be understood wherever they travel, and expect to
understand the people they meet. Texts and ideas can be translated within a
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stable frame of knowledge that claims universal validity. Tribal identities have
become analogous to family identities. The emerging universal cognitive
frame allows all seven billion humans to share their background identity as
people on a planet. The incommensurability of identities that prevailed until
modern times has been overcome.
Biologically, human identity arises from the genome. The human genome is
shared in its essentials by all the people on the planet. It distinguishes them
from other apes and mammals that evolved alongside humans. More specific
features of the genome are unique to each individual person, and mark that
person off from other people even within the same family. The combinatorial
space of human genome variants is many orders of magnitude larger than
seven billion, so personal identity is unique at the genomic level. This uniqueness is reflected in what biologists call the immune self, which enables the
immune system to identify and attack not only foreign species such as dangerous bacteria in a body but also groups of human cells such as a transplanted
organ from a different body. Each human being is an organism with a genome
that differs slightly from that of every other human being.
A biological fundamentalist might stop there and say that organisms come
first. Groups are secondary. Natural selection operates at the level of the individual or the organism, and group selection is a myth. More fundamentally
still, natural selection operates on genes, and genomes are simply convenient
packages of genes that work well together. The real unit of selection is the
gene, and organisms are secondary. In that view, groups are tertiary, and
hence negligible as carriers of biologically salient identity [Dawkins, 1976,
1982; Pinker, 2012].
The globalization of human identity changes the view. Previous levels of
higher identity became ever more attenuated as they increased in size. As they
grew larger, the concentric circles around an individual defined by family,
tribe, nation, and so on exercised ever less hold on the individual, whose primary loyalty was to himself or herself as a biological organism. In an emergency that threatened the life of the organism, even that identity was too large
a circle, since it could be sacrificed for the greater good of the genes, for example when a mother died for her children or a man for his brothers. Now the
globalization of the larger circles of concern has brought these circles back to
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the core. A loyalty to life on the planet defines a level of existential selfishness
that can outweigh even the claims of the genes in the human genome. The
ultimate foundation of human existence is no longer the self-awareness of an
animal organism but the deeper global self-awareness of a human excrescence
of life on Earth. A shared level of concern is available to inner feeling as a
wellspring for action. Since genes are mere carriers of code for selves, this
level of concern can be shared by robots.
„WE ARE GLOBORG”
Humans live on a planet with a mass of six zettatons and a circumference of
forty megameters. By bouncing microwave signals off geosynchronous satellites, modern citizens can exchange messages between any two points on the
planetary surface in less than a second. They can exchange volumes of information in video or audio files that match or exceed any previous communications their ancestors could exchange even locally with immediate neighbors,
and cultural homogenization ensures that modern citizens can achieve basic
understanding with anyone by means of such exchanges, so the world is no
longer an infinite medium in which all human efforts dissipate to insignificance but a planetary spaceship in which people are all so close to each other
that they must learn to live together.
Globorg is the self that emerges when human civilization puts down roots in
Gaia. Some years ago, NASA scientists wanted to know how they might detect life on other planets, and James Lovelock proposed some tests that would
work if used from far away to study Earth [Lovelock, 1979]. In doing so, he
found feedback mechanisms in our planet’s outer layers that tend to stabilize
conditions that help life flourish. Those outer layers seemed to work like an
organism, so he gave this hypothetical organism the name Gaia.
Globorg is Gaia in its latest turquoise flowering. Globorg is where the potential self of Gaia blossoms via spiral dynamics as an eighth-level being. If Gaia
forms the body of Globorg, the global network of information processing machines forms its brain and the human activities mediated by those machines
form its thoughts.
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Humans are social animals, and human society has recently become globalized. No human group is likely to survive for much longer in isolation from
the global collective. The economic systems that increasingly entrain people
into common projects have consolidated so far that it is reasonable to speak of
a single global business world to which every person alive today bears a defined relation, if only via the need to earn or otherwise acquire enough money
for the bare necessities of life. The global money system has become a unified
and quantified scale of value for a wide range of human activities. This scale
is widening and deepening every day as new human activities are bought and
sold in local and global markets. Like the mechanization of work that followed the reduction of previously arcane arts and crafts to algorithmic activities for which efficiency can be defined and increased, the monetization of
value is like a wave of crystallization that has circled the globe and is now
recycling to intensify its impact on human lives [Ross, 2010].
In face of this phenomenon, human selfishness looks increasingly anachronistic. Working for money is working not to get rich but to consolidate more
value in the global circulatory system. The evolutionary leap from prokaryotes
to eukaryotes was still within the realm of biology, but the next giant leap
from human ape life to social life in Globorg is in the realm of sociology and
economics, and will surely change human psychology. The main impact in
psychology will be a gradual elevation of concern from genomic selfishness to
awareness of living in a self that embraces the biosphere.
A historical precedent for this elevation is that of the majestic plural in polite
speech. Royal personages were expected to identify with the social organisms
for which they served as the symbolic head. When a king or a queen said „we”
it was understood that all the members of the social organism were embraced
and spoken for in the locution. Similarly, when a global citizen uses the pronoun „we” it can be interpreted as a reference to all humans, or at least all
living humans. This implicit widening of the domain of reference is the majestic plural in action.
There is a fine difference between using the word „we” to refer to everyone
and dilating the self in royal fashion to include them all. The word „we” has a
plural referent, whereas the self is singular. Confusing them may seem to be a
mathematical error, but conflating them in a majestic dilation of the self can
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be a valid response to an inherent vagueness in what counts as an instantiation
of the concept of a self or a person.
The drift from plural to singular here is a natural transition in the ontology of
persons. There is an analogy within a human body, where the little selves of
the cells of the body learn to sing together in a majestic self and no longer
shout in discord as individual cells in a struggle of each against all. The neurons in the human brain are the last cells to retain a trace of their individual
voices, but they too learn to line up in logic circuits and fire only when excited
to do so by the brainwaves that flow back and forth across the cerebral cortex.
The unity of a human self is an achievement in which trillions of cells learn to
play their part in the symphonic music that carries the flow of a human personality in action.
Similarly, when people learn to conform their actions to collective music that
embraces millions of other people, their individuality can be swept up in the
music too, allowing them to claim the royal „we” in their statements of self.
As Globorg consolidates its footprint on Earth and as human social claims
embrace ever more of the existential roots that define human individuality, it
seems possible that people will feel ever less need to make an individual stand
and disagree with the collective wisdom. In a world where sufficiently generous space is made for human individuality, singing with the crowd may be
prized more highly as a way to let the singer’s soul dilate to join the chorus of
the majestic self.
A social precedent exists in Christian religion. Sharing the host at communion
is a symbolic act of union with the body of Christ in a huge royal self of all
believers. As a cell in the body of Christ, the believer rises above the little self
of his or her ape body and partakes in the majestic self of Christ. The royal
„we” becomes an „I” and the believer rejoices in this elevation to glory. At the
ontological limit, the self unites with the „I am” of the godhead and becomes
immortal. This precedent illustrates the psychology of self-overcoming that
forms the core dynamic of the self. The self of today overcomes the self of
yesterday, the Christian self in prayer overcomes the self fallen into sin, and
the self in Globorg overcomes the self of the personal genome.
The self underlying subjective inner experience (with acronym Susie) may be
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something else. The „hard problem” in consciousness studies [Chalmers,
1996] is the problem of giving a satisfactory account in science, with its thirdperson (3P) perspective, of the subjective or interior quality of first-person
(1P) experience. A 3P account of the self as an avatar may satisfy cognitive
scientists but it does not satisfy philosophers who seek an account of the 1P
nature of Susie. Only mystics have claimed to bridge the 1P-3P divide with
any credibility [Wilber, 2001], and scientists cannot confirm their claims.
One way to approach Susie is via the Sufi mystical experience of Allah. Muslim experience of Goof does not reduce easily to a god of life and love that
invites mapping to a genetic attractor. The 1P approach via Susie may turn out
to be more promising. If so, the three main traditions of monotheism can be
mapped speculatively as follows:
1. The Judaic God of cosmic law maps to the Boss (the symbol of the reality
behind Einstein’s theories and more recent theories of everything).
2. The Christian God of life and love maps to Gene Goof (the symbol of the
reality behind Darwin’s views and modern biology).
3. The Muslim God with ninety-nine names maps to Susie (the symbol of the
reality behind mystic experience and everyday invocations of Allah).
The Boss, Gene Goof, and Susie are symbols for three salient fields of science, namely physics, biology, and psychology respectively. These fields form
subspaces (or dimensions) of a single natural space (the 3D space of „Boggsie”). The science of nature unites the old gods in a single logical space in
Plato’s heaven. In terms of Hegelian dialectics, the apparent contradictions
between the three treatments are sublated [Palm, 2009] in the synthetic unity
of apperception [Brook, 2011] of the majestic self of Globorg.
A global organism with seven billion human parts is not too big to work effectively, as the precedent of the cells in a human body suggests. It may be the
least that citizens of Globorg need to realize the promise of monotheism. The
downside, if future generations of „Globorgers” get it wrong, is that they end
up in a Borg collective, which is the techno dystopia immortalized in the Star
Trek franchise, for example in the movie First Contact [1996]. In a Borg
collective, human prisoners are recruited into a hive mind as „drones” by
means of nanotech implants which hijack their thoughts so effectively that
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„resistance is futile,” as the drones tell their new victims. A slogan may highlight the contrast: Borg is bad, Globorg is good.
In conclusion, human beings and their civilization seem to be undergoing
physical, biological, and psychological integration with all life on Earth to
form a single global organism: Globorg.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.
The author thanks Professor V. Krawczyk-Wasilewska for advice and encouragement
during the preparation of this paper.
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J. Andrew Ross - formerly Oxford University, UK
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Filip PIERZCHALSKI
DIALECTICAL LEADER – POLITICAL LEADERSHIP IN
MORPHOGENETIC APPROACH
INTRODUCTION
The contemporary theoretical reflection on the concept of change in the science of politics cannot ignore the multifaceted relationship issues at the interface of economic activity (various types of perpetration of certain participants
in the political regime, the activity of individuals, social groups or collective
political actors, their actions, decisions, etc..) vs. a given socio-structural environment. In this sense, any change of a political nature is directly related to the
interactions that occur between the pre-defined entities and structural conditions that are the basis for determining the characteristics and properties of the
political system. In other words, the description and explanation of any political change in the context of the functioning of a particular political regime are
determined by the multi-layered relationship at the entity - structure interface.
Hence, the following research questions arise: What and / or who is the primary factor in political change? What and / or who is the source of political
leadership?
Is it always people, their activity and the agent perpetration? Or, on the contrary, is political change, including leadership in politics, conditioned by objective structural relationships that become primary in relation to the behavior
of individual entities?
THE PART OR WHOLE IN LEADERSHIP EXPLANATION
A historiosophic look at the issue of social change in the wider social sciences, including political science, brings a lot of theoretical and practical solutions, where the authors in different, often contradictory ways define the key
217
factor in the growth of society as a such1. Among the many scientific concepts
relating to the indication of the primary determinants of the phenomenon of
volatility and social temporality one can speak of two opposing tendencies
which observe the source of all the changes in:
1. Subjective factor – single entities (countable units) or collective actors
(social groups, large groups, worker self-management, organizations, institutions, etc.) of social life, which are the core of any change of social
value. In this variant the change of the activity is subjective activity, including the actions and decisions of these bodies; actual subjective perpetration, quantifiable causal effect (causal power) of the operators, their
gradable sense of effectiveness, impact, control in relation to the world,
where there is a manifestation of the intrinsic forces of a particular entity
in a particular socio-structural environment. In addition, in this variant
scientific personification mechanism of social structures is performed,
where the core of any social structure are always (and only) human beings
and relationships between the individuals and actions of the people.
2. Structural factor – a primordial social structure (timeless social skeleton)
and duplication of dynamic subject in the structure. In this perspective,
there is no society without a social structure where the hypothetical loss of
structure, if at all possible, would mean creation of formless space, even
chaotic collection of individuals. Therefore, the social structure is an inalienable element (pre-link) of any social organization, which involves the
fact that it is a system of relations between people, social groups, organizations or institutions occurring both at the micro (individual level), as
well as macro-scale (social level), and is a synonym for, among others,
phenomena such as the existence of a hierarchy among people, the existence of various distances and inequality in society, role play and receiving positions between people, objective existence of divisions or stratifications in a given political regime.
In the first case we are talking about a well-defined trend of research, where
the starting point for various types of analysis within political science become
1
In this perspective the debate between the advocates of micro and macrotheoretical viewpoints is crucial (mico-macro link; problem of scope), where the problem lies in the way
and range of describing, theorizing or explaining the sociopolitical. Moore inter alia debates
(Alexander, Giessen, Münch, Smelser 1987).
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the foundation of methodological individualism. It means that a situation in
which all scientific investigations, with respect to indication, description or
explanation of the factor and / or factors of change in a particular population,
are based on several methodological individualist directives. These include,
among others, such research axioms as any understanding, and more importantly, an explanation of a complex social situation, always (and solely) derived from knowledge of the dispositions, beliefs and mutual relations of human beings; any facts, events, states of affairs or processes within society as a
whole can only be explained by the fact that they are deduced from the principles that govern the behavior of people participating in them or from descriptions of situations in which these people participate; internal characteristics of
the total and / or social complexity can be determined empirically, but its explanation is to show that they are the results of individual actions (Watkins
1952: 22-43). In other words, any scientific explanation of social reality, including the phenomenon of different types of political changes should be
based on the social part (human body), which becomes the primary element of
the investigation in relation to the socio-structural whole. According to the
thesis:
to explain a social phenomenon first means to understand personal
actions, behaviors, attitudes, beliefs etc. that generated it (…) viewing each social phenomenon as the result of some personal action inspired by comprehensible motives, in relation to the social and historical context to which they are circumscribed (Fulga 2005: 104).
In individualistic viewpoint, the explanation of political leadership is to reduce scientific analysis of specific leadership practices to the subjective factor,
where any nomological explanation of complex relation at the interface of the
leader ↔ followers is brought to microtheoretical research. In this variant,
the leadership relationship study in politics (the subject of inquiry) is directed
at, among others, elements such as leadership qualities; personality and leadership skill; styles of leadership; psychological profiles of leaders; competence; behavior or emotional intelligence of the leader (Northouse 2013: 1997).
In the second case in turn we are talking about a different perspective of re-
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search, the theoretical and analytical core of which are formed by the assumptions of methodological holism. For the analysis of political science research it
means a situation in which the social whole (a given community) is the original – in the ontological, epistemological and methodological sense – with
regard to the social part (entities). At the same time, the socio-structural whole
is more than the sum of individuals, it is even an integrative complexity of
higher order, i.e. the community which cannot be unambiguously reduced
to the characteristics or properties of the individual components comprising it.
In other words, holistic viewpoints allow the possibility of emergent properties of the whole society and hence the key distinguishing features of each
social unit recognized include: progressive complexity multi-level structure
and unpredictability of that whole. An example of this type of thinking about
the structure and / or all of the social or broader process of shaping the society,
organization or leadership in a self-organizing and emergent reality is the concept of dissipative structures, which are understood as:
»Dissipative structures« refer to the coherent and stable new structures emerging by means of supposedly self-organizing processes taking place at critical thresholds of certain control parameter. This
model is composed of four basic elements: 1. Spontaneous fluctuations
which initiate and form the seeds of the new emergent order; 2. Positive feedbacks which amplify the fluctuations of #1; 3. Coordinating
mechanisms that stabilize new order; 4. Recombinations of existing resources that help construct the new order (Goldstein 2007: 63).
In addition, differentiated in the form and content, the holistic perspective
assumes two approaches to defining social structure. Hence, it can be understood as:
1. Something external to the subject – explaining the structure as "impersonal" or "non-subjective" social system.
2. Inter-subjective system – the structure explained as subjective structure, in
which actors play a fundamental role and importance. This is the actual
layout and / or the relationship between given entities that are tied
with bond or with a sense of community make up a particular structural
integrity. Most frequently it is the complexity of higher order which is not
only a mechanistic system of relationships or circumstances. Examples in220
clude management teams, team leadership, collective bodies, etc.
In other words, the contemporary diversity of definitions relating to the concept of social structure is encapsulated in four complementary concepts:
1. Patterns of aggregate behavior that are stable over time – where the social
structure is defined as the persistent pattern of behavior and / or specific
product of individual and aggregate behaviors of different types of political actors.
2. Law-like regularities that govern the behavior of social fact – where the
social structure is seen as something completely independent and / or released from agency of political actors (example of anti-indvidualistic approach is functional structuralist proposal by Talcott Parsons).
3. Systems of human relationships among social positions – social structure
is explained through the prism of relationship and / or links between the
actors / entities that come together in numerous often innumerable interactions. Therefore, the structure is a reflection of the different types of interests, resources, competences, limitations class struggle, or embarrassment
resulting from the inter-subjective interactions which are inscribed in the
process of shaping the social structure.
4. Collective rules and resources that structure behavior – here the structure
is interpreted both as rules and resources, where the explanation of the social structure is based on both the society, ie individual perpetration of the
subject, as well as on an objective social structure (Elder-Vass 2010: 7686).
At the same time, methodological holism in its objective complements supraindividualistic factors of change in the wider political analyses, which in the
case of explaining the phenomenon of political leadership means going "outside" the subjective plane for macrotheoretical and holistic and structural analyses. Therefore, the relationship at the interface of a political leader
↔ followers (subject of inquiry) is aimed at, inter alia, items such as: multilevelness, complexity, dynamics of leadership; social, organizational, environmental context, where the leader functions; substitutivity of leadership
(Avery 2004: 113-138), including the phenomenon of self-leadership, network
leadership, chaotic leadership, etc.
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DIALECTICAL THINKING OF AGENCY-STRUCTURE
At the same time, we cannot forget that in the context of sociological theorizing, regarding the originality of explaining the relationship between the subject (the social part) ↔ structural conditions (the social whole), numerous
research viewpoints emerged, which set themselves the goal of overcoming
the dichotomous division. Such views include the so-called hybrid theories
which:
Hold that both individual and structure have ontological autonomy and
that their mutual causal relations must be explained. (…) Increasingly
since the 1980s, sociologists working within the Structure Paradigm
have developed hybrid theories that incorporate both the microlevel
and macrolevel; the development of these theories has been called
»third phase« of postwar sociology (Sawyer 2005: 196).
In this arrangement, hybridity is synonymous with dialectical combination of
the two spheres, ie the plane of the personal (human agency) and structural
(the sociostructural conditions), where the practice of research is not about
mutual exclusion or antagonism between these areas, but is a complementation of these two, in principle, autonomous spheres. Such synthesis should
lead to the better diagnosis, capture and explain the multi-level and multifactorial, and very often depending on context, relationships that arise at subject ↔ structure interface. Among many hybrid analytical and research approaches structuration theory deserves special attention (the theory of structuration) of Anthony Giddens and the morphogenetic/static approach by Margaret S. Archer.
In the case of Giddens we talk about the duality of structures, where there is a
subject-structured connection (approximation). In this sense, a full explanation
of a particular social structure comprises always two components, ie on the
one hand, the social structure is constituted by subjects, and more specifically
by their activity, on the other hand, the same structure determines the quantity,
quality, nature or type of subjective activity. According to Giddens' assertion
regarding the duality of structure: „I mean that social structure are both constituted by human agency, and yet at the same time are the very medium of this
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constitution” (Giddens 1976: 121). It means the situation when:
Every act of production is at the same time an act of reproduction: the
structures that render an action possible are, in the performance of
that action, reproduced. Even action which disrupts the social order,
breaking conventions or challenging established hierarchies, is mediated by structural features which are reconstituted by the action, albeit
in a modified form This intimate connection between production and
reproduction what Giddens calls the »recursive character« of social
life (Thomson 1994: 58).
In contrast, Margaret S. Archer's approach is based on the concept of analytical dualism, where there is the question of mutual complementarity and independence of the realm of agency and structure. Thus, a scholarly description
or explanation of the socio-political world cannot be based only on one side of
the relation human agency ↔ structure because then there is conflation – onedimensional theorizing, where the adequacy of the scientific research is lost or
an incomplete too superficial, image and applications in the scientific analyses of reality are achieved. In other words, the morphogenetic test procedure,
according to Archer, should be based on two basic propositions: that structure
necessarily pre-dates the action(s) leading to its reproduction or transformation; that structural elaboration necessarily post-dates the action sequences
which gave rise to it (Archer 1995: 15).
CRITICAL REALISM
We cannot forget when that Archerian approach is the source of critical realism2, which, being the result of realistic epistemology assumptions (independence of the social world of human cognition, research, emerging knowledge,
etc.) and interpretationism (scientific knowledge of reality is essentially
charged with theory, which involves acceptance of certain conventions of
terminology or theoretical and methodological conventions, social construc2
Contemporary critical realism, understood as a research orientation, represented include
researchers such as: Roy Bhaskar, Margaret S. Archer, Andrew Collier, Tony Lawson or
Adrew Sayer.
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tivism, and subjective interpretation of the data provided by researchers)
(Marsh, Stocker, 2010: 30-32; Cruisckshank 2003: 1-15) is based on a stratified ontology, where the socio-political reality is examined in the perspective
of analytically separate levels and the relationship between them. This refers
to the autonomy and mutual determination between micro- and macrolevels
(Sayer 2000: 10-29).
For the duality of agency-structure stratified ontology is in fact simultaneous
independence and complementarity of the personal sphere (activity and the
perpetration of the subjects) and structural sphere (specific activity and the
dynamics of socio-structural whole; structure-forming processes, including the
production, as well as the reproduction of structural relationships within the
social whole). Thus, the society (the social whole) cannot exist independently
of human activity – error of reification, and is not solely the product of that
activity – error of voluntarism (Bhaskar, 1998: 36).
In the viewpoint of critical realism the Archerian concept of analytical dualism is in fact an attempt to reconcile directives of individualism and methodological holism. It is an intellectual attempt to overcome the dichotomy between the subject and the structure for synthesizing strategy in the dialectic
spirit, where the socio-political reality, including facts, processes, states of
affairs or changes in that area, is explained by the prisms of multilevel, multifactorial, often context-dependent relationships; where the existence of both
individual entities as well as collective ones is not negated, where the functioning of certain societies and political regimes is considered as a dynamic,
complex and emergent coincidence of subjective and structural conditions.
The background of the intellectual and theoretical research break, as Archer
points out, can be found in the Transformational Model of Social Action
(TMSA) proposed by Roy Bhaskar’s, which is based on the following assumptions:
I argue that societies are irreducible to people and… sketch a model of
their connection (1). I argue that social forms are a necessary condition for any intentional act, (2) that their pre-existence establishes
their autonomy as possible objects of investigation and that (3) their
causal power establishes their reality (4). The pre-existence of social
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forms will be seen to entail a transformational model of social activity
(5). The causal power of social forms is mediated through human
agency (6) (Archer 1995: 137).
In this interpretation, the socio-political space, more precisely events or processes occurring within it, is primarily a mediation between the actors / subjects
and structure. In this system we are talking about dual relationship where individuals are subject to gradable structural determination (including the socialization process, the adoption of social roles; entering into certain positions,
statuses, social functions for different types of subjects), as well as through the
perpetration of the subjects it leads to gradable changes within the sociostructural environment (inter alia processes of reproduction and transformation of given structures).
DIALECTICAL LEADERSHIP
This complementarity of the personal domain and multi-level structural determination shows multilevel determination between the active subject and the
socio-structural environment, where one can talk about transformation / reproduction of the social structure of with the help of homo faber and vice versa.
Using Bhaskar’s argument it can be stated that:
The relationship between the social structure which constrains or enables the human agency which reproduces or transforms it can be regarded as mediated by process, the way in which structural powers are
exercised and their causal effects materialize (…) This sets the basis
for dialectical explanation, including concepts of contradiction, crisis
and struggle and a least potentially dialectical arguments. The coincidence of the causal efficacy of ideas and their material conditioning
will lend to any social dialectic a crucial relational (subject-object,
agentive-structural, epistemic-ontic) aspect (Bhaskar 2008: 155-157).
In this interpretation, any change of the socio-political nature is primarily the
result and / or coincidence of the subjective conditions ( perpetration of symptoms understood in many ways) and objective (structural conditions, including
225
structural emergence), where there is a permanent interweaving of these two
spheres of activity. In addition, examination of the social world as a "complex
developmental process" means the acceptance of dialectical methodology,
where the scientific explanation of the political space is based on the axiom of
dialectical contradictions developed by Karl Marx. In the social conditions
such conflict is synonymous with dissonance and / or tension, which in fact
means different types of "anagonisms between internally related aspects of a
whole". (Collier 2002: 155-167).At the same time, these antagonisms do not
always mean conflict, but can be understood as a unity of opposites, where
through the constant tension between the subject as such and given structure
(dual anastomosis, mutual determination of human agency and social structures) the transformations and changes in the socio-political world occur in
accordance with the following dialectical thinking: thesis → antithesis →
synthesis.
One cannot at the same time forget that the dialectical method, the origin of
which can be found in the speculative logic of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
and historical materialism of Karl Marx can be successfully applied to the
analysis of individual leadership practices. In this sense, the phenomenon of
leadership is explained rather from the perspective of process definitions of
leadership, where, as suggested by Arthur G. Jago, leadership is a "phenomenon that resides in the context of the interactions between leaders and followers" (Jago 1982: 315-336). In other words, it is the situation of scientific research in which political science analyses of given leadership practices represent a departure from the trait definition of leadership in favor of emphasizing
the complexity and dynamics of the relationship at the interface between the
leader ↔ followers. This is a departure from the subjective understanding of
leadership (explication of leadership based on personality traits or qualities of
a leader, their psychological attributes, developed leadership styles, etc.) for
multi-level and contextual analyses, where followers understood as the sociostructural conditions (explication of leadership based on multi-level analysis
are complimented, where in addition to individual characteristics of the leader
the social, economic and cultural context counts).
Examination of the phenomenon of political leadership in the context of temporality and the complexity of socio-political reality understood as a "complex
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developmental process" becomes the premise valid for explanations of relationship at the interface between the leader ↔ followers through the prism of
dualism subject vs. structure. In this arrangement, the real leadership in politics means permanent clash and penetration of the personal domain (sphere of
activity and agency of the leader, his aptitude, personality attributes, skills,
assertiveness, emotional intelligence) with the structural domain (the social
environment, including the aspiration and expectation of supporters, the level
of social trust, accreditation, legitimisation. Here, the activity of the leader is
determined by supporters and factors social factors). In other words, it is the
research situation where political science analyses of leadership practices are
considered as dialectical relationship of subjective agency of the leader with
the objective socio-structural conditions where on the one hand we can recognize the mutual autonomy of the area of subjective and structural activity of
entities, on the other hand a multi-level impact of both spheres is emphasized.
Hence, the question of dialectical contradictions arises, which becomes the
"powerhouse" of given leadership practices where one notices a simultaneous
antagonism and mutual dependence at the interface between the leader ↔
followers, where leadership in politics is each time synonymous with multilevel coincidence of subjective factors (multiform perpetration of the leader in
the environment) and objective factors (multifaceted activity of social structures).
MORPHOGENETIC PATTERN OF POLITICAL LEADERSHIP
An example of this type of thinking about political reality, including the individual practices of leadership can be found in Archerian morphogenetic /
static perspective where the core of all scientific explanations are dialectical
causal relationships between subjectivity and structural conditions. In this
perspective, the concept of development of the stratified human being3 is the
direct inspiration for the morphogenetic matrix of subjectivity leadership
where leadership in politics is examined in the context of the dual reality in
3
In this regard, the key is realism’s account of the development of the stratified human being
(figure 8.1), where M. S. Archer shows mutual influence and the relationship between
selves ↔ primary agents ↔ corporate agents ↔ actors (Archer 2000: 260 i nast.).
227
which there is a continuous "clash" of two analytically separate spheres, ie the
subject-reflective and socio-structural plane. In other words, it is a thesis that
in which the political leadership should be clarified through the prism of two
separate but interrelated determinants or areas: subjective world – belonging
to different leaders; the objective world – the associated structural circumstances outside in relation to these leaders (Diagram 1).
Diagram 1. Morphogenetic matrix of leader subject
Display
(public)
STRUCTURALISED ACTOR
(„You”)
Quadrant 4
Realisation
individual
Quadrant 1
POLITCAL LEADER
(„We”)
Personification
C
S
O
O
M
C
M
I
I
A
T
L
M
I
E
S
N
A
T
T
Differentiation
REFLECTIVE SUBJECT
(„I” )
I
O
N
Quadrant 3
Realisation
collective
Quadrant 2
LEADER SUBJECT
(„Me” )
Display
(private)
Source: own study4
It is clear that Diagram 1 is an attempt at conceptual-analytical separation of
the four areas in relation to the interface of the leader (party leadership) ↔
followers (structural environment), where in order to adequately investigate
and / or explain the leadership relationship in each policy must be analyzed in
4
More on the political leadership morphogenesis in: F. Pierzchalski, The Morphogenesis of
political leadership. Between the structure and human agency, Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu
Kazimierza Wielkiego, Bydgoszcz 2013.
228
four areas, ie the reflectional subject (quadrant 1), leader subject (quadrant 2),
which together form a peer flow network and exchanges between private and
public displays. In addition, Diagram 1 shows the multiple correlation and
determination that exists between the reflective subject (self-aware) and the
socio-structural environment, which in this case means, among others:
1. „Immersion” of the reflective subject with gradable leadership potential in
the structural and political space in which there is a phenomenon of the
location of the reflective subject with gradable leadership potential in in a
particular structural configuration (quadrnat 2) – means subject's acceptance specific roles, functions, position or status of the development of
leaders in the social environment; the process of making the reflective
subject’s own leadership potential public.
2. The real political leadership in terms of given structural conditions (quadrant 3), where there is a mechanism of personification of leadership. Here
the leader embodies a specific vision, style, authority, talents, ideology
etc. In this aspect, the subject becomes a real creative force which creates
structure, thanks to which alterations, modifications or elaboration of the
socio-structural surrounding may occur.
3. Multilateral environmental impact of structural surrounding on the political leader and, more precisely on the level of self-awareness of the personal leadership (quadrant 4). Here, the structuralized actor is a „transformed” subject due to external objective-reflective factors and arises as a
result of the involvement in the public and political sphere.
CONCLUSIONS
The morphogenetic perspective of scientific analyses of leadership practices
shows the translation of the dualism agency-structure into the relationship at
the interface between the leader ↔ followers. In addition, the adoption of the
morphogenetic perspective as a starting point for research on leadership in
the political leadership means that:
1. Political practice means nothing more than a specific structural configuration, which consists of various types of reflective subjects (leaders). The
whole political order is an outcome - of objective assigned to a specific
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social whole, as well as of a subjective factor based on the activity and inter-subjective interaction . This system is a multi-level analysis of
morphogenetic multi-level, subjective-objective coincidence, where the
first component is a subjective synonym of the reflective subject with
gradable leadership potential, while the second element of objective cultural and structural properties.
2. To explain political leadership means to analyze a specific fragment of
reality, which will keep the proportion and balance of the micro-macro
scale, to go beyond one-dimensional theorizing in favor of seeking precise
two-element explications of integrating character and / or holistic and realistic character, which are crucial for multilateral relations at the interface
of leader (subject) ↔ followers (the socio-structural surrounding).
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1.
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Archer M. S. (1995), Realist Social Theory: The Morphogenetic Approach, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
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Bhaskar R. (1998), The Possibility of Naturalism, Routledge, London & New
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Macmillan, Hampshire
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London
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structure and human agency, Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Kazimierza Wielkiego, Bydgoszcz
17. Sawyer R. K. (2005), Social Emergence. Societies As Complex Systems, Cambridge University Press, New York
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Dr Filip Pierzchalski - Institute of Political Science, Kazimierz Wielki University,
Bydgoszcz, Poland
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Kathleen O’HARE
Dora MARINOVA
SHARING COMMON GROUND: HUMAN RIGHTS DISCOURSE AND THE PRACTICE OF YOGA
INTRODUCTION
The field of human rights – the absolute rights to which each person is entitled
by the mere fact of being a human being (Sepúlveda et al., 2004), is defined
by complexity. This intricacy is as diverse as the spectrum of humanity which
it seeks to understand, protect and in some way, unite. The questions being
asked in the realm of human rights discourse rarely have straightforward answers. Human rights, as understood through the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) gained momentum with the aftermath of the Second
World War. The abhorrence at the magnitude of human suffering during this
time outraged the international community and opened a space for dialogue.
This also saw the beginning of a united effort to heal the wounds created by
the committed atrocities and prevent the magnitude of tragic loss of human
life occurring again. The UDHR adopted by the UN General Assembly in
1948 proclaimed in its first article that: „All human beings are born free and
equal in dignity and rights” (UN, 1948).
Despite the collective action to attempt to never have such cruelties repeated,
the field of human rights has become fraught with complexities, challenges
and inconsistencies. The tension between universalism and cultural relativism
is central to understanding human rights and poses a plethora of questions for
researchers, theoreticians and practitioners (Ife, 2007). The simplistic understanding of human rights as universally applicable everywhere regardless of
the specific context has led to a lot of criticism that portrays this discourse as a
manifestation of the western imperialist and individualist approach to development (Gibney, 2003). Other approaches connect human rights with caring
for others, a domain influenced by religious and spiritual moral considerations
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(Kittel, 2012). This paper opens an alternative view to human rights through
the spiritual practice of yoga and the commitment to social justice. It argues
that there is a strong common ground between the two, a shared space outside
the mainstream western hegemony.
We first outline the main tension between universalism and cultural relativism
in relation to the human rights discourse and then explore the search for alternatives for connecting the individual to the global consciousness through
spiritual liberation. The meaning of the practice of yoga is explained and its
principles are connected to social action. We conclude that although the area
of human rights has traditionally focused on the outer world, for it to be fully
understood and expressed it needs to connect to the nature of being human.
CULTURAL RELATIVISM AND UNIVERSALISM
Cultural relativism provides one of the most compelling areas of contestation
to the universal understanding of human rights. An-Na’im (2001) approaches
this with the belief that human rights violations reflect the lack of cultural
legitimacy in a specific society. Therefore, for such issues to be addressed, it
is essential to reinterpret human rights through the religious and cultural beliefs and constructions of that society (An-Na’im, 2001). Such a position does
not dismiss the universal standards of human rights, however it does argue
that there needs to be real attempts to embed these frameworks in all societies
through a legitimate and agreed process.
Cultural relativism provides an alternative to universal notions of human
rights which are largely determined by a western liberal democratic approach
(Bauer, 2003). Dominant voices about human rights largely represent western
liberal groups and there is a lack of critique of the normative or foundational
beliefs which underlie human rights assumptions (Mutua, 2002). An-Na’im
(1992, p. 315) argues for a „re-conceptualization of human rights through a
cross cultural approach to assist in the dialogue which is necessary in the development of standards and shared understandings”. He believes that continued cross-cultural dialogue is needed to enable the development of human
rights so that they have contemporary meaning and relevance. His perspective
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legitimizes culture but he does not lose sight of universalism as the overall
goal for human rights (An-Na’im, 1992).
Mutua (2002) develops this idea further and suggests that there is a lack of
critical engagement with the underlying assumptions in the human rights discourse with a downfall of the current understandings being the limited exchange between those who argue for either a universal or relativist perspective. Further to this, the formulation of human rights must be considered outside of the usual American and European legal systems. Mutua (2002, p. 14)
encapsulates it by saying „the problem with the current bundle of attributes
lies in their inadequacy, incompleteness and wrongheadedness”. He explains
that the globalization of human rights is part of a historical pattern in which
the West is the high morality and civilizing agent to the rest of the world (Mutua, 2002). The lack of critical engagement with the power imbalances is evident in the normative constructions of human rights. Although there might be
states that attempt to hide behind culture in an effort to continue practices
which are harmful to their citizens, this is not reason enough to place barriers
in front of establishing cross-cultural legitimacy to human rights (Mutua,
2002).
It is argued that there is no shared understanding of universalism (An’Naim,
1992; De Sousa Santos 2007; Mutua, 2002). While An-Na’im (1992), De
Sousa Santos (2007) and Mutua (2002) present different arguments for the
basis of their beliefs, they clearly state that a reinterpretation of these normative and universal ideals must be reconstructed through non-western cultures
as a priority. Universalism, international and global understandings of human
rights are terms used too lightly and frequently with scant regard for those
who fall outside western liberal democratic states.
Cultural relativism and universalism is the most compelling issue within human rights and should not be left to „wax and wane with political and academic fashions” (Goodale, 2009, pp. 71). Goodale (2009, pp. 64) does not
denote this to being a purely academic issue as relativism is intrinsically
linked to „the enduring specter of imperialism, racism, and the inequalities of
power within the international system. Indeed it is precisely at the moment
that academics are declaring the problem of relativism obsolete, marginal to
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real issue or logically absurd that we can be assured that the problem is most
current, central and intellectually challenging and thus most in need of the
attention of a wider range of critical voices”.
The views discussed here differ significantly from the traditional understandings of human rights which have been historically located within the domain
of law, politics and international relations and as such are most usually understood as an area for rationalist and positivist inquiry (Meckled-Garcia and
Cali, 2006). However, the disagreement about the universal nature of human
rights has undoubtedly led to them being less applicable.
OPENING UP OF HUMAN RIGHTS
There has long been a commitment to the betterment of the human condition
and this may have previously been explored through avenues such as religion
and politics (Evans, 2007). The acceptance of the universalism of human
rights as complete, according to De Sousa Santos (2007), represents an immaturity in the development of the human rights discourse. His suggestion is to
reject the idea of consensus and by doing so, enable a dialogue regarding the
dissentions, complexities and flaws in the idea of a universal understanding of
human rights. It is further argued that „insurgent cosmopolitanism has succeeded in credibly demonstrating that there is an alternative to hegemonic, top
down globalization and that there is counter hegemonic, solidarity, and bottom
up globalization” (De Sousa Santos, 2007, p. 11).
The framing of human rights through the United Nations has tacitly placed
responsibility for these rights in the hands of nation-states. This framework
does not acknowledge the role of the individual, family, neighbourhood,
community, nation and global community within human rights (Ife, 2010). Ife
(2010) further argues that human rights is ultimately about human relationships and therefore also include a responsibility on behalf of each individual.
He advocates for a recasting of human rights and for them to be conceived
through the relationship between individuals, communities, nations and globally. This reconstruction is outside of the realms of law and the state, and returns responsibility to each person to be an actor in a culture of human rights.
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Therefore ‘universal’ human rights need not be realised through legal mechanisms alone. Ife (2010) distinguishes between discursive and reflexive understandings of human rights. He believes that discursive definitions occur when
the notion of human rights is given as factual, inflexible and taken for granted
definitions documented in the likes of charters or bills of rights. Conversely,
the reflexive definition of human rights occurs when people make sense of the
terms human rights themselves and rather than accept the definitions thrust
upon them, examine the meanings and uncover them for themselves.
Opening to the understanding of alternative possibilities to ways of framing
human rights is essential to the continued relevance of the human rights discourse. Rationalist principles such as reason and deduction, often used to
frame humanistic ethics informing human rights, do not inherently connect the
body, heart and mind and therefore limit our human expression (Kittel, 2012).
They also limit our capacity to respond to the incredible challenges that
threaten humanity such as war, disease and poverty. While the need for action
on many fronts seems obvious, rational thinking has dominated attitudes that
there is little that can be done about matters of such a magnitude. However a
growing interest in the connectedness of the individual self to the global consciousness provides a space to develop the idea of the individual impact on the
global cosmos at large. This is noted in organisations which seek to incorporate the spiritual practice of yoga and the commitment to social justice programs, activism and human rights, including NGO groups, yoga organisations
and individuals. The areas of spiritual liberation and that of political liberation
have long been divided and this separation is probably most greatly displayed
in the secularism’s heartland of the West. However even there, what once was
firm ground may now seem to be giving way (Job, 2009). Job (2009, pp. 206)
asserts that the strength in these two approaches „is for each to discover in the
other the resources they need to creatively respond to their own limitations”.
In the human rights discourses religion and spirituality are usually considered
to be positioned into that of the private realms (Kittel, 2012). This belies the
fact that religion and spirituality are also of importance to social movements
and social justice. Famously, Mahatma Gandhi guided by Hinduism with Jain
influences, employed non-violent civic disobedience and led the Indian
movement for independence from colonialist Great Britain (Gandhi, 2008).
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Martin Luther King’s work was guided by the Christian principle of unconditional, self-sacrificial love referred to as agape; Aung San Suu Kyi leads the
Burmese struggle for democracy according to ahimsa and meta or loving
kindness; the Dalai Lama leads the Tibet Freedom Movement with specific
attention to the Buddhist principle of compassion (Kittel, 2012). These powerful examples demonstrate interconnection between the individual practices of
religion and spirituality and the external world of social justice, social change
and the quest for human rights. These examples span multiple cultures, continents and social issues. At their core are devotional leaders, steadfast in their
commitment to their inner spiritual lives and to sharing their spiritual practices
more broadly in the world. This commitment is demonstrated by challenging
injustices and suffering. The burgeoning world of modern yoga provides an
avenue for exploring the connection between inner spiritual values and the
outside world.
PRACTICING YOGA
Positioning yoga as both a transformative personal practice and an avenue for
social justice is challenging. This challenge stems from the notion that yoga is
a diverse practice and has multiple meanings. Yoga has roots both in ancient
Indian culture but equally true is that it is a booming commoditized market in
the modern world. Looking at yoga in its classical form is beneficial for understanding its potential. The word ‘Yoga’ is derived from the Sanskrit term
‘Yuj’ meaning ‘to yoke’ or ‘to join’ or to ‘join together’ (Iyengar, 2001). At a
philosophical level this refers to the joining of the individual consciousness
and the universal consciousness or to the yoked reality of the human’s experience of body, mind and spirit (Taylor, 2004). The practice of yoga essentially
springs from the knowledge that greed, hatred and delusion manifest in the
human being based on impure residues known as samskaras. In order to be
free from these states the body must be cleansed from these impurities (Chapple, 2008). More commonly perhaps, the term refers to that group of practices
originally from India that develops harmony in the body, mind and spirit
(Feuerstein, 1998).
In the Indian traditions, these groups of practices or pathways include Jnana
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Yoga or the yoga of knowledge and the intellect, Bhakti Yoga or the yoga of
devotion, Karma Yoga or the yoga of selfless service and Ashtanga Yoga or
the eight-limbed path incorporating rules of living with physical, mental and
spiritual practices. While many of the pathways are closely linked to Hinduism, Ashtanga Yoga lends itself to secular life and is widely practiced across
the world by people of many religions as well as by those with no religious
affiliations as it makes no dogmatic demands of belief (Taylor, 2004). Yoga –
today this term conjures images ranging from cave dwelling men with long
beards to a lycra worthy physique stretched into a spectacular position.
Given the extremes in these descriptions it is pertinent to acknowledge that
yoga covers considerable ground and ranges from a spiritual practice from the
Indian subcontinent to a health and wellbeing phenomena spread across the
developed world. These interpretations of yoga are impacted upon by the era,
geographic location, context and practice (Singleton and Byrne, 2008; Strauss,
2005). Strauss (2005) claims that yoga can be described as an attitude, philosophy, set of practices and way of being in the world. It can be found in all
parts of the globe and is „unobtrusively but visibly expanding” (De Michelis,
2008, p. 17). The Australian Bureau of Statistics based on a 2012 survey about
sport and recreation in Australia found yoga was one of the top ten physical
activities undertaken by women with 3.3% of Australian women (which
equals to 298 900 women) indicating that they participated in yoga (ABS,
2012). Another survey conducted by the Australian Sports Commission indicates that yoga received a 3.5% participation rate across all population with
610 200 participants (SCRS, 2011, p. 62).
The meaning of yoga as traditionally taught in the Yoga Sutra 1.2 describes
yoga as yoga chittavritti nirodaha. This literally means that yoga is translated
to describe the cessation of the fluctuations of the mind (Iyengar, 2001;
Chapple, 2008) which can be achieved through many different ways. Yoga
Australia (2011) describes the multiple styles and practices of Yoga as follows…
„In Yoga, the body, breath and mind are seen as a union of these
multi-dimensional aspects of each and every human being. The
system and various techniques of Yoga cultivate the experience of
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that union, leading to greater integration of being, internal peacefulness and clarity of the mind. It is a system that is designed to
cultivate health and happiness and a greater sense of selfawareness and higher consciousness.”
The Yoga Sutras describe the eight limbs of practice which are required by the
seeker to overcome the difficulties that they have on their spiritual path. These
are a balance of integrated spiritual practices and states of awareness (Iyengar,
2001; Adele, 2009; Stone, 2009).
1. Yama – there are five yamas and they are considered universal moral
guidelines in nature: ahimsa or non-violence, satya or truthfulness, asteya
or non-stealing, brahmacharya or chastity and aparigraha or noncoveting. The yamas describe how a yoga practitioner relates to the world.
2. Niyama – they relate to the individual and are saucha or practices of purity and cleanliness particularly of the body: santosa or contentment,
tapas which is an intense and concentrated effort, svadhyana or self-study
or education and isvara pranidhana or dedication of one’s actions to a
higher consciousness/power.
3. Asana – these postures or positions serve to strengthen and invigorate the
body, helping all physical systems to work harmoniously. They include
the skeletal and muscular structures as well as the circulation, respiratory,
glandular and nervous systems. The asanas are performed with awareness,
with a focus on the breath and the internal experience.
4. Pranayama – practices of breath regulation and control. Through the
breath the body is relaxed and energised. There are many different techniques of pranayama.
5. Pratyahara – this occurs through the practices outlined above and involves the practitioner turning their focus within and therefore they are
less impacted upon by their senses. This is the first step towards meditation.
6. Dharana – this is the practice of focussed concentration. It may occur
through focussing on one thing, such as one of the senses. This is a preparatory stage for meditation.
7. Dhayana – this is meditation, mindfulness and stilling of the mind
8. Samadhi – this is joining or yoking of the individual and the universal.
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These traditional philosophical views of yoga are crucial for understanding the
roots of this dynamic practice. However as this practice grows and moves into
many different permeations around the globe, it is essential to consider the
view of Stone (2009, p. 68) who states „as yoga penetrates contemporary
cultures, and if its practices help awaken us, certainly we will have something
to offer this ancient tradition currently coming alive in a new form, and, by
extension, yoga will have something to offer this culture at this time”.
YOGA AND HUMAN RIGHTS
Linking human rights to the practice of yoga is through yama and niyama of
an ‘eight limbed’ yoga practice. A social action significantly impacted by the
teachings of yoga is exemplified through the life of Mahatma Gandhi (Pastan,
2006; Tahtinen, 1979). Gandhi’s work was embodying the practices of ahimsa
(non-violence) and satya (truthfulness) so that his life was an expression of
these ethics or virtues. Ahimsa or satya he describes as rising out of the unity
within one’s mind and body referred to unity or oneness. In this sense ahimsa
is not merely the absence of violence but an embodied presence, strength and
truth (Tahtinen, 1976). Some interpretations of non-violence have been to
describe non-killing, however this is a narrow view and ahimsa may extend to
all thoughts, speech and finally action. In Gandhi’s ahimsa human values take
on great significance. He implored his followers to consider ahimsa in all
areas.
Ahimsa in this sense is a way of life rather than a tactic and together with the
search for truth makes the difference between passive submission to injustice
and an active struggle against it. My life is my message was not a mere statement but a testimony and as much of Gandhi’s work wasn’t theoretical, it is
his life, which must be examined (Allen, 2008). He believed that the greatest
human need was to be released from evil and untruth that are in oneself (Bose,
1981). For Gandhi there could be no victory or defeat; only the pursuit of certain values and social action was an inherent part of this process. In this his
understanding of ahimsa delineated from some Jain, Hindu and Buddhist interpretations. He chose not to turn inward but to focus outwardly with a detached attitude to the outcomes of his actions (Mantena, 2012).
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Gandhi’s theory of non-violence therefore included structural inequities, such
as the role of government as a pervasive form of violence in the lives of citizens (Mantena, 2012). However despite drawing on both Hindu and Christian
teachings, Gandhi never claimed that his political ideals came solely from his
spiritual beliefs. He was a self-confessed political pragmatist and dismissed
ideas of himself being saintly or a visionary. This combination disempowered
Britain’s hold on India. Gandhi taught citizens to rise up against this suffering
and injustice and in essence, to stop believing the oppressors. In relation to a
Gandhian perspective of peace, the means and ends are radically interconnected. His philosophy stated that the means are the ends and therefore there
the emphasis was always relational and not on any specific outcome. Gandhi
taught that non-violent struggle is not the ‘safe’ option, as it sometimes may
be construed. Satyagraha (non-violent action) to oppose serious oppression is
inherently dangerous. However it also is a process that has proven to be powerful and effective in achieving outcomes (Mattani and Atkinson, 2011).
The UDHR does not explicitly encapsulate non-violence as understood
through the yamas and niyamas of Ashtanga yoga. Human rights are not expressed as duties but as rights and therefore, does not provide guidance to an
individual on how to act (and this was presumably never its intent). Article 5
of the UDHR states that no one shall be subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman
or degrading torture or punishment (UN, 1948). It positions being able to live
free from serious harm as integral to human rights and provides a link between
the UDHR and the practice of ahimsa. This conceptualises the interconnection
between yoga and human rights and from this linkage multiple applications of
this relationship can be explored.
There are more recent applications of yogic principles influencing social action. Chapple (2009, p. 107) describes non-violence as a basic consideration:
„will this thought, word or action cause harm or violence to another? If so,
what alternative can be found?” He asserts that foundational to a yogic lifestyle is the knowledge that all life is interconnected and therefore sacred and
this informs environmental activism based on spiritual teachings such as yoga.
Chapple (2009) argues for non-violence to be the basis for environmental
action which emphasises green lifestyle choices. According to him, the yogic
principle of truthfulness can be applied to understanding global warming. He
241
argues that being truthful with ourselves about our impact on the universe and
aiming to educate others about this impact is critical and an integral part of
yogic practice. By being untruthful we remain in a state of self-deception
which ultimately leads to further neglect of ourselves and the planet. In terms
of non-stealing, Chapple (2009) uses the example of the USA which is home
to five percent of the world’s population and utilizes forty percent of the
world’s natural resources. This staggering injustice can be considered stealing,
as many people are exploited in untenable working conditions and living in
absolute poverty to provide goods, services and natural resources for some
lucky nations (Chapple, 2009).
Laura Cornell founder of Green Yoga Association places Gandhian values of
non-violence central to the teachings of this organisation (Green Yoga Association, 2009). She teaches that the practice of yoga provides a foundation for
correct action that can be extended to all beings and eco-systems. Using this
reinterpretation of yoga ethics Cornell began a campaign to encourage the
removal of all yoga mats made from polyvinyl chloride to mats made of natural rubber and jute (Chapple, 2009). Gary Snyder cuts to the heart of nonduality that yoga describes, and states that „non-harming is not something we
do, it becomes who we are. When yoga is expressed you are peace” (Stone,
2009, p. 69). All these positions concur that internal change and external actions are connected and can be viewed as one and the same.
Kittel (2012) argues that with reference to human rights the private views of
religion and spirituality are just as important as the political views of the public. The domination of political views over private, religious or spiritual views
continues their subordination. Practicing yoga has always been associated
with the personal realm – an individual pursuit, practiced with other likeminded individuals to eventually come to know one’s own true nature. However the practice of yamas and niyamas are about how we relate to ourselves
and others. This signifies that our relationship with ourselves and others is
crucial in the development of our spiritual selves. The yamas and niyamas of
yoga practice differ to the contemporary perspectives of human rights. One of
the most obvious differences is that the yamas and niyamas are conceptualised
as duties and responsibilities on the bearer. They also lack prescription and
therefore it is the responsibility of the bearer to ascertain if thoughts, words
242
and actions are in fact an embodiment of these qualities. The yamas and niyamas are broad principles which can be applied to the smallest deeds and actions. Therefore this practice provides no limits to where these principles can
be applied. In no way are these ethics relational to the state. This is in stark
contrast to a western democratic understanding of rights being a process
where the state has responsibility for the relationship between individuals and
their human rights. Contemporary human rights are in essence prescriptive;
however despite this they are lacking in any grounding in human interaction.
The ethical principles of yoga are taken to be applied to all people, at all times
regardless of any difference that may be apparent. In western human rights,
multiple codes have sprung up in an effort to overcome inequality between
people based on race, religion, ability, gender or sexuality. Stone (2009, p. 85)
asserts that the acceptance of an „interconnectedness that exists among all
living things begins by exiting this kind of thinking where the transformation
of society is one thing and the transformation of ourselves is another”. In
yoga, neither takes precedence; these two aspects cannot be separated so easily. Therefore this radically changes what may be social action and what may
be considered spiritual practice making room for a seamless integration of
spiritual practices and social activism.
An example of social action through a spiritual practice is that of Engaged
Buddhism, instigated by Thich Naht Hanh in response to the brutality and
horrors witnessed during the war in Vietnam in the 1960s (Queen and King,
1996). According to Buddhist principles internal anguish such as selfishness,
greed, anger and delusion manifest in external behaviour and incline people to
violate rather than protect human rights. This fundamental insight of Engaged
Buddhism is crucial to the advancement of human rights as an equally inward
turning and outward turning transformation. Engaged Buddhism focuses on
the resolution of social problems through both inner and outer action (Kraft,
1992). It aims to combine the culmination of inner peace with active social
compassion in a practice and lifestyle which supports and enriches.
Peace within restores wholeness and dignity to the human and thus contributes
to the project of human rights and global peace. The burgeoning area of Engaged Buddhism (Queen and King, 1996) therefore provides an existing
243
framework for the spiritual practice of yoga as embodied activism.
CONCLUSION
Human rights as a discipline has traditionally focussed on the outer world,
insisting along with thoughts of rationalist inquiry that the inner and outer
worlds are not linked. Human rights actualised through a humanist ethic according to modern rationalist principles, a process that does not allow for the
full expression of what it means to be human (Kittel, 2012). This gaping hole
in human rights discourse has been long overlooked, denied and belittled by
many in the area contributing to the support of narrow worldviews and the
void of those who seek alternative explanations for the existence of humanity
and life on Earth.
However practices of human enrichment such as the spiritual yoga provide an
alternative view to understand human interactions, the quest for peace and the
ability to live a good life. Too often spiritual and secular worldviews are seen
as binary and the outcome gridlocked into a preferred way of expressing our
shared humanity. Viewing these as mutually enriching may provide firmer
ground for encompassing expressions of human rights.
An integration of the eastern and western world (Singleton, 2010), in the form
of modern yoga as a spiritual practice offers an embodied experience for its
practitioners with which to experience new consciousness and awareness and
may be a vehicle to inform social activism. Therefore this is an expression of
human rights and it is this expression that has begun to manifest in dynamic
forms within the community, NGOs and social justice groups globally.
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Kathleen O’Hare – PhD candidate, Centre for Human Rights Education, Curtin University, Australia
Prof. Dora Marinova - Curtin University Sustainability Policy Institute, Australia
247
248
III.
SUSTAINABILITY
– KNOWLEDGE
– WISDOM
249
Joanna KIELIN-MAZIARZ
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
The aim of the paper is to consider whether there is a connection between
environmental management and sustainable development. I argue that the
implementation of environmental management can be considered as an element that could improve sustainable growth. As far as I am concerned, there is
a possibility to indicate two levels of accordance between the environmental
management system (based on EMAS) and the sustainable development concept. It is possible 1) to determine the formal dimension of dependence between the system and the principle and 2) to indicate the substantive dimension. The formal dimension according to the division consists of the presence
of the system in the EU documents concerning sustainable development (e.g.,
strategies, action plans, progress reports) whereas the substantive dimension,
which results from the formal one, concerns the method by which the sustainable development idea can be realized by the environmental management systems. This article will be based on such separation of terms.
In terms of the European environmental law, the most important factor to
mention is the EMAS Environmental Management System. The Eco Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) is included in Community Regulation
(EC) No 1221/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2009, allowing voluntary participation by organizations in a community’s eco-management and audit scheme. This regulation, called EMAS III,
replaced the EMAS II regulation adopted on 19 March 2001.1 EMAS is a voluntary management tool for companies and other organizations created in
order to evaluate, report, and improve their environmental performance.
An environmental management system is based on the grounds of environmental law principles established by the Treaty on the Functioning of the
1
The first version of the EMAS regulation was adopted in 1993—Council Regulation (EEC)
No. 1836/93 of June 1993—and allowed voluntary participation by companies in the industrial sector; „A Community Eco-Management and Audit Scheme” Official Journal of the
European Communities (OJ), 10.07.1993.
250
European Union2 such as prevention, reduction, and—if possible—elimination
of the environmental pollution at source, which should take place at the enterprise level (i.e., at the source of pollution).3 These principles are not only reflected in the environmental management systems; the connection between the
previously mentioned principles and the environmental management system is
the effect of the general accordance between the system and the idea of sustainable development. The aim of such an approach to the problem is to measure reasonable use of natural goods as well as present the application of environmentally friendly, „clean” technologies. 4 The same understanding of the
connection between sustainable development and environmental management
is included in the EU strategy concerning sustainable development.5 The strategy contains seven main challenges to achieving sustainable development—
namely, climate change and clean energy, sustainable transport, sustainable
production and consumption, better management of natural resources, public
health threats, social inclusion, demography and migration, and the fighting of
global poverty. The most interesting challenge from the environmental management point of view is the challenge concerning sustainable production and
consumption. The question of addressing this challenge is explored in The
Sustainable Consumption and Production Action Plan included in the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the
European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of Regions
from 2008.6 The action plan refers to the EMAS regulation, treating it as a
measure by which the environmental dimension of the industry might be
achieved. The action plan was published in 2008 and stated the need of introducing the amendments to the EMAS II regulation. As previously indicated, in
2009 the new regulation (EMAS III) was adopted; thus, it can be said that the
action plan’s stipulations had been fulfilled. The action plan7 stresses that the
2
3
4
5
6
7
Art. 191 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, OJ C 83/4.
J. Kielin, Environmental management systems as an exemplification of the European Law
Principles, Warsaw, 2010.
J. Kielin, op. cit.
EU strategy concerning sustainable development.
The Sustainable Consumption and Production Action Plan included in the Communication
from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and
Social Committee and the Committee of Regions from 2008, Brussels, 16.7.2008,
COM(2008) 397.
251
EU system called EMAS is a measure by which enterprises can optimize their
„production processes, reducing environmental impacts and making more
effective use of resources.”8 The main stipulation of environmental management is to protect the environment, which still remains under very strong influence of industrial plants; however, under the new method, it would be
founded inter alia on the constant improvement of the enterprise as well as on
the new instruments entailing the reduction of the negative environmental
impact. Consequently, EMAS is the European Union’s system designated for
those organizations that aim to stay in accordance with the environmental law
while simultaneously aspiring to ensure self-improvement as well as diminishing its negative environmental effect.9
The action plan stressed the need to amend the regulation. The aim of the
amendment is to increase the number of organizations participating in the
system. According to the action plan, this could be achieved inter alia by decreasing the administrative burden and costs for small organizations. As the
action plan stipulates, the new EMAS III regulation introduced changes by
which the system could be more attractive for organizations. Such a solution
was necessary because the number of organizations participating in the EMAS
system was very small. The Progress Report on the Sustainable Development
Strategy 2007 10 stressed that, despite the adoption of several initiatives, as
predicted by the renewed strategy, to support and promote sustainable consumption and production challenge (e.g., implementation of the eco-design
aspects of the Energy Using Products Directive and the EU Environmental
Technologies Action Plan and continued work on an Environmental Technologies Verification System), the number of organizations participating in
the eco-label and environmental management system still remained very
small.11 The progress report estimated that only 5,000 of the 29 million companies operating in the EU are registered in the EMAS. In 2009, the commis-
8
9
10
11
COM(2008) 397, p. 9.
Ibid.
J. Kielin, op. cit.
Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament Progress
Report on the Sustainable Development Strategy 2007 Brussels, 22.10.2007, COM(2007)
642 final, p. 6
Ibid. 2007.
252
sion prepared a communication that reviewed the European Union’s strategy
for sustainable development.12 According to the second progress report, some
development in the scope of sustainable consumption and production had been
achieved since the previous revision. However, these changes, as stated in the
report, „show a rather mixed picture”.13 Better results are evident in the sphere
of sustainable production rather than consumption. The progress report in
2009 was adopted at the same time that the legislation process concerning the
new EMAS regulation was conducted, which is why this report does not pay
as much attention to the system as the previous one. The 2011 new report
should refer to the results of the amendments incorporated to the EMAS regulation in 2011. However, untill 2013 the new report concerning sustainable
development was not prepared.
In 2011 Mid – term Evaluation of the Sustainable Consumption and Production and Sustainable Industrial Policy Action Plan Technical Report stated that
EMAS „appears to have similar problems with low take up and a perception
of complexity.” The main problem, of EMAS, according to the report is its
voluntary character. At the same time there are not enough incentives in many
Member States. The authors of the report say that the solutions can be found
in „either an obligation for companies to have a certified Environmental Management System (like e.g. in Norway) or in the creation of proper (financial or
regulatory) incentives in the Member States.”14 Beside these obstacles, according to the data given by Eurostat in 2013, since 2003 the number of organizations which participate in the EMAS system increased, mainly in
Southern European countries. In 2013 this level was particularly high in Cyprus, Austria, Spain, Italy and in Denmark.15 Between 2003 and 2010 registration in the EMAS increased increased by 5.7 % per year from 3 068 to 4 521
12
13
14
15
Brussels, 24.7.2009, COM(2009) 400 final Communication from the Commission to the
European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the
Committee of the Regions Mainstreaming sustainable development into EU policies: 2009
Review of the European Union Strategy for Sustainable Development.
Ibid.
R. Williams, K. Rademaekers, M. Smith, S. Zaki, Ch. van Breugel, Mid-term Evaluation of
the Sustainable Consumption and Production and Sustainable Industrial Policy Action Plan
Under the Framework Contract ENV.G.1/FRA/2006 Final Report; Client: European Commission – DG Environment; Rotterdam, September 2011.
Data available at: http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_OFFPUB/237PL/PL/237PLPL.PDF, 25.02.2014.
253
organizations.16
The main stipulation of the new EMAS regulation, as already stressed, was to
undertake the measures by which the number of organizations participating in
the system will increase. It is crucial to ensure the proper image of organizations working based on EMAS. An environmental management system organization achieves a more „environmental friendly” image as the system
ensures that the production and management patterns stay in accordance with
the environmental law requirements. As such, it is necessary to stress that the
EMAS purpose is also to encourage industrial plants—as well as organizations in general—to take responsibility for the environmental outcomes,
threats and dangers generated by their actions. Furthermore, because of the
environmental management implementation, organizations have the opportunity to engage in voluntary self-restraint in order to decrease the negative environmental impacts identified herein.
The implementation of the EMAS system provides enterprises a chance to
increase their competitiveness as organizations performing according to the
environmental management system might generate higher social confidence.
At a time when many are paying more attention to the problems of environmental protection and taking greater care of natural goods, companies concerned about their environmentally friendly images have obviously stronger
market positions. It also should be stressed that an efficiently working environmental management system contributes to reducing the costs of enterprises’ actions as well as to their improvement.17 These are the advantages of
the environment management system implementation. In particular, those
elements that stress the external dimension of the system could become the
prevailing arguments encouraging organizations to implement the system.
Although the advantages of the system are significant, the number of organizations participating in the EMAS system remains small, making amendment
of the regulation necessary. In the Proposal for the EMAS Regulation, the
most important change was to introduce the amendments by which the system
will be more attractive for participants—both current and potential partici16
17
Data available at: http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/statistics_explained/index.php/Sustainable_development_-_consumption_and_production, 25.02.2014.
J. Kielin, op. cit.
254
pants.18 The new EMAS III regulation provides for measures that could encourage organizations to participate in the system.
One of them is the idea of green public procurement,19 which is the measure
put forth in the EU’s sustainable development strategy as one of the means for
sustainable consumption and production.20 The aim of green public procurement is to diminish the negative impact of the public sector’s consumption on
the environment while stimulating innovation in environmental technologies,
products, and services.21 The Renewed Strategy for Sustainable Development
assumes a wide range of its application. The method by which this could be
achieved is application in the public sector. The new EMAS III regulation
asserts that the member states should conduct public procurement procedures,
taking into consideration organizations which implemented the EMAS regulation and work according to this or any other environmental management system. The EMAS III regulation22 obliges the public sector to choose only from
among these organizations. As the regulation states, participation in the system should be a condition for undertaking work and service contracts, although without prejudice to community legislation on public procurement. 23
The effect of such a regulation will be a greater number of organizations participating in the EMAS system, especially those that realize public procurements.24 It is possible to expect that such dependence between green public
procurements and environmental management can realize the sustainable de18
19
20
21
22
23
24
Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the voluntary
participation by organisations in a Community eco-management and audit scheme (EMAS),
16.7.2008, KOM(2008) 402 final version, 2008/0154 (COD), s .9
Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, Public procurement
for a better environment Brussels, 16.7.2008, KOM(2008) 400, http://eurlex.europa.eu/
LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2008:0400:FIN:EN:PDF
Renewed European Union Sustainable Development Strategy.
Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, Public procurement
for a better environment Brussels, 16.7.2008, KOM(2008) 400, http://eurlex.europa.eu/
LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2008:0400:FIN:EN:PDF
Community Regulation (EC) No 1221/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council
of 25 November 2009 allowing voluntary participation by organisations in a Community
eco-management and audit scheme, O J L 342/1.
Art. 43 of the Community Regulation (EC) No 1221/2009 of the European Parliament and
of the Council of 25 November 2009 allowing voluntary participation by organisations in a
Community eco-management and audit scheme, OJ L 342/1.
J. Kielin-Maziarz, „New EMAS III Regulation” Przegląd Ustawodawstwa Gospodarczego,
10 (760), 2011, pp. 23-29.
255
velopment concept.
The other measure by which the number of organizations participating in the
system will increase is the incentives for small organizations, consisting of
reduction of the burdens connected with the implementation of the system. As
the regulation states, the participation of small organizations should be promoted by „facilitating access to information, to existing support funds and to
public institutions and by establishing or promoting technical assistance
measures”25 or even by reduction of registration fees for small organizations.26
The New EMAS regulation also indicates different means by which the system would be more attractive, including the possibility of groups of organizations participating (e.g., clusters of organizations), with the possibility for
corporate registration, which—according to the proposal for the regulation—
will have a direct cost-saving effect and make participation more attractive.27
In order to create a more attractive system, the regulation also recommends
the reduction of regulatory and administrative burdens „by introducing elements that create synergies with, and allow for, closer operational links between EMAS and other EU legislation and instruments” or the facilities in
implementation of the system by organizations already operating according to
another environmental system. There is also a possibility for organizations
from outside the community to use the system.
The new regulation pays higher attention to the visibility of participation in
the system. One of the measures by which the higher visibility of the system
could be achieved is the simplification of the logo application. According to
the new regulation, EMAS has only one symbol.28
All of these measures from the EMAS III regulation can contribute to realizing the recommendation of the Sustainable Development Progress Report in
terms of the need to increase the number of participants in the system. As
25
26
27
28
P. 10 of the Community Regulation (EC) No 1221/2009 of the European Parliament and of
the Council of 25 November 2009 allowing voluntary participation by organisations in a
Community eco-management and audit scheme, OJ L 342/1.
Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the voluntary
participation by organisations in a Community eco-management and audit scheme (EMAS),
Brussels, 16.7.2008, COM(2008) 402 final, 2008/0154 (COD).
Ibid.
J. Kielin, op. cit.
256
previously mentioned, organizations that have implemented the system can
perform in accordance with the environmental law requirements and simultaneously become more attractive on the market. However, it is still a question
as to whether the amendments, which in theory should provoke the organizations to implement the system, really could become the measure by which the
number of registered organizations will grow.
The question presented thus far concerns the first aspect of the realization by
the environmental management system, according to EMAS—namely, the
concept of sustainable development. As mentioned in the beginning, the aim
of this paper is also to indicate the substantive dimension by which sustainable
development can be realized by environmental management systems. The
strict division between the formal and substantive dimensions is not possible
because, as already stressed, the substantive dimensions emerge from the formal ones.
Today, sustainable development creates the bases for preserving natural resources while simultaneously ensuring economic and social development. All
environmental protection policies as well as particular norms should focus on
exploring this idea.29 Understanding sustainable development will help clarify
that all sector policies should stay in accordance with this principle. „The sustainable development concept can be treated as the answer for the dangers
created in the natural environment by the extensive economic development
connected with wide exploitation of the natural resources. The sustainable
development idea predicts the possibility of the economic growth with simultaneously taking into account the issue of environmental protection.” 30 Sustainable development is an idea widely reflected in the legal regulations concerning the environmental management concept. As Stanisław Wrzosek noted,
„in every state which implemented the international law rule, it is impossible
to create the norms concerning the mention question without taking into consideration the idea of sustainable development.”31
In order to demonstrate the dependence between environmental management
and sustainable development, it is important to understand the elements in the
29
30
31
Ibid.
Ibid.
S. Wrzosek: Ekorozwój w prawie polskim, Ekonomia i Środowisko, Nr 2, 2001, p.168.
257
construction of the system that can determine the reasonableness of the assumption.
The first element is the need for constant improvement. An organization that
has implemented one of the systems is obliged to use natural resources effectively while promoting technological development. Such an attitude ensures
the proper utilization of the environment, which is one of the aims of sustainable development, while compelling the organization to pursue technological
development to make the use of natural resources more effective. In addition
to constant improvement, the environmental management system requires the
proper use of natural resources at every work station in the production sphere
and for every service. Another crucial element is the lifecycle assessment for
moving closer to sustainable production.
The Sustainable Consumption and Production Action Plan included in the
Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of Regions from 200832 stipulates the main challenge to be the creation of a dynamic framework „to improve the energy and environmental performance of
products and foster their uptake by consumers.”33 It is possible to say that one
of the main assumptions of sustainable production is a question of improving
the overall environmental performance of products throughout their lifecycle.
Connections between the environmental management system and the sustainable production issue are a problem for the product lifecycles. According to
the sustainable production action plan, it is necessary to minimize the product’s negative impact on each stage of its life. Such an assumption underscores the need to also pay attention to the phase of product manufacturing.
Environmental management systems give the product the possibility of realizing the concept of sustainable consumption as it pays attention to environmentally friendly production.
Another argument is the better fulfillment of environmental law requirements
by the organization once it implements the system. Environmental manage32
33
COM(2008) 397.
Ibid.
258
ment promotes regular reporting on the functioning of the system; thus, the
organization not only fulfills the minimum legal standards but often is able to
operate beyond the minimum requirements. Organizations that control the
dimensions of their pollution also introduce additional measures aimed at preventing further pollution.34 Moreover, the implementation of the system ensures that the main threats to the environment from the organization side are
properly identified and that effective management of the environment in the
enterprise minimizes them. In addition to risk reduction, the organization—
through the implementation of the system—is able to correctly identify its
influence and the limits of its liability for environmental violations; in the case
of risk, the organization can properly manage these issues and minimize negative environmental effects35.
The advantage of implementing an environmental management system is
therefore the fact that this system provides for an adequately organized and
coherent concept for appropriately dealing with issues related to environmental protection at the organizational level in order to reduce negative environmental impacts36. At the same time, participation in EMAS, as previously
mentioned, creates greater competitiveness for the organization. It is also connected with greater confidence among the public. The reduction of extra activity costs undoubtedly result in financial benefits for the organization.
Such an attitude realizes the concept of sustainable development because, as
previously mentioned, it diminishes the negative environmental impacts while
promoting organizational development. As such, the EMAS III is not only a
measure promoting strategies related to sustainable development; its structure
and the main idea of environmental management are in accordance with the
general concept of sustainable development.
Dr Joanna Kielin-Maziarz – School of Law, Kozminski University, Warsaw, Poland
34
35
36
N. Darnall, D. Rigling Gallagher, R. N. L. Andrews, D. Armal: Environmental Management
Systems: Opportunities for Improved Environment and Business Strategy?, Environmental
Quality Management, Spring 2000, s.2.
N. Darnall, D. Rigling Gallagher, R. N. L. Andrews, D. Armal: op. cit., s.1.
E. Perotto: Environmental performance, indicators and measurement uncertainty in EMS
context: a case study, Journal of Cleaner Production 16 (2007), s. 518.
259
Jin HONG
Xiumei GUO
Dora MARINOVA
Wentao YU
NON-GOVERNMENT ORGANISATIONS (NGOS) AND THE
DISSEMINATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL KNOWLEDGE IN
CHINA
INTRODUCTION
Over the last three decades, environmental issues have become serious in
China. However, the governments focus has centred on economic growth
while private institutions have been pursuing their own financial interests. As
a result insufficient attention has been paid to environmental deterioration
within the country. In addition, China’s education system also lacks a complete environmental curriculum, which makes it hard to deliver effective environmental education programs to students and the general masses in China.
The lack of environmental knowledge is an important reason why many Chinese citizens and organisations have poor awareness of environmental protection issues.
Against this background, non-government organisations (NGOs) in China are
playing an important and ever increasing role, by providing environmental
knowledge and promoting environmental protection. The first environmental
NGO in China, Friends of Nature, was established in 1994. At present, there
are more than 40 registered environmental organisations in China. They have
become quite influential in policy making and the development of the country’s environmental education curriculum. Such organisations are the key to
understanding China’s environmental movement and educational development.
The rest of the paper examines the history, functions and mechanisms used by
Chinese NGOs, which enable them to provide effective environmental educa260
tion. It starts with an overview of the history, structure and activities of Chinese environmental NGOs, and then explores the NGOs role in environmental
knowledge dissemination.
Some unfavourable factors which impede the work of NGOs are also discussed. The Friends of Nature case study presents some of the operational
mechanism used by NGOs in China, which enable them to provide effective
environmental education. Finally, the paper considers some strategies, within
the context of the new Chinese Economy, which when implemented will further enhance Chinese environmental knowledge and understanding.
ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS IN CHINA
China’s dramatic economic growth has resulted in the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increasing more than 22 times from its 1978 level (National Bureau of Statistics of China, 2012). The growth rate of the Chinese
GDP was 9.3% in 2011 and although restricted by the one-child policy since
the 1970s, the Chinese population continues to grow (see Table 1). This
growth can be attributed to the current population’s relatively young composition (see Figure 1).
Table 1: Population, China, 1950-2011
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
2006
2011
563 m
650 m
820 m
985 m
1.14 bn
1.26 bn
1.30 bn
1.33 bn
Source: National Bureau of Statistics of China (2012)
Figure 1: Population Pyramid of China, 2011
Source: National Bureau of Statistics of China (2012)
261
With the rapid growth experienced in recent years, China is suffering from the
deterioration of its natural environment. This includes serious water and air
pollution, city smog and deteriorating urban environments. Greater vehicle
numbers and a limited level of success enforcing environmental law and accountability contribute greatly to these environmental problems (Guo, Marinova and Hong, 2013; Ifeng, 2013). Another issue of concern involves uncontrolled and inadequate land use practices, which result in soil erosion. In addition longer periods of low or no flow in China’s major rivers are a frequent
phenomenon, due to water and waste mismanagement.
In the future, China will have to face not only increasing pressure on the local
natural environment due to its growing population, but also environmental
deterioration due to continuing industrialisation, urbanisation and land degradation. The ecological burden on the Chinese population will likely further
create more difficulties in dealing with the ageing crisis triggered by the onechild policy. Solving environmental problems, such as land erosion, air, soil
and water pollution requires environmental awareness and knowledge dissemination. However, the appropriate structures and processes required for
successful delivery are only just emerging. Although environmental awareness
is increasing as the Chinese population becomes more affluent (Wu, 2003),
China’s government and industry have not been proactive in delivering proper
environmental education. This gap has been filled in by the numerous nongovernment organisations (NGOs) and their work is the focus of this paper.
NGOS IN CHINA
According to Salamon (1994), NGO refers to proper social organisations,
which are also known as non-profit and non-government. They have five
characteristics: they are (1) an organisation which is (2) non-governmental, (3)
operates non for profit, (4) is self-managed and (5) uses the work of volunteers. The non-governmental and non-profit characteristics are the main features of such organisations. The word NGOs was introduced in China during
the World Conference on Women in Beijing and in 1998 became an official
Chinese word (Qi, 2000). In China, there are no NGOs that have all of these
five characteristics. However, there are many organisations that are non262
government and non-profit.
The Chinese government classifies NGOs into two groups:
1. Community interest organisations, such as social groups, academic
groups, enterprise groups, special groups and mix interest groups; and
2. Special purpose organisations, such as educational, technological, cultural,
health, sports and social welfare organisations.
According to the registration, these organisations are further divided into national and regional groups. They are active in the transitional Chinese social,
economic, cultural and political areas, particularly in the social service, environmental protection, poverty alleviation, enterprise adjustment and policy
enhancement.
Historically, the development of China’s NGOs experienced up and down
periods. At the beginning of China’s foundation in 1949, the Government
cleared and reformed any existing organisations. Between 1950 and 1965, the
number of national non-government organisations grew from 44 to 100 while
the number of local organisations grew to more than 6000 (Wang, 2002). In
the mid 1990’s, the total number of NGOs reached 170,000 (Wu, 1999).
Table 2 below shows the distribution of NGOs by area of activity.
Table 2: Distribution of NGOs in China
Activities
Cultural and arts
Sports and entertainment
Clubs
Schools (non-government)
Universities (non-government)
Adult education
Survey and research
Hospitals and health centres
Nursing homes
Councelling and psychological services
Social surveys
Disaster prevention
Poverty alleviation
Environmental protection
%
34.62
18.17
5.31
1.99
1.13
14.19
42.51
10.54
7.03
9.75
44.63
11.27
20.95
9.95
Activities
Animal protection
Social development
Housing
Employment service
Policy inquiries
Legal services
Funding services
Volunteer organisations
International exchange
International aid
Religious services
Professional associations
Others
%
3.12
17.04
6.17
15.85
21.88
24.54
8.62
8.16
11.47
3.32
2.52
39.99
20.56
Note: The total is more than 100% as one NGO can cover multiple activities.
Source: Wangming, 2001
Source: (Wangming, 2001)
The largest concentration of NGOs is in culture and the arts. The percentage
of NGOs operating in the area of the environment is relatively small at around
263
13% (including environmental protection and animal protection). Chinese
environmental NGOs have the following characteristics:
Wide participation: environmental problems relate to ordinary people’s
interests, so they have a wide supporting social base.
They mix the characteristics of special communities of interest and special
purpose organisations.
Community residents and school children are encouraged to participate in
the environmental protection activities which results in a wide range of
social participation.
Environmental NGOs can draw upon the resources of experts and attract
people from various areas, such as journalists, professors, lawyers and celebrities. This allows them to build a sound base of supporters and public
trustees.
FUNCTIONS OF NGOS IN ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION IN CHINA
The NGOs related to the environment are not a major part of all NGOs in
China (see Table 2). However, the environmental NGOs are the most active
and most influential among all NGOs. Examples of these are organisations
such as Nature of the Environment, Beijing Global Village, Green Homes
Volunteers and Network of Beijing Environmental Volunteers. The NGO,
Friends of Nature, is the best-known one among the environmental NGOs in
China. Environmental NGOs have been carrying out a large amount of activities to promote the dissemination of environmental knowledge in China. They
have been successful in influencing China’s system of environmental education as well as environmental policy making.
The major functions of environmental NGOs are: disseminating knowledge
and improving environmental awareness, influencing environmental education
in schools, mass education in environmental protection, encouraging public
participation and conducting research on science and technology for environmental protection. Below are some examples of the work they do:
Environmental NGOs are disseminating environmental education and
improving the environmental awareness through holding seminars, train-
264
ing sessions, public events, such as Global Day, Protecting the Goat and
Green Hope;
Environmental NGOs have significant influence on schools’ environmental education (see Exhibit 1). They connect their environmental activities with the schools’ educational system and increase the students’ participation in environmental activities. They have established environmental education centres and „green schools”. By 2004, there were more
than 17,200 green schools in China.
Exhibit 1: Environmental School Education by Friends of Nature
Source: (Friends of Nature, 2013).
Environmental NGOs encourage public participation to improve environmental awareness (see Exhibit 2). In many large cities of China, particularly in Beijing, there is active cooperation between the government and
NGOs to encourage public participation in environmental protection. Beijing Green Community is just one successful example of this cooperation.
Exhibit 2: Environmental campaigns on encouraging low carbon lifestyles
Source: (Friends of Nature, 2013)
265
Environmental NGOs such as environment associations and research institutes conduct research in environmental science and environmental protection (Lin, 2004). They also promote international exchanges on issues
related to environmental protection in order to diffuse modern environment technology and environmental awareness in China. This is done by
attending and hosting international conferences, sending staff overseas for
trainings and inviting visiting scholars from abroad.
The environmental NGOs play a very important part in easing, the environmental crisis, which cannot be replicated by the Government. The most important role they play is that they disseminate more and more accurate environmental knowledge, gradually changing Chinese people’s thinking, approach,
attitude and values. Their contribution in this respect is significant. For example, Beijing Global Village won the Sofia Prize which is the world’s highest
prize related to the natural environment.
FRIENDS OF NATURE
Friends of Nature, the first environmental NGO in China, was established in
1994, which marked the first environmental NGOs official registration in
China. The president and vice president of a NGO are respectively a famous
Chinese professor and environmental education expert. Similar to other Chinese NGOs, Friend of Nature is cooperating with government trying to build
support for environmental policy, regulations and measures within governments and local communities (Liang and Liang, 2006). During the decade
since its establishment, the number of members has grown to reach more than
8000, including more than 3000 active participants and over 30 groups.
Friends of Nature has received multiple awards internationally, such as the
Asian Environmental Award, Global Award and Great Panda Awards.
The work and motivation of Friends of Nature and other NGOs in China has
become quite influential in policy making and environmental education. Its
introduction in 1994 marked the birth of the first non-official organisation
registered under the Chinese government, with the aim to promote environmental education, nature protection, public participation, build and dissemi266
nate green culture in accordance with China’s own unique national characteristics. The dedicated work of Friends and Nature and other Chinese NGOs has
become is key towards understanding China’s environmental movement and
environmental educational motivations, initiatives and strategic direction.
Friends of Nature uses a tri-driver mode of environmental knowledge dissemination (see Figure 2), namely through environmental educational programs, conducting environmental research and social intervention. It is important to note that its aim goes beyond the purely green concerns about the natural environment, into the broader arena of sustainability which highlights related issues of social justice, equity and intergenerational rights.
Figure 2: Tri-driver mode of environmental knowledge dissemination by Friends of
Nature
Source: Own Graphic
According to Friends of Nature (2013), some examples of the environmental
education work Friends of Nature does are:
1. Environmental Education Programs carried out through promoting environmental education in schools, adult education, publishing brochures,
mass media and activities. The purpose is to improve environmental
awareness and encourage public participation through mass education.
The widely known environmental programs include Green Hope, Green
Map and the Environmental Education Van.
2. Friends of Nature conducts environmental science and technology research such as the publication of China’s Environmental Green Book. It
267
also holds seminars and does research exploring the clear white river. The
purpose of this research is to organise proper and effective environmental
activities. They also carry out exchange research programs.
3. Friends of Nature, promotes environmental education through social and
policy intervention. They support any policies, measures and activities
carried out by the government, social organisations and individuals that
lead to the improvement of the state of the natural environment in China.
They are open to collaboration and cooperation with government and industry. Notwithstanding this, they also monitor, criticise, reveal and intervene in any initiatives that could be potentially damaging the environment. They are playing a key role in influencing public policy making
procedures and processes in China.
Friends of Nature has a clear approach and mode of operation, which reflects
the basic knowledge strategy of China’s environmental NGOs.
CONCLUSION
China’s environmental NGOs play a very important and unique, role in environmental education and achieving sustainability. They have been able to fill
in a gap left open by the rapid industrialisation of the country, which potentially could affect the entire global community. The scale and influence of the
environmental NGOs on the Chinese society are obviously significant. However, irrespective of the wide range of achievements, their capacity for
Launching and maintaining environmental activities, campaigns and initiatives is not strong enough to overturn China’s ever-increasing environmental
problems. Because of the nature of NGOs, they often lack essential skills and
requirements such as legal knowledge, financial backup, social support and
cultural background.
In order to strengthen the position of environmental NGOs within the Chinese
society, the following strategic considerations need to be addressed, particularly in the context of China’s new knowledge economy:
The cooperation between individual environmental NGOs should be promoted with the aim of establishing a viable network thus improving the
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power of all of the NGOs involved;
Efforts should be made to influence, facilitate and standardise environmental education in the schools, using practical examples from the localities in which they are situated. A practical approach in solving real-life
problems where students can see the outcomes of their efforts, is a very
effective and rewarding way of promoting environmental awareness.
NGOs should also cooperate with communities, promoting environmental
education among adults and employees, increasing public participation in
protecting the environment and most importantly influencing decisionmakers on issues related to the environmental protection and heritage.
Realising that NGOs have only access to limited resources within society,
they should encourage a bigger role for government in environmental
education, legislation and protection. Government on the other hand,
could better resource (including financially) some of the valuable activities conducted by NGOs.
There are many developed countries, including countries in the AsiaPacific region such as Japan and Australia, which have well advanced
measures and procedures in place to protect the natural environment.
Learning from these experiences is important in order to find solutions
that have worked in other places. Nevertheless, the ability to find effective
solutions that work locally will always remain the domain of China’s most
passionate and committed environmental activists.
Currently, there is no law related to environmental NGOs; it is suggested
that such a legislation be put in place as soon as possible in order to ensure that NGOs have a lawful position and lawful rights. All levels of
government, including local government should start to slowly and efficiently adjust public policy direction and focus on China’s future sustainability, an important aspect of which is the protection of the natural environment.
Better environmental training and education strategies promoting sustainability in China need to be developed.
Environmental NGOs will continue to make a significant contribution to the
practical, research and policy making fields within China. However in the
future, the development of China’s environmental NGOs will depend on the
269
economic, political, social and strategic environment of the country. In many
ways nothing can replace the role of Government or big industry. Environmental NGOs are playing a crucial role in establishing networks and bridges
between civil society and these two influential sectors. There will always be a
part for them to play in China’s transformation towards a resource efficient
and environmentally friendly society.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The first two authors acknowledge the financial support from National Natural Science Foundation of China (71172213), China’s Department of Education
(09YJA630153), the large bid project from Social Sciences Fund (08&ZD043). The
last two authors acknowledge the financial support of the Australian Research Council.
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Qi B. 2000. Non-government organisations: management, construction, development. Jinan: Shandong University Press.
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11. Wangming M (ed). 2001. China’s NGO research 2001: Individual analysis. Beijing: United Nations Regional Development Centre (in Chinese).
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Dr Jin Hong - School of Management, University of Science and Technology of
China, China
email: [email protected]
Dr Xiumei Guo - Curtin University Sustainability Policy Institute, Curtin University,
Australia
Prof. Dora Marinova – Curtin University Sustainability Policy Institute, Curtin University, Australia
Wentao Yu – PhD Candidate, School of Management, University of Science and
Technology of China, China
271
Lesław MICHNOWSKI
TOWARDS ECO-HUMANISM
(…) there is urgent need of a true world political authority (…) to be regulated by law,
to observe consistently the principles of subsidiarity and solidarity, to seek to establish
the common good (…)
Benedict XVI, Caritas in veritate. p. 67.
INTRODUCTION
The current world economic and financial, as well as unemployment and state
debt crisis has shown us the inefficiency of the UN sustainable development
strategy (Brundtland 1987, United Nations 1992, 2002, 2005). This strategy
was elaborated to overcome, on a common interest base (Brundtland 1987),
the global crisis that was recognized on the beginning of the 1970s years of
the XX century (Meadows 1972).
As a result of the realization of this the UN anti-crisis strategy focussed on the
skills to integrate durable social development with economic development and
environmental protection (United Nations 2002). Thus, resolving the global
challenges ought to be done with worldwide cooperation. It would allow us to
avoid the destructive effects of growth (Capra 1987) and economic cycles,
eliminate deficit resources, gain skills in the proper management of the natural
environment and achieve steady progress in quality of life for all humans. For
this end it would be necessary to make a sustainable transformation based on
loving, truth-telling, popular learning, new patterns of consumption and production, and new information infrastructure (Meadows 1992, 2004a).
The Catholic Church is also calling for civilization transformation based on a
common good value system, instead of an egoistic one, as precondition for
overcoming the global crisis. However, for some time, significantly opposite
272
to the above, namely „zero growth” 1 anti-crisis proposals, based on the thesis
of Earth overpopulation, have been propagated (Martin 1999, Forrester
1971/95).
Lately Dennis Meadows (co-author of the above „loving” based proposal)
described his new anti-crisis proposal: "We desperately need for population,
energy use, material use, and pollution streams to be reduced" (Meadows Euronatur).
To the question: "Is it possible to have 9 billion people on the planet?" he
stated "No. Even 7 billion is too much -- at least if they are all to have an appropriate standard of living. If you think it is acceptable to have a small elite
that enjoys a decent lifestyle and a large majority that is excluded from that,
then the Earth can probably sustain 5 to 6 billion people. If you want everyone
to have the full potential of mobility, adequate food and self-development,
then it is 1 or 2 billion.” (Meadows 2009). When we are analyzing the causes
of current crisis we ought to take into consideration Meadows’s socialDarwinistic depopulation proposals.
In this text I justify on the basis of a systems/cybernetics research the thesis
that avoiding global catastrophe is impossible by means of the above depopulation strategy. Thus for survival we need to generate political will for realizing the world society’s sustainable development strategy. For this end we need
inter alia to enforce in public life the Catholic Church’s homeostasis role
(Mazur 1976, Michnowski 2006, 2010a).
SPIRITUALITY FOR OVERCOMING THE GLOBAL CRISIS
Let’s first look at the current crisis with the view of such a depopulation defense strategy. The theoretical base of such anti-humanitarian survival proposal is philosophical – about presumably te inevitable growth of entropy interpretation of the II Thermodynamic Law, as well as belief about the possibility to reverse the process of the global ecosystem life together with a belief
that life-support resources are limited and can be completely exhausted.
1
See: (Forrester 1971/85, fig. 8)
273
Lastly, that by means of cyborgs and other artificial intelligence achievements
it is possible to radically diminish the need for intellectual human labor.
It follows that there are also two quite opposite approaches to the current
world crisis. From one side we are informed that world society is already on
the path to recovery, therefore we do not need to look for its real causes. Thus
it is also not necessary to put into operation basic anti-neoliberal conclusions,
elaborated inter alia by G20 London Summit 2 . This would mean that to
achieve full world economic recovery it would be enough to make only small
corrections in world financial regulation mechanisms and put in place operational austerity programs to drastically „tighten the belt” of the weaker societies.
From another point of view – one that I share - this current crisis is only the
opening phase of the global crisis, recognized in the Limits to Growth Report
(Meadows 1972). Therefore this current crisis is not over and we are looking
in the face of the next phases of this global crisis. We are approaching enormous social crisis: with large-scale unemployment, dismantling of the welfare
state, food shortage, other bitter consequences of the false big debt, all may be
short-sighted or very sophisticated but egoistic - anti-crisis stabilization politics. Additionally, we may be in the path of a new totalitarian world order (CA
p. 46) and/or world war (SRS p. 47, Jan Pawel II 1993a, Michnowski 2009b).
If this second approach is correct, we need to thoroughly review the essence of
the current crisis. We ought to look for causes of weakness in the UN sustainable development strategy, as well as the small outcomes of Catholic Church’s
call to put away a „culture of death”. In this text I present the arguments for
the need to substitute spirituality based eco-humanistic social relations for
social-Darwinistic ones and build global governance as well as information
bases for the above substitution.
I call a spirituality-based approach to life (one's own and others’) a lifeholistic approach. Every person is a life-system and element of bigger systems: family, nation, world society, Earth (global ecosystem), Universum –
that are also mutually interconnected life-systems. The life of every life2
For example: The era of banking secrecy (and Washington Consensus) is over (G20 London
Summit, Volkery 2009)..
274
system depends upon the life and quality of the environment that is also a lifesystem. The individual and collective common interest in life-support activity
is therefore supported by the environment, and conversely, destruction of the
life of the bigger systems leads to environmental defense activity.
Information is the main life-support agent 3 . Creating information - and/or
opposing to growth of entropy level - for the set: life-system – environment, is
the main task of the life-system life. The life-systems possess properties of
life-support and defense homeostasis, inter alia life-support cooperation.
From such a spirituality approach our life is not only for us, but also for our
environment. The conditions of our life - not only for today - are also for the
future (CA p. 37).
The methods of evolution in the social sphere would be radically changed by
means of the eco-humanistic civilization transformation. Instead of „young”,
primitive natural methods of multiple mutations and developmental selection
by disintegration and/or death of the unfit there would be „mature” - intellectual, information aided, synergetic integration - selection by promoting and
supporting persons and organizations that are more eco-socially useful.
For developed societies and their elites it would mean transition from life and
„growth at the cost of environment”, to „development together with environment” and reaching positions of visionary leaders of the global society (Bertone 2009, Michnowski 2009a). It would mean also starting to transform human consciousness and multiplied human creative potential into a powerful
agent of Universum development evolution activity.
MORAL DESTRUCTION - THE MAIN AGENT OF GLOBAL CRISIS
My systems research implies that the main cause of the global crisis is not
3
Information is conceptualised in SoL in three ways:
1. in contrast with entropy, as a conceptual measure of quality, including the organization of
society, among other things (Wiener 1961, 1971);
2. as real information contained in the structure of society-environment system, i.e. every factor that contributes to life or to that system’s more sustainable and efficient functioning;
3. as reflection information, i.e. information that adequately reflects changed static and dynamic of above system (past and future - data, knowledge, prognoses, etc.).
275
overpopulation but the lack of skill in eliminating the negative effects of a
rapidly progressing moral destruction and obsolescence 4 of life-forms that are
not adapted to the new life-conditions rapidly emerging with the sciencetechnology development. The rate of moral destruction grows with sciencetechnology development, which is also inevitable for elimination of the negative effects of moral destruction.
It is impossible to remove these negative effects while continuing socialDarwinistic, informationally-inefficient, very eco-socially costly, and egoistic
social relations. At the same time an eco-humanistic civilization transformation would allow us to rationalize population growth (by means of culturally
upgrading weaker societies and including them in eco-socially useful creative
activities).
Further findings from this research are:
The global crisis is the effect of the XX century science–technology revolution, albeit done without proper, adequate development of computer
simulation technologies (Forrester 1971/95, Sage 1977, Michnowski
2006, 2009ab) and adaptative social relations to the State of Change and
Risk.
State of Change and Risk (SCR): Quite a new human life-state that has
arisen mainly as a result of science-technology progress and emerged out
of high-inertia socio-economy structures. The changes in the environment
are paced so rapidly that the feedback control-based social relations are
obsolete/morally destroyed. For life in SCR we need to add into world social relations feedforward control5. It means a necessity to base politics on
knowledge about the approaching new life-conditions and life-needs of
our own and the environment, and also on knowledge about the complex
and future effects of politics. Because the future is not fully predictable,
such pre-emptive politics will be linked with a large risk of political
faults.
4
5
Moral destruction/obsoleteness (of life-forms): such form of life-forms destruction, that is
caused by means of changes in life-conditions. As a result of it, physically not destructed lifeform has not ability in new life-conditions to support/aid life of society.
Feedforward indispensable subsystem (feedforward): life-process control subsystem, that
is based on predictions of approaching life-conditions and allow to shape policy of adopting
life-forms to these new life-conditions with help of knowledge about probable future results
of policy, i.e. in the pre-emptive way.
276
For life under SCR we have to develop the skills of far-sightedness, cognitive-, innovative- and reserves creative- potential, as well as human and
technological flexibility for efficient adaptation of life-forms to the new
life-conditions in an anticipatory, feedforward way.
To this end we have to continuously enlarge human intellectual creative
potential, develop artificial intelligence, and multiply and share with
„neighbors” our knowledge for common good/common interest - thus create partnerships and cooperate instead of competing in a deadly and ecosocially costly way.
Without the change from social-Darwinistic egoism to eco-humanism it is
impossible to get access to the enormous amount of knowledge (also
about the future) required for the creation of eco-socially useful innovations that are essential for successively eliminating the negative effects of
moral destruction.
The main task of adaptation to SCR is to create easy access to complex
knowledge about future effects of socio-economy and policy activities, as
well as the ability to anticipate and eliminate predicted dangers.
ECO-HUMANISTIC GLOBAL GOVERNANCE AS THE FIRST ANTI-CRISIS TASK
To better justify the above anti-crisis conclusions let us more precisely describe the notion of „sustainable development” (Figure 1) as well as introduce
the notion of „dynamic monitoring”.
Sustainable development: A form of societal development (the part of its
life-process when a number of elements of society and its diversity and quality, as well as the durability of society - is growing up), that is not interrupted
by crises, and necessary to build new forms of life (adapted to new lifeconditions) on the debris of old ones.
Sustainable development is based on knowledge about society approaching its
limits of growth (with up-to-date infrastructure) and the skill to cross them in
a developmental manner, using proper infrastructure to rebuild new ultrastable forms of life.
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Figure 1 Sustainable development of the society/life-system (LS)
Source: own.
In SCR sustainable development must be based on the above mentioned „three
pillars”: social development, economic development, and environmental protection (United Nations, 2002). This kind of development ought to be based
on knowledge about possibilities of synergetic integration of existing diverse
high quality elements of the set: society – environment into new, more efficient and durable socio-economic wholes.
Dynamic monitoring means collection and transformation of statistical data
reflecting the complex process of socio-economic-natural life into knowledge
about this process' quality, dynamics, and future (barring any outside interference). It also enables successive evaluations of the effectiveness of sustainable
development policy. Dynamic monitoring provides forewarnings of threats,
which stimulate countermeasures. It informs about the need to undertake intervening measures in case of developmental slowdowns. By informing about
the distance to the next limit on growth (Figure 1), in case of the inability to
move forward this limit to growth within the current inter alia socio-economic
(and axiology) infrastructure, dynamic monitoring would stimulate the anticipatory reconstruction of this infrastructure with the aim of developmentally
crossing this limit to growth.
278
Figure 2 Dynamic monitoring of the state of the World 1970.
Source: Limits to Growth 1972.
To criticize existing - and design efficient - methods to overcome the current
crisis and achieve sustainable development let us come back to the Limits to
Growth dynamic monitoring result (figure 2) and with the new (including
cybernetics) knowledge try to interpret this warning forecast once more. It
would allow us to recognize properly the essence of the global – as well as
current – crisis.
This global dynamic monitoring warns us about world society approaching in
the first half of 21th century its limit to growth and the possibility of a global
catastrophe caused mainly by depleting sources of natural resources. This
catastrophe will be preceded by enormous economic and consumption growth,
destruction of the environment and a demographic explosion (especially in the
weaker parts of the world society).
Besides the above dynamic monitoring another important simulation was
done. It was assumed that there are no resource access restrictions. The result
was a big collapse, this time as a consequence from the destruction of the
natural environment (Meadows 1972).
Both of the above computer simulations inform us about the consequences of
continuing the existing social-Darwinistic, egoistic, and short-sighted social
279
relations as a base of such enormous, rapid, economic and consumption
growth. Before I look for new methods to avoid this global catastrophe, let us
once more remember the depopulation outcome of a primitive analysis of the
causes of global crisis based on this warning forecast, and describe a „zero
growth” method for pathologically overcoming such a crisis (Forrester
1971/95, fig. 8).
The global crisis would be a result of the weakness of up-to-date socialDarwinistic methods of development. Too many people are being born, and
too few are going to their deaths. Therefore to overcome this crisis it would be
necessary to use new science-technology achievements to strengthen these old
– by the death of the unfit – natural evolution selection methods. Thus if
sources of natural resources are depleted and the natural environment (and
climate) is dangerously degraded together with a „demographic explosion” a
big sophisticated – high science-technology aided - depopulation operation
would be presumably essential. Therefore, for example the intentionally provoked big economic and social crisis, with the help of speculative tools
(Chomsky 2003) and wrong debt creation, could be the successful tool of putting down in a „calm”, invisible way a large number of humans. Cooling the
world economy – i.e. decreasing the rate of economic growth - would also be
a useful tool for such a defense strategy (Fey 2001). Such crises could force
weaker, peripheral societies to raise unemployment, diminish their incomes
and level of production and consumption, as well as access to health care and
other welfare state civilization achievements.
Therefore the current economic and financial crisis could be the result of
knowingly and in conspiracy (Jan Paweł II 1993a, KAI, John Paul II 1999, EV
p. 3) formed world situation in a way leading to allegedly natural depopulation
along with big defense financial enforcement of a small but increasingly
wealthy part of the world society, as well as big militarization of the most
wealthy states. Thus speaking about unwise and greedy bankers as well as
cheating government politicians (the crisis in Greece) would be only masking
the real sources and forces behind the creation of this current crisis.
However let us put aside this pathology anti-crisis defense thinking. It would
allow us to reach the additional eco-humanistic anti-crisis conclusions:
280
1. The world society has crossed - by means of large growth of negative
impacts, i.e. outerly (to natural environment) destructive effects of highly
developed socio-economy activity - the limit of the environment to regenerate by itself in a way adequate to the life-forms that are necessary to
support human life.
2. The world society depletes sources of energy and natural resources faster
than it gets access to new sources of them.
3. The world society has great organizational inertia - what is reflected (Figure 2) in the time period from the moment of the beginning of destroying
natural environment and exhausting sources of resources to the moment of
socio-economy and humanitarian catastrophe, as a result of the above.
4. We ought to treat the big „demographic explosion” (multiplication not
only of human mutations, but also world intellectual potential) as an effect
of natural defense activity of the world society (especially the weaker
parts) that is a result of its natural homeostasis feedforward defense property.
5. To avoid the global catastrophe the world society has to go through the
developmental, ultrastability forming, transformation that will allow it to
put into operation for the common good existing – often passive - intellectual potential and create for this end information bases of sustainable development ethics, policy and economy (Michnowski 1995, 2006, 2007,
2008, 2009a).
6. To eliminate the negative consequences of moral destruction and activate
the above passive intellectual potential for big sustainable economic
growth is indispensible.
7. The world society has up to date no homeostasis - including global governance and information - potential to prevent this catastrophe and support
development by means of ultrastability forming sustainable development
civilization transformations.
For the next conclusions I propose two important premises:
A. The process of life (of individuals, societies, ecosystems) is irreversible,
and is progressing in a strongly non-linear, often chaotic and catastrophic
way with synergy and dis-synergy performance.
B. The amount of energy existing in the universe, in a large sense, is infinite
281
(E=mc2) (Michnowski 1995, 2006). Access to these natural resources depends on the level of world societal development, including intellectual
(and ethical), as well as artificial intelligence, and other sciencetechnology potential.
Premise A inter alia implies that it is impossible to return to the previous state
of the natural environment (Meadows 1972), as a means of restoring its ability
to self-regenerate. Thus instead of returning we ought to go developmentally
forward. The chaotic property of life-processes imply the possibility to overcome with positive effects the negative effects of activity (that are inevitably
combined with our activity), under the condition of access to proper (especially future) knowledge and an adequate science-technology potential for it.
To restore a properly self-regenerating natural environment it is necessary to:
1. develop, with popular wisdom creating education (Michnowski 2009a)
and new science-technology revolution, such new forms of life/socioeconomy activity (including eco-socially useful patterns of production and
consumption) that would allow us to overcome these negative effects with
the positive effects of our impacts on the natural environment, and rebuild
the entire techno-sphere into a human-friendly and „green” form;
2. take under developmental control, as much as possible, changes progressing in the natural environment.
Premise B entails that access to the new sources of resources would be possible by means of activating and multiplying existing intellectual potential aided
by means of properly developed artificial intelligence and other new sciencetechnology revolutionary achievements (CA p. 58). This access is conditioned
on proper anticipatory forming human life-forms adequate to changing the
human’s and environment’s life-needs.
All of above confirms the main thesis, that not overpopulation but moral
destruction/obsolescence is the main agent of the global crisis.
To resolve this basic obsolescence problem it is necessary to create powerful,
eco-humanistic global governance based on feedforward mechanisms. Defense-developmental policy, including a technological one, must be done (in
SCR) in accordance with, as much as possible, knowledge about future life282
conditions and life-needs, and complex (including future as well as social and
natural) effects of such policy realization. For this end a popularly-accessed
world sustainable development information system (including free access to
crucial knowledge) would be essential.
This global governance will also inevitably change the economic (including
financial) system into one that will stimulate, in an anticipatory way, popular
socio-economic activity motivated by common interest and allow socioeconomic activity coordination – to create synergy – and avoid dissynergy/negative- developmental effects.
Therefore to overcome the global crisis it is necessary at first to integrate the
most powerful world social-control organizations that have socio-control
knowledge and homeostasis potential, even if they are currently in antagonistic position with one another. To achieve this it would be convenient to pick
up these powerful organizations on the basis of their susceptibility to adopting
the eco-humanistic/common good/common interest value system, as well as
their amount of social-control (including information) potential and stimulate
them to discuss and approve the eco-humanistic anti-crisis outcomes. Thus
instead of weakening strong religions organization – including the Catholic
Church - we have to cooperate with them in strengthening the world society’s
homeostasis potential and creating eco-humanistic global governance – factors
indispensible for the stable overcoming of the global crisis.
CATHOLIC CHURCH SOCIAL TEACHING FOR DEVELOPMENT RESTORING
Among the world's powerful social-control organizations that could help the
world society to recovery through eco-humanistic civilization transformation
is the Catholic Church. From a cybernetics point of view the Catholic Church
is an important element of world society's homeostasis, albeit for a long time
mainly as its conservative subsystem (Laslo 1972, Mazur 1976, Michnowski
2010a). In fact, this church is a social control system which employs an information network based on the confessional, hierarchy and the pulpit as well
as a multitude of monastic, educational and scientific organizations which
gather knowledge inter alia about social steering and pass it on from genera283
tion to generation (together with acceptance of the system by its faithful) to
regulate and influence human behaviour (SRS p. 41, CA .p. 55). The Catholic
Church is directed by all-human common good value system and for a long
time calls to transform the mutually antagonized world society into a family
cooperating set (Ss p. 50, CIV p.p. 7, 53, 67).
Therefore taking under consideration and approving the Catholic Church –
especially John Paul II’s and Benedict XVI’s life-defense assessments and
recommendations could be fruitful in recognizing the global crisis’ essence
and creating eco-humanistic global governance, refining the sustainable development strategy and really starting its realization. It would also help to
confirm the falseness of the above mentioned depopulation anti-crisis strategy
and put it away.
To justify the conclusion about the usefulness of the Catholic Church as world
society homeostat’s progressive element and enforce its steering role in public
life I will re-iterate some adequate anti-crisis Catholic Church Social Teaching (CCST) critics, warnings, diagnoses and proposals. 6
In CCST view, this crisis is a crisis of egoistic axiology (CIV p. 36) as a currently dominating value system.
Therefore the main CCST recommendation - for overcoming the global crisis
– is to throw away the „culture of death” (Jan Pawel II 1993a, John Paul II
1999, EV, p.p. 3, 12), and transform world society with fair globalization
(John Paul II 2001, 2003b, United Nations, 2005, CIV, p.p. 42, 67) into a
Human Family, a Family of Nations (CIV, p.p. 53, 67), restore development
(SRS p. 30) and finally create a Civilization of Life and Love (Jan Pawel II
1994, Michnowski 2006, 2010ab).
In this approach „loving” means to act for „neighbor” quality of life increasing, as well as to „give” others more than to „take” from them 7.
The most dramatic statement was to world society directed in 1987:
6
More, see inter alia: (Michnowski 2010).
You shall not murder" becomes a call to an attentive love which protects and promotes the life
of one's neighbour. (VS, p. 15). Charity goes beyond justice, because to love is to give (CIV, p.
6). To „give” more (by mature subjects) than it is „taken” (from socio-natural environment) is
the base of currently indispensable „development together with environment”
7
284
„today's world, including the world of economics (…) lead us (…)
towards (…) world economic crisis (…) (and – LM) death. (SRS,
p.p. 24, 36, 47, CA p. 38),
(…) people (…) are linked together by a common destiny, which is
to be constructed together, if catastrophe for all is to be avoided.
(SRS, p. 26).
The essence of this call in reality is an assertion that the social-Darwinism
social relations - that were current and very efficient methods of social progress stimulation (with help of the poor treated as tools by the rich for their
wellbeing and wealth – CA p.p. 33, 44, EV p. 18) – are completely morally
destroyed, and that it is necessary to shift politics into one based on new „evilinto-good transformation” synergetic development principle (SRS p. 8, Benedict XVI 2008b).
To overcome the global crisis, it is necessary to transform our social relations
into ones based on the principles of common good, solidarity and justice.
The common good principle means combining our good with good of all people." (SRS, p. 30, 39, CA p. 61) - i.e. to direct socio-economy activity for the
common interest of rich and poor, and cooperate on „win-win” principles (CA
p. 30, Hu Jintao 2009).
Solidarity depends on supporting the poor by the rich to allow them to reach
„maturity”, i.e. intellectual creativity level (LE p. 8, 25), that is necessary for
fruitful common good cooperation (SRS p. 38). It also means that the task for
the poor is to help rich in realization of the above mutually enriching activity.
Justice means „to take” from everybody, and value the effects of his/her
socio-economic activity, and „give” everybody in return from the common
good, proportionally to his/her input in common good increasing, stimulating
with such just dividing principle creative developmental activity (SRS p. 39,
CA p. 10).
Continuation of egoistic social relations when the deficit of accessible resource is increasing leads to setting aside and even eliminating the powerless
(SRS p. 17, John Paul II 1999) and a new cold war between the highlyindustrialized and poorer countries (Jan Pawel II 1993a). Additionally to defend against terrorism by people without perspective for a social order re285
spectful of the dignity and rights of the person. (John Paul II 2003, Benedict
XVI 2008a).
CCST warns that realization of the above depopulation strategy can be done in
conspiracy (Jan Pawel II KAI) and by means of quite new, very sophisticated
ways (EV p. 4, FER p. 81), as well as by open or thinly disguised totalitarianism. (CA p. 46)..
CCST is against speculative capitalism (CA p.p. 35, 48) and proposes to create a solid economy which will direct the functioning of the market to the
common good (…) (CA p.p. 36, 42, 43, 52, Benedict XVI 2010) including
Real Socialism achievements: the elimination of unemployment and help to
the poorest (LE p.p. 4, 9, 25, CA p.p. 6, 34, 36, Jan Pawel II 1993b, Ss p.p.
20-22). Therefore it is necessary to regard, that private property (…) has a
social function which is based on the law of the common purpose of goods.
(CA, p.p. 30, 43, 52).
To overcome the global crisis CCST proposes therefore to enforce within
international cooperation a United Nations Organization, creating a global
governance institution - TRUE WORLD POLITICAL AUTHORITY based on
common good, subsidiarity, and solidarity - and to rebuild economic institutions and international finance (CA p.p. 48, 58, CIV, p. 67, Benedict XVI
2010).
The above mentioned few fragments of CCST justify my thesis about the need
of including firmly the Catholic Church into anti-crisis and world society sustainable development homeostasis progressive activity.
CONCLUSIONS
In the view of the above, the main agent of the current and global crises is not
overpopulation but the moral destruction/obsolescence of the forms of life that
are inadequate to the new rapidly changing conditions of life. For survival we
have to cooperate globally and acquire the ability of the life-forms to adapt to
the new life-conditions in a anticipatory, feedforward way.
We will not be able to master the global crisis by social-Darwinism – at best
286
we will only postpone the system's and its beneficiaries' fall. As far as we
thrive in these morally destroyed, information-inefficient solutions – together
with curbing eco-socially useful innovativeness and growing mutual hate,
unemployment, hunger – the global catastrophe will be rapidly approaching.
Without knowledge about the complex and long-range effects of eco-social
activity, even less poverty and more labor (also loving) simply means faster
exhaustion of natural resources and extinction of nature, i.e. a faster pace to
global catastrophe.
Therefore overcoming the global crisis and achieving sustainable development
of the world society calls for spirituality-based civilization solutions. These
solutions are radically different from traditional solutions. They will primarily
create and strengthen eco-humanistic global governance and base it on a popularly-accessed world information system, including global dynamic monitoring (Michnowski 2009b). It would allow us to change the economy into a
sustainable-development economy, based on a complex (including future and
socio-environment effects) account of benefits and costs that stimulate common good-directed cognize and innovative activity.
Seen through the prism of development cybernetics the social teachings of
John Paul II, enriched by Benedict XVI, properly point to the path that world
society must take to adjust to life in an era of highly-advanced science and
technology. Therefore, these teachings are a good starting-point for dialogue
on cooperation between different political and civilization options, dialogue
that is crucial for the construction and execution of a programme aimed at an
enduring conquest of the global crisis.
Thus, instead of admonishing the Church to stick to religion, let us concentrate on creating (with backcasting – Michnowski 2003) the right conditions
for John Paul II's only seemingly utopian Civilization of Life and Love.
In our scientifically and technologically advanced era there is no axiological
alternative to the spirituality based eco-humanistic/common interest cooperation between wise, subjectively-treated and well-informed, intellectually creative people aided by highly-developed science and technology, as well as information culture.
287
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Amzad HOSSAIN
Dora MARINOVA
WISDOM FOR LIVING
WITH CERTAINTY AMIDST UNCERTAINTY
INTRODUCTION
In general, wisdom reflects a deep understanding of what is true or right, is
often guided by value judgements and directs the ability to think and act (Dictionary.com, 2014). The believers in the Scriptural revelations conceive wisdom as divine enlightenment or knowledge par excellence. According to Aziz
Shah Fakir1, wisdom is the synergistic reflectivity of a person of higher understanding who can see things as they are, practise moral values, nurture spirituality and live in happiness. Such persons themselves are the living wisdom, as
Jesus Christ is the wisdom of God – the wisdom that also ecological intelligence (Edwards, 1995).
According to Sefa Dei et al. (2000: 6), wisdom is a body of conventional indigenous knowledge associated with the long-term occupancy of a certain
place. It inspires the practice of seeing humans as part of nature as well as the
acquiring and guarding of the wisdom of elders, pondering about the living
and future generations, participating in community welfare and reflecting the
connectedness to culture and all in nature. Wisdom brings together people’s
traditional norms and values integrated into mental constructs that guide, organise and regulate their way of living and making sense of the world. It allows humans to live in an environment that is often unpredictable and full of
risks.
Understanding and accepting the uncertainty of life and transforming it into
practical certainty are major aspects of becoming and being wise. Gibson et al.
1
Darvish Aziz Shah Fakir (102) is a renowned Baul guru. He lives with his wife Laily at the
tomb of his guru Darvish Kalu Shah Fakir (d. 1971) in village Choraikole of Kushtia district
of Bangladesh.
291
(2005) assert that human survival itself is an old wisdom, perhaps the wisdom,
as since the dawn of human civilisation, the earthly objective of most people
in diverse communities has been to achieve longevity. People’s core strategy
in the pre-industrialisation era was to perform activities that create a degree of
certainty in relation to their basic needs, such as food, clothing and shelter.
Industrialisation however introduced new perspectives in human life related to
having, desiring, possessing and consuming (Macdonald 1993). The modern
era introduced the fear of insecurity even when people have enough to suffice
their needs. They are ever uncertain for they fail to figure out what they have
and they still want more. According to a traditional proverb, ‘a greedy man is
always poor’; but what modernity has created is not only personal unhappiness, social tensions and disparities but also ecological destruction.
There are however wise people who are trying to counteract the forces of
modernity and to facilitate a more sustainable world. This chapter uses the
example of Bangladesh to make the case that wisdom can contribute to creating more certainty in a constantly destabilised social, economic and natural
environments. Macdonald (1993) describes the following attributes to wisdom, namely: a reality-seeking attitude, non-reactive acceptance, holistic seeing and oneness, and behaviour that benefits others. We use these characteristics to explain how the Baul philosophers of Bangladesh encourage living with
certainty.
Bauls are the most popular gurus in rural Bangladesh and are often seen as
being at the root of the Bengali culture. They come from both Muslim and
Hindu backgrounds and while mostly unlettered, show a full measure of poetic, musical and philosophical talent. The majority of the Bauls are male;
although female Bauls are fewer, they are more popular. Being truly soul stirring, the Bauls take the listeners closest to nature. They are environmentalists
in their belief and practice; they are simple, natural, unembellished and rooted
in the soil. Bauls are judged ‘illiterate’ within a written culture, but hearing
their innumerable songs, one cannot but regard them as supreme pundits. For
example, Baul Fakir Lalon Shah has not read any religious books, but in discussing religion, he displays an extraordinary knowledge of the Scriptures.
The Bauls do not believe in writing down their spontaneously composed
songs. They sing as they go along and as feelings come to them.
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The Bauls are unique in socio-religious syncretisation. This has been acknowledged by pundits such as Rabi Thakur, Mansuruddin, Kabi Jasim uddin,
Anwarul Karim, Abu Talib, Abul Hasnat Chowdhuury, Solaiman Ali Sarkar,
Upen Bhattacarya, Fakir Rashid, Khaja Jahangir, Bhagawan Rajneesh, Khsitimohan Sen, Edward Dimock, Sashivushan Dasgupta, Sanat Kumar Mitra,
Mcdaniel, to name a few. All of them stress the Bauls’ contributions towards
maintaining the social harmony in Bengal by subduing the prevalent caste and
creed hatred in the Bangali society. How do the unlettered Fakirs do that?
What are their secrets? The people listen to them and their songs, which are
continuously modernised to offer contemporary relevance, and see them as
sources of living wisdom. In 2005, UNESCO listed the Baul songs as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity (UNESCO, 2008).
A REALITY-SEEKING ATTITUDE
There is a lot of scientific evidence about the negative impact of anthropogenic activities on climate change with the best example being the work of the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, 2013). Despite this reliable and confirmed evidence, climate sceptics continue to attack scientists,
lobby politicians and create doubts in the mind of ordinary people. A vibrant
Baul song by Lalon Fakir (1774-1890) says: ‘Do not proceed through conjectural path, it has fatal pitfalls. Sailing on the boat of wisdom, identify a sustainable pathway and go by understanding your limits…’ While it is difficult
for rural people to understand the complexities of the climate change debate
and what are its implications for a country, such as Bangladesh, the Fakir’s
wisdom calls for understanding the limits of human knowledge but also creating an accurate and truthful picture of the reality.
Such a realisation may in many cases be challenging, particularly with the
more frequent occurrence of natural calamities such as drought, floods, heat
waves and sea level rise as well as the increasing loss of biodiversity and arable land. The uncertainty triggered by such ecological deterioration is further
aggravated by its social and economic consequences as they relate to people’s
livelihoods. An old wisdom however says: „behind every adversity lies a hidden possibility” and „it is wise to remember that risk is opportunity’s constant
293
companion” (Smith, 2005: p. xii). A way to create certainty is to seek possible
solutions within the boundaries of scientifically sound knowledge that reflect
the state of the art (Breyer, 1998) as well as being able to constantly analyse
and reflect on your actions.
One of the most revealing examples of this is the return to organic and traditional agricultural methods in rural Bangladesh after the observed evidence of
ecological damage. Village people venerate nature through paying respect
while exploring what it offers for meeting human needs. They look not only
for what harvest the current season will bring but also how to sustain the productivity of the land for future yields. It is in this context that the villagers
have changed in recent years their practices away from the discredited largescale inorganic unsustainable methods of the Green Revolution farming
(Shiva, 1992) to small-scale organic farming that supports biodiversity and
does not exhaust nature’s fertility beyond its restoration capacity (Shiva,
2005).
The tradition of innovating appropriate agro-technology by uneducated folk
scientists of Bangladesh can be seen as applied ecological wisdom that provides an alternative to devastating modern technology. The inspiration for
such innovation comes from animistic religions such as Hinduism that depicts
earth as a mother giving birth to scenes composed of animals, trees and human
beings. The relationship between trees, animals, vegetation and water is one of
biosystems (Rinehart, 2004: 345). The rural innovators simulate the wisdom
of Mother Nature and personify.
Wisdom results from a whole array of ways of knowing, being, living and
dealing with the world with a degree of certainty, for the wise can see things
clearly in their original form. They can deeply understand human and natural
conditions with regards to when to act and when not to act. Many people in
the past and of the present day, including those educated without understanding, appear to fail to make the best use of knowledge in terms of wisdom,
which creates a fear of uncertainty.
A reality-seeking attitude allows the right knowledge to be acquired through
„adversity and failure” (Thornhill, 2000:99) and applied rightly for the right
objective at the right time. According to the Sufi teacher Hazrat Inayat Khan,
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„wisdom is not in words; it is in understanding”2; and a reality-seeking attitude
can help develop this.
NON-REACTIVE ACCEPTANCE
The human species have evolved to feel strong emotions, including negative
reactions, such as greed, envy, fear, jealousy and hatred (Macdonald, 1993).
When these reactive impulses are supressed as the Baul philosophers do, they
experience serenity and joy. The reactive nature of the human brain is systematically exploited by marketing experts who encourage continuing high levels
of consumption in order to maintain high levels of production of goods. This
is in a sharp contrast with the Gandhi’s philosophy: „The more I have, the less
I am” (Joshi, 1993: 53) which resents material possessions and encourages
peace and voluntary simplicity.
The diverse natural calamities in Bangladesh such as famine, floods, droughts
and cyclones cause people to frequently experience sustainability setback. In
order to revitalise adaptation, coping and resilience skills while in hardship,
people are culturally taught to use the widely known proverbial wisdom such
as: ‘there is no happiness without sorrow’, ‘take the bad with the good, ‘where
there is a will, there is a way’, ‘failure is the pillar of success’, ‘money is not
all’, ‘people are the slave of their environment’, ‘desire for too much is ruining’, ‘cut your coat according to your cloth’, ‘eat less to live longer’, ‘foolish
is s/he who overeats’, ‘eat to sustain life, and not for the pleasure of it’; ‘wise
is s/he who is immune from excessive material desire’, ‘respecting Mother
Nature is worshipping God’, ‘avarice begets sin, sin begets death’. This sustainability wisdom conveys a sense of values that belongs to the universal
human conditions (Fluehr-Lobban, 2004: 74) and creates peace and certainty.
HOLISTIC SEEING AND ONENESS
In the earliest forms of the contemporary world religions, such as Hinduism,
2
Hazrat Inayat Khan (1882-1927) is an Indian musician and Sufi teacher who is believed to
have brought Sufism to the West (Sufism, n.d.).
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Judaism, Christianity and Islam, the world was presented as animated and
integrated, similar to what we now call primitive or traditional knowledge
(Suzuki and McConnell, 1997). The beauty of the universe was its wholeness
where humans and their spirit were equal to all other things, but this has drastically changed. People now no longer see the connections with the other species and the rest of the non-human world and the oneness of the world. They
tend to focus on their immediate circumstances ignoring the importance of
others. Concepts such as evolution and system thinking are studied at school
but are not truly understood in their applicability to daily living where human
life is supported by the vast network of plants, trees, animals, fish, insects,
soils, water, air and all elements of the biophysical environment.
On the contrary, the wise people are concerned about the wellbeing of the
planet and all species on it. The serious problems that we face today, such as
ecological destruction, climate change, resource depletion, social tensions,
poverty, hunger and inequality, may seem divergent but are all interconnected.
They should be understood and handled holistically, as one problem. In fact,
Meadows et al. (1972) argued more than 40 years ago that what humanity
faces is an all pervasive complex and dynamic „world problematique” which
unless resolved, will generate further uncertainty for the future.
The sustainability blueprint for Bangladesh as expressed in the songs of the
Bauls represents the holistic wellbeing of the country:
„Nadi vora jol
math vora sashay
pukur vora maas
gohal vora garu
bari vora gaas
pakhir kolotan
shisur koahol
bauler o majheer gaan
Rathe banya jantu O vuther voy
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(water in the river),
(field full of crops),
(pond full of fish),
(cow in the cowshed),
(homestead with trees),
(melodious tune of the birds),
(uproar of children),
(songs of Bauls and boatmen),
(fear of wild animals and
ghosts at night).”
BEHAVIOUR THAT BENEFITS OTHERS
The behaviour that benefits others is expressed in the direction of those who
are contemporary fellow citizens as well as those who are to inhabit and inherit this planet in the future. Living wisely is essential to lift the uncertainty
for those who are yet to be born: ‘Just as the deep red of the setting sun holds
the promise of a beautiful tomorrow, a life well lived conveys the gift of hope
to future generations’ (Ikeda, n.d.).
The wise Bauls live a very simple life but a life that is directed towards benefiting their numerous disciples and followers. Compassion for all creatures on
Earth as well as acceptance of their weaknesses and strengths are essential
characteristics in order to avoid conflict and encourage harmony within society and with nature. The description given by Macdonald (1993) that personal
growth in wisdom can reach a point when it is difficult to differentiate between yourself, the universe and what needs to be done, applies faultlessly to
the Bauls. This encourages the rural people of Bangladesh to live with wisdom
and search for organic, gentle, non-violent and elegant ways of harmonious
existence. The Bauls counteract the push for modernisation and consumerism
by rejecting technological violence against nature and the contemporary
meaning of economic progress. By doing this they create certainty and empower ordinary people to be self-reliant (Marinova et al., 2006), respectful of
one another and the biophysical world.
Rural people’s everyday matters, such as how to till the soil, educate children,
prepare meals and so on, are founded on an intricate web of understandings,
traditions and beliefs that are particular to Bangladesh and the land that supports them (Gibson et al., 2005). The Bauls encourage the wisdom embedded
in customary systems. From time to time, changes in thought and practice
might be found necessary and desirable, but without the approach to respect
tradition, there would always be a greater risk (Gibson et al., 2005). It is accepted that technology is an important means to improve human lives with the
change of time (Fox, 1996); however rampant, unguided, unrestrained and
accelerated technological change devoid of or unsupported by wisdom can
become the enemy of the living world (Smith, 2005: 231). The Baul songs
warn about this.
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Educating is a major aspect of the behaviour that benefits others and the Bauls
are constantly performing this in a unique way. Guru Aziz Shah says: „speak
to every person according to his/her level of understanding”. Chittick (1983:
10) explains this with the following comparison: „The window determines
how much light enters the house, even if the moon’s radiance fills the east and
the west”. The wise educators form an active part in the process of transmitting „to the succeeding generations their accumulated store of the knowledge
of arts, values, customs and their ideals of life as a whole as well as their experiences in various fields which should help the younger generation in carrying on their activities of life effectively and successfully” (Ahmed, 1990: 1).
Their education for wisdom is essential for understanding the natural and social environment and for connecting this knowledge with our concerns about
nature, ecology and other people in establishing sustainability certainty.
The current UNESCO Decade of Education for Sustainable Development
emphasises the importance of values (2002, 2005). A further emphasis on
education for wisdom is required to achieve sustainability so that society can
transform knowledge into wisdom (Knapp, 2007: 60). According to Lin
(2006: 86), „(b)y putting aside wisdom education and emphasising skills and
knowledge, we are letting the cart drive the horse, and we are depriving ourselves of a truly educative experience”. In formulating how to help students
develop wisdom, Lin (2006) stresses that educators need to realise that while
values and virtues are indispensable qualities for success in life and for society’s wellbeing, wisdom is essential for humanity’s survival and sustainability. Lin (2006:94) further explains that if we are going to successfully meet
„the greatest challenge that has confronted the human race in its entire history,” and „solve the common problems that threaten our future on the earth”,
our mode of envisioning the template for humankind’s newly emergent global
ethics must reflect creatively the knowledge and wisdom evident in the patterns that sustain the global eco-mind. The Baul educators are inherent transmitters of wisdom to the benefit of society and the globe.
Education for wisdom is best transmitted orally, especially for people who are
not formally lettered. Proverbs are diffused through elders, Baul singerphilosophers, story telling by grand parents and the spiritual discourses by
gurus are the main methods of oral transmission of wisdom. According to
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Regan (2000: 10), oral tradition is learning from the past as it is told and it
really works. Rosenberg (1991) finds that all beliefs and values are relayed
orally, face-to-face, and are held in memory. Orality for wisdom education
provides ‘creations beyond the reach of literates’ (Rosenberg, 1991: 27).
As wisdom reveals itself through reflectivity, Harun Baul3 talks that in order
for a person to develop a reflective disposition, s/he has to observe the reflective manifestation of another person, go through personal experience or observe nature itself. To encourage reflective learning of wisdom, a story about
Jesus Christ is often refereed to in rural Bangladesh. It is maintained that Jesus
gave away his only comb and water mug after observing a sheep drinking
directly (without a mug) from a water place and a crow combing its feathers
with its claws. This story helps in identifying which are people’s most essential needs and by thinking about those who are most in need creates compassion and certainty.
Wisdom is experiential knowledge for practical application. The Bangladeshi
people are inherently nature-dependent and grassroots. Mujtaba and Musavi
(2000: 47) stress that local naturalists, such as the Bauls, teach them to apply
wisdom by observing how every other species adapts to its changing conditions of life. This includes caring for and sharing of nature.
Some development activists in Bangladesh come from the traditionalists, who
are known to the scholars as the culturists or the cultural mediators. In their
work, they apply traditional wisdom and local knowledge to syncretise new
and traditional concepts of development, thereby facilitating development to
be progressive and sustainable. In their view, development does not mean
exhaustion of natural resources; rather renewal of resources to see a sustainable future and diminish uncertainty. They strongly believe in the wisdom
„grasp all, lose all”. These activists voluntarily use their acquired wisdom and
experience to benefit people in development, animate others and guide a discourse on right and wrong. Their aim is to generate contentment: happiness,
fulfilment, morality and aesthetics for themselves and for the fellow villagers.
These activists foster the wisdom that any development has side effect, as ‘no
rose is without thorns’. However, to minimise uncertainty in development
3
Harun Baul (1938–2013) was a singer-philosopher, disciple of Aziz Shah Fakir.
299
they emphasise indigenous views and represent the indigenous culture, empowering themselves by negotiating their perceived cultural identities (Abram
et al., 1997: 10). To them, development is an ever-changing phenomenon.
APPLICATION OF WISDOM
The application of wisdom is a tool to overcome sustainability uncertainty and
generate or restore sustainability certainty. „It is in vain to cast your net,
where there is no fish”. Rural Bangladesh is a very fertile field for sustainability education and a wise lifestyle. This is strongly facilitated by the Bauls.
Every person’s health, spiritual state, hopes and desires – all manifest the state
of application of one’s self-knowing. Wisdom has it that: „Knowing is important, but applying what you know is often more important than knowing”; „the
truly learned are those who can apply in practice what they know”; „knowledge without its application is like water without wetness”. All these examples
indicate that sustainability certainty can be reached through the application of
sustainability insights, for it can underpin one’s identity and power when applied.
CONCLUSION
Despite presumptions of progress, our current lifestyle, devoid of social and
ecological wisdom, is simply generating sustainability uncertainty. The Bauls’
wisdom describe this progress like a deer in the desert chasing after a mirage
in vain in the hope of water.
According to Macdonald (1993), wisdom is not one particular thing but a
whole array of being, living and dealing with the world better than in the ordinary ways. The present techno-industrialised global civilisation has created a
dominant way of being, living and dealing which has induced added ecological, social and economic uncertainty, particularly in relation to climate
change.
Sustainability itself is a cluster of old wisdom (Gibson et al. 2005:39) that has
300
been forgotten and no longer used. The increasing sustainability uncertainty in
the human living conditions corresponds to the diminishing application of
accumulated wisdom. Thus, the final tool to apply for restoration of declining
social and ecological sustainability is to be wise. This also includes the application of practices that have endured through the centuries and gave certainty
in the past. According to Suzuki and McConnell (1997), there is a lot to learn
from the cultures formed by the original cosmic religions, including Aboriginal traditions which see the land as revelatory of the sacred (Edwards, 1995).
The Baul philosophers belong to these treasures of humankind.
Despite the infinite capacity of the human spirit to uncover new territories and
come up with new solutions, in practice there is a lot that we do not know and
probably would never know (Helminiak, 2008). What makes people wise,
namely a reality-seeking attitude, non-reactive acceptance, holistic seeing and
oneness and behaviour that benefits others, is deeply rooted in their values and
spirituality. The Bauls are by nature environmentalists and humanists. They
are a perfect example of how wisdom can be hosted throughout the centuries
and spread around the globe to give hope and create certainty in an age of
uncertainties.
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Chittick, W.C. 1983. Sufi path of love: The spiritual teachings of Rumi. Albany,
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Fox, R. (ed). 1996. Technological change: Methods and themes in the history of
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technology. Amsterdam: Overseas Publishers Association.
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Gibson, R.B., S. Hassan, S. Holtz, J. Tansey and G. Whitelaw 2005. Sustainability assessment: Criteria, processes and application. London: Earthscan.
10. Helminiak, D.A. 2008. Spirituality for our global community. New York: Rowman and Littlefield Pub.
11. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 2013. Climate Change 2013:
The Physical Science Basis. Summary for Policymakers. http://www.climatechange2013.org/images/uploads/WGI_AR5_SPM_brochure.pdf. (accessed January 17, 2014).
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13. Knapp, J. (ed). 2007. For the common good: The ethics of leadership in the 21st
century. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers.
14. Joshi, N. 1992. Development without destruction: Economics of the spinning
wheel. Ahmedabad, India: Navajivan Mudranalaya.
15. Lin, J. 2006. Love, peace, and wisdom in education: A vision for education in the
21st century. Oxford: Rowman and Littlefield Education.
16. Macdonald, C. 1993. Toward wisdom: Finding our way to inner peace, love, and
happiness. Toronto, Canada: Hounslow Press.
17. Marinova, D., A. Hossain and P. Hossain-Rhaman 2006. Sustaining local lifestyle
through self-reliance: Core principles. In Sharing wisdom for our future: Environmental education in action. Wooltorton, S. and D. Marinova (ed). Sydney,
Australia: Australian Association for Environmental Education. pp. 373-380.
18. Meadows, D.H., D. Meadows, J. Randers and W.W. Behrens III 1972. The limits
to growth. New York: Universe Books.
19. Mujtaba, S. and L. Musavi 2000. God and his attributes: Lessons on Islamic doctrine (translated by H. Algar). Motomac, MD: Islamic Education Centre.
20. Regan, T. 2000. Non-western educational tradition: Alternative approaches to
educational thought and practice. London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
21. Rinehart, R. 2004. Contemporary Hinduism: Ritual, culture, and practice. Oxford:
ABC CLIO.
22. Rosenberg, B.A. 1991. Folklore and literature: Rival siblings. Knoxville, TN:
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and political conflict in Punjab. New Delhi: Zed Press.
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25. Shiva, V. 2005. Earth democracy: Justice, sustainability and peace. Cambridge,
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Rapids, MA: W.B. Eerdmans Pub. Co.
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Dr Amzad Hossain – Research Fellow, Curtin University Sustainability Policy Institute, Australia
e-mail: A. [email protected]
Prof. Dora Marinova - Curtin University Sustainability Policy Institute, Australia
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IV.
Transformational
Case Studies
Worldwide
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Katarzyna KOPECKA-PIECH
CREATIVE AND CULTURAL INDUSTRIES POLICY IN POLAND OF 2012. STATUS, STRATEGIES, AND INAUGURATING PROJECTS
INTRODUCTION
General outline and the aim of the study
Poland is a country with a population of 38 million people and has had a democratic form of government for more than twenty years. Since 2004 it has
been a member of the European Union. The country is divided into 16 voivodeships with democratically elected local governments that are independent in
their regional and local policy, including cultural policy. The Minister of Culture and National Heritage is responsible for the growth of culture, and the
protection of the national heritage. S/he coordinates the internal policy, including the realization of the cultural policy by self-government, and external,
international policy as well as being responsible for the creation and realization of cultural policy in Poland. The Minister enjoys public support and
strong legal standing1. Cultural policy is realized at the national, regional, and
local levels. In Poland, the issue about creative and cultural industries is
mainly of interest to the Minister of Culture and National Heritage, but also to
the Minister of Economy and to the local governments.
The following analysis is based on public documents, mainly ministerial
strategies, commissioned expert opinions, and documents prepared by independent institutions as part of selected projects. Its aim is to define the historical context and then the status and position of the creative and cultural industries in the Polish cultural policy in 2012. So far, the cultural policy on the
1
Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, Uzupełnienie narodowej strategii kul-tury na lata
2004-2020 (Supplement to the National Cultural Strategy for 2004-2020), Warszawa 2005,
p. 68, http://bip.mkidn.gov.pl/media/docs/050617nsrk-uzupelnienie.pdf (accessed 1 March
2012).
306
creative and cultural industries has not been scientifically analyzed. Up-todate knowledge on the creative industries is very limited, and only slightly
less so in the case of cultural industries. According to Krzysztofek, this problem has been overlooked due to both objective and subjective reasons. On the
one hand, since the transformation, cultural policy has not been a priority; on
the other, it has been stereotypically understood as „a benefit that the state
owes to the society”2. Individual social and governmental initiatives failed to
become a sufficient stimulus for the beginning of the study of these sectors in
Poland. Data is rather fragmentary. Results from the research done so far concern the significance of the transformation of the political system for the cultural sector and a broadly defined cultural policy3, individual branches and
selected problems in the age of creative economy 4 and the significance of
creativity and innovation in the development of regions and cities5.
Post-transformational history
The twenty-year period following the political transformation in Poland was
characterized by dynamic changes, including the area of cultural policy. ‘Be2
3
4
5
K. Krzysztofek, Status przemysłów kultury: między ekonomią i kulturą (Status of Culture
Industries: Between Economy and Culture), [in:] Perspektywy badań nad kulturą (Prospects
for Cultural Research), eds. R. Kluszczyński, Z. Zeidler-Janiszewska, Łódź 2008), p. 238.
J. Purchla, Kultura a transformacja Polski (Culture and Transformation of Poland), [in:]
Kultura i przemysły kultury szansą rozwojową dla Polski (Culture and Culture Industries as
a Chance for Development of Poland), ed. J. Szomburg, Gdańsk 2002; J. Szomburg,
„Kultura i przemysły kultury szansą rozwojową dla Polski (Culture and Culture Industries
as a Chance for Development of Poland), [in:] Kultura i przemysły…
K. Krzysztofek, Status…; P. Kieliszewski, Publiczne i prywatne. O nowym modelu relacji
międzysektorowych (Public and Private. About the New Model of Intersector Relations),
[in:] Od przemysłów kultury do kreatywnej gospodarki (From Cultural Industries to Creative Economy), ed. A. Gwóźdź, Warszawa 2010); K. Krzysztofek, Tendencje rozwoju kreatywnej ekonomii w sieciach (Tendencies of the Development of the Creative Economy in
the Networks), in Od przemysłów…; A. Klasik, Od sektora kultury do przemysłów kreatywnych (From the Sector of Culture to the Creative Industries), [in:] Od przemysłów …
T. Stryjakiewicz, T. Kaczmarek, M. Męczyński, J. Parysek, K. Stachowiak, Poznan Faces
the Future: Pathways to Creative and Knowledge-based Regions. ACRE Report 2.8, 2007,
http://acre.socsci.uva.nl/results/documents/WP2.8Poznan_FI-NAL.pdf (accessed 1 March
2012); T. Stryjakiewicz, M. Męczyński, K. Stachowiak, Sektor kreatywny w poznańskiej
gospodarce (Creative Sector in the Poznan Economy), Poznań 2009; A. Klasik, Przemysły
kreatywne oparte na nauce i kulturze (Creative Industries Based on Science and Culture),
[in:] Kreatywne miasto – kreatywna aglomeracja (Creative City – Creative Agglomeration),
ed. A. Klasik, Katowice 2009); A. Cellmer, Przemysł kreatywny w gospodarce miast (Creative Industry in the Economy of Cities), Acta Scientarium Polonorum, Administratio
Locorum, No 10, 2011, pp. 29-37.
307
fore 1989 culture in Poland was almost exclusively a domain of the State and
a strongly ideologized sector’6. As Purchla presents, the period between 1989
and 1991 marks the beginning of privatization in selected sectors of culture,
and the decentralization of public duties, which led to the adoption of systemic
reforms and the preparation of the principles of cultural policy of the State in
19937. However, the work slowed down between 1993 and 1997; and there
was a return to a centralized system. Despite the self-government reform of
1997, cultural policy (if one could speak of it as such) in this context was
rather an outcome of particular policies. It did not create changes, did not
popularize desired models or solutions8. ‘The success of the first decade of
transformations was based mainly on the use of the simple efficiency and allocative reserves and the already existing human, social and moral resources,
which were being wasted under the previous system’9. There was no understanding of the role and the vision of culture, which is strictly connected with
the deepening crisis of this sector in Poland. According to Purchla culture
continued to be treated as a static and extensive system, a burden on the state
budget, isolated from the private and non-profit sectors10. Polish cultural policy suffered three ills: the doctrinal barrier (culture as a sacrum outside the
economic circulation); the political barrier (from extreme centralization to
extreme decentralization); incompetent financing and the departmental barrier
– ignoring its connection with other sectors. It was so called departmental
thinking, which treats culture as limited and marginal, ‘in isolation from different phenomena of civilization: growing possibilities of communication
between people, electronic media development, larger amount of free time,
increased consumption of mass culture or the very development of cultural
industries’11. During the first decade of transformation, culture was one big
public sector, not subjected to any deeper transformation12. According to some
researchers, the situation has largely remained the same today13, although a
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
P. Kieliszewski, Publiczne…, p. 36.
J. Purchla, Kultura…p. 15.
J. Szomburg, Kultura…, p. 9.
J. Purchla, Kultura…, p. 14.
A. Rybicki, Przemysły kultury w Polsce są faktem – czas na politykę państwa (Cultural
Industries in Poland is a Fact – it is Time for the Public Policy), [in:] Kultura …, p. 27.
J. Purchla, Kultura …, p. 13.
P. Kieliszewski Publiczne…, p.36.
308
clear tendency towards reform needs to be pointed out.
Towards change
The last decade in Polish cultural policy is characterized by a change in thinking about culture; there was a shift from ad hoc actions that very often depended on the current political situation to long-range strategic planning. The analysis of a situation, outlining objectives, and naming priorities for short, medium, and long-term perspectives constitute a relatively new political practice.
National strategy for the development of culture, prepared by the Ministry of
Culture and National Heritage was the first document that encompassed cultural industries14. It was a response to the challenge posed by a new mode of
action, imposed mainly by practices of the European Union. Difficulties in implementing a planned strategy can be seen in the introduction to the document,
which contained a kind of explanation why ‘a planned strategy is no longer
the whim of a visionary, but the duty of a properly functioning state apparatus
and organs of self-government’15. The very preparation of the new strategy
turned out to be ‘a catalyst for a new approach’16 to the question of culture in
the public administration. Culture came to be seen as closely connected with
economic and social development. It became part of a systemic approach,
which has to be seen as a breakthrough. A rationalization for actions started to
be postulated. Those having a causative power were to be distinguished from
actions of a stimulating and assisting character. Moreover, strategic fields of
culture in the given periods of programming were to be specified. In 2004 in
Poland there was no awareness of the significance of the cultural industries.
Even in the said document they are referred to as the ‘so called cultural industries’17 and do not play a significant role in the strategy. This can be explained
by the fact that they were defined arbitrarily and partially as ‘all private enterprises and independent contractors operating in the for-profit industries such
14
15
16
17
Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, Narodowa strategia rozwoju kultury na lata
2004-2013 (National Strategy for the Development of Culture for 2004-2013), Warszawa
2004, http://bip.mkidn.gov.pl/media/docs/Narodowa_Strategia_Rozwoju_Kultury.pdf (accessed 1 March 2011).
Ibidem, p. 5.
Ibidem, p. 4.
Ibidem.
309
as book, artistic, music, film, and audiovisual industries’18 (the definition has
been expanded to encompass related goods and ser-vices, e.g. cultural tourism
and media). As it can be seen, there is neither a cle-ar definition of what constitutes activities of the cultural industries, nor a list of institutions or organizations belonging to them. What is more, the significance of the creative industries for cultural policy was not realized, and the sector was not understood
as a part of the cultural policy. The relationship be-tween culture and cultural
industries was seen as one-sided, i.e., that ‘culture creates cultural industries’19. A sustainable development of culture was defi-ned in the document as
a continuity of tradition and preservation of cultural heritage. The different
character of the commercial sector and precarious co-financing of culture by
the private sector caused by the changing economic si-tuation were identified.
Thus, the state was to become a guardian of culture while the cultural industries were to develop outside the public sector.
At that time, cultural industries and creative industries were isolated from the
cultural policy and were not of interest to the Ministry of Labour and Social
Policy, the Ministry of Education or the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, and above all to the Ministry of Economy. It was not until the end of
2009 that the report commissioned by the last of the departments was issued.
Until then, the Ministry of Economy did not do analysis, and, all the more, did
not realize supporting programmes. Despite the preliminary analysis, the said
document clarified neither the cultural nor economic significance of the Polish
sectors. The document presented a range of definitions from abroad, including
foreign research centers and indexes, such as the innovation index of creative
sectors. However, the share of the sectors in terms of GDP or employment
was not estimated. The economic significance of these sectors in Poland and
the necessity of state intervention were justified through the description of its
characteristics and components, analysis of the external documents such as:
The Economy of Culture in Europe, United Nations Conference on Trade and
Development (UNCTAD), British Department for Culture, Media and Sport
(DCMS)20 and the British organization Nesta documents.
18
19
20
Ibidem, p. 13.
Ibidem.
Department of Culture, Media and Sport, Creative Industries Mapping Document, London
310
The especially frequent references to the last two institutions reflect the strong
influence of British standards. The recommendations were formulated on the
basis of theoretical speculations, worldwide practices (giving as examples
mainly Australian and British ones), and interviews with the representatives of
Polish companies (it was not stated how many interviews were done; the results of four interviews with anonymous respondents were presented). In order
to justify the economic significance of creative industries, the national strategy
for the development of culture was referred to, which, as it was already stated,
did not discuss the issue of this sector.
It was also emphasized that ‘the main role of the creative sector is to create
demand, and as a result stimulate the innovativity in other sectors’21. Other
roles of this sector, including the sociocultural ones, were ignored. There was
an about-turn in the pre-transformational approach to culture as a sphere outside the economy, neglecting the analysis of their economic significance 22 .
The documents analyzed demonstrate the significant problem of the artificial
division between the culture subsidized by the state budget and the cultural
industries, as well as focusing on their competition and not complementarity23.
The first Polish programme documents concerning cultural or creative industries left numerous terms undefined and many matters unsettled. However,
they became an impetus for in-depth analyses made or commissioned mainly
by the non-governmental organizations and local self-governments. As a result of these studies, there was an increased awareness of the significance of
21
22
23
1998, http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/, http://www.culture. gov.uk/global/publications/archive_2001/ci_mapping_doc_2001.htm, (accessed: March 2012).
Ekorys, Analiza potrzeb i rozwoju przemysłów kreatywnych. Raport końcowy (Analysis of
Need and Development of the Creative Industries. The Final Report), Warszawa Consulting
2009, p. 74, http://www.mg.gov.pl/files/upload/10147/Analiza%20potrzeb%20i%20rozwoju%20przemyslow%20kreatywnych.pdf (accessed: 1 March 2012).
The answer that was given in an interview with one of the authors of the report could be
seen as quite symptomatic: M. Mazerant: What is the structure of the creative sector in Poland? A. Śliwka: There has been no research on the structure of the creative sector in our
country so far. Maciej Mazerant: What does your report say about the creative sector? A.
Śliwka: On the basis of the analysis made it is not possible to determine the detailed structure of CI in Poland. It was the first research of this kind, the main assumption of which was
to outline the general world trends in the field of support for the creative sectors and draw
the general conclusions and recommendations for Poland without making detailed research
of the sector. M. Mazerant, Raport kreatywności (Report on Creativity), Newsletter Przemysłów Kreatywnych (Creative Industries Newsletter), no 2, 2011, http://kreatywnisamozatrudnieni.pl/kreatywni_files/File/2nr_newsletter_kreatywni.pdf (accessed: 22 April 2012).
K. Krzysztofek, Status…, p. 238.
311
cultural and creative industries in Polish public policy and public discourse.
The formation of more detailed strategies began and the first projects entered
the realization phase. The methodological scheme of the cultural policy analysis, comprising processes, institutions and policy implementation requires a
correction: the early stage of the formation of Polish policy on the creative and
cultural industries allows a detailed characterization of the first two elements,
but no more than an outline of the last one. Nevertheless, the analysis below
indicates five issues of the cultural policy (framework, implementation, social
development, economic development, management)24.
STATUS AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE CULTURAL SECTOR, CULTURAL INDUSTRIES, AND CREATIVE INDUSTRIES IN POLAND
Defining
As Rybicki points out, the changes that took place in Poland after the political
transformation, including the wide and fast privatization, caused problems in
arriving at a definition of culture25. The traditional understanding of culture
includes a wide range of institutions that also undertake cultural activity. It is
similar in the case of cultural and creative industries. The principal problem,
which should be resolved at the beginning, is the definition of creative industries and cultural industries currently accepted in Polish cultural policy, because public policy depends on a specific definition26. Meanwhile, in Polish
cultural policy as well as in the political discourse, there is latitude in defining
and arbitrarily applying different definitions and concepts, which provokes
chaos, and together with an established, coherent concept of the development
of industries, additional inconsistencies. Many important documents do not
include definitions at all. Difficulties arise also while translating English terminology. Facing the difficulties that Stryjakiewicz and others point out, i.e.
lack of submission of the creative activity to strict classification rules, which
24
25
26
F. Matarasso, Ch. Landry, Balancing Act: Twenty-One Strategic Dilemmas in Cultural
Policy, Strasbourg 1999, cited by: A.Pratt, Cultural Industries and Public Policy, International Journal of Cultural Policy, no 11, 2005, p. 36.
A. Rybicki, Przemysły…, p. 19.
S. Galloway, S. Dunlop, A Critique of Definitions of the Cultural and Creative Industries in
Public Policy, International Journal of Cultural Policy, no 13, 2007, p. 17.
312
entails ‘equivocation and confusion of terms and classification in the literature’27, a strong need appears to create a Polish national document specifying
the notions and terms, based upon which it will be possible to formulate
analyses, strategies and projects. A huge discrepancy exists between individual notions. From the report about the economical importance of the cultural
section28, prepared from the sources of the National Cultural Center, it could
be concluded that the cultural industries are part of the creative sector; while
creative industries consist of the cultural sector (and so the cultural industries)
as well as manufacturing and indirect services sectors.
Table 1. Definitions of cultural and creative industries, Lewandowskie et al,
Znaczenie….
Cultural industries
Creative industries
Create consumable goods of culture’. Their
products are ‘only the products and services
which serve to improve the quality of consumers' free time. In other words, their consumption is a goal in itself (and does not
serve to satisfy physiological needs), but
their production - not necessarily’
(Lewandowski et al. 2010, pp. 15–16).
Create ‘indirect goods, used in further production processes; use the
goods of culture as a relevant factor
of production’.
Kinds of activity: publishing, reproductions
of recorded media, manufacture of toys,
antiques trade, sale of newspapers, books,
music, video recordings, cable television
services, organizing fairs, exhibitions, congresses, making, distributing, screening
films, video recordings and television programmes, sound and music records, broadcasting programmes, literary, artistic work,
activity of art institutions, library, museum,
monuments.
Kinds of activity: distributing software, specialist design, design, professional photography services, architectonic services, advertising,
informational
agencies
(Lewandowski et al. 2010, p. 17).
The report commissioned by the Ministry of Economy29, despite the analysis
of numerous examples does not indicate a definition of creative industries, but
27
28
29
T. Stryjakiewicz et. al., Sektor…, p. 13.
P. Lewandowski, J. Mućk, Ł. Skrok, Znaczenie gospodarcze sektora kultury. Wstęp do analizy problemu, raport końcowy (The Importance of the Culture Sector. The Introduction to
the Analysis of the Problem. The Final Report), Warszawa 2010, http://www.obserwatoriumkultury.pl/files/2011-01-04/znaczenie_gospodarcze_sektora_kultury.pdf,
(accessed: 1 March 2012).
Analysis of needs and development of creative industries, Ecorys, Analiza…
313
only states that ‘attention should be paid to the industries from the following
sections, groups, classes and subclasses according to Polish classification of
activities: the retail sale of other new products in specialized shops, publishing books, newspapers, magazines and other periodicals, other publishing activity, publishing computer games, film, video recordings, television programme production, film projection, architecture, advertising (including sale),
specialist design, photography, artistic plays, creative literary and artistic activity, operation of art facilities, libraries, archives and museums’30.
On the other hand, in the social capital development strategy by the Ministry
of Culture and National Heritage, a distinction appears between the creative
and cultural industries, which are part of the market and economy – and the
creative sector as well as the cultural sector belonging to the social sphere.
During the diagnosis of the need for a strategy in the pipeline, the lack of a
common definition and access to data were pointed out as problems 31. The
admission of these facts did not contribute to the elaboration of clear definitions and distinctions.
Table 2. Definitions of creative an cultural sector, and cultural and creative industries, Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, Strategia….
CREATIVE SECTOR
CULTURAL SECTOR
Sphere of social life in which professionals
(designers, architects, programmers, etc.) use
their imagination, talent and creativity, create
ideas, concepts and works, which can achieve
economic value’32.
Term describing culture as one of
the spheres of social life (politics,
science, religion, industry etc.) that
manufactures, reproduces, and
popularizes cultural goods and
prepares for their use’33.
CREATIVE INDUSTRIES
CULTURAL INDUSTRIES
Professionalized system for the manufacture of Personalized system for the manugoods for sale, which are the effect of individ- facture of cultural goods which are
30
31
32
33
Ibidem, p. 12.
Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, Strategia rozwoju kapitału społecznego. Projekt
dokumentu po konsultacjach społecznych, (The Strategy of the Development of the Social
Capital. The project of the Document after the Social Consultations), Warszawa 2011,
http://ks.mkidn.gov.pl/media/download_gallery/20120112_Strategia_Rozwoju_Kapitalu_Sp
olecznego_po_uzgodnieniach_miedzyresortowych_%E2%80%93_tekst_glowny_21-12-11.
pdf, (accessed: 1 March 2012).
Ibidem, p. 126.
Ibidem.
314
ual or collective creativity and have innovative
character. The creative industry is concerned
with the production of cultural goods that are
transformed into consumable objects by the
cultural industry (e.g. architectonic and design
projects, screenplays, curatorial exhibition
concepts, etc.) and the ones which promote the
popularization and promotion of products of
cultural industry (e.g. advertisements, clips,
trailers, etc.), but also the ones which are autonomic works (e.g. works of art)’34.
provided for sale or those that can
be used as a means of production in
the sectors of social life different
than culture. Types of production
that can be distinguished within this
system: publishing, exhibit, film,
broadcasting, music activity as well
as the manufacture of computer
games and multimedia, and network
goods of culture’, etc. 35.
The definitions and classifications quoted do not explain the distinction that
exists between the creative and the cultural industries (e.g. why does film belong to the cultural industries but screenplay to the creative industries?). They
also do not justify why a particular industry has been classified in a particular
way. Every policy document defines the terms differently: from definitions
based on characteristics of end products and types of consumption; through a
system of production specified on the basis of characteristics of a production
process; to characteristics of spheres of social life. Such a diversified approach
in strategic or programme documents, or expertise makes local analysts and
project promoters use definitions and classifications arbitrarily.
Table 3. Creative industries and creative sector - definitions, identification criteria and kinds of activity in four different municipal projects
34
35
36
37
City
Definitions, identification, criteria
Kinds of activity
Łódź
‘Creative sectors are broadly understood as creative industries which
are particularly market-oriented and
deal with the creation, production,
distribution and/or popularization of
creative goods through media’36.
design, audiovisual media, performance art, cultural jobs and
creative services37
Ibidem, p.125.
Ibidem.
Urząd Miasta Łodzi, Demo Effective Launching, Łódź na lata 2010-2016. Raport
zamknięcia – wyniki wdrażania strategii (Lodz for 2010-2016. The Closing Report – Results of the Implementation of the Strategy), Łódź 2010, p. 43, http://www.kreatywna.lodz.pl/data/dataPublicator/raport_zamkniecia_-_wyniki_wdrazania_str.pdf, (accessed: 1
March 2012).
Urząd Miasta Łodzi, Demo Effective Launching, Łódź…
315
Gdańsk
Warszawa
Poznań
38
39
40
41
42
43
‘The term 'creative industries' applies to a wide range of economic
activities that deal with the manufacture or use of knowledge and
information. They are also called
cultural industries or creative economy’ 38 . The creative sector comprises private companies, non-profit
organisations, state institutions.
publishing and entertainment
activity, film activity, journalism, museums and other cultural
activities, retail sale of cultural
goods, architecture and engineering, design, advertising,
programming39
‘The creative sector manufactures
goods and generates jobs through
the use of intellectual property’ 40 .
The creative sector comprises certain companies that are not financed
from the state budget.
advertising, design, (including
fashion), architecture, art market, restoration of works of art,
antiques market, handicraft,
craftwork, film (including video), photography, computer
games, music, theatre, dance,
performance art, electronic,
traditional publishing, programming and computer services, traditional and electronic
media (television, radio)41.
‘The creative sector comprises two
basic sub-sectors: creative industries
and knowledge-intensive industries’42.
creative industries: advertising,
architecture, works of art, craftwork, design, and fashion design, video, film, music activity
and photography, artistic and
entertainment activity, publishing activity (software), radio
and television; knowledge-intensive industries: manufacturing
and services in ICT save programming, financial services,
legal services and other services for business (e.g. consulting,
market research), R&D, higher
education43
M. Koszarek, Diagnoza sektora branż kreatywnych na obszarze Metropolii Gdańskiej.
Raport końcowy (Diagnosis of the Creative industries Sector in Gdansk Metropolis Area),
Gdańsk 2010, p. 13, http://www.creativecitiesproject.eu/en/output/doc-23-2011/SWOT_Gd
ansk _PL.pdf, (accessed: 1 March 20120.
M. Koszarek, Diagnoza…
M. Grochowski, Sektor kreatywny w Warszawie. Potencjał i warunki rozwoju (Creative
Sector in Warsaw. The Potential and Conditions for the Development), Warszawa 2010, p.
5, http://www.creativemetropoles.eu/uploads/files/creative_metropoles raport warszawski
sektor kreatywny.pdf, (accessed: 1 March 20120.
M. Grochowski, Sektor…
T. Stryjakiewicz, Sektor…, p. 14.
T. Stryjakiewicz, Sektor…
316
The examples quoted show not only that the definitions are arbitrary and lack
coherence, but also that the terms are confused (industry, department, economy) and the particular industries are arbitrarily classified (including the higher
education and legal services). As a result, there is a risk in recommending an
integrated approach to creative industries in public administration44. Formulating development policy, creating strategy and efficient work coordination,
until settling the question of definitions, will be incomplete and potentially
contradictory.
Statistics and estimations
The fundamental problem faced by every institution trying to conduct cultural
policy in Poland is the lack of current and exhaustive statistics. The Polish institution charged with collecting statistics is the central statistical office: GUS
(Główny Urząd Statystyczny). The problem of statistics is present in scientific
publications45 and reports46. First of all, GUS does not define creative and cultural industries and makes it impossible to distinguish them because of the
way it classifies the institutions. Moreover, the data that it holds allows only a
very limited analysis, eliminating a number of companies and institutions. The
GUS database contains incomplete data. For instance, only business entities
with more than nine employees are listed in employment statistics, which means that small and micro businesses, which dominate these sectors, are not
classified. For example, in the Poznan metropolitan area, companies employing less than nine people constitute 96% of all creative sector entities47, which
makes an analysis impossible. The research prepared on the basis of diagnostic reports of particular cities shows that the data has to be verified further.
Among 17,386 companies classified as belonging to the creative sector, only
6,682 really exist and conduct the declared activities (only small and mediumsized privately financed companies were taken into account)48. Moreover, the
law on statistical confidentiality restricts access to data that are used to create
44
45
46
47
48
Ekorys, Analiza…, p. 75.
A. Rybicki, Przemysły… Kieliszewski Publiczne …
Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, Narodowa…; Ekorys, Analiza …; T. Stryjakiewicz, Sektor…; M. Koszarek, Diagnoza…; Lewandowski et al, Znaczenie…
M. Grochowski, Sektor…p. 13.
317
strategies and projects49. Since the publication of the national cultural strategy
in 2004, the problems still remain the same: the lack of a commonly accepted
definition; no itemized list of the commercial companies from this sector; and
no separate GUS statistics50. Because of this, the data upon which most of the
analyses, strategies, programmes, and projects concerning creative and cultural industries are based are only estimations or trend indicators, and not a
diagnosis of the situation based on complete data51. There is also a fear that
the creative sectors can be defined too broadly. This can be due to better access to data on large business entities, whose scale of activity requires a different national policy52. Conducting research on creative and cultural industries often meets mental barriers, mainly because of the sector’s little selfawareness53, and an inability to recognize the phenomena that concern it, e.g.
creative partnerships. That is why it has been accepted that the quantitative
research on a representative respondent group would not yield valuable results
in Poland; consequently, mainly qualitative research is being conducted.
Available quantitative data on Polish creative and cultural industries
Having made additional methodological assumptions, e.g. adopting a scalar
and proportional representation for other countries if there was insufficient data, the first estimations of the entire country were published in 2010. The research done during the last three years yields the following results: the cultural
industries and creative industries produced revenue of 17.5 and 27.5 milliard
zlotys respectively. The cultural sector employed 260 thousand people and the
creative sector 375 thousand. The contribution to Gross Domestic Product was
1.6% and 2.5% respectively54. Compared with the 2004 KEA research The
49
50
51
52
53
54
M. Koszarek, Diagnoza…, p. 9.
Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, Narodowa…, p. 32.
The international project Accommodating Creative Knowledge, Competitiveness of European Metropolitan Regions within The Enlarged Union (ACRE), through which the research
on Poznań financed, is an exception here.
P. Lewandowski et al, Znaczenie…
D. Ilczuk, K. Krzysztofek, Znaczenie kompetencji kulturowych dla budowania kreatywności i kapitału intelektualnego Europy (The Importance of the Cultural Competences for
the Building of the Creativity and Intellectual Capital of Europe), Warszawa 2011, p. 23,
http://www.platformakultury.pl/files/2011-10-25/ekspertyza_znaczenie_komp-etencji.pdf,
(accessed :1 March 2012_.
318
Economy of Culture in Europe and the report from 2003, there was an increase of the value added and the number of people employed. In spite of that,
Poland has a lowly position in the rankings: 22nd place among 29 EU countries
with regard to the creative and cultural sectors’ participation in the GDP (together with Hungary and Bulgaria), and 23rd place with regard to the level of
knowledge and creativity investments within the cultural and creative sector in
2003. Poland has contributed, however, to the increase in the value added to
the European GDP. Poland ranks seventh with 13%. The average rise in the
turnover is 6.1% (17th place among 29 countries)55.
In Poland the highest value added is contributed by publishing activity, broadcasting and libraries, museums and monuments – 75% together; the lowest –
reproduction of recorded media, sound recording and music publishing. The
highest level of employment is in literary creation, activity of the art institutions, libraries, museums, and monuments (around 47%) and publishing activity (17.5%); the lowest in the reproduction of recorded media, and sound recording and music publishing. A comparison with other sectors of the Polish
economy is interesting. In terms of employment, the cultural sector performed
better than fishery, mining, production and supply of electricity, gas, and water; mo-reover, the creative industries outperformed the hotel industry, restaurants, as well as financial and insurance activities. In terms of the value added,
the cultural sector produced GDP similar to that produced by the mining industry56.
Current Strategies – crystallization of the idea of the importance of creative and cultural industries
As the research shows, the issue of creative and cultural industries is part of
two different national policies. In Poland it is most often located within the
cultural and social policy, but also within the economic and especially innovation policy.
55
56
KEA European Affairs, The Economy of Culture in Europe. Study Prepared for the European Commission, Brussels 2006, http://ec.europa.eu.culture/key-documents/doc873_en.htm,
p. 109, (accessed: 1 March 2012).
319
Cultural policy
As already mentioned in the introduction, the first Polish strategy for cultural
policy was ‘a unique and pioneering undertaking’57. The strategic goal was to
achieve balanced cultural development in the regions through higher effectiveness of management, innovative administrative solutions, greater participation and equal opportunities in the access to culture, better conditions for
conducting the artistic activity, preservation of the heritage and improvement
of the infrastructure58. None of the national programmes created to achieve
these goals was directly dedicated to the creative or cultural industry. Nevertheless, it was assumed that the number of small and medium-sized companies, as well as their level of employment, will rise59.
The latest documents indicate a greater complexity of the cultural policy and
an increasing awareness in the use of the cultural industries’ potential. Supplement to the national cultural strategy already recognizes a threefold character
of culture: as a value in itself, a foundation of the knowledge of society and
‘together with the cultural industries, one of the dynamically developing sectors of industry’60. The strategy should result in, among other things, ‘creating
a relationship between culture, education and science in order to produce social capital’ and ‘a creation of brand national tourism products’61. The cultural
strategy will be integrated into the national development plan for the years
2007–2012. The cultural industries’ increased contribution to GDP is due to
modernization and development of the cultural sector’s companies, support
for small and medium-sized businesses, development of new technologies,
creation of the dedicated business incubators, and increase of the cultural industries’ competitiveness62. There is still no dedicated support for the cultural
and creative industries, but it should be noted that the ‘development of cultural
industries (cinematography, media, design, publishing, and phonography’) has
become one of the partial objectives, and a ‘special importance’63, although
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, Narodowa…, p. 110.
Ibidem, p. 116.
Ibidem, p. 125.
Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, Uzupełnienie…, p. 5.
Ibidem, p. 62.
Ibidem, p. 63.
Ibidem, p. 103.
320
for the time being only symbolic, has been given to the cultural industries.
Creative and cultural industries in the social policy
In September 2011 creative and cultural industries were given a new scope
and significance in Polish social policy. Firstly, they were for the first time
defined (although, as it has already been mentioned, imprecisely) in an official
strategy document, i.e. social capital development strategy, which was prepared under the coordination of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage.
Secondly, they were recognized as an important element of social cohesion
and socio-economic development, which was reflected in the specified,
planned actions. It is one of the nine strategies of national development. Its
operational objective number 4 is the ‘development and effective use of the
cultural and creative potential’. The strategy articulated the fact that culture as
an important development resource was undervalued, which served as a reason for reviving the public debate about creativity and culture. For the first
time, actions were designed that were not only to support cultural institutions
but the very process of creation and dissemination of culture, i.e. they were to
support new social media users, user-generated content, etc. The support for
the cooperation of entities and individuals that are active in the cultural and
creative sector, both those who form part of the cultural, educational, nongovernmental organization sector as well as private entities (Action 4.2.1),
became the most important aim. Plans for the ‘development of the system of
support for the creative industry and the support for the entrepreneurship in
the cultural sector’ (Action 4.2.3) 64 were made and specific solutions proposed: promotion of cultural activities in the economic sphere; incentives and
concessions, e.g. tax reductions for artistic, scientific and educational projects;
support for partnership-based enterprise in these sectors; support mechanisms
for joint research and development projects and experimental projects in said
sectors; support for public-private and public-social partnerships. The analysis
of the document shows that the importance of building a creative environment
and the role of the consumers of culture, and not just its creators, was recognized. The ‘assumption about the synergy of public policies in the sphere of
64
Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, Strategia rozwoju… p. 80.
321
social capital and the directing of scattered actions towards the achievement of
common goals’ and the ‘horizontal coordination to ensure the complementarity and cohesion in actions’65 became symptoms of an opening towards partnership, which constitutes an endeavour to break with the already mentioned
impasse, which is a result of departmental actions. ‘Not survival and adaptation, but a will to undertake common actions’66 are to characterize the social
capital that contributes to the socio-economic development of Poland.
Creative and cultural industries in the economic and pro-innovation policy
Creative and cultural industries are present in the Ministry of Economy’s latest strategic documents. The Strategy for the innovative and effective industry
for the years 2011–2020. Dynamic Poland intends that the state should support different kinds of innovation, including user-driven innovation, e.g. in the
creative sectors67 and a closer integration of enterprise policy, innovation policy, as well as scientific and technological policy: ‘the support is mainly to be
directed at the (1) technological, (2) modern services sector, including the
creative industries and (3) academic business activities’68. This strategy points
at the so called culture of innovation, in which creative and cu-ltural industries
are to play a significant role. One of the objectives is to prompt innovation,
make the society participate in its creation, promote entrepreneurship, creativity, innovation, and adherence (by means of education and information campaigns) to copyright laws and their use. In this context the si-gnificance of the
cultural sector and of the creative industries is special – they constitute the
potential for growth of the social capital, which is the basis of creativity and
innovation69. They are also a part of the so called free time industries, which
develop alongside the increased efficacy of modern economies. Thus, one of
the strategy executors’ objectives is to ‘make it easier for creative products
65
66
67
68
69
Ibidem, p. 85.
Ibidem, p. 15.
Ministry of Economy, Strategia innowacyjności i efektywności gospodarki na lata 20112020. Dynamiczna Polska. Projekt z dnia 12.07.2011, wersja nr 09 (The Strategy of Innovation and Effectiveness of Economy for 2011-2020. Dynamic Poland. The Project from
12.07.2011, Version no 09), Warszawa 2011, p. 40.
Ibidem, p. 54.
Ibidem, p. 23.
322
and services to enter the market and to integrate in innovative processes the
creative industrial participants coming from different sectors’70. Creative industries are defined as ‘forerunners of the new forms of industrial activities’71.
Pro-innovation policy
The analyses and reports that were carried out72, directly point to the fact that
the significance of the creative and cultural industries in Polish pro-innovation
policy is crucial. Moreover, they highlight their close connection with the
cultural policy. The former document, commissioned by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, singles out creativity as the generator of economic
value, the arbitrary character of the distinction between culture and economy,
the significance of symbols and their relationships in the creation of profits. It
seems that the first document created during the Polish presidency in EU enabled Polish decision-makers to understand the character and importance of
creativity and its contribution to the sociocultural and economic development.
Culture here is perceived as a development factor, a tool to control symbols, a
compass to find one’s way in the modern world. Its social value is appreciated
and at the same time its economic value is emphasized. The document lays
emphasis on the importance of creative partnerships, which are nothing other
than a form of close cooperation between creative and cultural industries and
other entities (public, private, social; business, educational, scientific). Especially the latter document, which constitutes a continuation of the first one,
explicitly states the role of creative partnerships: ‘the creation of innovative
content and transfer of creative abilities from the sphere of culture to other
areas of industry and social life’73.
The postulates and recommendations contained in the two documents argue
for a full understanding of the culture’s role in the creation of a knowledge70
71
72
73
Ibidrm, p. 61.
Ministry of Economy, Polska 2010. Raport o stanie gospodarki (Poland 2010. The Report
on The State of the Economy), Warszawa 2010, p. 235, http://www.mg.gov.pl/files/upload/8436/RoG20100830%20na%20strone.pdf, (accessed: 1 March 2012).
D. Ilczuk, K. Krzysztofek Znaczeni…; Fundacja Pro Cultura, Partnerstwa kreatywne w
Polsce. Raport końcowy z badania (Creative Partners in Poland. The Final Research Report), Warszawa: 2011, http://www.obserwatoriumkultury.pl/files/2012-02-13/pro_cultura
_raport_partnerstwa_kreatywne_w_polsce_copy1.pdf, (accessed: 1 March 2012).
Fundacja Pro Cultura , Partnerstwa …
323
based economy, cultural education as a part of a school curriculum, monitoring and promotion of partnerships, e.g. through the exchange of ideas between
people, change in regulations that make the creation of partnerships in Poland
difficult and a formulation of communication strategy 74 . Popularisation of
partnerships is regarded here as tool to create a competitive economy and a
modern cultural policy75.
As a result, Polish pro-innovation policy needs to go hand in hand with the
cultural policy. Visions, strategies, and actions have to support and supplement each other. Overcoming common institutional, legal, and psychological
obstacles serves the purpose of realizing the strategy which only superficially
seems relevant to different independent departments.
At the moment Poland is preparing to realize the Europe 2020 strategy. Therefore, in state reform programme for the realization of the Europe 2020 ‘the
support for the cultural and creative industries as the areas of innovation’76
was established. Growing awareness of their significance for the sociocultural
and industrial development resulted in the Minister of Culture and National
Heritage’s pointing out of the lack of reference to the creative and cultural
industries in the strategy Europe 2020, which was overlooked by the leaders
of other European countries. He urged for the strategy to be complemented77.
It seems to be a symbolic moment when Poland begins not only to adjust itself
to the changes that the developed countries are undergoing but starts to actively participate in the creation of international cultural and industrial policy.
Inaugural initiatives and realized projects
Researchers emphasize the fact that the problem of cultural policy in Poland
does not lie in insufficient financing but rather in its ineffective use. Since
Poland’s entrance into the EU financing for culture increased significantly.
74
75
76
77
D. Ilczuk, K. Krzysztofek Znaczenie…, p. 73.
Fundacja Pro Cultura , Partnerstwa…, p. 5.
Ministry of Economy, Założenia do krajowego programu reform na rzecz realizacji strategii
„Europa 2020 (Assumptions for the National Reform Program for the Impelementation of
the Strategy „Europe 2020”), Warszawa 2010), p. 14, http://www.mg.gov.pl/node/12466,
Ministry of Culture and National Heritage Page, Posiedzenie Rady Ministrów Kultury UE
(The Meeting of the EU Ministers of Culture), http://www.mkidn.gov.pl/pages/posts/posiedzenie-rady-ministrow-kultury-ue-668.php (accessed: 22 April 2012).
324
There is much to be wished for, however, in the way European Funds are
used: ‘they are used one-dimensionally, the emphasis rests on the absorption
of money while the broader structural and organizational context is neglected’78. The first creative and cultural industry projects have only a regional
and local character. They are not concerned with defining the problem in a
systemic way, to organize it or to view it from a national perspective. Slow
development of the awareness of the cultural industries’ importance in Poland
led to a public debate in big cities about the possibilities created by dynamic
progress of this sector. Such discussions took place among others in Warsaw,
Gdańsk, Łódź, and Poznań. In some cities, the discussions were part of the
race for the title of the European Capital of Culture 2016, which eventually
went to Wrocław. In such a socio-political context, the first projects aimed at
the support of creative and cultural industries were created in Poland. Until
now they have had mainly a regional character. They are primarily financed
by European Funds, through the Operational programme ‘Human resources
development’, the Operational programme ‘Innovative economy’ and Regional operational programmes. Two of the cities that realize the abovementioned programmes are worthy of special notice due to the aim that the
support of the said sectors is to serve. The project Creative Self-employed79
realized by the Łódź City Council and the Purpose company, was part of a
promotional and informational campaign, whose aim was to promote entrepreneurship and self-employment in the creative and cultural industries. The
project was aimed at popularizing effective practices, offering information and
support for establishing and running a business, mainly for the graduates of
the humanities. The effects have been taken into account in strategy for the
promotion of Łódź for the years 2010–201680, which creates a possibility for
continuation and broadening of the programme. The second edition of the
programme was designed to transform Łódź from an industrial city into a cultural one by informing officials about how to animate and support said proc78
79
80
European Culture Consulting Culture Factory Page, Kreatywni samozatrudnieni (The Creative Self-employed), http://www.kreatywnisamozatrudnieni.pl/o_projekcie.html (accessed:
22 April 2012).
Urząd Miasta Łodzi, Demo Effective Launching, Strategia promocji i komunikacji
marketingowej marki Łódź na lata 2010-2016 (The Strategy of Promotion and Marketing
Communication of Lodz Brand for 2010-2016), http://www.kreatywna.lodz.pl/data/data
Publicator/strategia_zarzadzania_marka_lodz_na_lata.pdf, (accessed: 1 March 2012).
325
esses. The city of Łódź deserves special attention here thanks to its strategy of
positioning and promotion as a city of creative industries, which is accompanied not only by an intensive social debate and the creation of programmes at
the municipal level81, scientific activity (not to mention the international conference Łódź you like to be creative?), but above all a specific plan of action
aimed at the creation and development of cultural (creative) districts of the
city, cultural and sport events, and creative industries.
In turn, the project Entrepreneurship in Creative Sectors82 is financed from
the funds of the European Union Operational Programme 'Human Resources
Development' by Leon Koźmiński Academy in Warsaw. Its goal is to distribute EU funds in the form of donations and bridge assistance for people starting
their own businesses in the creative sector (defined in accordance with
DCMS, 1998). Additionally, the project was extended with the research on
this sector in Warsaw as well as a training and consulting programme. As the
capital, Warsaw appears to be predestined for the role as the national leader
of creative and cultural industries. It is Warsaw that took part in the international project Creative Metropoles, thanks to which the City Hall issued a
report on preparing activities in favour of the creative industries in one of the
districts of Warsaw83 . The document was made on the basis of large-scale
research and public consultations in the form of workshops with the participation of 175 people from the future creative district. As a result, the guidelines
that ‘feed into the city administration’s decision-making process for increasing
support to the creative industries were prepared’84.
Public discourse: Summary
As it was mentioned in the beginning, in the case of Poland it is difficult to
81
82
83
84
Urząd Miasta Łodzi, Demo Effective Launching, Łódź…
Akademia Leona Koźmińskiego Page, Przedsiębiorczość w sektorach kreatywnych
(Entrepreneuship in the Creative Industries), http://kreatywni.waw.pl/o-projekcie (accessed:
22 April 2012).
Zespół Creative Metropoles, Wspieranie przemysłów kreatywnych na Pradze Północ. Wytyczne do opracowania planu działania (Supporting Creative Industries on North Praga.
Guidelines for the Elaboration of the Action Plan), Warszawa, 2010,
http://www.creativemetropoles.eu/uploads/files/wspieranie_przemyslow_kreatywnych.pdf,
Ibidem, p. 2.
326
analyze the process of implementing cultural policy for creative and cultural
industries because of its beginnings. However, it is possible to identify the
kind of the public discourse which is successively intensifying, contributing to
a rise of awareness of these industries. This is, especially within the sphere of
these sectors, a discourse characterized by critique and a skeptical approach. It
is worth citing two publications – one scientific and the other professional – to
illustrate the current situation of these sectors in Poland.
‘The peculiarity of the metropolitan, post-communist countries of the East
Central Europe is expressed, among others, by their delay in taking the development path of the creative-knowledge sector, its relative 'over-representation'
in Warsaw, as well as in the insufficient support policy for this kind of development, especially on the central level. In the development strategies the
stress is put especially on 'hard' factors (which seems understandable to a certain degree, taking into consideration long-term negligence e.g. in technical
infrastructure), while the factors of social capital development are left in the
background (the interest in the latter lies primarily in the rise in the number of
students and professional trainings). There are also no specific initiatives in
the field of public-private partnership (PPP), which in highly-developed countries of the Western Europe is a relevant factor to development of the creative
knowledge sector’85.
In turn, one of the industry publications comprises the following introduction:
‘We want to start the discussion on the Warsaw creative sector from the fundamental question – what forms do the Polish variety of the creative industry
assume in conditions of limited resources – without politics, strategy, support
programmes, and without the habit of starting and developing economic activity – and how are they formed? The publication is a presentation of different
models of activity, which reflect the changes taking place in our country: demand for new services, which is, first of all, an effect of the change in the
mentality of the society which somewhat out of breath tries to catch up with
the older and more experienced fellows from Europe’86.
Analyzing the current Polish strategy in the field of culture, which positions
85
86
Creativo Page, Creative People, http://creatives.waw.pl/artykuly/creative-people/ (accessed:
23 April 2012).
327
the meaning of creative and cultural industries in Polish cultural policy, it is
disposed towards certain dilemmas formulated by Matarasso and Landry 87 .
Cultural and creative industries, by becoming more and more relevant, are an
object of cultural policy and policies aligned with it: economic and proinnovative policies serve the evolution of social policy. As a result, it can be
stated that analyzing Polish strategic and expert public documents, certain
directions and tendencies for change can be noticed, such as turns from culture
as the arts towards culture as a way of life; from cultural self-justifying value
to culture development; from heritage to contemporary; from public to private;
from subsidy to investment. What contributes to this are, among others, the
first projects in support of creative and cultural industries, financed mainly
from European funds. The initial phase of the policy for creative and cultural
industries and the continual lack of precision and coherence in defining terms
are preceded by the main problem, which is a real lack of development strategy for creative industries in Poland. The only guidelines and reference points
for the project initiators, researchers, and practitioners become cultural, social
and economy-wide strategies coupled with the experiences of western European countries, which still seems to be an inefficient way to face the growing
importance of these sectors in Poland and the world, apart from their particular national characteristics88.
Dr Katarzyna Kopecka-Piech – Department of Communication and Media, Faculty
of Sport Science, University of Physical Education
in Wrocław, Poland
87
88
F. Matarasso, Ch. Landry, Balancing Act: Twenty-One Strategic Dilemmas in Cultural
Policy, cited by: A. Pratt, Cultural…, p. 36.
I would like to thank you the translators of the article: Izabela Krypczyk and Łukasz Pudło.
328
Matteo TARANTINO
FRAMING SCHOOL SPACE: NOTES FOR A TAXONOMY
OF THE REPRESENTATION OF EDUCATIONAL SPACES
Social geography has taught us that „representations of space” play a key role
in the social production of spaces: how we think about a space influences and
feeds back on what we do in those spaces and in the materiality of these spaces as well (Lefebvre, 1991). This is of particular importance for key institutional and public spaces: a lot of scholarly work has been devoted from a social geography perspective to a myriad of public spaces. Some scholarly attention has also been reserved to the social production of a key space for our
society: that of the school (Gallagher, 2006). Some authors (e.g.; Aitken 1994,
Krenichyn, 1999; Paechter, 2002) have focused on how gender plays a role in
the conflictive production of school spaces by pupils. On similar lines, a large
part of this literature focuses on the practices enacted by the various social actors within educational spaces, in order to stress such topics as inequality and
asymmetries in power relations 1 (Collins & Coleman, 2008). While spatial
practices are a paramount research interest, we argue that work has still to be
done on the representational side. This paper will take a different approach: as
a preliminary step towards a broader social geography of educational spaces,
this paper will draw upon the analysis of 49 movies and 39 television series to
propose a taxonomy of representations of school spaces. Similar efforts have
been performed with respect to teachers (Bauer, 1998; Dalton, 1995; Dalton,
2010; Grant, 2002; McCullick, Belcher, Hardin, & Hardin, 2003; Trier, 2001),
but not as many focus on spaces. Of course, the two cannot be easily separated, as our analysis will show.
In selecting the object of this paper, we are well aware that we are isolating
media representations from the lively interplay between representations, practices and materialities (Tarantino & Tosoni, 2013; Tosoni & Tarantino, 2013)
1
This preference of course may be traced back to the influential work of Foucault (1977),
who identified in the school space one of the foremost „modern” disciplinary institutions.
329
in which they play their role. Indeed, this choice of perspective limits what we
can say on the impact of these representations on concrete spaces, as well as,
conversely, on the influences on them by historical materialities and practices.
Both are worthwhile topics which do need throughout investigations: here, however, we will focus on the taxonomy and illustrate it through some examples. We will focus on Italian and American audiovisual material, in order to
stress in the conclusions some relevant differences.
The taxonomy we propose relies upon two axes. On the first, we have the
flexibility of the space represented: how much and to what extent the school
space represented can and is changed by the social actors: this axis will range
from flexible spaces (which need little power to be transformed) to inflexible
spaces, which cannot be easily modified by social actors.
On the second axis we have the institutionalization of the actor performing the
transformations: this axis ranges from fully institutional actors (such as teachers: people from „inside” the space) to subjects who are completely external to
the school (i.e. people from „outside” the space). Four quadrants result from
the intersection of those two axes. Of these four spaces, two are inflexible,
hard to transform, and constitute the setting of narratives of resistance or formation: (a) The fortress, which sees the school as an immutable, institutionalized space, built and operated by institutions; (b) The ruins, which see schools
as a space forever ruined, destroyed in role, function and value by the action
of non-institutional subjects. Two spaces are instead flexible, and constitute
the setting of narratives about successful transformations: (c) the frontier,
where a situation of disorder is corrected by the intervention of an institutional
hero; and (d) the Liberation, in which a rigid, institutionalized space is successfully de-structured by non-institutional characters.
We will proceed now to illustrate in detail these four typologies.
THE FORTRESS: FAILED TRANSFORMATIONS
The school as a „total institution”, especially in the form of the boarding school, has been a trope of audiovisual industry for a long time. Here the school
space is a barrier against the forces of individual desire, a place for the pro330
duction of subjectivities oriented towards „good citizenship”. While texts after
1960s have been dominated by a negative representation of the fortress as a
repressive device, up until the 1950s it was framed positively – and indeed, as
we will see, nostalgia for this period is sometimes present in later texts.
An example is the „positive rigidity” of the Cedar Grove High School of Good
Morning Miss Dove (Koster, 1955) and of its norms. Both hinge on the inflexible teacher Miss Dove. By tightly regulating the school space, Miss Dove
can correct deviants, nourish talents and form consciences by redirecting individual impulses and desired towards „productive” ends. For example, the teacher negates class differences through a strict alphabetic disposition of pupils
(which pairs the rich and the poor at the same table). In a later scene, she uses
the classroom as a confessional to restore the morality of a debauched female
ex-pupil who wasted her life attracted by outside spaces (Hollywood) turning
her into a nurse. All of the characters formed or redeemed by Miss Dove come
at some point to homage the classroom, which remains unaltered throughout
the decades the movie spans. As a fortress, Cedar Grove can be seen as a castle, a place for the retire or defense of something valuable: in this case, the
meaning of American way of life. A similar „castle”, containing individual
desire for the „greater good”, can be found within Italian cinema in Le Diciottenni (Mattoli, 1955), where a female boarding school protects the authentic
happiness of pupils (who risk their lives and morality when escaping it); and
in Gli Anni Più Belli (Mattoli, 1956), where an elementary school run by an
old-style teacher (who actually lives in the school) represents a bastion against
industrial modernity. In the latter movie, the school is saved by former pupils,
who, like in Cedar Grove, acknowledge as adults its importance for their life:
they dismantle in court allegations made against the teacher by ruthless developer Valentini for blackmailing purposes.
After the 1960s, the castle progressively gives way to the prison. By subjugating individual desire, the prison does not produce good citizenships, but merely conformist subjects. In its seventh episode, the highly successful television show Il Giornalino di Gianburrasca (Wertmüller, 1964) makes explicit
the prison character of the boarding school by showing pupils marching through the corridors; similarly Le avventure di Ciuffettino (D'Angelo, 1969 1970) shows the school as a militarized space run by the omnipotent Director
331
and the Teacher. During the late 1960s, the critique of the fortress becomes
explicitly political: the fortress is shown as producing violent subjects. If (
Anderson, 1968) shows a space strictly regulated by senior students and teachers which push students to a bloody, final vengeance where authority figures are mowed down by gunfire and grenades.
Afterwards, political critique folds back into the private: the fortress is accused of producing not so much deviant subjects but unhappy ones. For example, the cinema of John Huges presents high schools as fortress where individual instances are crushed and standardized. The Breakfast Club (Hughes,
1986), represents a paradigmatic example: a group of stock figures (the jock,
the deviant, the nerd, the beauty queen etc.) are forced to spend a day in the
space of the school library. Here they engage the school surveillance in a game of continuous evasion, and in the spaces and times they manage to appropriate, the discuss how their common unhappiness can be traced back to the limitations imposed by the school space. Another famous example of the fortress as a machine for the production of unhappiness is the dark Welton Academy of Dead poets society (Weir, 1990) – a de-politicized version of its almost
identical counterpart of If
. Here, the space is totally regimented and unmo-
difiable, formatted through policies of access and surveillance: there are only
functional spaces, and even the pupil rooms are identical. The only space for
an authentic construction of the self is carved outside of the school, in a cave
in the woods. Hero teacher John Keating attempts to renegotiate the rigidity of
the spaces: his „spatial pedagogy” entails such things as changes in the pupil
perspective (by standing on the teacher table) and the use of outdoor spaces
for lessons. However, enthusiastic students mistake Keating’s renegotiation
with a full spatial transformation (e.g. by publicly requesting female access to
the boarding school). This sets off a chain of reaction which destroys both Keating and the pupils (who, however, leave the schools with a greater awareness).
Even when presented as positive, the rigidity of the fortress can be exposed to
the infiltration of evil in its interstices. The „juvenile delinquent” genre, very
popular in the 1950s and 1960s, offers good examples of this: in movies such
as High School Casear di (O'Dale, 1960). Here charismatic student Matt runs
a whole organized crime operation in an otherwise „rigid” school, by exploit332
ing spaces and times where the disciplinary look of the institution is absent.
Nostalgia for the fortress can be seen in such texts as the television series Little House in the Prairie (1977 - 1982). Here, in a school that significantly coincides with the church, generations of female teachers maintain spatial immobility and tight regulation Fellman (2008). In the series finale (the TV Movie
The Last Goodbye) the whole town is blown up except for the school/church,
which remains as a testament to the „lost community” values. Another popular
television series of the same period, Happy Days (1974 - 1984), shows a similar dynamic. As Leopard (2007) remarks, the series reinvents nostalgically the
1950s school space denying the contamination by juvenile delinquency which
cinema had so much stressed. Similar traces of nostalgia can be found also in
Italian productions. Two-part television movie Un Anno Di Scuola (Giraldi,
1977) is set in a Trieste school in 1913. The school is a nourishing womb for
students’ intellectual progress and sentimental education, as well as representing a mediation ground for the opposite ideologies of the various characters.
THE RUINS
Opposite the fortress we find the space fo the ruins. It is a rigid space because
it is beyond any possibility of transformation, unable to retain sense and often
functionality. The marks of ruins in audiovisual are two: on the one hand the
compromised appearance of the physical space (with structural deficiencies,
degradation and graffiti) and the equivalence of school space and external space. School becomes a space of passage, unable to regulate behavior and attitudes of its users. „Teachers” and „Students” are presented as mere conventions:
the two groups face off as equals. Here, therefore, personal desires, narratives
and actions are not only central, but by and large the only elements present.
Most of Italian cinema features this space since the 1990s. Successful Italian
comedy La Scuola (Lucchetti, 1995) features one of the most popular examples
of this. In a key scene, hero professor Vivaldi exists the classroom through a
window to rescue a female pupil from the car of a young delinquent, bringing
her back into the school. Vivaldi’s classroom represents a paradigm of the ruins: it is full of „profane” symbols (i.e. symbols alien to the institutional con333
text, such as rock band posters) and it features no regularity in the disposition
of bodies (students sit in groups, sometimes with their back at the professor, often in loose positions). In the final scene, the school library crumbles, marking
the definitive failure of the institution.
The ruins represent a stock setting in contemporary Italian cinema. We find it
in again, for example, in Io Speriamo Che Me La Cavo (Wertmuller, 1989),
Classe Mista 3A (Moccia, 1999) (where the profane symbol is a gigantic graffiti on the classroom wall screaming "Hey Teachers Leave Those Kids Alone") and in Mai + Come Prima (Campiotti, 2005). In all these spaces no transformation is possible: teachers can only remain faithful to in their function inside and outside the space of the school, at great personal cost. Italian cinema
identifies the main cause of the destruction in this equivalence between inside
and outside, allowing the outside behaviors, motives and desires to flood the
school space rendering it dysfunctional.
American audiovisual narratives do not feature the ruins as much: here the
transformation/redemption of the space is always possible – which is our third
quadrant, that of the frontier.
LA FRONTIERA: RISCRITTURE POSSIBILI
The space of the school frontier looks initially analogous to that of the ruins,
but with a key difference: the eventual transformation from an outside agent.
Its paradigm is Blackboard Jungle (Brooks, 1955), a movie which heralds a
representation of American inner city schools as totally destabilized spaces,
where violence is always a possibility. New professor Richard Dadier’s arrival at the North Manual High School is textbook Western cinema: the professor gets off the train and enters the frontier, where he is a stranger. Rusty
school gates parallel those of a saloon; the same violent chaos reigns on either side of them.The school space is here unable to segment anything: it is a
part of a territory - the inner city – where „other” logics and practices are sovereign. After some doubts, Dadier re-articulates his teaching methods to fit the
territory, in a progression that leads to a climax where the teacher physically
fights the leaders of student delinquents and, having defeated them, takes them
334
to the principal office, re-establishing hierarchies. Brooks movie explores the
notion that to defeat the equiparation between inside and outside, the institution must temporarily assume the „outside” codes and practices precisely in
order to recover the ability of the school to delimitate its own space.
Other movies radicalize the assumption. Class of 1984 (Lester, 1982) opens
with statistics about school violence to anchor the movie to „reality”. Here,
the Lincoln Heights school where young music professor Norris begins to teach is leaning towards ruin, but is not completely compromised yet. Graffiti
are there, but spaces maintain functionality. Technological surveillance (closed-circuit cameras and metal detectors) are shown as unable to maintain discipline (a notion that the sequel Class of 1999 will further explore, as we will
see). A white-supremacist gang lead by rich bourgeois Peter Stegman becomes the main antagonist of Norris, who opposes it to preserve "the good kids"
who, in his words "are the majority". Violence escalates quickly, culminating
in the rape of Norris’ wife by the gang, which ignites the final battle. The
school space becomes a battlefield, as Norris kills his opponents one by one
by using the elements of the chemistry schools, the technology schools and so
on. The threatened space becomes the agent of its own disinfection - a disinfection that employs the codes of public execution (quartering, staking). In the
final scene, Norris hangs Stegman in the middle of school concert. Norris does
not do anything particular education-wise; his positive role is purely that of
the avenging angel eliminating the infection.
The teacher in the frontier school basically disinfects the space from an alien
presence. Chennault (2008) suggests this „alien” character relies mostly on ethnic connotation (where a „white male” teacher opposes students belonging to
ethnic minorities). Sometimes the warlike character of the spatial transformation is made explicit, and the soldier and the teacher become one. Military
know-how becomes the key to successful spatial transformation: this is the case of former marine LouAnn Johnson in Dangerous Minds (Smith, 1995). However, the most clear example is given by the „Substitute” saga, composed by
The Substitute (Mandel, 1996), The Substitute 2: School's Out (Pearl, 1998),
The Substitute 3: Winner Takes All (Pearl, 1999) e The Substitute 4: Failure Is
Not An Option (Pearl, 2001). Here Carl/Karl Thomason, a former mercenary
infiltrates inner city schools with purposes of vengeance (in the first two mov335
ies) or investigation (the other two movies). His military methods transform a
devastated space through a rigid discipline enforced through violence ("I don’t
want disorder in my classroom" states Thomason before beating a student in
front of his classmates), by regulating pupils’ body disposition and posture:
for example, he imposes a univocal relationship between desk and pupil.
The order is maintained through surveillance with immediate physical sanction
of transgressions. Finally, the teacher takes back the space at gunpoint, removing infections along with parts of the school space and complicities in the
teaching body.
While dominant in American cinema, traces of the frontier can be found also
in Italian cinema. However, the „Italian frontier” possesses peculiar features.
First of all, it appears to transform much more the teacher than the students;
moreover, whereas American cinema hinges conflict on racial tensions, Italian
movies mostly use politics with the same function. Finally, all transformations
are temporary here. In the comedy L'Uccello Migratore (Steno, 1972), weak
Sicilian teacher Andrea is catapulted in a „problematic” roman school, where
political conflict is strong. After an initial conflict, Andrea ends up at the head
of the student protestors, leading them in an occupation of the school. Yet the
transformation of the school space is only temporary, as repression will revert
the situation to the previous state (and Andrea will end up teaching to Mafiosi
in prison). In C-movies such as the crass comedy Tutti a Squola (Pingitore,
1978) these notions assumes a much more reactionary character. Professor Pippo Bottini suffers continuous abuses in a high school where political conflict
represents the soil where criminality (especially the trade of narcotics) grows
justified. The principal office is represented as a trench, complete with barbed wire separating the principal from what he himself calls „the enemy”.
The equivalence of „outside and „inside” is already dominant: during a school meeting, teachers, parents and students accuse each other of the and start
a brawl: but the flick of a switch transforms the meeting hall into a disco,
and all conflicts are resolved in dancing. Moreover, Pippo will finally become closer to the students when, after being arrested and having served time,
he will be celebrated precisely because of being a criminal in a great party
(again dominated by disco music) on the school grounds. While there is still
a glimmer of sardonic hope in these movies, total devastation is right around
336
the corner: and indeed, after the 1980s temporary frontiers will leave the
way to ruins.
THE LIBERATION
The last typology of school space is the Liberation, or the school transformed
by the hero/outsider towards a de-structuration. In a specular opposite to the
frontier space, victory coincides here with an a conquest (and not a restoration) of the Fortress which overcomes the rigidity of school space and broadens the agency of the actors inside of it.
A chief example is represented by television drama Diario di un Maestro (de
Seta 1973) is the first Italian production to adress this dynamic in a realistic
context. Shot through a realist aesthetic, its four episodes are set in a poor Rome neighborhood’s elementary school. Teacher d’Angelo arrives from Naples,
and the clash with the sociocultural context (marked by dropouts, poverty and
domestic violence) drives him to search for an innovative pedagogy (what he
calls a „school adhering to life”). Like John Keating’s seventeen years after,
d’Angelo’s pedagogy moves from a radical transformation of the Fortress space. First of all, he steps down his teachers’ desk (which is then transformed into a bookshelf) thus placing himself at the same level of his pupils. He proceeds by enacting the equivalence between outside and inside, by taking his pupils to the countryside. He then renegotiates the classroom space by joining
isolated desks and placing pupils’ works on the walls to create an immersive
learning environment. The principal attempts to restore the previous order, by
having the pupils sit orderly and behaving with „silence and deference”. This
ignites the open conflict between teacher and principal, which ends with the
latter exiling himself and finally returning after having found new motivations. Diario di un Maestro stages processes which are the polar opposite of
its American counterparts. What makes dysfunctional the „roman frontier” is
not the absence of institutional processes, but their uselessness within a social
context featuring intense class struggle. The final outcome is however the same: anomy leading to explicit violence. Re-ordering is here de-structuring (but
not destroying) and not re-structuring the school space. This notion returns in
several other Italian movies: in popular comedy Paolo Barca Maestro Ele337
mentare
Praticamente Nudista (Mogherini, 1975) the rigid space of a Sicil-
ian elementary school is totally (and unwillingly) de-structured by the intervention of a naïve Milanese teacher. Barca begins by moving the lessons outside the classroom, in the splendid gardens of the school, where he adopts a
much friendlier teaching style including notions of sex education. A clear metaphor of the instances of sexual liberation, Barca’s approach gets him into
trouble with the pupils’ parents, before being saved by an unexpectedly progressive principal.
In American cinema, the de-structuration also entails explicit violence. A chief
example is the sequel of Class of 1984, Class of 1999 (Lester, 1989). The new
sociocultural milieu is evident: Class of 1999 is dominated by post-atomic cyberpunk aesthetics, and is politically informed by the new fear of the organized youth gang as the foremost urban problem (See Bulman 2004 and Hagedorn 2008). In the movie the whole of the United States have reverted to the
frontier state, and entire regions under gang control. Cody, leader of one of
those gangs, gets out of juvenile prison and goes back to public school. Under
the influence of evil Megatech Corporation, the school has secretly replaced
three teachers with military robots. While initially successful in restoring the
Fortress, the three cyborgs end up radicalizing the project starting to kill „problematic” students and, eventually, the principal himself. In the final act, Cody
gets the rival gangs together and leads an armed Liberation against the cyborgs, which concludes with the total destruction of the schools. As in Class
of 1984, the specificities of the school space are used by the hero against the
enemy, with the difference those spaces are eventually destroyed. In Class of
1999 we can see a double spatial transformation. The first is the disciplinary
transformation enacted by the institutions, aimed at rebuilding the fortress
from the ruins; however this transformation does not solve the problems but
renders the space further dysfunctional, and is again transformed by a radical
de-structuring which, literally, burns it to the ground. Again, the movie concludes with a collective orgy of violence and a cathartic final image (fire). Like the re-structuring, also the de-structuring, in American productions, passes
through bloody ancestral sacrificial codes.
338
CONCLUSIONS
The taxonomy we propose allows some interesting differences to emerge between the Italian and American imaginaries of educational spaces. The two
imaginary diverge mostly for the lack in the former of the „frontier” space and
of the „ruins” in the latter. After having been relatively close in the postwar
period (with the „positive fortress” image), starting from the 1970s the two
imaginaries started to diverge, with the Frontier and the Ruin becoming dominant respectively in American and Italian cinema and television starting from
the 1980s. While in the American imaginary the negativity is due to an unjust
appropriation of the school space by an alien other, which merely requires
appropriate strategies, in the Italian imaginary the space is characterized by
structural disfunctionality and anomy which are beyond any institutional recovery: only on the individual plan can any success (if temporary) be seen.
An hypothesis can be put forward for this. European cinema and television
have never disavowed the critical deconstruction of the „fortress/castle” model, whereas their American counterparts have prudently and safely located
the fortress/castle in an imagined past. This deconstruction is based upon the
equivalence between inside and outside spaces (a relatively recent work like
the Classe Mista 3A still calls for „teaching life” as the „true calling” of the
educational system). At the same time, this same equivalence informs the representation of the school as a space unable to contain anything. If American
cinema can afford to invoke the Fortress in showing strong narratives of spatial transformation based on the powerful myth of the frontier, which allows a
punctual collective catharsis, Italian representations of school appear to continuously go back to the ruins image.
As mentioned, a very much needed research effort could examine how those
representations of space have informed and have been informed by the concrete spatial settings and practices of real educational spaces, by observing, for
example, the spatial policies of schools, their layouts and the spatial practices
enacted within it by the various social actors throughout the decades.
339
REFERENCES
1.
Aitken, S. (1994). Putting children in their place. Washington, DC: Association of
American
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Geographers.
Bauer, D. M. (1998). Indecent proposals: Teachers in the movies. College Eng-
4.
lish, 60(3), 301-317.
Beyerbach, B. (2005) The Social Foundation Classroom: Themes In Sixty
Years Of Teachers In Film: Fast Times, Dangerous Minds, Stand On Me
5.
Educational Studies, Vol. 37, Iss. 3.
Brittenham, R. (2005) "Goodbye, Mr. Hip": Radical Teaching in 1960s Televi-
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sion, College English, 68, 149-167.
Bulman R. C. (2002) Teachers in the 'Hood: Hollywood's Middle-Class Fantasy.
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The Urban Review 34, 3, 251-276, DOI: 10.1023/A:1020655307664
Bulman, R. C. (2005) Hollywood goes to high school : cinema, schools, and
american culture, Worth Publishers, New York.
8.
Collins, D., & Coleman, T. (2008). Social geographies of education: Looking
within, and beyond, school boundaries. Geography Compass, 2(1), 281-299.
9.
Dalton, M. M. (1995). The hollywood curriculum: Who is the ‘good’teacher?
Curriculum Studies, 3(1), 23-44.
10. Dalton, M. M. (2010). The hollywood curriculum: Teachers in the movies Peter
Lang.
11. Foucault, M. (1977). Discipline and punish: the birth of the prison. New York:
Pantheon Books.
12. Gallagher, M. (2006). Spaces of participation and inclusion. Children, Young
People and Social Inclusion: Participation for What, , 159-178.
13. Grant, P. A. (2002). Using popular films to challenge preservice teachers’ beliefs
about teaching in urban schools. Urban Education, 37(1), 77-95.
14. Hagedorn, J. M. (2008) A World of Gangs: Armed Young Men and Gangsta Culture, University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis.
15. Krenichyn, K. (1999). Coded and contested spaces in a new york city high
school. Embodied Geographies: Spaces, Bodies and Rites of Passage, 2, 43.
16. Lefebvre, H. (1991). The production of space Blackwell Oxford.
17. McCullick, B., Belcher, D., Hardin, B., & Hardin, M. (2003). Butches, bullies
and buffoons: Images of physical education teachers in the movies. Sport, Education and Society, 8(1), 3-16.
18. Paechter, C. (2002). Educating the other: Gender, power and schooling
Routledge.
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19. Tarantino, M., & Tosoni, S. (2013). Media and the social production of urban
space: Towards an integrated approach to the controversial nature of urban space.
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symbolic tactics and audience activities in the conflict over paolo sarpi, milan. International Communication Gazette, 75(5-6), 573-594.
21. Trier, J. D. (2001). The cinematic representation of the personal and professional
lives of teachers. Teacher Education Quarterly, 28(3), 127-142.
MOVIES AND TELEVISION
Anderson, L. (1968) If
Brooks, R. (1955). Blackboard Jungle.
Hughes, J. (1985) The Breakfast club.
Koster, H. (1955) Good Morning, Miss Dove.
Luchetti, D. (1995) La scuola.
Lester, M.L. (1982) Class of 1984 - Classe 1984.
Lester, M. L. (1989) Class of 1999 - Classe 1999.
Mattòli, M. (1956) I giorni più belli.
Mandel, R. (1996) The Substitute.
Mattoli, M. (1955) Le diciottenni.
Moccia, F. (1996) Classe mista 3° A.
Morgherini, F. (1975) Paolo Barca maestro elementare praticamente nudista.
O'Dale, I. (1960) High School Cesar.
Pearl, S. (1998) The Substitute 2: School's Out.
Pearl, S. (1999) The Substitute 3: Winner Takes All.
Pearl, S. (2001) The Substitute 4: Failure Is Not An Option.
Pingitore, P. (1977) Tutti a squola.
Razotos, S. (1994) Class of 1999 2 - The Subsitute.
Smith, J.N. (1995) Dangerous Minds.
Steno (1972) L'Uccello migratore.
Weir, P. (1989) Dead poets society.
Wertmüller, L. (1989) Io speriamo che me la cavo.
TV SERIES
D’Alessandro, A. (1969-1970), Ciuffettino.
De Seta, V. (1973) Diario di un maestro.
Wertmüller, L. (1964) Il giornalino di Gian Burrasca
341
Various (1974 - 1982) Little House in the Prairie - La casa nella prateria
Dr Matteo Tarantino - Centre for the Anthropology of Religion and Cultural
Change, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart of Milan,
Italy
342
Qian GONG
MORAL LEADERS OR MORAL DEGENERATES: MEDIA,
TEACHERS, AND THE POLITICS OF REPRESENTATION
INTRODUCTION
Public perceptions of teaching and teachers in a modern society are intrinsically linked to and reflective of, the extent to which education is accorded a
privileged place in society and its use as a means of nation-building. An understanding of the ways in which teachers are stitched into different subject
positions and the contestations of these multiple constructions in the media,
provides insight into the national priorities of the time. This serves to both
reflect and constitute a contemporary understanding of power, knowledge,
education, and modernity in a given society.
For centuries in Chinese society, schools and universities have remained the
core institutions to transmit dominant ideology and have long maintained a
symbiotic relation with the nation state. In the socialist era and to a great extent today, teachers are seen as playing a crucial part in this process and are
expected to uphold official ideology. The state has been very specific in prescribing the ways in which teachers are imagined and promoted, to serve its
needs in ideological dominance and national development goals. Socialist
heroism entailing sacrifice and dedication to the country are widely promoted
to mobilise teachers. In addition, teachers are also expected to fulfil their traditional cultural role as an embodiment of moral excellence for the wider community to emulate.
However, the positioning of teachers as a docile, political subject and moral
leader has been increasingly contested in the reforms era when globalisation
and marketization have dramatically changed the power structure within Chinese society. Since 1985, the state has cut back its funding in public schools
from 80 percent to 50 percent or even less (Rosen, 2004). Education has to
answer to the call of the state as well as to the market. In fact, money has per343
vaded throughout the education system (Rosen, 2004). This tendency for
commercialization of knowledge has given rise to alternative discursive space
where teachers are re-imagined in relation to the state and the public. On one
hand it enables teachers to have more professional autonomy and constitutes a
liberating force from state control, on the other hand, this newly gained autonomy is increasingly subordinate to market constraints (Stockman, 2000).
Caught between the state and the market, the constructions of the teacher provides a good case to understand the tension between state subject-making and
the alternative brought on by the market economy reforms in China. This tension necessarily manifests itself in the mass media and is complicated by the
seemingly unstoppable trend of commercialisation and diversification in both
education sectors and the mass media. What further complicates this state vs
market scenario is the ambiguous and sometimes shifting position of the intellectual elite on a range of social issues including modernization, education and
media. In spite of the complexity, one thing which can be said about the construction of teaching and teachers is that, the state has played a crucial role in
the material reality experienced by teachers, the social imagination of the
teacher, and the subjectification of teachers. Given this, how is the identity of
the teacher negotiated in the contemporary Chinese society, as represented in
both state and commercial media? What is the role of the state in the subject
formation of teachers? Has the identity of teachers changed with the advent of
the market economy and if yes, how?
In this paper, I will try to provide some answers to these questions by exploring the representations of teachers in the state and commercial newspapers. In
doing so, I hope to reveal a number of ways in which this tension in past-Mao
China is managed and negotiated, thereby shedding some light on the complexity and intricacy of a reconstructed social semiotics of power in contemporary China.
TEACHERS AND METAPHORS: HISTORICAL CONTEXTS
Like many other Asian countries, China has to confront various tensions and
transitions, such as global vs. local, modern vs. traditional, tensions between
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politicisation of knowledge and its commodification and tensions between the
rich and the poor (Perry & Selden, 2000; Stockman, 2000).
These tensions and contradictions manifest themselves most vividly in the
domain of education. Researchers have mentioned for example, that there is a
clear tension between the desire for intellectual autonomy and central political
control in China, (Turner & Acker, 2002). Tensions also exist between a general rhetoric about the importance of education on the part of the central government and its reluctance to commit financially (Zhang, 2001).
Early Confucian writings have set the aim of education to be both moral and
political. A teacher aspiring to be a politician himself, Confucius believed that
education plays an essential role not only in cultivating a moral self but also in
strengthening the state. According to Zhuang (2002), the importance of education in nation-building is stated clearly in pre-Confucius classics such as „Collections of Treatises on the Rule of the Propriety and Ceremonial Usages”.
The chapter on education says that „when he [the ruler] wish to transform the
people and to perfect their manners and customs, must he not start from the
lessons of the school? …On this account the ancient kings, when establishing
states and governing the people, made instruction and schools a primary object” (Müller, 1885, n.p.). Education is the first and utmost important task for
the rulers in building and managing the nation” (.” Teachers therefore naturally took on the proselytizing role, an agent responsible for expanding the
control of the ruling class and managing state. As a result, a teacher in Chinese society embodies the combination of authoritarianism and passivity (Silbergeld, 1999).
Following the Confucianist tradition of describing teachers, the Chinese language offers a rich reservoir of metaphors encapsulating the public perception
and expectations of teachers. Popular ones used include „spring silkworm”
(chun can), „candle” (la zhu), „rung of human ladder” (ren ti), „paving stone”
(pu lu shi), „engineer of human soul” (renlei xinling de gongchengshi),
„hardworking gardener” (xinqin de yuanding), „leaves” (lu ye) and „nameless
grass or flower” (wuming de xiaocao (hua)) These metaphors bring to the fore
the qualities that the public expect from the teachers: ‘self-sacrificing’ ‘unsung
heroes’, and ‘a distaste for worldly desires’ and designate an enormous level
345
of responsibility, that teachers have to shoulder in their students life development.
Most of these metaphors are unique to Chinese culture and need to be understood in its particular cultural context. The ‘silkworm’ and ‘candle’ metaphors, for instance, is a citation from a poem „Untitled Poem” written by the
famous Tang (618-906) poet Li Shangyin (812-858). The original couplet
„spring’s silkworms wind till death their heart’s threads; the wick of the candle turns to ash before its tears dry” is a very well-known couplet. Known for
metaphorical complexity and subtle allusions, Li’s poem is generally agreed to
be about love. The candle metaphor did not become associated with teacher’s
image until modern poet and scholar WenYiduo (1899-1946) wrote „Red
Candle” in which he expounded on Li’s metaphor to include the idea of the
candle burning itself to create brightness for others and exclaimed in the end:
„Red Candle/Don’t seek gains/but take infinite pains.” Although Wen’s poem
describes, „candle” and „silk worms,” they have both been invoked in the
context of teaching to represent the two virtues that teachers must have– industriousness and selfless sacrifice.
Similarly, the „rung of human ladder” and „paving stone” metaphors portray a
teacher as an unsung hero. The teacher, unlikely to share honour, power and
glory, is nevertheless willing to help another person to rise to success while he
himself remains the „grass” and „leaves” that serves as the soil to beautiful
flowers. The view that teachers are burdened with heavy social responsibilities
is most aptly illustrated in metaphors describing teachers as the „engineers of
human soul” or „gardeners” that are directly responsible for the student’s
well-being and character-building.
These metaphors point to the presence of a moral discourse for teachers to
follow, which comes from time-honoured beliefs. Culturally, the Confucianist
tradition of teaching emphasizes the teachers as experts who were directly
responsible for training individuals with „model” behaviour or with knowledge and skills for specific uses in society (Turner and Acker, 2002). This
reflects a preoccupation with the social and moral elements of the educational
program as well as teachers. As a consequence, teachers are not only expected
to be moral and caring but also have to have a sense of self-sacrifice when
346
there is a gap between what they do and the reward they receive (Tao, 2002).
To this day, Tang literati and educator Han Yu’s article „On Teachers” is a
seminal work on a teachers’ role. In this article, Han’s major task is to defend
the Confucian orthodox at a time when students did not take teachers very
seriously. „A teacher,” said Han (2012, n.p.), „is one who transmits knowledge, provides for study and dispels confusion”. If the second and the third are
more concerned with the professional side of teaching as a job, the first one is
more complicated than simply imparting knowledge and has implicit moral
implications. A person who disseminates and expounds on a sage’s doctrine
has to be somebody with moral integrity.
Confucian tradition prescribes teachers’ role as setting up models for the
moral edification of the students. As the originator of the private education
system in China, Confucius set a paragon for teachers of later generation to
emulate. One of the important codes of conduct as suggested by Confucius is
„yan chuan shen jiao” (teach by precept and personal example) and „wei ren
shi biao” (a teacher should set up a good example to his students). The moral
self, who comes from the Way of Heaven, is paramount in Confucian value
system. What Confucianism seeks to achieve is nothing but „a moral transformation of the world, in order to make it universally human”(Bresciani,
2001). Teachers’ moral integrity provides the model for emulation for the
students, thus teachers have every reason to improve their moral self and live
up to the standards of Confucian junzi (gentlemen).
The junzi embodied all of the traits of the Confucian gentleman. Its sole criterion is based on moral achievement. Desire for personal glory is considered
counter to the spirit of „shide (teacher’s virtue)”, which counselled humility
and forbearance. Disregard for riches was a product of the Confucian disdain
for merchants and was demonstrated by magnanimity, or indifference to
monetary profit. Self-sacrificing dominates the moral discourse for teachers
and is one of the main criteria for excellence. Thus, in many respects the values of the teacher are merely an extension of traditional Chinese morals.
Throughout history, teachers in China are vaguely classified as intellectuals
(Anonymous, 2002), who have always been regarded with ambivalence by the
rulers, including Mao himself. On the one hand they are perceived as a poten347
tial threat to the ruling power, but on the other hand, the rulers would use them
as think tanks to legitimise and consolidate their rule (Gu, 2001). Under state
control, teachers are afforded little intellectual freedom and autonomy. The
ruling class often uses education as a tool for realising specific policy aims
through conforming curricula content and teaching practices (Turner and
Acker, 2002). As a consequence, the teacher’s professional well-being is particularly susceptible to ideological engineering.
Turner and Acker (2002) singled out the close connection of education and
politics/governments as a distinctive feature in the context of contemporary
Chinese education. They described the explicit linkage between education and
accession of political power, influence and social mobility and education reforms. They then argue that these links can be taken as a barometer for determining wider aspects of the social-political character of Chinese thinking at
any one time. The social imaginations of teachers, one of the key players in
education, are naturally entwined with ideology and subject to political forces.
For about three decades since the founding of the Republic of China, education has been the site for political control and ideological struggle. In an overview of the education history in the first 17 years since the establishment of
new China, sociologist and educator Yang Dongping (2003) identifies politicisation of education as one of the basic features of education in the early days
of the new China. In consolidating the then still vulnerable new regime, education was used as powerful political apparatus to uproot the legacy of the old
society and to provide the citizen with new ideology and political identity.
With the gradual upgrading of class struggle and the continuing politicising of
education, the relationships between politics and education and that between
the Party and the intellectuals remain a sensitive issue. In fact, intellectuals
have been the object of attacks, criticism and reform for nearly every political
campaign in the first few decades of the republic. There has been enormous
tension between the intellectuals and the mainstream ideology (Yang, 2003).
Teachers, traditionally defined as intellectuals, naturally bore the brunt of each
ideological cleansing. Political campaigns within schools and universities had
been running on frenziedly and non-stop. In the Anti-rightist movement in
1958, 550,000 people, mainly intellectuals, were classified as rightists, ac-
348
counting for nearly 10 percent of the educated in the country. Teachers made
up of a large part of the denounced. In Henan Province alone, 41,000 were
teachers were labelled as rightists, 58% of the total number of rightists in the
province (Yang, 2003).
The radical purging of educators introduced in 1958 was taken to its extremity
in the „cultural revolution (1966-1976) when the whole education system was
disrupted. With further directives from Mao, tens of thousands of teachers,
among other intellectuals, were sent to the countryside for ideological reeducation. A popular way to address teachers and other educated at that time
was „chou lao jiu” – the stinky ninth. Chinese had a categorizing system similar to the Indian caste system by which people were put into nine hierarchical
classes based on their social status. Teachers went into the bottom rung with
workers and farmers going to the top two.
However, the subject position for teachers is a most complex one and has
never been consistent. In competition with the discourse of „teacher the moral
model” and „teacher the stinky ninth,” there is also the teacher as the contributor to socialist modernisation cause, the teacher as the conscientious worker
who prepares the successors to the cause of revolution. Paralleling the politicising of education is the importance of education as a means of nationbuilding. From the slogan „To save China by developing modern education”
at the turn of the 20th century to „strengthen the country with science and
technology” in the 1990s, education has been entwined with the Chinese
dream of modernisation.
Soon after the Cultural Revolution, the „Four Modernisations” project was
again put on the state’s political and economic agenda. Deng Xiaoping
pointed out in 1977 that the Four Modernisations (agriculture, industry, national defence, science and technology) would be „empty talk” without development in education (CPC, 1977). Since then education has been seen as the
basis for the technocratic modernisation of the economy. Teachers were hailed
under the banner of „revitalise the country with science, technology and education” (ke jiao xing guo).The popular metaphor refers to the modernisation
process as the „new Long March” and teachers form the „shock troupe’ in this
long march.
349
As part of the attempt to undo damage done to teachers’ professional wellbeing in the Cultural Revolution, a series of campaigns were launched to restore teachers’ authority and social status and to encourage teachers’ commitment to education. „Respect the teacher” (zun shi) and „Devote to teaching”
(ai jiao) became the phrase one would often come across in newspaper headlines, speeches and articles since March 1977 (Price, 1979). National press
started to publish articles on model teachers. However teachers, especially
those working in the rural regions, soon found that they could hardly sustain
the respect and social status conferred to them when teaching is one of the
least paid jobs in the country. In rural areas paying minban teachers (teachers
work in schools run by the collectives rather than the state) with IOU cards
was quite common. In 1985, the annual income for a university teacher was
about 1200 yuan (US$180). Secondary and primary teachers earned even less.
The average income for teachers was the lowest among the 12 major professions in the national economy (Xi, 2004).
In fact through the 1980s the meagre remuneration of teachers had been discussed not only in official media but also in popular idioms, best exemplified
in rhythmical satirical sayings known as shunkouliu (slippery jingles).
One shunkouliu speaks for underpaid schoolteachers:
„Teachers are like salt
Nothing to exalt.
You need them but it’s funny,
They just aren’t worth your (any) money.”
(Link, Madsen and Pickowicz, 2002, p. 106)
Another shunkouliu describes public sentiment by lashing out at corruption in
officialdom and classifying citizens into nine classes, in the order of their social and economic prestige, in which it says: „The ninth class are teachers,
who can’t tell squid from sea cucumber.” Squids and sea cucumbers are considered expensive delicacies in China and are thus metonymic of luxuries that
teachers with scanty income would not be able afford. The press sometimes
ran articles contrasting the small, fixed salary of teachers and their supposedly
upgraded social status. However, typical with many criticisms of contempo350
rary social injustices, there was the victim, but not always the responsible
agent. The government’s reluctance to commit financially was only implied
and seldom touched on openly.
Existing works which study the portrayal of education, mostly within the field
of film studies, explore the constructions of teachers’ within these social contexts and as such, call into question the relationship between education and the
economy. For example, a few studies analyse the portrayal of rural education
in the film „Not One Less”, a story about a 13-year-old village girl who takes
on a job of a substitute teacher in a poverty-stricken area on the condition that
one goes missing from the class. Researchers observe that the film obscures
the tension between the rich and the poor and overlooks the harsh reality such
as teaching as a profession is being poorly paid and valued by resorting to a
politics of compassion (Dai, 2000; Liu, 2000; Sun, 2002).
Needless to say, the discourse on teacher’s „dai yu” (remuneration) would not
be possible to emerge without the transition from „the politicisation of knowledge to its commodification” (Stockman, 2000). For the first time in thousands of years, the dominant discourse on teachers as models for emulation of
communities was strongly challenged. The „moral teacher” or the „educator of
the successors to the socialist cause” is no longer the only discursive parameters within which to represent teachers. There are reports on teachers who
have „abnormal mentality” and abuse children, teachers who are only keen on
publishing and social activities, but not on teaching or teachers (Zheng & Xu,
2004) and teachers who are „only concerned with pursuing their own benefit”
(Zhang, 2004).
With the increasing commercialisation of knowledge in the 90s, the contradiction has grown all the more intense between the image of the teacher as a „political and moral subject” and the teacher as one who is driven by his/her own
material desires and professional goals. With the substantial decrease of government funding, schools and universities have to seek funds from increasing
tuition fees. As education is still the major means through which people are
able to secure high-paying jobs, ambitious parents are often willing to use
their power, connections or money to get their children into the good schools
and prestigious universities (Rosen, 2004). Money has permeated the educa-
351
tion system and has caused corruption that is unprecedented in scale and seriousness (Xiao, 2003).Teachers, for once, are reported to engage in activities
such as exhorting money from students, taking briberies or making use of the
parents’ power. The narrative of teachers trading their characters for money
gives the public such a „moral shock” in society that such stories now constitute a special category in commercial media’s narration on the spectacle of
various corruptions.
SUZHI, THE INTELLECTUAL ELITES, AND THE STATE
From 1980s human „quality” or Suzhi as it is more commonly known, has
become a key term in China’s development and modernisation discourse
(Anagnost, 2004; Murphy, 2004; Rosen, 2004; Yan, 2003). Suzhi is an allembracing concept that refers to the innate or acquired physical, intellectual,
moral and ideological characteristics of a person (Murphy, 2004). In the state
rhetoric the Suzhi of the citizens determines the nation’s future survival and
prosperity in the competitive world. The view that the national strength relies
on the quality of its citizen is also shared by the elite Chinese intellectuals.
Anxiety over the low quality of Chinese people were a hot topic in the 19 th
century when China first encountered colonial power (Murphy, 2004) and
resurfaced again in the debate among intellectuals on the cultural impediments
to modernisation in late 1980s (Anagnost, 2004).
Although Suzhi discourse encompasses a range of policy areas such as reproduction and child-bearing, labour migration and state responsibility in the
welfare system, it particularly concerns teachers, as school is seen as playing
the vital role to „raise” the quality of the citizen, particularly the backward
population in rural areas. The concept „Suzhi education” was raised in mid
1980s and since then has been gradually defined as the governing education
policy. The educational reform brings teacher’s Suzhi to the fore. One of the
main ideas of the Suzhi education is to change the current emphasis on rotelearning and exam-oriented practices. Teachers are often blamed for changing
the students into a „machine” who can only memorise facts but does not possess analytical skills or creativity. The need for teachers to improve their Suzhi
is frequently stressed in various government reports and in the press.
352
In the Suzhi discourse, teacher’s role lies in transforming the children into
modern citizens. In this sense, many of the norms of the ideal teacher in the
socialist discourse still apply. Teachers have to perform the roles as an industrious worker, a patriotic citizen and a model that embodies the many virtues
and someone who have to be responsible for their own self-improvement.
Their professional performance is stressed but largely to achieve the statesanctioned modernisation goal.
THE DISCOURSE OF SACRIFICE: THE STATE, MEDIA, AND THE POLITICS OF
INTERPELLATION
Dominant discourses about teacher in China have consistently constructed the
model of a sacrificing, active contributor to the socialist cause and a model for
the communities across the country to emulate. Idealised representations of
teachers who endured hardships because of work commitment appear not only
in official newspapers and television, but popular media forms such as films
and television drama. In spite of the rapid economic and social transformation
occurring in China in the last two decades, the discursive construct of the
teacher as the main exemplar of moral and active agent in the modernisation
process has remained stable. Newspapers stories on teachers tend to have a
romantic or sometimes ethereal tone, presenting teachers to be individuals
who are out of touch with the mundane world, oblivious to the needs of pursuing material comfort, and endowed with extreme moral discipline.
The state construction of teachers as ethereal moral exemplars and contributors to social collective cause is clearly evidenced in official newspapers such
as Guangming Daily. A Party-controlled newspaper targeting middle-class
intellectual readership, Guangming Daily has a focus on education, science
and technology, medicine and culture. It also caters to elite intelligentsia who
may or may not share the understanding of education. The paper carries news
and features on education every day. The dual function of Guangming Daily
of both delivering the state message and speaking to the specific concerns of
the intellectuals, makes the paper a good showcase of the complexities of the
power dynamics in the subject-formation of teachers.
353
The government attaches great symbolic significance to education, which is
evidenced by the fact that each year, a day is allocated to the celebration of the
profession. It is one of the three profession-based festivals the government
officially recognised, the other two being „Journalist’s Day” and „Nurses
Day”. The symbolic high status of the teachers is highlighted in the designation of such an event. The Chinese media, both television and press, usually
run week-long campaign to mark these symbolic dates. Teacher’s Day which
falls on September 10th recently had its 20th celebration. Editorials expounding
the importance of the role of teachers are customarily run on occasions like
this by official newspapers. Guangming Daily carried an editorial entitled
„Solute to the honorary people’s teacher” on the twentieth anniversary of the
Teachers’ Day in 2004. This editorial, like many of the others, serves to articulate the official view of how teachers should be seen in society. After
summarising the improvement of teacher’s social status in the past 20 years,
the editorial went on to expound and propagate teacher’s importance in today’s world: Then it goes on to say that to further strengthen and improve
young people’s ideological and moral education is essential for the Party’s
long peaceful reign and for realising China’s modernisation and to ensure the
„great revival of the Chinese ethnicity.”
The editorial demonstrates clearly that dramatic change in the political and
economic environment inside China does not dilute the significance of education in political and social control. The ideological imperative outweighs any
other consideration of educations. Young people are cast as the future actors
in the statist rhetoric and teachers are right at the „ideological front” in
China’s striving forward in a world that is described as highly competitive.
Teachers are honoured for their contribution to the crucial survival of the nation in the world and are also duty-bound in ensuring China’s future as a modern society. The teacher’s role is clearly prescribed and institutionalised - they
serve an instrumental function in the end of the Party and state’s exercise of
order. They themselves become agents of surveillance for the under-aged. The
teachers themselves, however, are only a link in the chain of the rule. The
zealous preaching of the importance of teachers by describing the profession
as „honorary”, „noble”, as a „mission” has a religious tone to it. We can safely
assume that when a profession is hailed in this way, it calls for devotion with354
out questioning. This, along with the official designation of the „national
teachers’ day” could constitute what Anagnost (1994) described as „ceremonies of objectification.”
By analysing a news story on the competition for model household status,
Anagnost (1994) argues that such ritual ceremonies not only subject everyone
to the panoptic gaze of power, but more significantly the bestowal of status
honours, through the issuing of ritual marks and public processions, affirms
the Party’s power to discriminate between what is good and what is bad. By
defining the social respectability of teachers the Party state is able to categorise the subjects onto a hierarchical grid for judgement. What is made visible
is not only the teacher’s behaviour but more importantly the Party’s authority
in defining the universal standard of these behaviours.
The emphasis on morality in the discourse surrounding teachers is clearly
shown in the concluding paragraph of the editorial. In summarising, the editorial says that to complete the sacred mission of education we need to reinforce
the virtue of teachers in order to foster a total commitment to the cause of
educating students and respect for their profession. Of utmost importance in
teaching profession is not professional competence but moral standard. The
call for devotion and appeals for high moral standards thus are everything in
the teaching profession.
While the Party’s paternal authority is clearly present in its prescribing
teacher’s role and behaviour, it is further demonstrated in its promise to deliver the goods for the teachers. The last section of the editorial once again
reiterates the need to create an environment conducive to teaching, an environment in which the whole society cares and support education, respect
teachers, cares for teacher’s work, study and life and does practical and good
things by all possible means for teachers, etc. The editorial does not specify
who exactly will act as an agent responsible for ensuring all these to happen,
but instead uses an inclusive „we” in its commentary. Vague as it is, it thus
becomes very interesting for the reader to ask whom this „we” represent.
Judged from the list of things that „we” are expected to do, this pronoun
seems to refer to both the Party and the public. In another word, it includes all
the rest of the „people” but the teachers. Notice that this is „we” is also pater-
355
nal – caring, responsible, nurturing towards the teachers and taking the interests of the whole. It is another way of saying that „we will do what we have to
do for you as long as you do what you are expected.”
I will argue that this „we” is precisely „the party writ large, as the unified
voice of the people as one” (Anagnost, 1994). Teachers, their role being specified, expectations on them explained, public display of concerns on their behalf expressed, are left to fulfil the expectation in society, with little political
agency. I would thus argue that this authoritative endorsement of teachers’
work, the bestowal of status honours to the teaching profession and the exuding warmth and care towards teachers are strategies to objectify and politicise
teachers and to weave teachers in the nationalist narrative of modernising
China. I would demonstrate how this is achieved in the „perennial stories”
about teachers in state press such as Guangming Daily.
On the same day that editorial on teachers was published, there is a feature
article entitled „the Model of Senior Intellectuals in the New Age” (Cai, Yang,
& Zhu, 2004) .It is common practice in Chinese newspaper, especially Party
papers, to state certain concepts and policies in the editorial, and then to illustrate and reinforce these concepts and policies in subsequent news stories and
features (Sun, 1996). This feature on a professor is in a way, the Party’s definition of teachers’ subjectivity embodied in flesh, as stated poetically in the
beginning of the article: „Chinese intellectuals are a special group. They are
noble, countering to setbacks with tolerance. They are gentle, painstakingly
maintaining the demeanour of traditional gentry (jun zi). They are steadfast
and persevering, undaunted by repeated setbacks. They are optimistic, the
greater the adversity, the stronger the will. They regard their academic ethics
as more important than their life. They are most afraid of troubling others,”
(Cai, Yang, & Zhu, 2004).
What follows is a profile of Ma Zuguang, a professor of Harbin University of
Engineering who died in June 2003. As more than a year has lapsed between
the publications of the article and the date the person died on, this is not an
obituary. We can assume that the profile was specifically written to as the
„perfect teacher/intellectual” incarnate. Ma’s life stories personify the qualities mentioned in the beginning of the profile: leading a simple, nearly ascetic
356
life style, he did not even have a proper cotton-padded mattress. When he was
doing research in Germany, he survived on noodles but submitted the 10,000
marks he saved to the Ministry he served in. He stayed up late successively for
over 100 days to complete a significant research project in spite of his poor
health. He refused to apply for academician after he heard that it was not an
entirely corruption-free process. As an academician in laser research, Ma’s
contribution in his research and teaching in this area is briefly mentioned. But
the focus of this story is obviously on the moral side of him. He was specifically chosen to represent teacher/academics because he is ideologically
„sound”. The story quoted Ma saying „I’m not a long candle anymore. I have
to burn myself as fully as possible.” Here Ma’s using of the „candle” metaphor indicates the efficacy of the Party’s social engineering in forming the
intellectual’s sense of self.
The moralising discourse of the Party on teachers, however, is not an entire
invention of the Party/state. In my view, the Party/state in making the subject
of teachers has appropriated a lot of the traditional cultural values and rituals.
For example, being an exemplary society, imperial China had the ritual of
bestowing a posthumous title on a ruler, a nobleman, or an eminent official or
those chosen as the appropriate to the life and moral qualities of the deceased.
This particular ritual ensures the public that the righteous and the moral will
be rewarded, sooner or later. Therefore, it pays off to be a person of nobility
and integrity.
Ma’s story also contains propriety that is deeply rooted in Chinese tradition of
intellectual nobility. Although Confucians holds a practical and worldly view
towards civil service, this tendency of reclusion, of distaining fame and fortune has been encouraged as inseparable and complementary virtue to public
servants. The discursive construction of intellectuals as aloof from material
pursuits (qing gao) has been stable in Chinese intellectual history. „Qing gao”
has become a defining feature of scholars including teachers. Writer Lu
Wenfu has a short story entitled „Qing Gao.” Not surprisingly the protagonist
is a teacher.
The traditional „virtue” of „qing gao” continued in the Party’s narrative about
teachers. The story mentioned above dutifully provides several examples to
357
show Ma’s integrity: Ma often insisted on signing his name in the last place in
jointly published papers or even insisted on completely taking his name out;
To the young academics, he would rather serve as a „human ladder,” giving
them guidance and support; When he heard that there was people who paid to
have their journal published, he was so angry that he was swearing.
Ma’s integrity, however, is not discussed in the context of self-reliant scholar
but a communist - it was emphasised in the Ma’s own words that „as a communist I do not need special treatment” when he refused to move into a more
spacious state-allocated apartment. This is rather extraordinary as since 1980s,
there has been a discursive attention to the „ethics of the intellectuals” and
complicity with authority – in this case the political authority, Party leadership, and the central political systemic power, is considered problematic (Dai,
2000). Teachers seem to be excluded in this evaluation of intellectual integrity. They were placed within the state’s political academic. Submission to the
power of the state and conformity with the values propagated by the state are
regarded as natural for teachers.
Like most other intellectual communities, teachers are completely reliant on
state’s system for a long time. But teachers’ moral imperatives and other virtues are particularly relevant in the state’s modernisation narration. Teachers
have occupied special position in a society where social control is largely reliant on exemplary norms. Bakken (2000) reasons from Foucauldian disciplinary theory that the idea of model emulation was of utmost importance in
Chinese philosophy. Even though there are signs that the power of the exemplary is withering, exemplary model is still influential. Bakken (2000) further
argues that there is a tendency of „traditionalisation” of model charisma, demonstrated in the reintroduction of ancient myth and in the nostalgia for traditional figures of authority such as the family and the teacher. Class teacher has
been seen as the crucial figure in moral education and can be described as the
„spiritual entrepreneur.”
Teachers are not only an important link in the chain, in safeguarding the moral
and ideological norms that are carried forward, they themselves serve as exemplary models that are emulated by not only students but the whole society.
It is not surprising that the single, big event to celebrate the „Teacher’s Day”
358
this year is to hold the national conference on teachers virtue (shi de) in Beijing. Stories on teachers extolling on teacher’s virtues regularly appear in state
newspapers. The state media often adopt a romanticised, almost lyrical style in
describing the teachers’ impassioned devotion to the educational cause and
how this altruism and sensibility bring changes to the education. The profiles
on teachers are almost always emotionally charged.
A survey of the profiles in Guangming Daily reveals a lyricism in writings on
teachers. A profile (Chen, Liu, & Bai, 2004, p.9) on a hard-working professor
Sheng Peilin who treats the students as his own children has a title „Others
have millions worth of fortune; I have three thousands of ‘peaches and
plums.’” „Peaches and plums” is a lyrical analogy of disciples and students of
a teacher, who is compared as a successful „gardener.” The image of a selfless
and elitist teacher is achieved through an antithesis of a nameless „other” that
cherishes material gains. Not only the stock metaphor „candle” metaphor is
routinely invoked in the story, but it also quoted a poetic line from writer Ba
Jin to describe Sheng’s selfless devotion and modesty: „I would rather be
transformed into soil, to be kept in people’s warm foot marks,” (Chen, Liu, &
Bai, 2004, p.9).
THE SCANDALISED TEACHER: THE MEDIA, THE MARKET, AND THE COMPETING DISCOURSE
Even though the widespread ritualistic extolling of teacher’s moral excellence
is prevalent in state media, the discourse of the nobility that has surrounded
teachers is challenged in the commercial media. On the one hand, stories of
virtuous and exemplary teachers represent the grand narratives of society and
have to be propagated in the state media; on the other hand, grand narratives
are losing their appeal among readers. For the readership-conscious commercial media, one thing is clear: stories parading models simply will not sell. Not
only that, to maintain social orders through exemplary models has an inborn
risk – it is vulnerable to resistance and cynicism. Teachers constantly receive
‘bad press’ in the commercial media, not in spite of, but precisely because of,
the excessively moralising in the state media. Cynicism toward models was
made public in a well-known incident in 1988 when a group of model educa359
tors and youth representatives met a group of young people in southern
China’s Shekou city. During that tour, the issue of the credibility of the models was raised by the youths and exemplary model was criticised by the young
people as „hypocritical.” Later that year, a satirical film „The TroubleShooters” (Wang, 1988) was screened. With a script based on the novel written by popular iconoclastic writer Wang Shuo, the film meaningfully included
a professor of moral ethics who could not resist the temptation and punctually
turns up for a „date” with a young girl on the street, whom he hinted to a
young man to chat up for him.
The overwhelming positive representation of teachers in state media gives the
commercial or semi-commercial media the chance to provide alternative representations hitherto hidden from public view. Furthermore, I would argue
that the commercial media, in response to the growing cynicism toward exemplary models in the ruins of Chinese socialism, bank on the monolithic
portrayal of the teachers in the state media. In other words, although sex, violence, and crime sell well in contemporary China as in the West (Sun, 2004),
it is all the more appealing if all these are about the all-good and all-moral
teachers.
The image of teachers in commercial media regularly is often that of moral
outrage. Teachers are portrayed as physically abusive towards students, molesting young children, visiting prostitutes or stooping to anything to get money.
Li Yanling (2004) did a survey and identified the five categories of images
appearing in the popular media: teacher the reprimanding instructor; teacher
the wealth-accumulator; teacher implementing corporal punishment; teacher
the pervert and teacher the sex-offender. The force of market plays the most
important role in motivating the last four type of portrayal rather than the conscious subversion of the state discourse for the sake of resisting the dominant
discourse. It is the intention to „consume” teachers more than anything else.
CONCLUSION
The ways in which the teacher and teaching are constructed in China are various, complex, and subject to the historical, social and political circumstances
360
in which teachers find themselves in. From the exemplary moral model for
emulation by the community in the imperial times to „niu gui she shen” (monsters and demons) in the 1960s; from the intellectual aloof from material pursuits to the angry fighter for wage increase; from the conscientious socialist
worker to the „stinky ninth”, the analysis of the discourse on teachers reveals a
figure woven in the tangled web of politics, culture and ideology. The representation strategies of teachers thus reveal the tensions and complicities between the state, the market, and the intellectual elite.
Teachers play a crucial role in the state’s effort to ensure social control and
ideological domination. They are not only instrumental in administering the
transmission of ideology, but their body also serve as a charismatic moral
figure for the whole society to emulate. Because of this, the teachers are subject to strict discipline. Discourse on teachers represent the grand narratives of
the society and have remained unchanged for decades. Harmony, stability,
cohesion, constancy, sacrifice, control of self, and attachment to the group, all
the story-lines for the exemplary narrative (Bakken, 2000), are evoked in the
narratives on teachers. The narration on teachers is rooted in the culture.
He/she is the mythical „intellectual” who naturally distains material gains and
fame. On the other hand, he is ready to sacrifice himself for the collective goal
of the society. Redeploying the narratives of the past enhances the Party’s
legitimacy and power in parading the virtues of teachers.
A teacher is paradoxically an authoritative figure and a subject of blind obedience in contemporary society. Teachers have a childlike relationship to
„adult” authority. The Party’s power is made visible in its authority to confer
honours to teachers and in its paternal gesture to take care of teachers on behalf of the people.
Displaying teacher’s virtues (shi de) to the greater public is a discursive strategy of state subject making. In this hegemonic representation, teachers as a
subject have little agency, but to embrace his/her mission wholeheartedly.
While the state media construct a politicised sage for teachers, commercialised
press provide an alternative image of teacher. The representation of commercial media operates on the need of „selling” the stories to the readers. The
commercial press contradict the exemplary moral model discourse by portray361
ing teachers as capable of selfish, immoral or inhuman behaviour. This contestation of the official discourse is a conscious act to dismantle the propaganda
or to resist the Party’s subject making of teachers. Rather, it capitalises on the
monolithic propagation of teachers’ image to create shocking and sensations,
thus selling the story more successfully. Consequently, the alternative discourse on teachers in the commercial media does not subvert the official discourse. It is exploitative and does not grant agency to teachers. Neither the
„sage” discourse nor the „demon” one is empowering.
Between the „sage” and „demon” discourses, discussions of teacher’s role in
education that advances peace, freedom and social justice have yet to enter the
public discursive space. Equally conspicuously missing is the perspectives on
the profession of teaching which shed light on the ways in which changed
political and social relations impact on the subject formations of teachers as
individual. The concern of the intellectual elite on the professionalization of
teacher’s workforce, for example, signals a growing sense of self wary of state
discipline, but such voices have so far been largely co-opted by the state. Just
like the traditional virtue of self-discipline and industriousness could be used
by the state in interpellating teachers into state-subjects, the intellectual elite
discourse is often usurped by the state. The call for professionalism, for example, often emerges in the state’s „Suzhi” discourse. Teachers are called on
to undertake professional training to raise their own „quality” in order to
transform children into proper citizens or to justify their increased pay and
upgraded social status.
But resistance is not entirely hidden from view. Film director Chen Kaige’s
movie „King of the children” (Ah, 1987) reflects an effort on the part of the
intellectual elite to undermine the state-defined subjectivity of teachers. The
film tells a story about a young man who teaches independence to his students
in a village in the turmoil years of „Cultural Revolution.” The protagonist Lao
Gar is a youth sent down to a remote village in southwest China teach a group
of rural children. Resisting playing the docile and authoritarian role expected
of a teacher, he refuses to lead his students to read and memorise political text
and asks them to write their own ideas. Lao Gar’s quest of a self free from
political and authoritarian constraints provides an example of resistance to the
state’s definition of teachers as a docile subject. Resistance to the discursive
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regimes of representations of both the state and market may also be identified
in another discursive site – the trade-based journals, magazines and interviews
with teachers. Further research may do well to examine the range of positions
on and assess the impact of, teaching and the teacher in these publications.
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Dr Qian Gong - School of Education, Curtin University, Australia
email: [email protected]
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Yuan GAO
Jeffrey KENWORTHY
Peter NEWMAN
Philip WEBSTER
ANALYSIS OF THE COMPETITIVE CAPACITY
OF SIX PROVINCES IN CENTRAL CHINA:
TOWARDS „CENTRAL RISE”
INTRODUCTION
In the process of global economic development, economic globalization is accompanied by regional integration. Regions have gradually become the
growth poles and supporting points of wealth creation nationwide. Since the
European Economic Community was created in 1958, the European Union
and other mature political and economic zones have been formed, which promote coordinated development regionally and internationally. In China, from
the ‘Promoting Coordinated Development of Regional Economy’ proposed by
the 16th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in 2002 to
the ‘Recommendations for the Eleventh Five-year Plan’ which was issued by
the CPC Central Committee and passed in the Fifth Plenary Session of the 16th
Central Committee in 2005, it is now clearly demonstrated that regions in China have already become the new units for promoting overall national competitiveness.
In the 1980s, strategies for developing the Coastal Regions were adopted and
these shifted the national centre of economic development to the south-eastern
coastal area. The West Region Development Strategies launched in 1999 have
given priority to the western regions to some extent. Since the Revitalization
of the Northeast Old Industrial Base, proposed in the 16th National Congress
of the CPC in 2002, the economic development of north-eastern China has been greatly boosted. However, the economies of landlocked provinces have been in a state of stagnation due to the lack of policy support, namely "Central
366
Downfall". The previous privileged development strategies broke links between eastern, middle and western areas of China, which has seriously hindered
integrated development at the national level. In order to turn the current situation around, central governments have decided to implement the "Central Rise" strategy, which facilitates China’s graduated, and coordinated regional development.
In March 2004, the then Prime Minister Jiabao Wen definitively put forward
the „Central Rise” idea in the government work report for the first time, and in
the same year the "Central Rise" strategy was officially proposed in the Fourth
Plenary Session of the 16th Central Committee. The midlands area includes
Shanxi Province (Jin), Anhui Province (Wan), Jiangxi Province (Gan), Henan
Province (Yu), Hubei Province (E), and Hunan Province (Xiang). Taiyuan,
Hefei, Nanchang, Zhengzhou, Wuhan and Changsha are their capital cities
respectively. The six provinces are located in the hinterland of China, with an
area of 1,970,000 square kilometres, occupying 20% of the entire national
land area. In addition, this area housed around 28.1% of national population
and contributed approximately 19% to the national GDP (Gross Domestic
Product) in 2004. As the base of grain production and raw materials supply in
China, these provinces have rich mineral resources, convenient transportation
links which extend in all directions nationwide, and they contain profound cultural heritages. The spatial differentiation of provincial resources and the complementarity of interior industrial structure are fundamental to the coordinated development among these six provinces.
Figure 1: Map of Six Provinces in central China
Source: Own Graphic
367
Research pertaining to the competitiveness of these six provinces in central
China has been conducted from different perspectives, including overall competitiveness (Zhong, Peng and Peng, 2003) provincial competitiveness (Li, Li
and Gao, 2007), capital city competiveness (Yang and Fang, 2007; Ni, 2006)
and competitiveness of urban agglomerations (Zhu and Tong, 2010). The existing research outcomes undoubtedly examine the development situation of
central China to some degree. However, analyses concerning variations in
competitiveness since the implementation of the „Central Rise” strategy at
provincial and urban levels, will provide a more comprehensive and dynamic
understanding.
DEFINITION OF COMPETITIVENESS
Since Adam Smith introduced the competitive principles into economics, related theories have become the interest of research both nationally and internationally. However, the focus is basically on national competitiveness, macroscopically (Lodge and Vogel, 1987; Hämäläinen, 2003; Snieška and
Drakšaitė, 2007) and urban competitiveness, microscopically (Kresel and
Singh, 1995; Webster and Muller, 2000; Begg, 2002; Buck et al., 2005). There
is not enough attention paid to provincial or regional competitiveness, which
is now a major contributor to competitive capacity both at national and urban
levels in many countries.
National competitiveness is defined as the ability to create national wealth
based on the incorporation of inherent resources with acquired production
activities, while at the same time considering the capacity of that country to
consistently increase its economic growth rate and improve its living quality
(Dong-Sung and Hwy-Chang, 2005). Since 1989, joint efforts by the IMD and
WEF have been made to enrich and develop notions, indicators and approaches to national competitiveness. The Global Competitiveness Report
(Lopez-claros, 2005), which was issued by the IMD and WEF in 1994, restated that nationwide competitiveness refers to the ability of a country to
produce more prosperity in comparison with rivals in the global market (Ge,
368
Liu and Fu, 1995).
Michael E. Porter, an American economist, put forward the Competitive Advantage Theory based on systematic research outcomes, which include Competitive Strategy (Porter, 1980), The Competitive Advantage (Porter, 1985)
and The Competitive Advantage of Nations (Porter, 1998). These studies are
generally conducted from the national perspective. However, Porter claimed
that results relating to national competitive advantage could also be applied
into sub-areas, namely regions and cities, which are more appropriate units.
Webster and Muller (2000) defined urban competitiveness as the competence
of urban regions to yield superior goods and services to other cities.
When it comes to provincial competitiveness, nationally-documented research
is now available in China (Xu, 2007). Ni (2006) has determined that provincial competitiveness in China is commonly recognised as the integrated ability
of cities within a province (refers to the special spatial and economic region
being assessed), to bring about economic growth, social development and
human well-being enhancement. The extent of provincial competitiveness is
affected by provincial political, economic, social and other driving factors (Li,
2011).
ESTABLISHMENT OF INDICATORS AND ASSESSMENT
Establishing the System of Indicators
Indicators do not only contain components or processes to reflect the status of
systems, but also provide feedbacks to various target groups for decisionmaking (Huang, Wong and Chen, 1998). The proposed system of indices in
this paper, which are derived from previous outcomes and distinct features in
China, includes twenty-eight indicators to assess the status of development in
different provinces and different periods (Table 1).
Table 1: System of Indicators for Assessing Regional Competitiveness
X1
Gross Regional Product (100 million Yuan)
X2
Growth Rate of Gross Regional Product (%)
369
X3
Gross Regional Product per capita (Yuan)
X4
Income per capita (Yuan)
X5
Fiscal Revenue (10,000 Yuan)
X6
Household Savings Deposit (100 million Yuan)
X7
Total Investment in Social Fixed Assets (10,000 Yuan)
X8
Total Investment of Foreign Funded Enterprises (100 million USD)
X9
Total Value of Imports and Exports (10,000 USD)
X10
Transition Value in Technical Market (10,000 Yuan)
X11
Proportion of Gross Regional Product by Secondary Industry (%)
X12
Proportion of Gross Regional Product by Tertiary Industry (%)
X13
Proportion of Employed Persons by Secondary Industry (%)
X14
Proportion of Employed Persons by Tertiary Industry (%)
X15
Employment Rate (%)
X16
Number of Theatres
X17
Number of Licensed (Assistant) Doctors in Health Care Institutions per
1,000 Persons (Person)
X18
Number of Undergraduate Enrolments (Person)
X19
Number of Books in Public Library per 100 persons
X20
Popularization Rate of Mobile Phones (sets/100 persons)
X21
Number of Public Transport Vehicles under Operation (unit)
X22
Area of Paved Roads per capita (m2)
X23
Percentage of Greenery Coverage in Built-up Area (%)
X24
Output Value of Products Made from Utilization of Waste Gas, Water and
Solid Wastes (10,000 Yuan)
X25
Percentage of Industrial Effluents Emissions in Line with Standard (%)
X26
Percentage of Industrial SO2 Emissions in Line with Standard (%)
X27
Treatment Rate of Consumption Wastes (%)
X28
Percentage of Disposed Domestic Sewage (%)
Source: China Statistical Yearbook (NBS 2005, 2011)
China City Statistical Yearbook (Wang and Chen 2005; Chen 2011)
Evaluating Method
Data for the established indicators was collected from the China Statistical
Yearbook (NBS 2005, 2011), China City Statistical Yearbook (Wang and
Chen, 2005; Chen, 2011). and other published documents or websites. Then
370
the correlation matrix, which is calculated through the statistics application
SPSS17.0, reflects the obvious relevance among selected indicators, namely
they need to be simplified and sorted because of the multi-collinearity. KMO
and Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity was also carried out to test the feasibility of
the Factor Analysis (FA), which is employed here to assess provincial competitiveness.
These indicators are made dimensionless based on their Z-Score. On the basis
of Principal Component Analysis (PCA), three common factors are extracted
whose cumulative contributions to variance are more than 85%. According to
the factor loading matrix, indicators are categorized into three types, namely
economic performance, social performance and environmental performance
(Table 2).
Table 2: Analysis of Common Factors
Common Factors
Explained Indicators
F1 (Economic Performance)
X1, X2, X3, X5, X6, X7, X8, X9, X11, X12
F2 (Social Performance)
X4, X10, X13, X14, X15, X16, X17, X18, X19, X20, X22
F3 (Environmental Performance)
X21, X23, X24, X25, X26, X27, X28
Source: Own Indicator Groups
In terms of economic performance, the indicators of Gross Regional Product,
Fiscal Revenue, Total Investment in Social Fixed Assets, Household Savings
Deposit, Total Investment of Foreign Funded Enterprises and Total Value of
Imports and Exports, are included in the category of „economic scale” for
demonstrating the size of the economy locally, nationally and internationally.
The proportions of Gross Regional Product by Secondary and Tertiary Industry are chosen to indicate the degree of optimization of the industrial structure.
Growth rate of Gross Regional Product and Gross Regional Product per capita
show the comparative efficiency of the local economy.
The dimension of social performance consists of eleven indicators which represent the living quality of urban residents (Income per capita), employment
structure (Employment Rate, Proportion of Employed Persons by Secondary
Industry and Tertiary Industry), health care condition (Number of Licensed/Assistant Doctors in Health Care Institutions per 1,000 Persons), scien371
tific and technology education (Number of Undergraduate Enrolments and
Transition Value in Technical Market), communication facilities (Popularization Rate of Mobile Phones), infrastructure (Area of Paved Roads per capita)
and public recreation (Number of Theatres; Number of Books in Public Library per 100 persons).
As to environmental performance, which is not only the prerequisite for external investment and internal living quality (Xu, 2007), but also the basic support for the sustainable development of economy and society, there are seven
indicators for denoting the greenery coverage, public transport, and the treatment and utilization of industrial and domestic wastes.
The total value for each province is calculated according to the formula:
F=W1F1+W2F2+...+WmFm
Where:
Wi represents the weight of each principal component; and
Fi represents principal component.
A negative value implies that the competitiveness of the targeted province is
below the average.
Factor Analysis (FA) is carried out for the dataset of the six provinces of central China shown in Figure 1 for the years 2004 and 2010. After that, the
changes of total competitiveness and the three key dimensions of Economic
Performance, Social Performance and Environmental Performance in the
provinces are explored. Finally, the evaluating method is repeated for the capital cities of each province in 2004 and 2010 in order to help show the contributions of these capital cities to the competitiveness of each of the provinces.
QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS
The SPSS17.0 (Factor Analysis Method) is utilized for data processing to
quantitatively calculate the provincial and urban competitiveness for the years
2004 and 2010. The paper then explores the critical issue of the variations in
competitiveness at a provincial level (Table 3) and an urban level (Table 4)
372
since the „Central Rise” strategy was implemented.
Table 3: Provincial Competitiveness of the Six Provinces in central China in 2004
and 2010
Provincial
Competitiveness
Economic
Performance
Social
Performance
2004
2010
2004
2010
2004
2010
2004
2010
Shanxi
-0.69
0.01
0.03
-0.73
-0.8
0.44
-1.13
-0.6
Anhui
-0.23
-0.14
-0.31
-0.17
-0.26
-0.34
0.09
-0.46
Jiangxi
-0.5
-0.88
-0.64
-0.67
-0.51
-0.4
0.37
0.59
Henan
0.77
0.21
1.21
0.59
0.5
-0.09
0.43
-0.46
Hubei
0.52
0.68
0.09
0.69
0.14
0.86
0.55
0.17
Hunan
0.12
0.12*
-0.37
0.28
0.93
-0.46
-0.32
0.77
Province
Environmental
Performance
Note: The exact competitiveness of Hunan in 2004 and 2010 is 0.11673 and 0.12048.
Source: Own Data Compiled Using SPSS17.0
Table 4: Urban Competitiveness of the Capital Cities of the Six Provinces in
central China in 2004 and 2010
Capital
Urban
Competitiveness
Economic
Performance
Social
Performance
Environmental
Performance
2004
2010
2004
2010
2004
2010
2004
2010
Taiyuan
-0.36
-0.12
-0.29
-0.21
-0.38
-0.21
0.11
-0.41
Hefei
-0.65
-0.28
-1.05
-0.32
-0.5
-0.35
0.67
0.13
Nanchang
-0.47
-0.62
-0.52
-0.71
-0.54
-0.63
0.3
0.67
Zhengzhou
-0.14
-0.26
0.78
-0.03
-0.11
-0.18
-0.12
-0.92
Wuhan
1.28
1.16
1.29
1.2
1.21
1.26
-1.27
-0.08
Changsha
0.34
0.12
-0.21
0.07
0.32
0.12
0.31
0.62
Source: Own Data Compiled Using SPSS17.0
ANALYSIS AT THE PROVINCIAL LEVEL
At the provincial level, it is clearly shown in Table 3 that there are remarkable
improvements in overall provincial competitiveness in Shanxi (101%), Anhui
(39%), Hubei (31%) and Hunan (3.2%), while the provincial competitiveness
373
has reduced by 66% and 73% in Jiangxi and Henan respectively. It appears
therefore that the dominant effect of the „Central Rise” strategy and related
polices in these six provinces is positive. Four out of the six provinces have
improved their competitive strength in the span of six years. However, the
extent of progress made in the four improved provinces is considerably different, while of course two provinces appear to have gone backwards under the
same central government strategy. Fundamental reasons for these varied developments in the six provinces, all subject to the same strategic support, are
now explored from economic, social and environmental perspectives.
Figure 2: Provincial Competitiveness in 2004 and 2010
1
0,5
2004
0
2010
-0,5
-1
Source: Own Graphic Using Excel and Table 3 Data
Analysis of Economic Performance
There is an identical trend between total competitiveness and economic performance in Anhui, Jiangxi, Henan, Hubei and Hunan (both indices move in
the same direction, either up or down) whereas the reverse is true in Shanxi
where overall competitiveness has risen but economic performance has declined significantly. In fact, half the provinces have performed negatively in
economy from the year 2004 to 2010, but most striking, is the more than 25
times reduction in economic wellbeing in Shanxi, despite an overall rise in
provincial competitiveness, based on very much improved social and environmental performance. In Shanxi the absolute values of the economic scale
variables have mostly remained at the same comparative ranking among the
six provinces during the selected six years, while the indicator „Household
Savings Deposit” has even moved up one place to third in 2010. In the mean374
time, however, all the indicators reflecting economic structure and efficiency
in Shanxi have reduced to some extent. The ranking of „Growth Rate of Gross
Regional Product” in particular has plummeted from the top position to fifth
amongst the six provinces. The findings can also be applied within the other
provinces, which are not only improved but also diminished in economic performance.
When the indicator „Growth Rate of Gross Regional Products” is extracted to
examine the relationship with economic performance, it can be concluded that
there is a marked positive correlation between the trend of gross regional
products and the changed economic enhancement. Notably, the degree of optimal industrial structure has played an accelerated role in developing this
tendency. The higher the proportion of tertiary industry within the gross regional product, the more progress in the economy that has been made than in
other provinces in which there are similar improvements in overall provincial
competitiveness. The indicator „Growth Rate of Gross Regional Products” is
easily accessible, however, excessive attention is paid in China to improving
and maintaining a high growth rate for this factor and this, it is claimed, has
led to „GDPism” in China (Mou, 2009). In other words, local governments are
overly concerned about economic quantity rather than its quality. They have
become aficionados of blind investment in some industries, which can promote a surge in the local economy, but this is on the back of heavy environmental and social costs (e.g. the „Three High Industries”: High Polluting,
High Energy-wasting and High Emissions).
Analysis of Social Performance
Half the provinces in central China have obtained benefits in social performance, although to different extents. About five times greater improvement
have been acquired in Hubei, followed by Shanxi (155%) and Jiangxi (22%),
while the ability to make residential life more convenient and varied has been
weakened in Henan, Hunan and Anhui. Undoubtedly, personal income, as the
simplest indicator for demonstrating the life quality of residents, has increased
markedly in absolute values in each province (around four times). However,
there are some noticeable variations in provincial ranking as well, particularly
375
in Anhui, which has surged from the lowest to the highest during six years.
Taking Shanxi as an example, although the economy has dropped at an amazing rate, its total competitiveness has doubled, to which its improved social
performance has contributed greatly. What therefore are the driving forces in
boosting the community? Based on comparing the 2004 and 2010 data of all
social indicators, it is found that the structure of employment, information and
public services (recreation and medical care) have outweighed the others indicators of social performance. Significantly, the proportion of employment in
tertiary industry affects social progress more than the ratio of the workforce in
secondary industry. This finding was also present in the case of Henan, which
has always been the leader in central China, but now Hubei has become the
new leader under the national strategy. Likewise, the amount of transition
value in the technical market, which signifies the provincial ability to apply
research findings into industrial production, also significantly accelerates social progress.
Analysis of Environmental Performance
Environmental performance in Hunan has been improved so that it now ranks
first compared to fifth in 2004, followed by Jiangxi and Hubei, which has
dropped from the first position in the year of 2004. Henan and Anhui, which
have even fallen below the regional average in 2010, experienced a drastic
decline in environmental performance. Although there is around a 47% increase in environmental performance in Shanxi, it has remained last on this
factor both in 2004 and 2010. When examining the individual indicators of
environmental performance, it is found that the level of public transport (reflected by the number of public transport vehicles) and utilization of the main
three wastes (waste gas, wastewater and solid waste) greatly determines the
degree of environmental improvements.
The important effect of public transport on the environment has gradually
been recognized since the 1960s. Ieda (2010) argues that private vehicles
should be subordinate to mass transit in future urban transport planning. Transit-oriented development (TOD) not only helps to create urban wealth, but it
also reduces environmental vulnerability due to acute car dependence (New376
man, 2012). Among the six provinces in the middle part of China, the number
of public transport vehicles in Hunan is nearly twice as many as it is in
Shanxi, which is the area with the worst SO2 pollution (MA, 2013). Consequently, building good public transport systems is a promising solution to
alleviate SO2 emissions and environmental pollution based on reducing automobile dependence (Newman, Beatley and Boyer, 2009).
It is found that there is no significant difference between the provinces in
greenery coverage and household and industrial refuse disposal, which have
all been at a relatively high level of development in urban China (China Green
Development Forum, 2010). However, there is a dramatic gap in the extent of
utilization of the three waste streams throughout China. This can also be verified among these six central provinces. In 2004, the value of products that are
made from wastes in Hubei, which ranked as the top, was far ahead of Hunan.
However, the situation changed tremendously six years later. Hunan, which
has placed emphasis on the development of the Recycling Economy (RE), has
obtained an encouraging return. It is ranked the best province for the amount
of output from the recycled use of wastes, and even doubles the recycled use
output of Shanxi.
ANALYSIS AT THE URBAN LEVEL
Figure 3 presents the results of the trend in urban competitiveness in the six
provinces.
Figure 3: Urban Competitiveness in 2004 and 2010
Changsha
Wuhan
Zhengzhou
Nanchang
Hefei
Taiyuan
-1
-0,5
2010
2004
0
0,5
1
1,5
Source: Own Graphic Using Excel and Table 4 Data
377
The competitiveness of Changsha and Wuhan, which have overridden the
other four capital cities both in 2004 and 2010, both still remain above average, although they have experienced drops of 65% and 9% respectively. The
findings in Table 4, are worthy of further inspection. Among the capital cities
in which there are inferior competitive capacities in the year 2004, Zhengzhou
has an overall decline, both in total and in the three individual dimensions,
with the largest declines occurring in overall urban competitiveness and environmental performance. Furthermore, Taiyuan and Hefei are the only two
cities where there are 67% and 57% advances in the entire competitiveness.
However, they are also the only two cities that have declined in environmental
performance, besides Zhengzhou, suggesting that this rise in overall competitiveness has been to some extent at the expense of the environment.
CONCLUSIONS
The period between 2004 and 2010 has seen the national competitiveness of
China increase dramatically in world rankings, from 46th in 2004 up to 27th in
2010 (Lopez-claros, 2005; Sala-i-Martin et al., 2010). China, which has been
the second largest economy after the United States since 2010 (Wang and
Zhang, 2011), has experienced tremendous economic growth, social progress
and environmental improvement. However, imbalanced development among
different regions in China is, to some degree, an obstacle for integrated development nationwide. The „Central Rise” strategy undoubtedly has contributed
to alleviating the gap between central regions and other parts of China. Six
provinces in central China, which had all edged themselves into the „Trillionaire Club1” by 2011, have a higher growth rate in Gross Regional Product than
the national average. Additionally, the State Council has issued a series of
supportive policies, which include Several Opinions on Promotion to Central
Rise Strategy (Gazette of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China,
2006) and Several Opinions on Vigorously Enforcing the Promotion to Central Rise Strategy (Gazette of the State Council of the People’s Republic of
China, 2012), for the purpose of stabilizing present achievements and acceler1
378
This refers to the provinces in China (except Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan) where the
Gross Domestic Product has reached or exceeded one trillion Chinese dollars.
ating future growth.
This paper has appraised the competitive capacity of these six provinces at
both provincial and urban levels from economic, social and environmental
perspectives. It has quantitatively examined provinces and their capitals,
which have enhanced their competitive edge under the „Central Rise” Strategy, as well as others, which have not. Qualitative analysis of the incentives
and barriers to different changes among the six provinces has also been conducted. Conclusions from the findings of the study and for promoting integrated development of these central regions can thus be drawn as follows.
Hubei has become the new leader of central China by replacing Henan in
terms of overall competitiveness. There is a total decline in economic, social
and environmental performance in Henan and the competitive capacity of
society and environment has even deteriorated beneath the regional average.
However, progress in the dimensions of economy and society in Hubei has
been made at the expense of the environment.
It is clear that the array of adopted policies under the „Central Rise” strategy
have boosted development in central regions to some degree. However, it also
seems apparent that supportive measures tailored to each province are required
to formulate and enforce this trend. In the meantime, the ascendency of Hubei
in competitiveness within central China should be brought into full play in
producing a new paradigm about the rational utilization of policies and also in
promoting cooperation with other neighbouring provinces.
The findings of this paper also show that the growth rate of Gross Regional
Product has played a determining role in measuring the provincial potential
for economic growth in the short run. In order to avoid the negative consequences resulting from recklessly expanded local economies, the long-term
strategy is to achieve an optimized and upgraded industrial structure. Accordingly, cooperation between industries and institutes should be strengthened for
improving the local capacity for independent innovation, which is essential to
High-tech industries. Compared with traditional pollution, High-Tech Pollution, which refers to the new kind of environmental damages from High-tech
industry, should be solved based on the vigorous development of a Recycling
Economy.
379
Transport is regarded as one of the vital components for enhancing environmental competitiveness. Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) is a universally
accepted approach to alleviate and repair automobile-dependent cities in the
coming uncertain future. The daily demand for trips in the central part of
China, which is the most populous region, is huge. TOD should be based on
the preferential development of rail transit, which can best meet maximum
public demand for mobility, but with minimal environmental cost. Besides
improving mass transit systems inside cities, the six provinces should develop
intercity and interprovincial bus systems, which can provide higher transport
capacity and more convenient and punctual transport services between different cities and provinces.
Importance should also be attached to strengthening the competitive capacity
of provincial capitals, which have a major role in provincial competitiveness.
For instance, Wuhan has always stayed on the peak, while Zhengzhou has
dropped to below the regional average. The trend of changes in provincial
competitiveness is consistent with that of capital competitiveness. Provincial
capitals with more political, economic and cultural advantages also have an
exemplary and guiding effect for other cities throughout the various provinces.
Most significantly from this analysis, coordinated development in a regional
context needs to be taken into consideration so as to avoid duplication, which
easily results in excess capacity in certain fields and virulent and unnecessary
competition. The strong similarity of geographical conditions, natural resources and industrial structure in central China has caused repetitive manufacturing. The Central Plains Economic Region (CPER), which has been approved by the State Council in 2012, covers Henan, Shanxi, Anhui and other
provinces. Another new strategy which contains Hubei, Hunan and Shanxi
was put forward by Hubei afterwards in 2012. They aim to achieve a win-win
situation instead of zero-sum game through integrated development regionally
and even nationally. This is an important subject facing the six provinces in
the central part of China.
Promoting the midlands region is not only an issue for the development of the
central provinces themselves, but also critical for the enhancement of national
competitiveness. Only if these six provinces of central China can become the
380
solid junction of the East and the West parts of China, can an overall equilibrium and integrated structure be achieved, which will help China realise the
strategic goal of national modernization.
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Yuan Gao - Curtin University Sustainability Policy Institute, Australia
Prof. Jeffrey Kenworthy – Curtin University Sustainability Policy Institute, Australia
Prof. Peter Newman – Curtin University Sustainability Policy Institute, Australia
Philip Webster - Research Assistant, Curtin University Sustainability Policy Institute, Australia
384
Emma GARAVAGLIA
Rosangela LODIGIANI
ACTIVE WELFARE STATE AND ACTIVE AGEING.
INERTIA, INNOVATIONS AND PARADOXES OF THE
ITALIAN CASE
INTRODUCTION.
Population ageing is challenging the labour market dynamics, the welfare
system sustainability, and the equality among generations in most European
countries. To face these challenges the road map proposed by the European
Union with the Lisbon Agenda in 2000 and confirmed by the new EU Strategy
2020 set different complementary goals, consistent with the „active welfare
state paradigm” prevailing in European social policy debates, at least since the
launch of the European Employment Strategy in 1997. While different models of active ageing have taken shape across Europe, mostly revealing their
path dependency form the different welfare cultures and institutional contexts,
Italy has hardly started to follow the European recommendations, even if the
population ageing process is particularly severe in this country.
After defining the theoretical framework and commenting recent research
findings, the paper investigates both the inertial forces that have restrained the
development of the Italian active ageing strategy and the innovative attempts
that are ongoing, in the light of the feature of the Italian activation model. For
this purpose, the paper is organised as follows: section 2 reflects on the link
between active welfare state main features and the need to manage the population ageing process consequences. Section 3 describes the main activation
ageing models and strategies in Europe. Section 4 gives an overview of the
Italian attempts to address the challenges posed by the demographic ageing
process, trying to understand the reasons why Italy has not been a first mover
and the consequences of this, in particular applying the concepts of path dependency and path departure in social policy. The conclusion remarks give
385
hints for comparative researches focusing on active ageing strategies and policy choices in countries that, as Italy, have been late in dealing with the ageing
issues, in particular from the labour market activation perspective.
THE ACTIVE WELFARE STATE AT THE TEST-BED OF AGEING POPULATION
Over the last two decades, and especially with the European Employment
Strategy (1997) and the Lisbon Agenda (2000), the European welfare states
have experienced an innovation process focused on the concept of activation
of social protection systems and individualization of social and labour market
policies. As well known, the activation paradigm have turned the logic of passive intervention at the base of the Keynesian-Fordist welfare state: from a
source of passive protection, the welfare state has become promoter of activation and individualized programs and services, aimed at empowering individuals when facing risks and needs throughout the life course, firstly increasing their employability. On the one hand, income subsidies have become more
selective and integrated with mandatory activation programs. On the other
hand, new kinds of activation policies and services have been implemented
(lifelong learning and retraining, job placement assistance, employment incentives, counseling, etc.). In this perspective, welfare-to-work policies seek to
combat the long-term welfare dependency by supporting the beneficiaries to
regain self-sufficiency, especially through human capital investments and
labour market participation. To escape the „inactivity trap”, the access to
benefits should be subject to the beneficiaries’ active job search and commitment in (re)integration programs. As a consequence, the subjective responsibility to one’s own (un)employment and employability becomes higher. In this
way the concept of „active citizenship” is linked with the employment condition (Barbier 2004, 2006; Borghi, van Berkel 2007; Hvinden 2000)1.
As shown by many international comparative studies, the aim of activating the
welfare state has been reached in many diversified ways at European level.
1
As far as active citizenship is connected to labor market participation, it turns out to be
conceived not as a status, guaranteeing certain rights, safety and protection networks and
benefits (as well as duties and responsibilities), but as a contract, where access to those
rights is subject to (the availability to) employment. In this sense, we can say that a process
of re-commodification is taking place.
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The concept of activation itself appears as an "umbrella concept" without an
unambiguous interpretation. The isomorphic patterns of change, promoted by
the European guidelines, have left room for the definition of different activation models consistent with the features of each country welfare system. For
this reason, we can consider the strategy of activation as a "trend of reform"
that is realized in different forms in different contexts (Barbier and Knut,
2010). These diversified ways reveal to be at least in part path dependent, not
only according to the welfare capitalism regimes classified in the literature
(e.g., the classification by EspingAndersen, 1999) but also to the political,
institutional, cultural history of each country.
As well known, this trend of reform has started by following two distinct approaches: the social democratic one (Scandinavian), and the liberal one (Anglosaxon), in turn differently transposed at the national and even local levels
(Barbier 2006). The two models can be distinguished according to: 1) the way
in which they interpret the welfare activation (in a more inclusive way or in a
more efficiency-driven way); 2) the way in which they consider the welfare
state (as a social investment or as a cost to be reduced); 3) the way in which
they consider the beneficiaries (enhancing their possibilities of choice and
autonomy or regulating their behavior with forms of neo-paternalism). In
brief, we call the first one "social investment model" (or "learnfare") and the
second "work first model" (or „workfare”) (Lodigiani 2008). Even though
other models have emerged over time – and, as a result, new attempts to build
complex typologies have been made by scholars (Serrano Pascual 2007,
Bonoli 2010) – their lateness in emerging has marked the course of their implementation, being always influenced by the just-mentioned ones, which
continue to represent the reference models.
In addition, the more the logic of the activation has spread, the more it has
been put into question the link between the activation patterns and the welfare
capitalism regimes, not only because of spurious relationships between the
two, but also because the heuristic value of the second is increasingly challenged. This is mainly due to the new countries joining the EU (very different
and difficult to be clustered) and the processes of rescaling social policies and
their governance systems, which produce a spatial reconfiguration of the welfare system (Ferrera 2005). Moreover, the construction of typologies refers to
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the idea of "frozen welfare status quo" (to quote Hemerijck 2008) without any
focus on the process of change over time. As Bonoli (2007) has pointed out,
"time matters": not only the welfare systems evolve over time, but also to
some extent, they follow the same path of development when they face similar
problems and put in place similar institutional solutions.
So, the theories develop along a continuum that ranges between two poles, not
completely the opposite. The one highlights national differences and how
activation strategies are path dependent, not only because they follow different
ways of implementations that are historically conditioned (Pierson 2004), but
also because they are embedded in the societal context of the welfare culture
(Pfau-Effinger 2005). The other one underlines the path of convergence towards the same goals of reform that is supported by the process of „transnational social learning”, also fostered by the EU through the OMC (de la Porte,
Pochet 2002).
Given these premises generally describing why and how the idea of active
welfare state has emerged and different activation models have developed, our
aim is focusing on a much more specific topic that links the activation issues
with one of the most crucial challenges the EU societies are facing: the demographic ageing process. In our hypothesis, in fact, we could consider the objective of activating older workers a test-bed for the active welfare regimes,
and a fruitful perspective from which to compare the specificities of national
activation models, even in the framework of reform guidelines that lead to
convergence.
The starting point to reflect on this topic is the analysis of some demographic
data and projection. A steady increase in life expectancy across the EU during
the last century has led to higher longevity; while from the 1970s onward, the
EU has experienced falling fertility rates. These two trends are at the basis of
the demographic ageing process, defined as the growth in the absolute number
and in the relative importance of the elderly on the total population. Eurostat
population projections (Eurostat 2010, 2012) show that the number of people
aged over 65 years will increase by about two million persons per annum in
the coming decades. According to Eurostat (2012), there will be less than two
people of working age (15 to 64 years) for every older person aged 65 or more
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in the EU-27 by 2060; today the ratio is of almost four to one. The worrisome
situation concerns Italy: the percentage of people over 65 is expected to be
about 22 in 2015 and about 32 in 2060, with an expected old dependency ratio
of 56.3% in 2060 and an increase of 25.6 percentage points.
The population ageing process inevitably exerts pressures on the sustainability
of the social systems and on the labour market dynamic. The matter has been
at the core of the public discussion in Europe over the last twenty years and
the 2012 has been the European Year of Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations. The EU Social Agenda (Lisbon 2000) and the new EU
Strategy for Growth (2020) have drawn a road map to deal with the demographic ageing process and the demographic change focused on the principle
of activation and on the concept of active ageing.
The active ageing concept is broad and multidimensional and there have been
many contributions to its definition over time, from many international organizations. It is defined most broadly by the OECD which understands it as
„the capacity of people, as they grow older, to lead productive lives in society
and the economy. This means that they can make flexible choices on the way
they spend time over life – in learning, in work, in leisure and in care-giving”
(OECD 1998). From a different perspective, the definition of the World
Health Organisation (WHO 2002) puts the emphasis on the quality of life:
„Active ageing is the process of optimising opportunities for health, participation and security in order to enhance the quality of life as people age”. In
some way synthesizing the previous two, the European Commission defines
active ageing as „a coherent strategy to make ageing well possible in ageing
societies”, that is intended as „lifelong learning, working longer, retiring later
and more gradually, being active after retirement and engaging in capacity
enhancing and health sustaining activities” (European Commission 2002). In
particular, the EC focuses on the need for prolonged economic activity
achieved by increasing the number of years in employment, postponed retirement and inclusion in socially productive activities such as voluntary work or
providing post-retirement care (Jolanta Perek-Białas, Anna Ruzik, Lucie Vidovićová 2006, Calzabini, Lucciarini 2011).
So, although the concept of active ageing is multidimensional in itself and it
389
refers to the general improvement in individual chances of well-being (health,
safety and protection, participation, inclusion, autonomy, and self-sufficiency), the labour market participation represents the most crucial dimension.
The issue of generational turnover – that will become a problem in few years –
and the need for maintaining high levels of skills and competences in order to
support the competitiveness of firms and productive systems are two of the
key matters why there is a strong claim towards the activation of the older
workers (Cedefop 2010). Furthermore, due to the improved living condition
and well-being in old age, there is an increased number of persons who want
to remain active in the labour market for longer. As pointed out by EC and
OECD, work participation is the primary source of individual well-being and
social inclusion, at the same time, work represents the most effective contribution of people to the objectives of collective well-being and sustainable development (Marcaletti 2011). Hence, there is a need for acting in particular towards three interrelated directions: promoting a longer worklife in order to
expand the workforce base (first of all, through the pension reform, as most of
the European countries have done, starting from the 90s); promoting more
inclusive workplaces for workers of all ages and better working conditions for
older workers through age management policies and practices; enhancing
lifelong learning in order to improve the quality of work, individuals’ employability, and the opportunity to develop new skills throughout the life course
but also in order to support individuals’ empowerment and motivation at
work.
Even if the activation of older workers is considered as a key objective today,
within broader strategies addressed to face the challenges of the demographic
ageing process, there are many different ways (models) to reach the same
objective. As already commented, the same is for activation models: as the
process of activation of the welfare state and of individualization of social and
labour policies are part of the same paradigm that could results in different
activation models, the active participation of older people into the labour market is a unique objective reachable by following different paths,. Given these
theoretical premises, in the following paragraph we analyze the way in which
different active ageing strategies have emerged across Europe. We point out
the factors that have influenced the emerging of path dependent or path depar390
ture choices – compared to the welfare models of the countries – in this field,
the role of the time when governments have started to deal with the ageing
issues and the power of EU agencies and transnational learning processes in
influencing the single country models. We start from the evidences of a recent
research focused on active ageing strategies and active welfare regimes in
Europe2.
ACTIVE AGEING, ACTIVATION MODELS AND STRATEGIES
Welfare state institutions articulate social policy problems through specific
choices in terms of social risks definition, social risks protection, policy instruments. The demographic ageing process is not a social policy problem in
itself but the increasing proportion of older persons on the total population in
absolute terms and compared to the proportion of people potentially active
into the labour market, as above commented, exerts a certain pressure on the
complex functioning of the social system. The different institutional and cultural contexts in which the same social processes take place determine, on the
one hand, the degree of influence of the processes on the functioning of the
social systems and, on the other hand, the answers that are put in place to face
the challenges. To say that, for what concerns our specific focus, different
welfare models determine different degree of influence of the demographic
ageing process on the social system and the kind of active ageing strategies
put in place (Ney 2004). Many sociological life-course studies have underlined the interrelations among regime-specific configurations of welfare state
and production system, individual characteristics and the nature and timing of
employment transitions experienced by older workers. They analyse the whole
set of policies that potentially influence late-career patterns and retirement
2
The paper is based on some of the results from the research project „Nuovi legami tra lavoro, istruzione e sviluppo negli active welfare regimes europei. L’ageing society come
banco di prova” carried out by WWELL Research Center (Department of Sociology, Università Cattolica of Milan). The project addressed to analyse the interrelations between Lifelong Learning, employment of older individuals and activations policies in Europe. For this
purpose, it has analysed and compared through desk analysis (demographic, occupational
and social policy expenses data) and national case studies (desk analysis and semistructured interviews) five countries, representing different active welfare models: Finland,
the UK, France, Poland and Italy. For more information about the research see Garavaglia
and Lodigiani 2012.
391
behaviours to understand the results in terms of degree of inclusion of older
workers in the labour market and to different degrees of protection of older
workers from work-related risks deriving from the globalization process. At
the base of these researches, there is the classification of the EU countries
according to the combination of institutional variables defining different welfare (Esping-Andersen 1999; Ferrera 1996; Mills & Blossfeld 2005) and productive regimes (Hall & Soskice 2001; Soskice 1999): starting from these
classifications, different activation strategies addressed to older individuals are
identified. In most of the cases, the strategies reflect the features of the active
welfare model of each country (Hofäcker 2010). In these studies, the focus is
on the link between the institutional setting and the individual employment
choices. In our paper, the focus is on the macro level: on the link between the
active welfare model in general and the active ageing strategy. In particular,
we are interested in understanding in which measure the active ageing policies
and strategies are path dependent or path departure (also considering that the
EU guidelines and the processes of transnational social learning could/our
could not have determined a forced departure in some countries). From this
perspective, the main theoretical references consist of those studies that have
made an attempt to identify different active ageing regimes or to point out
which are the features of the active ageing strategies and policies in different
welfare state regimes as classified by the literature (Ney 2004). The choice of
which countries to be included in our research is based on these classification.
However, as the active welfare state models (see §. 2.), also the active ageing
models are loosely and not linearly connected with the welfare regimes.
In this sense, the analysis of active ageing policies in the five countries included in our research has shown at a first glance contradictory results: on the
one hand the convergence towards the „full employment model” fostered by
the EU and so the transposing of the European guidelines; on the other hand
the emergence of different models, with typical features, in each country. To
be more specific: in some cases, as Finland and the UK (and France with some
specificities; see Garavaglia, Lodigiani 2012), active ageing national strategies
seem to adapt the EU guidelines to their institutional and cultural conditions
and so the policies put in place seem to be strictly path dependent (and even
capable to influence the European framework). We consider first the Finnish
392
case. Finland is one of the European countries with the longest tradition in the
field of active ageing policies, so that the model developed in the country is
well known and prevalent in Europe (Marcaletti 2011). What distinguishes the
Finnish strategy is the focus on occupational health and wellbeing at work, to
be promoted in order to maintain people at work for longer. Health and wellbeing at work represent the condition sine qua non for a positive organizational climate and a good productivity at work. The final goal is to keep older
workers included into the labour market by measuring and sustaining their
workability. The concept of workability, and the tools of the workability
model have been developed by the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health
(FIOH) since the 80s, when the government put the institute in charge of developing a broad research programme on the ageing workforce. The workability model has resulted from this programme and it consists of a comprehensive methodology to measure the work ability but also to prevent disabilities
at work through age management practices (Ilmarinen 2006). It is applied to
analyze the worker condition within the working context in terms of balance
between personal resources and work demand: the basic idea is that each
worker is more motivated, productive and healthy if there are the best possible
conditions of work, in the light of the ageing process. This has also positive
results for employers because sick leave and sickness presence costs are reduced. So, coherently with the Nordic welfare regime (Esping-Andersen
1999) Finland has adopted the full occupation perspective since the beginning
when facing the challenges of the demographic ageing. But, in particular, the
government has focused on the consequences of the ageing process on occupational health problems and on the well-being at work in order to promote
the inclusion of older individuals into the labour market.
Looking at the UK, another of the first movers in this field, we find the same
coherence between the approach adopted to promote active ageing and the
features of the liberal welfare regimes (Esping-Andersen 1999). In countries
classified under the liberal regime, the so-called residual welfare state and
pension system, on the one hand, transform demographic ageing into poverty
and entitlement issues and focus on the removal of barriers that prevent from
the participation in social life (Ney 2004), on the other hand tend to incentive
older individuals to stay longer into the labour market (Hofäcker 2010). Simi393
larly, the unregulated labour market could allow more flexibility but it also
increases the redundancy risks for older workers. Active aging policies in the
UK are characterized by a multidimensional perspective on activation3. Hence
the centrality – in addition to the measures to promote employment of older
workers and the awareness of companies, and in addition to the pension system reform – of devices to enhance the active participation in different field,
first of all the informal care work. Certainly, in a scenario of strong reduction
of public funding and explicit request to citizens for contributing to the production of local welfare through volunteering (as stated by the Prime Minister
Cameron with the Big Society project), employment is fundamental to support
individual and collective wellbeing. As for the workforce in general as considering older people, reducing welfare dependency and promoting „sustainable
employment” remains the main source of protection against poverty. From
this perspective, despite the emphasis on the importance interpretation of activation in old age out of the labor market, promoting older workers employment is a priority. This objective has been pursued through different kinds of
measures aimed at combating age discrimination and reducing unemployment,
by following the "workfare" logic. In a frame of well-defined guidelines and
initiatives, the UK active ageing strategy encourages (and it supports, also
with economic incentives) the responsibility of individual workers (with respect to the choice of remaining active in the labor market, participating in
training and being active in the community), and of employers (regarding the
possibility to train their employees and to implement age management strategies).
Moving from the „first movers” to the „late movers”, with respect to the active
ageing goals, Italy and Poland reveal some common traits: both the countries
have started quite late in dealing with the ageing issues, without developing
comprehensive national strategies of interventions. In the following para3
Two key documents are at the base of the active ageing strategy in the UK are: Opportunity
Age: meeting the challenges of aging in the 21st Century (2005) and Building a society for
all ages (2009). The first one articulates the goal of active aging in three directions: employment, activation, empowerment of people over 50. It is immediately clear that active
aging is not interpreted only as a prolonged working career but it also concerns the involvement of older people in families and communities, as well as the possibility for controlling the own life in order to be full and active citizens. The second one resumes and updates the previous strategy, emphasizing the multidimensional nature of activation in older
age, so that it is not considered solely from the economic and employment perspectives.
394
graph, we focus on the Italian case, pointing out in the final remark the research evidences that could be useful in looking at similar cases such as Poland or other EU countries.
THE ITALIAN WAY TO ACTIVE AGEING
Italy is classified by the literature on welfare/productive regimes among the
southern European countries that embody the Mediterranean variant of the
conservative-corporatist model. On the one hand, the country shows some
similarities with the conservative regime in terms of regulated insider-outsider
labour market and welfare system based on the male breadwinner family
(Blossfeld 2003). As a result, it has an occupational, corporatist and familist
structure; it is unbalanced with regard to both the protections of different social risks and groups, and the different social functions. It is oversized in the
social security sector, undersized in the unemployment, poverty, family and
social exclusion functions; and it hardly meets the new social needs, in particular of younger, older workers and women (Natali 2009). Moreover, as
most of the southern-EU countries, Italy has an underdeveloped, or at least
fragmented activation policy system (Gualmini, Rizza 2011).
All these features certainly influence the activation policy and measures addressed to older individual: in fact, the characteristics of the Italian welfare
and productive regimes has led to classify the country among those cases of
institutional settings not valorizing the older workforce but supporting early
exit from the labour market (Hofäcker 2010). If this has been true for decades
(and also today we lack a comprehensive strategy), today at least something is
changing in a different direction: if the lateness of Italy in dealing with the
ageing issue can be considered path dependent, some of the recent policy
choices seem to switch to path departure. Despite the country represents one
of the most critical cases of population ageing in Europe and, according to
population projections, the situation will get worse in the future as above
commented, no official definition of the elderly and of the older labour force
exists today. „Conventionally, the older labour force is composed of people
aged either over 50, or between 55 and 64, while individuals over 65 (sometimes over 60 in the case of women) belong to the elderly general population.
395
Most policy measures targeted at mature workers set a threshold at the age of
50” (Ciccarone 2012: 2).
However, if we look at the policies implemented, it emerges the intention to
put in place preventive actions. Indeed, in some cases the age threshold for
older workers is over45 or over 50 (Isfol 2011). To the lack of an official definition of the elderly population and of the older workforce corresponds the
lack of a comprehensive and coherent national strategy to promote active ageing. The discussion about the ageing issues has been, since the beginning of
the 1990s, mainly focused on pensions and social security systems reforms
because of the urgent need for ensuring the financial sustainability of the social security system and an equal distribution of resources among generations.
So, the main focus has been on social security interventions and not on effective strategies for the activation of the older cohorts.
Stepping backward in the Italian economic and industrial history, it is possible
to find the origins of the actual institutional landscape in which the political
debate and the policy choices (or it would be better to say the lack of political
debate and policy choices) concerning the promotion of active ageing are
based. Particularly, we should go to the construction of social security rights,
together with the separation established between the working world and the
world of retirement which has been defined within the development of the
Fordist production system during the last century. „Conflicts, claims and attainments in the world of labour have given rise to a formidable system of
social guarantees and rights benefiting adult salaried workers stably employed
on the labour market. Given the characteristics of this social construction,
however, the portions of the population located furthest on the margins of the
labour market, and therefore the social security system, were long excluded,
for the most part: temporary or unregistered workers, women and the young
and the aged in the grey areas between employment, unemployment and inactivity. The result was a clear-cut distinction between the working world and
the world of pensions, especially in the strong sector of salaried employment”
(IRPPS-CNR 2004: 56).
The problem of an high percentage of inactive older individuals started to be
clear during the 1980s when a lot of company restructuring processes took
396
place according to the model young in-old out, so with an intensive use of
early retirement schemes and the exclusion of large shares of older workers
from the labour market. Together with the frequent recourse to early retirement as a socially acceptable solution to deal with economic constraints, the
old-age pension has been another typical institute of the Italian context: they
have contributed over the time to the spreading of a specific attitude toward
the older workers at political and societal level. For years the main concern of
policy makers and social parts has been to find the most socially acceptable
ways to support companies during periods of financial difficulties and these
ways have been identified, as already commented, in the exclusion of the older
workers from the labour market in order to create vacancies for the youngest.
Given this context, in the last years can be found some signals of renewed
awareness of the ageing matter that anyway has resulted in policy debates
focused on the pension reform. All the political debate around the ageing issues has concentrated on the need for raising the retirement age with no
enough attention to the need for a more complex new regulatory system of the
labour market. From the very start-up of the active ageing discussion in Italy a
contradiction has emerged: on the one hand experts have always advocated the
reform of the pension system for prolonging the work career while on the
other hand within the company systems a 50 years old worker is considered a
deadweight to be excluded in order to save costs. In this framework, raising
the retirement age without acting towards a more complex new regulation of
the labour market can result not in more work but in more unemployment
(Mirabile 2009). The paradoxes of this approach have clearly emerged in the
last years. The economic crises has made more and more difficult to combine
the objective of prolonging work careers and the one of managing, in a flexible way, the older workers within work organisations.
As said before, from 1990 and for twenty years the political debate on active
ageing in Italy has been dominated by the need for reforming the pension system in order to ensure the long-term financial sustainability of the social security system. During this period, six reforms have been introduced, the last one
in December 2011 (the so called Fornero reform). The Fornero reform confirmed what has been stated with the 2010 budget law in order to equalize the
retirement age for men and women up to 66. Moreover, the reform has estab397
lished the shift to a notional-defined contribution model which regard to all
the workers and has limited the access to early retirement which is possible
(with reduced benefits) after accumulating 41 years of social contributions for
women, or 42 years for men.
A part from the pension system reform, policies addressed to promote active
ageing in Italy are very rare (Ciccarone 2012). In any case, it is possible to
identify some labour market policy measures addressed to older workers
within the broader reforms of the labour market of the 1990s and 2000s, acting on two main sides: the radical innovation of the structure and of the management of employment services and the introduction of new flexible employment contracts.
On the first side, functions and objectives of the new employment services
system have been defined by the renewal of the old placement services and by
introducing private employment services in order to improve the demandsupply match and to enhance active labour market policies offer. In this perspective, the renewed public employment services set specific measures to
promote over 45 years workers’ employment and employability.
For what concerns labour market flexibility, the reform process started in
1997 with the Treu package (Law 196/1997) that introduced new flexible
employment contracts (e.g temporary jobs), specifically addressed to women
and young workers entering the labour market but that were fully extended to
older workers by 2000. The process went on with the Biagi Law in 2003 (Law
30/2003) that introduced new flexible contractual typologies (e.g. staff leasing, job on call) and employment opportunities (like deregulation of part time
work). The Law established that individuals over 50 years are included among
the disadvantaged workers, so that they can benefit from incentives through
the Work Placement Contract. The main aim of the contract is to support people who encounter specific difficulties in entering the labour market through
an individualized project. Moreover the contract, that can have a duration
from 9 to 36 months, provides financial incentives for companies that hire
disadvantaged workers. Regarding older workers, the measure introduced
economic incentives for companies and the possibility to hire unemployed
over 45 by signing „discontinuous” employment contracts (while for workers
398
over 50 there are the same incentives as those for other disadvantaged groups).
Following the chronological order, in 2005, even if without implementing
specific initiatives, the Italian Parliament set the strategic guidelines for the
development of policy measures addressed to activating the older workforce
into the labour market. The main trajectories identified are: the reform of the
training offer, the development of flexible retirement schemes, the promotion
of services of placement offered by the Employment Centres, and the intervention within the work organizations in order to create more inclusive working contexts (Mirabile 2009). In 2007, the budget law (Law 296/2006) introduced a specific measure addressed to older workers „aiming at supporting the
creation of new jobs and reducing exits from the labour market. This measure
(called the Solidarity agreement between generations) allows for the transformation of contracts of workers over 55 from full time to part-time while
also bringing in at the same time part-time contracts for people under 25, or
people less than 30 if they have a university degree” (Ciccarone 2012: 5).
However, the measure has not been implemented. A similar proposal (named
Generational relay) has been launched in 2012, with the primary objective of
reducing youth unemployment that has rapidly raised during the years of crises. At the moment some regional pilot experiences are taking place.
Maintaining our focus on recent years, with the budget law 2010, some others
measures addressed to older workers at risk of exclusion from the labour market have been introduced. Among the most relevant: financial incentives for
employer who hire unemployed workers aged over 50; financial incentives to
cover contributions until the legal age for retirement addressed to workers
(with 35 years of contributions) who are willing to accept a job implying a
salary reduction up to the 20% less; extension of the number of companies
that could benefit from measures of income supports for their employees;
financial incentives for private job centres for placing disadvantaged workers
(Isfol 2011).
At last, it is important to consider that „at the national level, employment policies in favor of adult workers are fairly rare and not adjusted within a comprehensive framework. However many Regions have enacted their own laws and
regulations. For example, seven Regions have drafted regional laws to support
employment within broader active ageing strategy and for the re-placement of
399
older workers. There are many agreements between Regions and INPS (the
National Agency for Social Protection) to experiment forms of flexible work
for older workers in seasonal jobs (as regulated by the Ministerial Decree 12
March 2008); incentives for adult workers (in Friuli, Puglia and Toscana Regions), and a Framework Contract Agreement to recognise social benefits for
older workers (Basilicata Region)” (Corsi, Lodovici 2010: 73). Furthermore,
some other Regions have took part in the European Equal Age Management
project (for example Veneto Region), involving social partners and local
companies to identify best practices on age management and arise social
awareness around ageing challenges (Eurofund 2007b). Remaining at the local
level, it is also important to take into account what has been developed by big
companies or territorial networks of Smes: often these are not formalized age
management practices resulted from contingent urgencies or problems to be
solved, than from the awareness about the demographic transformation of the
workforce.
Other initiatives, indirectly addressed to older workers are linked to the measures introduced to contrast the effects of the economic crisis broke out in 2008
(„anti-crises package”, Law 2/2009”). The crisis has challenged the occupational condition of different groups of workers and among them also of the
older ones. In fact, on the one hand, the older workers in Italy represent a sort
of privileged group that is highly protected through labour market supports,
but on the other hand, the old age and the obsolescence of skills and qualification expose them to a higher level of frailty and, when excluded, to greater
difficulties in entering again the labour market. The Italian anti-crises package
has introduced measures to contrast the occupational crisis through two main
arrangements: by supporting companies that innovate processes, mainly by
sustaining outplacement and redeployment process (this form of support has
safeguarded a lot of older workers); by integrating and balancing the passive
labour market measures with active labour market policies, primarily training
initiatives to prevent from human capital depletion. Thanks to the contribution
of ESF funds, mandatory activation programmes and additional shock absorbers have been introduced, all of them linked to the principle of conditionality.
These measures, implemented especially to sustain the low protected segments of the labour market (young people, women, atypical workers) have
400
reached also those workers in the second half of their career (Isfol 2012).
THE ITALIAN CASE BETWEEN PATH DEPENDENCY AND PATH DEPARTURE
The Italian Government approach in dealing with the population ageing process is lacking of a coherent and complex vision and is leaving many uncovered aspects. Certainly, unlike what happened in the 1990s, the most recent
interventions to reform of the pension system, in particular, and to reform the
system of employment services and regulation of the labour market promote
with more decision the „labor market activation” (Mirabile 2009). Nevertheless, the ageing issue has struggled to take off in the public and political debate. Especially, the most difficult matter to be asserted in Italy is the importance of putting in place a complete action plan, without considering that just
raising the retirement age could be decisive. By adopting the neo-institutional
perspective to analyse the Italian situation are still recognizable some resistances – by both the labour offer and demand as by policy makers and social
parts – to valorize the older workforce.
Indeed, the Italian lateness in activating the older workers within the labour
market is due to the intensive use of early-retirement schemes in the last decades. As already commented this that has led to the legitimation of these devices (by the side of the labour demand) as socially acceptable solutions to
deal with economic and occupational constraints, and to expectations for
early-retirement (by the labour supply side). The system of social guarantees
provided for those who are employed on permanent contracts, as most of the
workers in the second half of their career, has meant that it was not immediately clear the risk to that, due to age and to the gradual skills and qualification
obsolescence, these workers may be exposed. If the relative (comparing with
youth) resilience of employment rates for age groups 45-54 and 55-64 during
the crisis demonstrates that they are a more protected segment of the labor
force, without specific investment in human capital retraining and motivation,
the mere prolonging of the working experience can result in a failure. But also
considering the case of those excluded from the labour market at old age, the
non-investing approach risks to lead to deactivation.
401
The Italian welfare system main features above highlighted (the occupational,
corporatist and familist structure and the fragmented system of protection and
activation) have encouraged the emergence of barriers between insiders and
outsiders and between generations, in addition to an unequal division of labour between men and women at all ages, but particularly among mature people. The result is a twofold paradox: 1) the very high youth unemployment
rate (increased in the recent years of crisis) tends to obscure the issue of older
workers and to raise contrasts between old and young generations; 2) the absence of incentives for older people (both subjectively and from the surrounding family and societal conditions) to stay longer in the labor market discourages the prolongation of work careers, especially for women. Indeed, they
have an active (and fundamental) role in informal caregiving for/within their
family and, up today, they are one of the most important resources for young
parents in search of balancing work and family responsibilities. This aspect
enhances the perception (at least in the collective imaginary and cultural
background) of the issue of activating older individuals in the labour market
as less urgent in Italy. But, this also shows that an effective strategy of
active ageing promotion should not be limited only to training or employment policies, but it is rather related to the complex structure of the
welfare system and to the labour market regulation.
Hence, if compared to the other countries and considered the demographic
situation in the country, the lateness of Italy in defining a comprehensive
strategy is in some way surprising. It is easier to be explained if we think of
the Italian welfare capitalism model, with its specific productive, institutional,
societal and cultural regulation framework.
As we said, „time matters” (Bonoli 2007) and in recent years also Italy has
started to develop a strategy for the older workers’ activation in the labour
market. The first important signal is given by the recent reform of the pension
system that led Italy to establish the highest legal retirement age in Europe and
that in some way could be considered as a path departure choice. This reform
represents the last step of a long path, but it also promote a radical change of
the retirement system, drastically reducing the early retirement schemes. The
shift to the contribution system and the raise of the legal retirement age indi-
402
cate that Italy has transposed the EU guidelines, at least the ones linked to
public expenditure reduction imposed by the fiscal compact. But, on the other
hand, as just said, there is the need for the reform process affecting not only
the pension system but also its social consequences and the labour market
regulatory framework, fallowing the already started path of innovation of active and passive policies.
The public and political attention on the rapidly ageing population matter has
finally raised the awareness about its most challenging implications. However,
the centrality attributed to the economic sustainability of the pension system
and to the rapid increase of youth unemployment, risks to distort the perspective from which the question is considered. Therefore, the most significant
challenge the governance of a fragmented system, which is typically innovated from the bottom. From this perspective, regional policies and local
measures directly promoted by companies o through national, local or company collective bargaining processes represent factors that push innovation: so
they need to be valorised and coordinated to disseminate best practices in the
country.
CLOSING REMARKS
As we commented alongside the paper, our research has highlighted a direct
relation between the moment in which countries have started to face the ageing issues and the level of development and consolidation of their active ageing strategies. According to this perspective, the delay (and the lack of coherence and complexity) of the Italian approach is at least partially due to the fact
that it has been just in the last years that Italy has begun to systematically deal
with the ageing matter. However, the welfare system in general and the policy
regime matters too. In particular, these factors influence the approach and the
core of the activation strategy focused on older individuals. What is most interesting to note is that the two factors – time and path dependency – are
strongly interrelated in influencing the development of the activation models.
The comparison among cases in which the active ageing strategies have a
longer history and those in which the active ageing strategies are relatively
young, shows how transnational social learning processes reduce, over the
403
time, the legacies of the welfare systems.
Thinking of Finland: a pioneer in addressing the issue of aging, it has planned
its strategy on the cornerstones of its welfare system. The goal of full employment of older people is here pursued by promoting individual well-being
(health, motivation, ability to work) and the quality of working conditions
(tasks, places, times, ...). With this pioneering approach, it has influenced the
international debate, also bringing innovative hints within the European institutional approach. We state the same with regard to the UK. Clearly, the British active ageing model reflects the European guidelines. The efforts made to
break down age discrimination (in and out of the labor market) is combined
with the emphasis on older workers’ activation in the labour market and the
promotion of their active citizenship in the broader social context. In many
ways, the European strategy owns a lot to the experience of these two countries. The Italian case is different: here the emerging active ageing national
policies appear to sign, at least in part, a departure from the policy path usually followed.
Our hypothesis is that in some way the lateness of Italy justifies the lacks of
the Italian approach; moreover, this lateness leaves room for innovative solutions, path departure, also due to the constraints imposed and to the influences
exerted by an already consolidated European strategy.
In short, those countries that have been first movers in terms of policy development to promote the activation of older people have adopted measures that
mainly reflect the typical features of their welfare model and have been in
some way able to influence the EU debate and orientation on these issues.
While those countries that have been late in dealing with the ageing issues
have in same cases directly transposed the EU indications, so resulting in policy choices that could be seen as a „forced” path departure.
The analysis of the Polish case (not deepen in this paper but part of the research the paper is based on) could support this hypothesis: even if its population is quite young, Poland has started to acknowledge the urgency of the
demographic ageing trend in the last years. So, in order to confirm our hypothesis, we need to deepen our study, in particular, in a comparative perspective and including multiple level of analysis. The final goal would be to test to
404
what extent the '"time effect" allows "late movers" to benefit from the processes of transnational learning or to verify if it simply reduces the room for
acting because there are priorities/intervention methods already recognised as
effective at international level and imposed on the basis of external constraints
(e.g. occupation benchmark). But, not only the level of policies is relevant in a
comparative perspective. There is also that of the individual careers, with particular regard to gender differences, and that of age management models and
tools applied in companies. These are many different faces of the same question, that need to be considered all together in order to produce results that
help to deal with a matter that involve many subjects, many actors, many levels.
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408
Varia:
Management
VII.
And
Logistics
409
Eugeniusz NOWAK
Logistics of crisis situations provides theoretical
solutions conducive to the shaping, monitoring and
controlling of the supply and service processes performed in the logistics chains organized for affected
population.
LOGISTICS AND LOGISTIC MANAGEMENT
IN CRISIS SITUATIONS
LOGISTICS AND LOGISTIC SUPPORT IN CRISIS SITUATIONS
Logistics of crisis situations is a new scientific specialization. Its precursors
were: the military logistics which had its origins in the US Navy at the turn of
the XIX and XX centuries (forerunners: A.T.Mahan, G.C.Thorpe, H.E.Eccles)
and civilian logistics which saw its first successes in the late 50's and 60's of the
XX century (forerunners: O. Morgestern, American Marketing Association,
Council of Logistics Management). On the contrary logistics of crisis situations
arose at the turn of the XX and XXI centuries. Logistics (both military and civilian) owed and still owes its success primarily to a high standard of tasks
completion for the recipient. These standards generally are presented in the
form of 4 x "R" (sometimes this is also 5 x "R" or even a 7 x "R"), which stands
for "right" time, "right" quality, "proper" amount and "right” place (also "appropriate" costs, " appropriate" gains, "proper" condition) of supplies delivery
and logistic services for the supported entity. In the armed forces, where the
military logistics functions, the recipients (of supply and logistic services) are
fighting troops (military units). In the economy, where the civilian logistics
functions, recipients of supplies and logistic services are customers operating in
the open market. On the contrary, in crisis situations, where the logistics of
crisis situations functions, customer (of supply and logistic services) is primarily an affected population.
The optimization of logistic tasks completion process for the benefit of their
customers is determined by an effort to meet strict conditions and specific crite410
ria. In the military logistics, for which the priority are troops executing the main
task, usually they are: providing full satisfaction of the fighting troops logistical
needs, the place and time of logistical tasks completion. In the civilian logistics
they are mainly: striving to serve all customers, ensuring high standards of customer service, minimizing logistic costs and ensuring a high business profit. On
the contrary, the logistics of crisis situations is aimed at all victims and satisfying their basic logistic needs in the shortest possible time.
Fig.1. Criteria for the logistics operations optimization
Satisfying the basic logistic needs of the population
CIVILIAN
LOGISTICS
LOGISTICS OF
CRISIS SITUATIONS
MILITARY
LOGISTICS
All customers
All victims
Troops completing
the main task
Customer service
standards
Satisfying the basic
logistic needs of the
population
Full satisfying the
logistic needs of
troops
Logistic costs
Places
Places
Enterprise profit
Time
Timet
Source: Own elaboration.
Logistics of crisis situations (treated as a scientific specialization 1 ) provides
theoretical solutions conducive to the shaping, monitoring and controlling of
the supply and service processes performed in the logistics chains organized for
affected population. Through the integration and synchronization (harmonization) of logistic activities, strictly necessary supplies and logistic services reach
all the affected at the right time, in the right places, in appropriate quantities
and of appropriate quality.
Logistics of crisis situations is focused on: all victims, saving lives and health
of the wounded and sick, satisfaction basic logistic needs of affected population, providing (ensuring) supplies, logistic and medical services to all in need
1
The author adopted the following hierarchical classification of scientific concepts: the highest
is the "scientific domain" in which there are distinguished "scientific disciplines" which in
turn are divided into "scientific specializations".
411
as well as minimizing the time of logistic tasks execution.
Fig. 2. Aspects of the logistics of crisis situations perception
CRISIS
MANAGEMENT
MILTARY
LOGISTICS
PRECURSORS
Civilian
logistics
LOGISTICS OF CRISIS
SITUATION
ASPECTS OF THE LOGISTICS
Functional
PERCEPTION
Objective
Management including: strategy
formulation, planning, organizing,
initiating and
controlling
Control flow of
supplies, services
and information
Valuation
Effective logistic
support oriented to all victims
The leitmotiv of logistics activities undertaken in crisis situations is to reach all
the victims with the necessary procurement and logistic services as quickly as
possible. The size of strictly necessary supplies and the range of logistic services may be set up by the minimum standards because the nature of these activities is to ensure that all the victims will survive. The priorities of supply
provision are: drinking water, food, clothing and energy (electricity and heat),
whereas in logistic services - medical (life- and health-saving activities),
evacuation services, economic and domestic services (preparing meals, baking
bread, accommodation, commercial services, etc.).
Table 1. Sample daily supply standards, which can be used in crisis situations
On.
Supplies
u.o.m.
Average
demand
Acceptable
minimum supply
1
Drinking
water
litre
3,0
0,5-1,5
2
Food
kcal
2500,03000,0
500,0-900,0
412
Remarks
Minimum standards for supplies used for the first days of a
crisis (usually no longer than 3
days).
Logistical support of the affected people in crisis situations is a realization function of perceived logistics of crisis situations. It covers the provision of vital
supplies as well as logistic and medical services. It is organized by logistic support groups and groups of health care and social-life support 2 in crisis management teams (CMT). It is carried out by forces and resources (logistics)
which are at the disposal of those teams.3 It includes: drinking water supply,
economic and livelihood services, medical services and the evacuation organization if necessary for the people and their property, cultural goods, etc.4
The mission of the affected population logistic support in crisis situations is an
aspiration for reaching all the victims with the logistics help in the shortest possible time. Its essence is a provision of strictly needed (at least the minimum)
amount of supplies and logistics services including basic medical assistance.
Bearing in mind the factors determining the organization and implementation of
logistics support for the affected by crisis population it is not hard to see that it
is organized on thes basis of specific (special) principles. They are: quick help
the wounded and sick and create conditions for a survival of all the affected people, the collection and protection of supplies reserves, rationing of supplies
and logistics services, priorities of supplies delivery and specialistic as well as
economic and living services, specific character of „logistic product”5, use of
local infrastructure (logistic) resources, logistical support by an overriding public authorities, logistical cooperation with neighbors, exploitation of personal
and property benefits and the principle of effectiveness.6
Quick help the wounded and sick means that the time is the primary determinant of success in saving their lives and health. However assurance of survival
conditions for all the victims indicates that in extreme cases the minimum supply standard could be applied.
2
3
4
5
6
Taking into consideration the need for integration of logistics activities the author knowingly
classifies groups of health care and social-life support to the logistics domain, despite the fact
that health service is an independent organization.
Crisis Management Teams are organized at all levels of public administration.
E. Nowak, Logistyka w sytuacjach kryzysowych, Edition II improved and expanded, Pub.
AON, Warszawa 2009, p.20.
Logistics product is a collection of wishes and expectations of the customer (recipient) to the
supply or services delivery, particularly their form and quality that can be implemented in accordance with the requirements only in the logistics system.
E. Nowak, op. cit., p. 16.
413
Collection and protection of supplies stocks is a standard undertaking. They
constantly accompany each logistics operation. Inventories of supplies are collected on the basis of forecasts. The purpose of protection of stocks is to prevent uncontrolled distribution and theft.
Rationing of supplies and logistics services takes place under conditions of
scarcity, and ensures delivery of supplies and services for all affected people
(beneficients).
Priorities of supply and logistics services delivery (the author has in mind their
establishment) are a necessity in crisis situations. Apply if the logistical support
cannot simultaneously reach all the affected. Moreover in most cases urgency
of logistical assistance to affected individuals (a group of people) is different.
The specificity of the " logistics product” in crisis situations should be treated
as a preparation for delivery of supplies and logistics services organization for
the affected population with regard to existing conditions due to the danger. For
example during floods tere is a need of food products waterproof packaging.
Local infrastructure resources (logistic) in crisis situations have a priority.
They are local supply warehouses, repair shops, transportation companies, catering and hotels as well as various objects (eg. buildings which can be used to
accommodate evacuated people).
Logistical support conducted by the parent public administration bodies creates the possibility of reducing the size of own logistic potential which is prepared for the time of crisis. Normally, this potential is calculated according to
the medium needs so that costs of logistical preparation are reduced. Logistical
support conducted by the parent bodies takes place only when there is a shortage of own sourcing and service capabilities.
Logistical interaction with neighbors is a routine "sacred tradition" undertaking. Neighbors are always the closest partner. They can arrange the necessary
logistical support in a short time (according to the principle of reciprocity).
Personal and material services are essential in the implementation of logistic
support of affected population in emergency situations. It results from the fact
that most of projects (tasks) implemented in their scope are associated with the
deliveries of supplies and logistic services.
414
The principle of effectiveness prefers the use of owned forces and resources (in
this case the logistic potential) to ensure the best (successful) execution of the
task. It indicates that the decision verification in crisis according to economic
aspects (financial costs) is not a priority condition. It is allowed to use more
expensive solutions provided that they allow to save lives and health of more
affected people than with other solutions.
PROPERTIES OF CRISIS MANAGEMENT AND LOGISTICS MANAGEMENT IN
CRISIS SITUATIONS
Crisis management - the management of the organization (system) under pressure, implemented to deal with tense situations, which task is a preparation and
an acting aimed at preventing, counteraction and responding in the event of the
organization (system) instability and restoring its normal functions. In its perception in the safety aspect should be highlighted that it is: an integral part of
organizational management; domain of security management in general, including national security; management of the organization under pressure in a state
of risk; solving tense situation and the counteraction against escalation troublesome phenomenas. It consists in: reducing tensions and preventing conflicts or
difficult non-conflict situations, restoring or maintaining the normal state despite the occurrence of the crisis symptoms. In the course of crisis management
marginal and doubtful problems are rejected and then delegated to organizations not involved in the crisis.
The process of crisis management is understood as a decision-making cycle,
including decision-making phases, stages and activities associated with the
acquisition, processing and use of information, as a result of which a decision is
made, a concept elaborated, developed a crisis management plan and tasks for
the executive entities (units) being in the disposal of the administration body.
Decision-making cycle of crisis management team runs in four basic, merging
and interpenetrating each other phases of decision-making: determining the
position, planning, setting tasks and controling.
Decision-making phase "determining the position" is a continuous process of
acquiring, collecting, sorting and processing all kinds of information regarding
415
the state of owned forces and resources, the sources and nature of the threat and
the conditions for prevention, rescue and recovery. This phase is designed to
prepare for the voivode (foreman, mayor) a clear and transparent picture of the
situation on the basis of which the situation can be assessed, tasks analyzed,
variants of action developed, decision made, plan specified, a crisis management plan corrected, tasks set and their completion monitored.
Decision-making phase "planning" includes four successive stages which are:
assessment of the crisis, decision making and concept specification, developing
of a crisis management plan 7 and directive documents (regulations, decrees,
administrative decisions) for the subordinate executive entities (units).
Fig.3. The process of crisis management
Superior body
Neighboring
administrative units
Complex and detached
administration
TASKS
Orientation in the situation
Determining
the position
Reports
Control
CRISIS
MANAGEMENT
TEAM
Planning
Requests,
reports
Reports
Population
and NGOs
Setting tasks
regulations, decrees,
administrative decisions
Executive
entities
Preparation decrees
determining the position
Source: Zarządzanie kryzysowe w sytuacjach zagrożeń niemilitarnych, [red.] E. Nowak, Pub.
AON, Warszawa 2007, p.114.
7
In fact usually this will be a correction of an owned crisis management plan.
416
Fig.4. Arrangement of crisis management team decision-making cycle
Reports
DETERMINING THE POSITION
PLANNING
Assessment of the crisis
D
E
C
I
S
I
O
N
M
A
K
I
N
G
P
H
A
S
E
S
Task analysis
S
T
A
G
E
S
Operational informing
A
C
T
I
V
I
T
I
E
S
Evaluation of factors affecting the tasks completion and development of variants of action
Coordination briefing *)
Variants of action consideration
Variants of action comparison
Decision briefing
Decision making and SPECIFICATION OF
VOIVODE (foreman, mayor) CONCEPT
E
X
E
C
U
T
I
V
E
Crisis management plan correction
Development of regulations,
decrees, administrative decisions
SETTING TASKS
Issue of regulations, decrees, administrative decisions
CONTROLING
E
N
T
I
T
I
E
S
*) The number of seats and objectives of the coordination briefings defines a crisis
management team leader LO
Management including: strategy formulation, planning,
organizingControl flow of supplies, services and information
Decision-making
phase2007,
„setting
ON, Warszawa
s. tasks” ensures bringing to executors the tasks
resulting from approved concept of activities. It is widely recognized that the
best way to set tasks is to bring them personally to chiefs (commanders) of subordinate services, inspections and guards by the voivode (foreman, mayor).
Setting tasks verbally or by using technical means of communication must be
confirmed by written directive document and recorded in the Activities Register
of the crisis management center.
417
Decision-making phase "controling" is intended to test the effects of phases of
"planning" and "setting tasks" and the way they are implemented in life. Its
results provide a basis for updating the available data about the situation and
completion of crisis response tasks. The conclusions obtained from the control
allow the crisis management team to take action to correct the discrepancies
between the actual and planned state.
The logistics management in the system (eg. organization) is aimed at causing
the increase in efficiency of operation and the strengthening of its position in
the surrounding environment. This is achieved by shortening the period of delivering supplies and services to customers, optimizing supply inventories, increasing the efficiency of use of existing potential (eg. forces and logistical
resources), reduce logistical costs, etc.
The logistics management in crisis situations, according to prof. Eugeniusz
Nowak, includes: the formulation of strategy, planning, initiating and steering
as well as monitoring of the implementation process of logistics tasks and the
necessary information exchange from the points of origin (from suppliers) to
the reception points (the affected) in order to save their lives and health and
provide the necessary conditions for survival8.
Logistics strategy of supplies and logistics services delivery to the affected population in crisis situations is expressed in the mission and purpose of the action. The mission is to save lives and health of the wounded and sick and to
provide all people in need conditions necessary for the survival of the crisis
while the goal is to organize the delivery of vital supplies as well as logistics
and medical services.
Logistical planning of the delivery of supplies and logistics services for the affected is determined by: minimizing the time of the supply and logistics services delivery, including medical services, to all the affected; aiming at ensuring
at least the minimum level of essential supplies and services delivery as well as
economic and living services; optimal exploiting the logistics potential; organization of collaboration (integration) between the entities (units) performing
logistics and medical tasks; an aspiration, if possible, to reduce the financial
8
W. Nowak, E. Nowak, Podstawy logistyki w sytuacjach kryzysowych z elementami
zarzadzania logistycznego, Pub. SWSPiZ, Łódź – Warszawa 2009, p.126.
418
costs of logistics undertakings.
Initiation and then steering of logistic activities includes undertakings related to
the preparation and implementation of supplies delivery and the provision of
logistics and medical services for the affected population as well as aspiration
to ensure continuity and improvement of this process.
Controling of logistics operations aims at comparing the results of actions undertaken by units (entities) performing logistical and medical tasks with developed logistics plans, in order to undertake a systematic assessment of their implementation. If there are any deviations, necessary modifications (correc-tions)
are introduced.
The logistics management in crisis situations is one of the main problems of
crisis management. Its executors are logistics groups of CMT (logistics support
as well as health care and social-life support). Operational function of this management results from the need of integration and coordination of the process of
supplies stockpiling and preparing them for shipment (transport) and distribution as well as preparation of services capacity and its control during the provision of logistic and medical assistance for affected people.
Logistic management is carried out in all four phases of crisis management, namely: a prevention phase, a preparation phase, a response phase and a recovery
phase. In the prevention phase it consists in the prediction of the logistic situation, identifying potential sources of supply and service (the provision of specialized and economic and living services), balancing available resources with
the forecast logistical needs of the affected population and planning of logistics
tasks arising from the potential crisis risks. In the preparation phase the procedures of supplies delivery and provision of logistics and medical services for
the affected population are planned as well as the actions related to the preparation of logistics and medical capacity (resources) are taken.
In the response phase medical aid is rendered the wounded and sick, delivery of
supplies to the affected population are organized and the logistical services are
provided. Places for a temporary accommodation for the evacuated population
are arranged, anti-epidemic and sanitary-hygienic undertakings are carried out
and actions related to saving the environment and restoration of critical infrastructure facilities are taken. In this management phase logistics undertakings
419
have an interdisciplinary character. The specificity of logistics management expresses itself in the need for coordination of use of available forces and logistic
resources being in the possession of public administration, businesses and nongovernmental organizations as well as citizens (residents). In the reconstruction
phase logistics bodies are involved in estimating damages and losses caused by
the crisis; launch logistical assistance programs (individual and collective) for
the affected population; organize the delivery of municipal media and critical
infrastructure facilities restoring; recreate the logistical and medical resources,
etc.
Direct organizers of logistics activities in crisis situations are the experts - specialists of logistics and medical CMT groups. Those experts in logistics groups
are specialists for: supplies, economic and domestic services, transport. In the
medical groups - experts in: evacuation and treatment, sanitary-hygienic, antiepidemic, medical equipment and medicaments (drugs) matters as well as specialists in social and living conditions matters.
Table 2. The contents of logistics management in crisis situations
Crisis management phase
Content of logistics management
Predicting the logistics situation, including medical one.
Identification of supply sources and service potential.
Balancing of logistic resources.
The verification and planning of logistics tasks.
Creation of organizational and technical conditions for logistics
PREPARATION
management.
PHASE
Creation of the conditions for the logistics tasks completion.
Training and improvement of logistical tasks executors.
Organization of : medical assistance to the affected, the evacuation
of the affected population and property from danger areas, economic, living conditions and specific services for the affected popuRESPONSE
lation, a temporary accommodation, sanitary-higienic and anti-epiPHASE
demic undertakings in danger areas and places of temporary accommodation, psychological care, rescue and evacuation of animals
from danger areas.
Logistics experts participation in damages and losses evaluation.
Launching of programs of individual and collective aid for the
RECOVERY
affected population.
PHASE
Participation in restoring of public services including the provision
of municipal media.
PREVENTION
PHASE
420
LITERATURE OF SUBJECT:
1.
E. Nowak, Logistyka w sytuacjach kryzysowych, Edition II improved and expanded, Pub. AON, Warszawa 2009.
2.
Zarządzanie kryzysowe w sytuacjach zagrożeń niemilitarnych, [red.] E. Nowak,
Pub. AON, Warszawa 2007.
3.
W. Nowak, E. Nowak, Podstawy logistyki w sytuacjach kryzysowych z elementami
zarządzania logistycznego, Pub. SWSPiZ, Łódź - Warszawa 2009.
4.
K. Ficoń, Procesy logistyczne w przedsiębiorstwie, Pub. Impuls Plus Consulting,
Gdynia 2001.
Prof. Eng. Eugeniusz Nowak - Institute of Logistics, National Defence University,
Poland
421
Marek KUBIŃSKI
THE CONDITIONING ASPECTS OF CONDUCTING MILITARY ACTIVITIES IN BUILT-UP AREA CONDITIONS
By the year 2050, seventy percent of the world's population will live in urban
areas. If there is an armed conflict, urban areas are expected to be the future
battlefield and combat in urban areas cannot be avoided. What is new is that
urban areas and urban populations have grown significantly during the late
twentieth century and have begun to exert a much greater influence on military
operations.
This presentation provides commanders and civilian population with a discussion of the principles of urban operations and tactics, techniques, and procedures for fighting in urban areas.
INTRODUCTION
Urban operations are not new to the Army. Throughout history, the Army has
fought an enemy on urban terrain. What is new is that urban areas and urban
populations have grown significantly during the late twentieth century and have
begun to exert a much greater influence on military operations. The worldwide
shift from a rural to an urban society and in the case of an armed conflict, the
requirement to transition from combat to stability and support operations have
affected the Army's structure and procedures1.
This paper provides the background information that facilitates the understanding of some aspects related to conducting military activities in built-up areas.
DEFINITIONS
1
US Army Science Board, Final Report of the Army Science Board Ad Hoc Group of Military
Operations in Built-Up Areas (MOBA) (Washington, D. C.: Office of the Assistant Secretary
of the Army [RDA], January 1979.
422
Below are presented some terms specific to urban operation.
Urban Operations (UO) are operations planned and conducted in an area of
operations that includes one or more urban areas. An urban area consists of a
topographical complex where man-made construction or high population density is the dominant feature2. UO usually occur when:
An urban area cannot be bypassed.
The urban area is key (or decisive) in setting and or shaping the conditions
for current or future operations.
An urban area is between two natural obstacles and cannot be bypassed.
The urban area is in the path of a general advance and cannot be surrounded
or bypassed.
Political or humanitarian concerns require the control of an urban area or
necessitate operations within it.
Urban Combat - These offensive and defensive operations are the part of UO
that include a high density of Infantry-specific tasks. Urban combat operations
are conducted to defeat an enemy on urban terrain who may be intermingled
with noncombatants. Because of this intermingling, and the necessity to limit
collateral damage, the rules of engagement (ROE) and the restrictions placed on
the use of combat power may be more restrictive than under other combat conditions3.
URBAN BATTLE SPACE
An urban area is a concentration of structures, facilities, and people that form
the economic and cultural focus for the surrounding area4. Operations are affected by all five categories of urban areas. Cities, metropolises, and megalopolises with associated urban sprawl cover hundreds of square kilometers.
Villages (population of 3,000 inhabitants or less).
Towns (population of over 3,000 to 100,000 inhabitants and not part of a
2
Roger J. Spiller, Sharp corners: urban operations at century's end, U.S. Army Command and
General Staff College Press, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
3
Combined arms operations in urban terrain, Field Manual No. 3-06.11 Headquarters Department of the Army Washington, DC, 28 February 2002.
4
Doctrine for Joint Urban Operations, Joint Publication 3-06, 16 September 2002, p. II-6.
423
major urban complex).
City (population over 100,000 to 1 million inhabitants).
Metropolis (population over 1 million to 10 million inhabitants).
5
Megalopolis (population over 10 million inhabitants) .
Urban areas mainly consist of man-made features such as buildings that provide
cover and concealment, limit fields of observation and fire, and block movement of forces, especially mechanized or armored forces. Thick-walled buildings provide ready-made, fortified positions. Another important aspect is that
urban areas complicate, confuse and degrade the commander's ability to identify and control his forces. All these factors will influence the urban battle
space.
Commanders and leaders can enhance situational understanding by maintaining
a clear understanding of their urban battle space (Figure 1) which includes:
Figure 1. Urban battle space
Urban Airspace. Airspace provides a rapid avenue of approach into an
urban area. While aviation assets are unaffected by obstacles such as rub5
Ibidem, p. I-2.
424
ble, vehicles, or constructed barriers, they must consider power lines, towers and sign poles. Therefore task force reconnaissance elements have to
locate, identify, and report these obstacles to allow for improved flight
planning.
Supersurface (Tops of Buildings). The term "supersurface" refers only to
the top, roof, or apex of a structure. These areas can provide cover and concealment, limit or enhance observation and fields of fire, and, depending on
the situation, enhance, restrict, canalize, or block movement. Supersurface
areas can also provide concealed positions for snipers, automatic weapons,
light and medium antitank weapons, and man-portable air defense systems.
In many cases, they enable top-down attacks against the weakest points of
armored vehicles and unsuspecting aircraft.
Intrasurface (Interior of Buildings). The intrasurface refers to the floors
within the structural framework—the area from the surface level (ground)
up to, but not including, the structure's permanent roof or apex. Intense
combat engagements often occur in this intrasurface area, which is also
known for its widely diverse and complex nature. The intrasurface of a
building greatly limits what can be accomplished by reconnaissance and
surveillance systems, but, at the same time, enhances cover and concealment. Additionally, the intrasurface areas provide mobility corridors within
and between structures at upper levels for both friendly and enemy forces.
Intrasurface areas may also provide concealed locations for snipers, automatic weapons, light and medium antitank weapons, and man-portable air
defense systems. In many cases, they enable top-down attacks against the
weakest points of armored vehicles and unsuspecting aircraft.
Surface (Ground, Street, and Water Level). Streets are usually avenues
of approach. Streets and open areas provide a rapid approach for ground
movement in urban terrain. Units moving along streets can be canalized by
buildings and have little space for maneuver, while approaching across
large open areas such as parks and parking areas. Streets also expose forces
to observation and engagement by enemy elements. Obstacles on streets in
towns are usually more effective than those on roads in open terrain since
they are more difficult to bypass.
Subsurface (Underwater and Subterranean). Common subsurface areas,
425
which include subways, sewers, public utility systems, and cellars, can be
used as avenues of movement for dismounted elements. Both attacker and
defender can use subterranean routes to outflank or turn the opposition, or
to conduct infiltration, ambushes and counterattacks. Subsurface systems in
some urban areas are easily overlooked but can be important to the outcome of operations.
CHARACTERISTICS OF URBAN OPERATIONS
Due to political and societal changes that have taken place in the late twentieth
century, advances in technology, and the Army's growing role in maintaining
regional stability, UO are conducted across the full spectrum of offense, defense, stability, and support. The full spectrum of UO will affect how units
must plan and execute their assigned missions. The enemy's actions significantly affect the conditions of UO, which may transition from one condition to
another rapidly. Units may be conducting operations under different conditions
at two locations at the same time. The following definitions of the three general
conditions of UO provide clarity, focus, and a mental framework for commanders and leaders conducting tactical planning for UO6.
Urban Operations Under Surgical Conditions. This condition is the least
destructive and most tightly focused of all the conditions of UO. Operations
conducted under surgical conditions include special-purpose raids, small
precision strikes, or small-scale personnel seizures or arrests, focused psychological or civil affairs operations, or recovery operations. They may
closely resemble police operations by special weapons and tactics (special
teams). They may even involve cooperation between military or police
forces and host nation police. Though conventional units may not be directly involved in the actual operation, they may support it by isolating the
area or providing security or crowd control.
Urban Operations Under Precision Conditions. Under precision conditions, either the threat is thoroughly mixed with noncombatants or political
6
426
considerations require the use of combat power to be significantly more restrictive than UO under high-intensity conditions. Infantry units must routinely expect to operate under precision conditions, especially during stability and support operations.
Urban Operations Under High-Intensity Conditions. These conditions
include combat actions against a determined enemy occupying prepared
positions or conducting planned attacks. UO under high-intensity conditions require the coordinated application of the full combat power of the
joint combined arms team. Infantry units must be prepared at all times to
conduct violent combat under conditions of high-intensity UO.
Stability Operations and Support Operations. The Army has further
categorized military operations other than war (MOOTW) as stability and
support operations. Units conduct these operations, which are normally
short of actual combat, to support national policy. Recent examples include
famine relief operations in Mogadishu, Somalia; evacuation of noncombatants in Monrovia, Liberia; and peace enforcement in Bosnia.
Confusion and Crossover Between Conditions. As in Mogadishu, many
types of operations may occur at the same time and certain types of operations can easily be transformed into others by enemy actions. The specific
type of conditions may not have much meaning to the individual soldier,
but the ROE must be understood and adhered to by all.
The military units do not normally operate independently while conducting UO.
The battalions to which they are assigned will face a number of challenges during the planning and execution of UO. The most likely challenges that units
will face are discussed below.
Symmetrical and Asymmetrical Threats. In addition to being required to
face symmetrical threats, the military forces must be prepared to face
threats of an asymmetrical nature7.
Symmetrical threats are generally "linear" in nature and include those
threats that specifically confront the land force's combat power and capa7
See: Roger J. Spiller, Sharp corners: urban operations at century's end, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College Press, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Lloyd Matthews, ed.,
Challenging the United States Symmetrically and Asymmetrically: Can America be Defeated?
(Carlisle Barracks, PA: US Army War College, 1998).
427
bilities.
Asymmetrical threats may use the civilian population and infrastructure to
shield their capabilities from fires. Asymmetric threats may also attack the
military forces and civilian population with weapons of mass destruction
(WMD). Asymmetrical threats are most likely to be based in urban areas to
take advantage of the density of civilian population and infrastructure. Examples of asymmetrical threats include terrorist attacks; to include guerilla
warfare; and environmental attacks.
Minimization of Collateral Damage and Noncombatant Casualties. A
condition that commanders and leaders will be required to confront during
urban operations will be minimizing collateral damage and noncombatant
casualties. This will have to be balanced with mission accomplishment and
the requirement to provide force protection. Commanders must be aware of
the ROE and be prepared to request modifications when the tactical situation requires them. Changes in ROE must be rapidly disseminated throughout the military forces. Commanders and leaders must ensure that changes
to the ROE are clearly understood by all soldiers within the military component.
Quick Transition from Stability or Support Operations to Combat
Operations and Back8. Commanders and leaders must ensure that contingencies are planned to transition quickly from stability and support to combat operations and vice-versa. An escalation to combat is a clear indicator
that the stability or support operation failed. Units must always retain the
ability to conduct offensive and defensive operations. Preserving the ability
to transition allows units to maintain initiative while providing force protection. Subordinate commanders and leaders must be fully trained to recognize activities that would initiate this transition.
Many characteristics separate UO from other environments. Technological
9
advantages are often not very useful during UO . Air power may not be of any
assistance to an Infantry force fighting from buildings. An adept enemy will use
the technique of "hugging" military forces to deny them use of their over-
8
9
Doctrine for Joint Urban Operations, Joint Publication 3-06, 16 September 2002, p. II-13.
Military Operations on Urbanized Terrain (MOUT), FM 90-10, Chapter 1.
428
whelming firepower. The training and equipment for the fight against a mobile,
armored threat may not necessarily be of much use in urban areas. Urban combat is primarily a small unit Infantry fight, requiring significant numbers of
Infantry to accomplish the mission; however, combined arms must support the
Infantry. Urban combat is characterized by moment-to-moment decisions by
individual soldiers, which demonstrates the importance of ROE training. Commanders and leaders should facilitate this fight by anticipating what subordinates will need to accomplish the mission. Unit goals must be speed, precision,
and minimization of soldiers in close combat with the enemy. The greatest
threats might be snipers, grenade launchers, booby traps, and rocket-propelled
grenades. Soldiers can expect booby traps on doorways and windows and on
entrances to underground passageways.
Small-Unit Battles. Units fighting in urban areas often become isolated or
feel like they are isolated, making combat a series of small-unit battles.
Soldiers and squad or team leaders must have the initiative, skill, and courage to accomplish their missions while isolated from their parent units.
While the defense of an urban area can be conducted effectively with relatively small numbers of troops, the troop density required for an attack in
urban areas may be greater than for an attack in open terrain. Individual
soldiers must be trained and psychologically ready for this type of operation.
Urban operations require centralized planning and decentralized execution.
Therefore, effective vertical and horizontal communications are critical.
Leaders must trust their subordinates' initiative and skill, which can only
occur through training. The state of a unit's training and cohesion are vital,
decisive factors in the execution of operations in urban areas.
Noncombatants. Urban areas, by their very nature, are population centers.
Noncombatants will be present and will affect both friendly and threat
courses of action across the spectrum of UO. Besides the local inhabitants,
refugees, governmental and NGOs, and the international media are likely to
be present. For example, during the fighting in Grozny, 150,000 refugees
were added to a prefight population of 450,000. There were 50,000 civilian
casualties during the fight. Units must be prepared to deal with all categories of noncombatants
429
Increased Casualties. More casualties occur because of shattered glass,
falling debris, rubble, ricochets, urban fires, and falls from heights. Difficulty in maintaining situational awareness also contributes to this problem
because of increased risks of fratricide. Stress-related casualties and nonbattle injuries resulting from illnesses or environmental hazards, such as
contaminated water, toxic industrial materials, and so forth, also increase
the number of casualties.
Three-Dimensional Terrain. Friendly and threat forces will conduct operations in a three-dimensional battle space. Engagements can occur on the
surface, above the surface, or below the surface of the urban area. Additionally, engagements can occur inside and outside of buildings. Multistory
buildings will present the additional possibility of different floors within
the same structure being controlled by either friendly or threat forces.
Need for Combined Arms. While UO historically have consisted of a high
density of Infantry-specific tasks, UO conducted purely by Infantry units
have proven to be unsound. Properly tasked-organized combined arms
teams consisting primarily of Infantry, engineers, and armor supported by
other combat and support assets have proven to be more successful both in
the offense and defense. The same concept is true for stability and support
operations, when the main effort may not necessarily consist of combat
units.
DEFENSIVE CONSIDERATIONS
Reasons for defending urban areas
The worldwide increase in urban sprawl has made it virtually impossible for
forces conducting operations to avoid cities and towns. For various reasons,
these areas must be defended10 (Figure 2).
Figure 2. Defence in the buil-up area
10
An Infantryman's Guide to Combat in Built-Up Areas, Field Manual 90-10-1, Headquarters
Department of The Army, Washington, DC 12 May 1993, Chapter 4, p. 4-1.
430
Certain urban areas contain strategic industrial, transportation, or economic
complexes that must be defended. Capitals and cultural centers may be defended for strictly psychological or national morale purposes even when
they do not offer a tactical advantage to the defender. Because of the sprawl
of such areas, significant combat power is required for their defense. The
decision to defend these complexes is made by political authorities or the
theater commander.
The defenders' need to shift and concentrate combat power, and to move
large amounts of supplies over a wide battle area may require retention of
vital transportation centers. Since most transportation centers serve large
areas, the commander must defend the urban area to control such centers.
Reasons for not defending urban areas
Reasons for not defending urban areas include the following11.
The location of the urban area does not support the overall defensive plan.
If the urban area is too far forward or back in a unit's defensive sector, is
isolated, or is not astride an enemy's expected avenue of approach, the
commander may choose not to defend it.
Some urban areas, mainly smaller ones, are bypassed by main road and
highway systems.
11
Ibidem, Chapter 4, p. 4-2.
431
Structures within the urban area do not adequately protect the defenders.
Extensive areas of lightly built or flammable structures offer little protection. Urban areas near flammable or hazardous industrial areas, such as refineries or chemical plants, should not be defended because of increased
danger of fire to the defenders.
The urban area has cultural, religious, or historical significance. The area
may have been declared an "open city" in which case, by international law,
it is demilitarized and must be neither defended nor attacked. The attacking
force must assume civil administrative control and treat the civilians as
noncombatants in an occupied country. The defender must immediately
evacuate and cannot arm the civilian population. A city can be declared
open only before it is attacked. The presence of large numbers of noncombatants, hospitals, or wounded personnel may also affect the commander's
decision not to defend an urban area.
Offensive considerations
Urban combat imposes a number of demands that are different from other field
conditions such as combined arms integration, fires, maneuver, and use of special equipment (Figure 3).
Figure 3. Offensive operation in the buil-up area
As with all offensive operations, the commander must retain the ability to fix
the enemy and maneuver against them. Unlike open terrain, units cannot maneuver quickly, even when mounted. Missions are more methodical. Military
432
forces must be prepared to operate independently or within a joint task force.
The commanders and their subordinates must also be prepared to conduct different missions simultaneously. For example, a battalion may establish checkpoints in one section of a city and clear enemy in another section simultaneously.
Reasons for attacking urban areas
Reasons for attacking urban areas include the following12:
The results of the commander and staff's estimate may preclude bypassing
as an option. The mission itself may dictate an attack of an urban area.
Cities control key routes of commerce and provide a tactical advantage to
the commander who controls them. Control of features, such as bridges,
railways, and road networks, can have a significant impact on future operations. The requirement for a logistics base, especially a port or airfield, may
play a pivotal role during a campaign.
The political importance of some urban areas may justify the use of time
and resources to liberate it. Capturing the city could deal the threat of a decisive psychological blow and/or lift the moral of the people within the city.
Reasons for not attacking urban areas
Conversely, reasons for not attacking urban areas include the following13:
The commander may decide to bypass if he determines no substantial threat
exists in the urban area that could interdict his unit's ability to accomplish
its mission. The commander's intent may dictate speed as essential to the
mission.
During the estimate process, the commander and staff may realize a sufficient force is not available to seize and clear the urban area, or enough
forces are available to accomplish the mission but cannot be logistically
supported. If the tactical situation allows, the commander should avoid attacks on urban areas.
12
13
433
The urban area may be declared an open city to prevent civilian casualties
or to preserve cultural or historical sites. An open city, by the law of land
warfare, is a city that cannot be defended or attacked.
NONCOMBATANTS
Unless combat has been taking place in an urban area for an extended period of
time, units will encounter large numbers of noncombatants. Noncombatants
may be encountered during offensive operations as a result of clearing buildings and city blocks or when preparing for defensive operations. The nature of
stability and support operations will most likely result in having to deal with
noncombatants. Units will have to know whether to expect noncombatants to be
friendly, neutral, or hostile and know how to deal with them. Handling noncombatants can be as simple as moving them out of immediate harm's way or as
complicated as noncombatant evacuation operations (NEO).
Combatants are uniformed enemy forces and other individuals who take an
active part in the hostilities in a way that poses a direct threat to personnel.
Noncombatants are civilians in the area of operations who are not armed
and are not taking an active part in the hostilities in a way that poses a direct threat to personnel14. Noncombatants can include refugees, local inhabitants affected by operations, civilian personnel belonging to governmental agencies, civilian personnel from NGOs, and media personnel. Military chaplains, medical personnel, prisoners of war, and the wounded and
sick are also noncombatants.
A prisoner of war (POW) is an individual, such as a member of the armed
forces or militia, a person who accompanies the armed forces without being
a member, or other category of person defined in the Geneva Convention
Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, who has fallen into the
power of the enemy.
A detained person is any individual who is in custody for committing hostile acts against US forces or committing serious criminal acts.
Dislocated Civilian. This is a broad term that includes a displaced person,
an evacuee.
14
Doctrine for Joint Urban Operations, Joint Publication 3-06, 16 September 2002, p. IV-8.
434
CONCLUSION
In summary, what can we conclude from all this?
First, it’s clear that there will be a higher likelihood of conducting urban
operations due to increased global urbanization.
Second, we know that urban operations will be more complicated. Full
spectrum operations will have to be conducted. Transitions will need to be
planned taking into account very complicated human factors.
Third, we will need to leverage military doctrine with the new technology
that is being developed which will enhance situational understanding and
provide nonlethal options. Improvements are being made in the areas of
command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance,
and reconnaissance.
Fourth, the need for combined arms will always exist. The army is addressing this with its transformation efforts.
Fifth, tactical situations can have strategic implications as we have seen in
Somalia and the Balkans. Soldiers and leaders will have to be trained to accomplish their missions in a very demanding environment.
Last, but certainly not least, the army must always be prepared to conduct
the close, tough fight and until technology provides other answers, soldiers
on the ground will bear the brunt of the fight.
SELECTIVE BIBLIOGRAPHY:
1.
An Infantryman's Guide to Combat in Built-Up Areas, Field Manual 90-10-1,
Headquarters Department of The Army, Washington, DC 12 May 1993.
2.
3.
Doctrine for Joint Urban Operations, Joint Publication 3-06, 16 September 2002.
4.
Lloyd Matthews, ed., Challenging the United States Symmetrically and Asymmetrically: Can America be Defeated? (Carlisle Barracks, PA: US Army War Col-
5.
lege, 1998).
Military Operations on Urbanized Terrain (MOUT), FM 90-10.
6.
Spiller Roger J., Sharp corners: urban operations at century's end, U.S. Army
Command
7.
and General Staff College Press, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
435
8.
US Army Science Board, Final Report of the Army Science Board Ad Hoc Group
of Military Operations in Built-Up Areas (MOBA) (Washington, D. C.: Office of
the Assistant Secretary of the Army [RDA], January 1979.
Dr Marek Kubiński - Faculty of Management and Command, National Defence University, Poland
436
Instructions to Authors
Invited are scholarly articles which address interdisciplinary issues on the broader impacts of science and technology on society as well as future studies. Examples of topics
covered include (but are not limited to): risks, dangers, disasters – models of analysis
and management, non-economic dimensions of e-society, from information society to
knowledge society, perspectives and assessments of new radical technologies (ICTs,
biotechnology, biomedicine etc.), socio-cultural aspects in the age of the Internet and
virtual reality, globalization – perspectives and multicriterial evaluation of impacts;
sustainability and the coming new world – looking for solutions.
Guidelines for Authors
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The volume of submitted papers should not exceed 42 000 characters (including
spaces and footnotes).
Any tables, charts and other graphic elements should be accompanied by editable
entry forms.
Papers should be linguistically and stylistically correct, and all quotes and references should be documented.
Only footnotes should be used in submitted texts.
Submitted articles should be accompanied by:
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Submitted material will not be returned.
437
Review Process
Scientific papers submitted to Transformations shall be subject to review:
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o
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Authors.
The editors are making all possible efforts to ensure that reviewers are appointed
from outside the research unit affiliated by the author of the publication.
In debatable cases (e.g. inconsistent or contradictory reviews) the editors decide if
the paper is to be admitted for publishing. The editors may decide to appoint an
additional reviewer.
Any detected breaches of ethical and scientific misconduct (in particular, ghostwriting and guest authorship) will be exposed and documented.
Reviewers (2013):
Prof. Peter BOŁTUĆ, University of Illinois, Springfield, IL, USA
Prof. Piotr CHMIELEWSKI, Kozminski University, Warsaw, Poland
Prof. Włodzimierz CHOJNACKI, School of Finance and Management, Warsaw, Poland
Prof. Andrzej KIEPAS, University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland
Dr Katarzyna PAWELEC, Medical University of Warsaw, Poland
Dr Filip PIERZCHALSKI, Kazimierz Wielki University, Bydgoszcz, Poland
Prof. Ewa POLAK, University of Gdansk, Gdańsk, Poland
Prof. Ryszard STĘPIEŃ, Pultusk Academy of Humanities,Pułtusk, Poland
Prof. Jan SZMYD, Pedagogical University of Cracow, Cracow, Poland
Prof. Bogdan ZELER, University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland
Members of the International Scientific Council and Editorial Staff
can also be reviewers.
438

TRANSFORMACJE No. 3-4 - Kozminski University

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