Abstract

The concept of reflexivity is key within the body of work of Anthony Giddens because it links basic topics such as agency, routines and institutions. A bibliographic analysis examines reflexivitys different uses and limitations. According to the problem about the link between the micro and the macro in sociology, the first part identifies the role of reflexivity within the theory of structuration. Then the analysis shifts to the role of Reflexivity in the production, reproduction, and change of modern institutions. Finally, as means to increase the analytic usefulness of the concept, a proposal for three uses of the term reflexivity is discussed. The proposal also highlights the perspective of observation and the subject of reflexivity. The proposed distinctions are put into play in order to argue against the apparent contradiction between reflexivity and routines. The conclusion highlights on several of the limitations in Giddens’ work and show a few ways to advance with the study of Reflexivity.

Abstract

Education about the media has been developing in the UK for at least 40 years. Various accounts of that history can be found elsewhere; this paper will just attempt to sketch out key features of the current scene, and to point readers to sources of more substantial information. Given that I work for the British Film Institute, a key player in this field, there is bound to be some bias in this account towards the BFI’s perspective: my defence is that, as every media educator knows, no account is ever completely unbiased.

Abstract

This work studies the organization of less-than-truckload trucking from a contractual point of view. We show that the huge number of owner-operators working in the industry hides a much less fragmented reality. Most of those owner-operators are “quasi-integrated” in higher organizational structures. This hybrid form is generally more efficient than vertical integration because, in the Spanish institutional environment, it lessens serious moral hazard problems, related mainly to the use of the vehicles, and makes it possible to reach economies of scale and density. Empirical evidence suggests that what leads organizations to vertically integrate is not the presence of such economies but hold-up problems, related to the existence of specific assets. Finally, an international comparison hints that institutional constraints are able to explain differences in the evolution of vertical integration across countries. Document type: Preprint

Abstract

Containerisation has led to increased competition between ports and put pressure on the use of scarce hinterland infrastructure. Having good coordination between all actors involved in port-related transport, including infrastructural access to the hinterland, is required to be successful in container port competition. In hinterland chains, different coordination problems exist for different reasons. As a response, different public and private actors undertake coordination arrangements to solve coordination problems. The goal of this thesis is to advance the understanding of how actors in port-related transport chains improve this coordination. The core of the thesis consists of five article. They form a ‘pattern of discovery’ of different issues related to coordination in hinterland chains applying different theoretical lenses from inter-organisational theories in which Institutional Economics plays a central role. This thesis introduces a framework to analyse coordination in hinterland chains. The framework helps to cope with the complexity of coordination in port-related transport chains and it is a tool to explore coordination issues systematically."br/""br/"The first study shows that different coordination problems exist in transport by road, rail, and waterway. These coordination problems occur due to the imbalance between the costs and benefits of coordination, a lack of willingness to invest, the strategic considerations of the actors involved, and risk-averse behaviour. Based on literature review, desk research, interviews, and cases of coordination arrangements from the port of Rotterdam, we introduce a typology of four main categories of coordination arrangements. The categories are inspired by Transaction Cost Economics, theory on Property Rights, and Collective Action theory, and include: introduction of incentives, creation of interfirm alliances, changing scope of the organisation, and creating collective action. In the empirical part, coordination arrangements from container bargingin the port of Rotterdam are discussed and linked with the relevant coordination problem."br/""br/"The second study further explores coordination arrangements in the port of Rotterdam taking the typology from the first article as a starting point. Key characteristics related to the complexity of the transaction (number of actors involved, group character, and coordination problems to be solved) and of the coordination arrangements (type of coordination arrangement, function of actors involved, function of the initiator, power base of the initiator, transport mode and use of ICT) are defined. The analysis shows that transport companies are the most important initiator of coordination arrangements. The Rotterdam Port Authority and terminal operators also play an important role. This article assumes a relationship between the chosen coordination arrangement and the complexity of the transaction. More actors involved leads to more complexity, resulting in more hierarchical coordination arrangements; the involvement of public actors or the port authority reduces transaction costs. When the group size is large, initiators of coordination arrangements do not enforce coordination, but act mainly as a stimulator or enabler (leader firms). The analysis shows that ICT is usually applied to solve the lack of operational coordination, and when the group size is large."br/""br/"The third article further explores one main category of coordination arrangements, namely ‘changing scope’, thereby focussing on two actors, namely shipping lines and terminal operating companies. By making use of insights from Transaction Cost Economics and the Resource-based View, the paper helps to understand why and how shipping lines and terminal operating companies vertically integrate into intermodal transport and in inland terminals. The paper discusses a number of cases from the Hamburg–Le Havre range, where shipping lines and terminal operating companies have changed their scope. After the theoretical and empirical analysis, the papers draws conclusions on the explanatory power of the theories. From a theoretical point of view, and based on empirical observations, the study shows that three other aspects are relevant to take into account: the geographical scale of vertical integration strategies, the elements of power and culture of the firms, and the role of the formal institutional environment."br/""br/"In the fourth study, the focus is on including the role of the institutional environment and dynamics in the analysis of coordination in hinterland chains. Based on an in-depth study into coordination in liberalised railway market in the Port of Rotterdam, empirical illustrations are used to adjust the Transaction Cost Economics approach towards a dynamic model influenced by Douglas North's theory on economic and institutional change. The study states that such a framework is relevant to study port-related railway chains that changed from a single and homogenous actor constellation to a multiple and heterogeneous actor constellation. In the adapted framework, the institutional environment is not only a constraint but also an instrument creating possibilities for improving coordinating behaviour, and allowing interaction between the coordination arrangements and the institutional environment."br/""br/"The last article deepened the insights on causes of coordination problems focussing on container barging in the port of Rotterdam. A multidisciplinary analysis is performed, analysing possible institutional reasons that cause coordination problems. The study shows that container barging has a large track record of coordination arrangements. The sector is embedded in a history with many vertical and horizontal alliances. Although the Inland Waterway Transport sector can be characterised as conservative and individualistic, container barge operators act with an entrepreneurial, adaptive and future-oriented spirit. The degree of organisation among barge operators and inland terminal operators, active in organising barge transport, is relatively high, reflecting an ability to work improve coordination in the future. The present division of property and decision rights forms a bad condition for future improvement. This includes the missing contract between the barge operator and the deep-sea terminal operator, and between the barge operator or skipper and the infrastructure manager. This is difficult to change in the short term.

Abstract

Containerisation has led to increased competition between ports and put pressure on the use of scarce hinterland infrastructure. Having good coordination between all actors involved in port-related transport, including infrastructural access to the hinterland, is required to be successful in container port competition. In hinterland chains, different coordination problems exist for different reasons. As a response, different public and private actors undertake coordination arrangements to solve coordination problems. The goal of this thesis is to advance the understanding of how actors in port-related transport chains improve this coordination. The core of the thesis consists of five article. They form a ‘pattern of discovery’ of different issues related to coordination in hinterland chains applying different theoretical lenses from inter-organisational theories in which Institutional Economics plays a central role. This thesis introduces a framework to analyse coordination in hinterland chains. The framework helps to cope with the complexity of coordination in port-related transport chains and it is a tool to explore coordination issues systematically."br/""br/"The first study shows that different coordination problems exist in transport by road, rail, and waterway. These coordination problems occur due to the imbalance between the costs and benefits of coordination, a lack of willingness to invest, the strategic considerations of the actors involved, and risk-averse behaviour. Based on literature review, desk research, interviews, and cases of coordination arrangements from the port of Rotterdam, we introduce a typology of four main categories of coordination arrangements. The categories are inspired by Transaction Cost Economics, theory on Property Rights, and Collective Action theory, and include: introduction of incentives, creation of interfirm alliances, changing scope of the organisation, and creating collective action. In the empirical part, coordination arrangements from container bargingin the port of Rotterdam are discussed and linked with the relevant coordination problem."br/""br/"The second study further explores coordination arrangements in the port of Rotterdam taking the typology from the first article as a starting point. Key characteristics related to the complexity of the transaction (number of actors involved, group character, and coordination problems to be solved) and of the coordination arrangements (type of coordination arrangement, function of actors involved, function of the initiator, power base of the initiator, transport mode and use of ICT) are defined. The analysis shows that transport companies are the most important initiator of coordination arrangements. The Rotterdam Port Authority and terminal operators also play an important role. This article assumes a relationship between the chosen coordination arrangement and the complexity of the transaction. More actors involved leads to more complexity, resulting in more hierarchical coordination arrangements; the involvement of public actors or the port authority reduces transaction costs. When the group size is large, initiators of coordination arrangements do not enforce coordination, but act mainly as a stimulator or enabler (leader firms). The analysis shows that ICT is usually applied to solve the lack of operational coordination, and when the group size is large."br/""br/"The third article further explores one main category of coordination arrangements, namely ‘changing scope’, thereby focussing on two actors, namely shipping lines and terminal operating companies. By making use of insights from Transaction Cost Economics and the Resource-based View, the paper helps to understand why and how shipping lines and terminal operating companies vertically integrate into intermodal transport and in inland terminals. The paper discusses a number of cases from the Hamburg–Le Havre range, where shipping lines and terminal operating companies have changed their scope. After the theoretical and empirical analysis, the papers draws conclusions on the explanatory power of the theories. From a theoretical point of view, and based on empirical observations, the study shows that three other aspects are relevant to take into account: the geographical scale of vertical integration strategies, the elements of power and culture of the firms, and the role of the formal institutional environment."br/""br/"In the fourth study, the focus is on including the role of the institutional environment and dynamics in the analysis of coordination in hinterland chains. Based on an in-depth study into coordination in liberalised railway market in the Port of Rotterdam, empirical illustrations are used to adjust the Transaction Cost Economics approach towards a dynamic model influenced by Douglas North's theory on economic and institutional change. The study states that such a framework is relevant to study port-related railway chains that changed from a single and homogenous actor constellation to a multiple and heterogeneous actor constellation. In the adapted framework, the institutional environment is not only a constraint but also an instrument creating possibilities for improving coordinating behaviour, and allowing interaction between the coordination arrangements and the institutional environment."br/""br/"The last article deepened the insights on causes of coordination problems focussing on container barging in the port of Rotterdam. A multidisciplinary analysis is performed, analysing possible institutional reasons that cause coordination problems. The study shows that container barging has a large track record of coordination arrangements. The sector is embedded in a history with many vertical and horizontal alliances. Although the Inland Waterway Transport sector can be characterised as conservative and individualistic, container barge operators act with an entrepreneurial, adaptive and future-oriented spirit. The degree of organisation among barge operators and inland terminal operators, active in organising barge transport, is relatively high, reflecting an ability to work improve coordination in the future. The present division of property and decision rights forms a bad condition for future improvement. This includes the missing contract between the barge operator and the deep-sea terminal operator, and between the barge operator or skipper and the infrastructure manager. This is difficult to change in the short term.

Abstract

ddis Ababa, with an area of 540 km2 and with population of 3.1 million people is experiencing a rapid pace of socio-economic and physical transformation. The city is not only the political, commercial, economic and financial hub of the country but also an international city serving as the seat of the African Union and various international organizations. Alike many African Cities, Addis Ababa has been undergoing a high rate of urbanization. This process of rapid urbanization has resulted in the increase in the size of the population and the physical expansion of the city. As a consequence, travel demand and length of the trip are increasing. Transportation plays a key role in determining the socioeconomic development and shaping the spatial development framework of the city. Equally important, transportation as derived demand is also a fundamental means for residents to fulfill their various activities. In Addis Ababa motorization, although on the increase, is low and public transportation is the most important mode of motorized mobility for the large majority of the city’s population. There are various formal and informal operators of the public transport mainly operating on individual basis. It is estimated that there are over 18,000 public transport vehicles that are daily running in Addis Ababa, most of them low capacity vehicles. Despite its importance, the public transport sector not only suffers from shortage, insufficient capital investment, and until recently lack of clear governmental policy and leadership but also from the absence of integrated approach to its operation, planning and management.Many cities in the North have embarked on integrating the provision of public transportation for nearly half a century now. In these cities, integration in public transportation has been recommended as a viable instrument for providing high quality and seamless urban transport and enhancing sustainable urban development. African cities which are characterized by their high urbanization rate, low level of private car ownership, deficient public transportation system and significant financial constraints lack public transportation integration experiences. The question is then ‘how do African cities replicate and implement public transport integration practices?’ that have been originally developed for the Cities of the North. The thesis attempts to answer this question and analyses the different forms of public transport integration. It then proposes a framework for implementing integrated public transport as a sustainable means of urban mobility in Addis Ababa.; Addis-Abeba, qui s’étend sur 540 km2 et compte 3,1 millions d’habitants, connait aujourd’hui des transformations socio-économiques et spatiales rapides. Elle n’est pas seulement le coeur politique, commercial, économique et financier du pays mais aussi une ville internationale accueillant le siège de l’Union africaine et d’autres institutions internationales. Comme d’autres villes africaines, elle connait un rythme élevé d’urbanisation. Ce processus a impliqué la croissance du nombre d’habitants mais aussi une extension spatiale accrue. En conséquence, la demande de déplacements et la longueur des parcours ont augmenté. Le transport joue ainsi un rôle clé, pesant sur le développement socio-économique et la configuration de l’espace urbain. Tout aussi important, en tant que demande dérivée, il joue sur la capacité des citadins à accomplir leurs diverses activités. La motorisation des ménages restant faible en dépit d’une lente progression, le transport public constitue le principal moyen d’accès à une mobilité motorisée pour la majorité de la population. L’offre est constituée d’une multitude d’opérateurs formels et informels, travaillant selon un schéma artisanal. On estime à plus de 18 000 les véhicules de transport public, la plupart de faible capacité, qui parcourent chaque jour les rues d’Addis-Abeba. En dépit de son importance, le transport public souffre de capacités d’investissement insuffisantes ainsi que, jusqu’à récemment, du manque d’une politique publique claire et affirmée. Il pâtit également de l’absence d’une approche intégrée, pour sa planification, sa gestion et sa mise en oeuvre. De nombreuses villes du Nord, parfois depuis près d’un demi-siècle, ont choisi de construire un service intégré de transport public. L’intégration y est vue comme un outil viable pour offrir un transport urbain de haute qualité et « sans couture », permettant un développement urbain durable. Par contre, les villes africaines, caractérisées par une urbanisation rapide, des taux d’équipement automobile faibles, un système de transport public déficient et des contraintes financières majeures manquent de telles expériences d’intégration du transport public. Notre question est donc : « Comment les villes africaines peuvent-elles reproduire et mettre en oeuvre des politiques d’intégration du transport public ? », originellement développées dans les villes du Nord. La thèse essaie d’apporter des éléments de réponse à cette question. Elle s’appuie sur une analyse des différentes formes d’intégration du transport public. Puis elle propose un schéma de conception et de mise en oeuvre d’un système de transport public intégré, appréhendé comme un outil de mobilité urbaine durable pour Addis-Abeba.

Abstract

This paper studies the social structure of Spanish and Latin American communication researchers through the representation and analysis of three coauthorship networks at the national, institutional, and individual level. Such networks are built from papers indexed in the ‘Communication’ category by Web of Science and published between 2000 and 2019 by authors attached to a Spanish or Latin American institution (n = 5,040). The goal is to characterize the structural features of each network, identify the most central actors, and illustrate the most relevant relationships among nodes. The results show that the most central country is Spain, followed by the USA and other European nations. Among the Latin American states, Brazil, Chile, and Mexico are placed at the most relevant nodes. Latin American collaboration is preferentially addressed to the USA, especially since 2015. Regarding institutions, Spanish public universities in Madrid and Catalonia achieve the highest degrees of centrality. However, the most central Latin American institutions are private universities. The most relevant authors are Spanish researchers until 2015, when they are replaced at the top by Latin American scholars. Collaboration at both the individual and institutional levels shows a deep regional tendency, while the internationalization of researchers and universities is only more visible since 2015. This work identifies a tendency towards internal cohesion at different network levels as the number of connected nodes grows in each period. We conclude that a proper Spanish-Latin America community of communication researchers does not exist.

Abstract

Within the current panorama of science evaluation, the limitations of citation indexes to study the social sciences and humanities have been the subject of wide debate. To resolve this situation, different products have been created for use in national contexts, since they cover certain aspects not contained in more international indices. An example is the In-RECS family, where an indicator such as the impact factor of Eugene Garfield is defined, but its contribution lies in the ability to evaluate research in Spain by obtaining citation indicators. This paper thus highlights the need to create new products for research evaluation in general, but particularly in the social sciences and humanities. The context in which different alternatives arise and are developed to evaluate existing journals is presented, along with Dialnet Metrics, a citation index developed by the Dialnet Foundation in collaboration with the EC3 Group and dozens of Spanish universities. Based on an analysis of the citations of source journals from different subject areas, Dialnet Metrics provides indicators to evaluate the research impact at different levels. This bibliometric product enables contextualized analysis at the micro (researchers), meso (journals), and macro (areas and universities) levels. Finally, the content, data volumes, and structure of this citation index are described quantitatively.