Fiona Martin’s Post

🇧🇪 Can you capture Belgium in a few drawings? #BelgiumforDummies That's the challenge #UCB presented to us to help explain our charming country to their international colleagues. On this National Day, we are excited to share these drawings titled "Belgium for Dummies." Here are a few key takeaways: 🤔 The institutional lasagna: Picture a multi-layered lasagna representing our governance structure: regions, communities, federation... A delight for those who love complexity! 💪 The three powers: Legislative, executive, judicial... Not a new TV series, but the foundations of our democracy. They must harmonize like a slightly off-key but endearing choir. And don’t forget, the King remains above the fray, maintaining a neutral stance. 📈 The major political trends: From left to right, center to extremes, Belgium is a political buffet offering something for everyone. Just be cautious of political indigestion! 🎙️ Multilingualism: Bonjour, goeiedag, guten Tag! We speak several languages here and are proud of it. While it can complicate things, it also makes our country uniquely diverse and rich. 🎨 The art of compromise: In Belgium, compromise is an art form. Like painting a fresco or playing the violin, it demands talent and patience. But when it works, it’s simply magnificent. 🧇 Waffle iron politics: If you do it for one, you must do it for the other; the waffle must always be equally cooked on both sides ;-) This can lead to peculiar outcomes, but ensuring everyone’s happiness is priceless. Ultimately, everyone gets to top their waffle their own way. Happy National Day to everyone! Thank you for celebrating the beauty of our beloved country, with all its subtleties and unique charm! A special thank you to Charline Desmecht for always pushing our creativity. Drawings by Studiotokyo Martin Dieryck

🎙 Before the summer break, I had the opportunity to attend and present at the International Communication Association Annual Conference. It was great to catch up with many familiar faces and make new connections. Thank you all for the lovely time 🙏 🤗 Good news as well regarding several of the presented pieces, many of which have been published in the meantime or are forthcoming. 👩💻 "A Technological Construction of Society: Comparing GPT-4 and Human Respondents for Occupational Evaluation in the UK" with Pawel Gmyrek and Dr. Gemma Newlands has been accepted at the British Journal of Industrial Relations and will be published #openaccess there soon. A separate post will follow once it's out. 🗺 "Mapping the Prestige and Social Value of Occupations in the Digital Economy" with Dr. Gemma Newlands was published (also #openaccess) a few weeks ago in the Journal of Business Research and is included in the July/180 volume of the journal: https://lnkd.in/eQCViDSY 💬 "Wayfarers in Cyberspace: A Temporal Investigation of Digital Nomads Based on Liquid Modernity Theory" with Yunhao Xiao came out (#openaccess) in February in the Journal of Travel Research: https://lnkd.in/eHSbzsux 🖥 "Inequalities in Privacy Cynicism: An Intersectional Analysis of Agency Constraints" with Christian Pieter Hoffmann and Giulia Ranzini was published in February as well (and #openaccess) in Big Data & Society: https://lnkd.in/ehAYBT3B ➡ This article is part of a special theme in the same journal on "Digital Resignation and Privacy Cynicism": https://lnkd.in/eh7w5VKg The special theme is almost complete and we will share it once it's finalized.

Call for papers - MSA Nordic Conference 2024 “The Art of Conviviality” 24th-25th October 2024 ❗️DEADLINE: 18th of February The Memory Studies Association Nordic together with The Institute for Urban Research (IUR) at Malmö University, Department of Society, Culture and Identity (SKI) at Malmö University and the network “A New Generation of Scholars of Antisemitism” at Lund University are hosting a #conference on memory’s role in sustaining or confronting racism. More specifically they are exploring it through the lense of #conviviality - the process of cohabitation and co-creation across differences. At this conference, they are focusing on the #Nordic setting and the effect that the cultural #memory of intercultural exchanges, especially colonialism, externally and internally, has had in the Nordic countries, with an emphasis on the last decades‘ far-right terrorist attacks. In that regard, they are calling for panel, roundtable, paper and art-based proposals that investigate potentialities, problematics, and preconditions of conviviality, co-creation and collaboration. They invite the contributors to go beyond offering critique from a detached position 🥳The conference itself will also be a convivial event, taking place in the midst of a cultural festival produced by movements and community groups in #Malmö. Please submit your proposals (max 400 words) with a short biographical note (max 200 words) to theartofconviviality@mau.se Read more abut the call for papers here: https://lnkd.in/dHFUTdhe

NAStartUp Accelerates Everyone. Here with the OECD - OCDE and European Commission, presenting a report on the challenges #SouthernItaly faces in creating #startups (for young people, women, seniors, and people with disabilities), along with #opportunities and recommendations. With Antonio Prigiobbo e Giancarlo Donadio

Let me share some exciting news in the strucure of an argument. Dear Panel, Statement: I have started a new position as the Chief of the SSE Riga Debate Society. Explanation: In the autumn, having never debated before, I joined one of the leading debate societies in Eastern Europe - the SSE Riga Debate Society. Following the disaster that was my first-ever debate speech, I participated in every possible tournament and workshop the society organized to improve my argumentation and public speaking skills. As one of the most active debaters in the society, it seemed natural to apply to lead the organization next academic year. So, in 2024/2025, the SSE Riga Debate Society will be led by Karlis Sadris and me. We’ll do our best to maintain the high quality of work that the society has built over the years. Illustration: Imagine randomly walking into a café to grab a quick cappuccino to go. Then you realize that the atmosphere of the place is so nice that you want to return there for your coffee every morning. Fast forward some time, and you’re the manager of the place because why not make the thing you love your work?

President Javier Milei was in Prague yesterday and I don't think I have ever heard names like Mises and Rothbard on such a public stage with so many journalists around. There's a good chance his reforms will fail. He is not a revolutionary and his reforms have to be approved by other politicians. And if he fails, even the slightest, the lefties (including the standard media) will glow. While statists can say "that wasn't real socialism" over and over again, our position is more difficult. Yet behind our attempts and partial successes are not millions of dead, but rising living standards worldwide. The fact that freedom works is there for all to see, there is nothing to prove. But Milei is one of the few who can show that a politician can promote and implement drastic changes. That it is an alibi to make excuses for "demand from the electorate", "complex political negotiations", "coalitions in government" or "not enough time during the election period".  Freedom works. Just stop making excuses and try your best. It was a great event, thanks to the Liberální institut and Deník e15 with Nikita Poljakov https://www.e15.cz/milei #anarchocapitalism #liberty #freemarket #javiermilei #ludwigvonmises #murrayrothbard #freedomworks

Emilia Manuela Lupeanu, Counsel, Muşat & Asociaţii will speak at Pria Competition Conference Romania on 12 March 2024, ARCUB, the most important Eastern European conference on competition. We will find out which are the sectors where the largest number of investigations were made, and in which sectors the Competition council will open new investigations, the 2023 Competition report and an overview for 2024. Also, we will find out from competition professionals which are the most important changes or case precedents for key business sector regarding competition. https://lnkd.in/dFurPhxk

Thank you to The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) 2024 convention committee (Co-chairs Kimberly Ward & Jerrold Jackson) for selecting my presentation out of 3300 submissions as a Visionary Session for this year's national convention. I look forward to sharing my passion, love, and enthusiasm for Gullah Geechee with ASHA participants. Please join me at my session as we ga krak we teet bout who we be. **Message from ASHA*** Surprise, and congratulations! We are delighted to inform you that your 2024 ASHA Convention presentation titled, "Krak Teet: Considerations for Gullah Geechee Language Inclusion", has been designated as an ASHA Convention Visionary Session. This special designation was developed specifically for the 2024 ASHA Convention, in keeping with our theme of "ELEVATE!". Your session has been selected as "Visionary" because it exemplifies forward-thinking and has the potential to significantly impact the field. Visionary sessions are characterized by their ability to foresee and address future challenges, shape industry practices, and lead transformative initiatives. Your proposal stood out because it met the following criteria:  Ascending: Introducing new ideas or methodologies, with the potential to make meaningful contributions, even at the early stages of research or practice. High Altitude: Based on strong evidence and theory, your work is advancing our field and beginning to show measurable impact. Pinnacle: Demonstrating solid evidence and theory, your session is driving systemic change and offering clear pathways for continued elevation in practice and research.

The Hungarian presidency will be a transition presidency. There will be little legislative activity. But a Council presidency is always important. We all know that Hungary is a difficult EU member and that there are many areas where Budapest takes positions that are not in the mainstream. The question is whether the government will use the Presidency to highlight the divisions or whether it will play the traditional role of the honest broker. My guess and my hope is they will do the latter and use the post election time to work towards more unity, mutual understanding and cooperation. I know from my work with the HU presidency in 2011 that they have a very good administration and that they can do a good job if the political will is there to do just that.

Are you working on your abstract for Athens 2024? Here are some tips to improve your chances of success - don’t forget to submit by 8 January! https://buff.ly/479vuJJ #IPCRGAthens2024