Suchergebnisse

Los supuestos de responsabilidad tributaria por levantamiento del velo los introdujo la Ley 36/2006, de 29 de noviembre, de Medidas para la Prevención del Fraude Fiscal en los epígrafes g) y h) del artículo 43.1 de la Ley 58/2003, de 17 de diciembre, General Tributaria (en adelante, LGT). Dicha medida constituye una de las novedades más importantes de la señalada Ley 36/2006, de 29 de noviembre, pues confiere a la Administración, tal y como indica la Exposición de Motivos de la repetida Ley, la oportunidad de reaccionar directamente «contra determinadas estrategias fraudulentas enquistadas en nuestro sistema y tendentes a conseguir, cuando no la exoneración de facto de las obligaciones contributivas, un retardo elevadísimo en su cumplimiento al tener que acudir a la tutela judicial en fase declarativa». Se trata, continúa la referida Exposición de Motivos, de supuestos que se inspiran en la técnica judicial del levantamiento del velo, y que se engarzan «con los límites y requisitos que la jurisprudencia del Tribunal Supremo ha perfilado, con la única salvedad de su novedosa configuración al amparo de la autotutela administrativa». Sin embargo, solamente el supuesto del epígrafe g) del indicado artículo 43.1 de la LGT consiste en soslayar la personalidad jurídica y alcanzar a las personas que integran su sustrato, pues el epígrafe h) del mismo precepto recoge un supuesto de alzamiento de bienes. Además, la responsabilidad subsidiaria del artículo 43.1.g) y h) de la LGT tampoco observa el carácter excepcional y de «último recurso» de la técnica judicial de referencia, ya que es posible declarar la misma sin agotar previamente las restantes alternativas. A nuestro juicio, unos supuestos que persiguen inspirarse en la técnica judicial del levantamiento del velo no deberían desconocer jamás el elemento confígurador que mejor define su empleo. Asimismo, opinamos que el uso indiscriminado de esta técnica atentaría directamente contra el principio de seguridad jurídica, pues transformaría la excepción en regla, dado que soslaya la personalidad jurídica, atributo que la Ley reconoce enfática y formalmente. Consideramos también inadmisible el empleo de conceptos tan vagos e imprecisos en la redacción del artículo 43.1 .g) y h) de la LGT. En efecto, el legislador utiliza, con una enorme vaguedad conceptual e indeterminación, conceptos como «control efectivo total o parcial, directo o indirecto», «voluntad rectora común», «unicidad de personas y esferas» y «confusión o desviación patrimonial», los cuales no defme, no existiendo un significado concreto para ellos en nuestro ordenamiento jurídico. Esta imprecisión es, a nuestro entender, inaceptable, pues una figura que persigue superar la inseguridad que otra genera no debería ser tan insegura como la primera, pues dicha configuración la vacía de contenido. A mayor abundamiento, consideramos que la utilización de conceptos tan vagos e imprecisos conculca la técnica de los actos reglados del artículo 6 de la LGT y el principio de seguridad jurídica, pues confiere a la Administración potestades discrecionales tan amplias que ni tan siquiera conjugan con el empleo de conceptos jurídicos indeterminados. Y para terminar, opinamos que el procedimiento para derivar la sanción al responsable tributario contraviene los principios de proporcionalidad y de personalidad de la sanción. Efectivamente, la sanción que se derive al responsable se habrá calculado sobre la base de la conducta del deudor principal, sin considerar el comportamiento del propio responsable, infringiéndose, de este modo, el referido principio de proporcionalidad. De igual forma, estimamos aue la extensión de la resoonsabilidad tributaria del artículo 43.1.g) y h) de la LGT a las sanciones del deudor principal vulnera el principio de personalidad de la sanción, pues satisfacer la sanción del deudor principal sin poderse reembolsar su importe es tanto como ser sancionado directamente, cobertura que proscribe categóricamente el principio que ahora examinamos. El principio de personalidad de la sanción obliga a vincular el tipo objetivo y subjetivo de la infracción con el autor de la misma, luego prohíbe sancionar a quien no realizó la acción u omisión tipificada en la Ley {nemo punitur pro alieno delicio). Por estas razones, abogamos porque el legislador sancione directamente al responsable tributario, a través de tipos infractores autónomos, los cuales atribuyan al mismo la condición de infractor. Dicha medida posibilitaría respetar los indicados principios de proporcionalidad y de personalidad de la sanción, ya que sería el propio responsable quien cometiera la infracción, y la sanción se calcularía sobre la base de su conducta. ; The assumptions of tax liability by lifting the veil introduced Law 36/2006 of 29 November, on Measures for the Prevention of Tax Fraud in sections g) and h) of Article 43.1 of Law 58/2003 of 17 December, General Tax (hereinafter, LGT). This measure is one of the most important developments of the appointed Law 36/2006 of 29 November, it gives the Administration, as indicated in the Explanatory Memorandum of repeated law, the opportunity to react directly «against certain strategies fraudulent encysted in our system and aimed at achieving, if not de facto exemption from tax liabilities, an extremely high delay in compliance by having to seek judicial protection in declaratory phase». It continues the aforementioned explanatory memorandum of assumptions that are inspired by the judicial technique of lifting the veil, and that enshrine «the limits and requirements that the Supreme Court's jurisprudence has outlined, with the sole exception of its novel configuration under the administrative autonomy». However, only the assumption of heading g) of Article 43.1 of the indicated LGT is to sidestep the legal personality and reach people within its substrate, as the epigraph h) of that provision includes a case of concealment of assets. In addition, Article 43.1 .g vicarious liability) and h) of the LGT also noted the exceptional nature and 'last resort' of judicial reference technique, since it is possible to declare the same without first exhausting the remaining alternatives. In our view, some alleged that seek inspiration from the judicial technique of lifting the veil should not ever ignore the structuring element that best defines their employment. We also believe that the indiscriminate use of this technique would run directly against the principle of legal certainty, it would transform the exception the rule, since it ignores the legal personality attribute that the law recognizes emphatically and formally. We also consider inadmissible the use of concepts such vague and imprecise in the wording of Article 43.1.g) and h) of the LGT. Indeed, the legislature has used, with a huge conceptual vagueness and indeterminacy, concepts such as "subtotal effective control or direct or indirect", "common leadership will", "uniqueness of people and spheres" and "confusion or patrimonial deviation" which is not defined, there are no concrete meaning for them in our legal system. This imprecision is, in our view, unacceptable as a figure who seeks to overcome the insecurity that generates another should not be as insecure as the first, because that configuration empty of content. What is more, we believe that the use of concepts such vague and imprecise contravenes the technique of the regulated acts of Article 6 of the LGT and the principle of legal certainty, it gives the Administration so broad discretionary powers that not even combined with the use of legal concepts. And finally, we believe that the procedure for deriving the sanction to responsible tax contravenes the principles of proportionality and personality of the sanction. Indeed, the sanction arising responsible will have been calculated on the basis of the conduct of the principal debtor, regardless responsible behavior itself, in breach thus, that principle of proportionality. Similarly, we believe that the extension of the tax liability Article 43.1.g) and h) of the LGT sanctions the principal debtor violates the principle of personality of the sanction, because the sanction meet the principal debtor without being able to repay the amount is as much as be sanctioned directly, coverage categorically proscribe the principle that we now examine. The principle of personality of the sanction requires linking the objective and subjective type of offense the author of it, then prohibits punish those who did not perform the act or omission typified in the law (nemo pro delicto punitur alieno). For these reasons, we advocate because the legislature directly punish the responsible tax through autonomous offenders types, which attributed the same status offender. This measure would make it possible to respect the stated principles of proportionality and personality of the sanction, since it would be responsible himself who committed the offense, and the penalty is calculated on the basis of their behavior.

La figura de Jorge Cuesta es del todo desconocida en las letras hispánicas a este lado del Atlántico. Sin embargo, su talento crítico y su talante inquisitivo lo llevó a elucidar algunas ideas sobre la identidad mexicana que han resultado claves para legitimar el debate sobre la nación moderna -de su país y, por ende, la latinoamericana- y su derecho a participar en la cultura occidental y universal. El manifiesto desconocimiento y desinterés por su obra en el contexto español contrasta con la atención al alza que Jorge Cuesta ha experimentado en las últimas décadas en México. Es una figura que ha sido reiteradamente reivindicada por plumas incuestionables de generaciones posteriores, como el premio Cervantes José Emilio Pacheco, Carlos Monsiváis, Jorge Volpi, o el nobel Octavio Paz, que reconoce abiertamente que sus ideas sobre la identidad mexicana no hubieran sido posibles sin el magisterio de Jorge Cuesta. Pero también Jorge Cuesta es un poeta maldito, el primer poeta maldito de México, el único escritor mexicano dueño de una leyenda. Si las letras mexicanas necesitaban uno, Cuesta desde luego ofreció, como veremos, la oportunidad inmejorable para hacer de su persona y personaje el paradigma mexicano del malditísimo. Por otra parte tampoco su obra es ajena a este carácter de excepcionalidad: su poesía es compleja y por momentos inescrutable, glacial, deshumanizada, enmarañada en un tema obsesionante, el tiempo, y concluye con un monumental poema, el Canto a un Dios mineral, considerado de los más oscuros e indescifrables de la poesía moderna en español. Por otro lado, sus ensayos trataron temas que van desde la política, la economía, la educación, la universidad o la filosofía, pasando por la literatura, la pintura, la música y el teatro, hasta el sexo, el turismo o la química. A lo largo de este trabajo intentaremos sacar a la luz algunos aspectos de la obra en prosa de este pensadora fin de ofrecer una visión que huya de los panegíricos entusiastas, que hasta ahora han estado dominando en los comentarios sobre nuestro autor. Con objeto de encuadrar y contextualizar el comentario de la obra ensayística de Jorge Cuesta, en una primera parte de este estudio trataremos de trabajar sobre algunos conceptos que nos permitan mejor ubicar su pensamiento dentro de los márgenes de la modernidad. Sirviéndonos de trabajos en los que se ha tratado de acotar esta compleja noción estableciendo sus vínculos tanto con lo antiguo, como con la posmodernidad y con una así llamada antimodernidad, trataremos de establecer siquiera unas cuantas coordenadas básicas que nos permitan definir la modernidad occidental, al objeto de contar con unos márgenes teóricos conceptuales entre los que polémicamente podamos discutir la obra de Cuesta y en general la de los Contemporáneos, el grupo literario al que perteneció. Será interesante comprobar, bien que sea brevemente, cómo se ha desarrollado el proceso modernizador en América Latina y concretamente en México, puesto que una de las tareas conscientemente asumidas por las élites culturales y políticas en estos países ha sido efectivamente propiciar la modernidad y la incorporación de los mismos a las corrientes internacionales de circulación de ideas. Posteriormente a esta parte introductoria y conceptual trataremos brevemente algunos aspectos relacionados con los vínculos entre canon, desarrollo y literatura, para dirigirnos al que es el momento cuasi fundacional de la modernidad mexicana, la Revolución. Este es el hecho disparador de todas las narrativas que tratan de construir la identidad moderna de México y sólo a partir de aquí pueden entenderse los diversos acontecimientos cruciales que en el campo de la cultura implicaron a Cuesta y los Contemporáneos. Por último, la parte final del trabajo se dedica a hacer un repaso temático que no puede ser exhaustivo de las aportaciones de Jorge Cuesta a los diferentes aspectos de la cultura por los que se interesó. Hemos dividido esta sección quizá de un modo un poco artificial, pues a veces se hace difícil adjudicar un escrito de Cuesta a una temática específica, ya que en sus ensayos se lanzan numerosas sugerencias cruzadas entre ellos que los implican en un pensamiento complejo bastante poco susceptible de delimitaciones parciales. No obstante de esta dificultad nos hemos decidido a ordenar sus escritos posteriores a 1932 en ámbitos concretos que nos ayuden a entresacar algunas de sus ideas fundamentales sobre pintura, educación, música o literatura, pero sin dejar de atender a los vislumbres de esa coherencia, de esa cierta unidad no sistemática, que hace del pensamiento de Cuesta un objeto de investigación y estudio altamente estimulante, y que gira en torno a conceptos como desarraigo, clasicismo y universalismo. ; The figure of Jorge Cuesta is completely unknown in the Hispanic letters on this side of the Atlantic. However, his critical talent and inquisitive spirit led him to elucidate some ideas about the Mexican identity that have been the key to legitimize the debate on the modernnation -of his country and therefore of Latin America- and its right to participate in Western and universal culture. The obvious disregard and lack of interest on his work in the Spanish context contrasts witht he up ward attention Jorge Cuesta has experienced in recent decades in Mexico. It is a figure that has been repeatedly claimed by unquestioned writters of recent generations, such as the Cervantes Prize Jose Emilio Pacheco, Carlos Monsivais, Jorge Volpi, or Nobel Octavio Paz, who openly acknowledges that his ideas about the Mexican identity would not have been possible without the teaching of Jorge Cuesta. But Jorge Cuesta is a damned poet, the first damned poet of Mexico, the only Mexican writer who owns a legend. If Mexican letters needed one, Cuesta, of course, offered the opportunity, as we will see, to make his person and character the Mexican paradigm of the damned poet. On the other hand, his work is not strange to the character of exceptionality: his poetry is complex and inscrutable, glacial, dehumanized, tangled in a haunting theme: time, and concludes with a monumental poem, Canto a un diosmineal, considered the darkest and indecipherable of modern poetry in Spanish. More over, his essays covered topics ranging from politics, economy, education, university or philosophy, to literature, painting, music and theater, even sex, tourism or chemistry. Throughout this work we will try to bring to light some aspects of the prose work of this thinker to provide a vision that flees from enthusiast panegyrics, whichuntil now have been dominating the comments on our author. In order to frame and contextualize the commentary on the essays of Jorge Cuesta, in the first part of this study we will try cover some concepts that allow us to locate better his thinking within the margins of modernity. Making use of works in which the authors have tried to narrow this complex notion establishing tiesbothold and new, as postmodernism and a so-called anti-modernity, we will try to establish a few basic coordinates that allow us to define Western modernity, in order to have conceptual theoretical margins among which we can discuss the work of Cuesta and of Los Contemporáneos, the literary group he belonged to. It will be interesting to see, even briefly, how the modernization process in Latin America and specifically in Mexico was developed, since one of the tasks consciously assumed by cultural and political elites in these countries has been effectively to promote modernity and the incorporation to international flows of circulation of ideas. Following this introductory and conceptual part we will briefly discuss some aspects related to the links among canon, developmentand literature, to go the momental most founding of the Mexican modernity: the Revolution. This is the fact that initiate all narratives trying to build the modern identity of Mexico and only from here we can understand the various crucial developments in the field of culture implicated in which Cuesta and Los Contemporáneoswere involved. The final part of this work is dedicated to making a thematic review, that can not be exhaustive, of the contributions of Jorge Cuesta to different aspects of culture for which he was interested. We have divided this section, perhapsin a some what artificial way, because sometimes it becomes difficult to award a text of Cuesta to a specific subject, since his essays throw numerous crossed suggestions that involved themin a complex thought very little susceptible of partialdelimitations. Despite this difficulty we have decided to order his writings done after 1932 in specific areas to help us cull some of his fundamental ideas about painting, education, music or literature, but without neglecting the glimpses of that coherence, that certain unsystematic unit, that make the thought of Cuesta an object of research and study highly stimulating, and that deal with concepts such as uprooting, classicism and universalism.

There are over 7 million cultural values in Lithuanian museums. A significant part of them are archaeological findings. However, only a tiny part of them gets to the museums, i.e., usually, visually the most beautiful and representative findings. In recent years, we can see the increase in cooperation between archaeologists and restorers of archaeological findings. Therefore, the most valuable and least lasting findings come to the hands of restorers directly from the place of discovery and are immediately preserved and restored. Such are the archaeological leather footwear findings. Archaeological footwear findings are rare among the museum exhibits. Just a few Lithuanian museums exhibit archaeological footwear findings of the 14–18th centuries.Leather footwear archaeological findings are often found in only few places in Lithuania. The specific archaeological environment is the decisive factor for remaining of leather artifacts. Most of them are found in the ancient cities of Lithuania, which were major political and commercial centers in their time: Kernavė, Vilnius, Kaunas, and Klaipėda. In other cities and towns, such findings are extremely rare or not found at all.In 1990, during the archaeological research in the former Carmelite monastery territory in Kėdainiai, in Didžioji Str. No. 17, 19, 21, in the small household pit, archeologists found leather strips and footwear manufacturing spoilage from the 17th century. Supposedly, there had to be quite a large shoemaker's holding and workshop in the surrounding area, which probably belonged to Petras Mukčius, indicated in 1686 city's inventory. In the findings list of research report, the leather artifacts are not mentioned and their further fate is unknown. Leather footwear leftovers are also mentioned among the findings of 2008 archaeological excavations in Ukmergė, in Utenos Str. Ten leather findings were inventoried in archaeological excavations report from the first half of the 18th century: footwear details, leather strips, straps fragments. Quite exceptional exhibits are the restored archaeological findings from Kurtuvėnai (Šiauliai district) St. Apostle Jacob's Church, which are stored in Šiauliai "Aušra" museum and were restored in Pranas Gudynas Restoration Centre of Lithuanian Art Museum. In the basement of this church, in disintegrated crypt, the remains of two men from the 18th century were discovered. The surviving footwear was restored – it is a pair of boots of very complex construction, which were thoroughly made from bovine leather of vegetable tanning.As we can see, the footwear findings are rarely found during periphery archaeological excavations. Therefore, the footwear findings of Žagarė found during archaeological researches gained special attention from researchers.According to Algimantas Miškinis, the renaissance rectangular market square of New Žagarė was probably formed in the second half of the 16th century. It is certain, that even in the first half of the 19th century, there stood wooden trading stalls, which were destroyed by a fire that devastated the town in 1881. After the Second World War, in 1947, market places were demolished and trees were planted in the square. Since 1997, archaeological excavations of various scope were carried out in the territory of the square and its surroundings. Archaeological footwear findings were detected only during the last archaeological excavations in the market square, in 2012. The findings came directly from archaeological sites to Pranas Gudynas Restoration Center of Lithuanian Art Museum.Two different preservation methods are applied to leather findings: 1. dressing, 2. the treatment with solutions of low molecular weight hydrophilic compounds (PEG-400, 600 or glycerol). These methods help to maintain leather softness and consolidate and protect it from atmospheric moisture fluctuations. Leather Dressing is characterized by the fact that it limits or cancels the possibility of re-preservation of findings. Therefore, the preservation with PEG solution in water was chosen. In addition, the findings were wet and sufficiently soft. To preserve the leather findings we used the 10% PEG-400 solution in water-alcohol mixture (1:1) with 3% antiseptic Boramon C30 additive. After the preservation of leather and disbandment of details, cracks and laminated leather layers were glued together with acrylic copolymer A-45K acetone solution. Three different molecular weight polyethylene glycol solutions, PEG-400, 1500 and 5000 were used to preserve wood. The wood surface was covered with a protective coating of wax balsam Pronto.Most of the information about the footwear of the late historic times, which interests the researchers, is best accumulated by conserving findings before their restoration, i.e., by connecting the details and thus restoring the image close to its authentic state. When producing leather articles of complex design, the craftsmen used not only skin, but also other kinds of materials – wood, threads, textile or metal. The author of this publication drew all footwear details, determined the connection seams of the details, indicated the animal's skin type, measured the leather thickness, ascertained footwear design, identified patterns and determined the footwear sizes according to the standard used in Lithuania. Also, the research set out to determine the timber type of certain footwear parts.In total, 2 low-cut shoes (r. s. No. 116, 178) and 3 mules (r. s. No. 118, 177 and 179) were restored. Horse skin was used for the treadsole of the low-cut shoe (r. s. No. 116), size 25 (baby footwear), while cattle skin was used for the upper part. The inlay, which was made from the part of another insole, improved shoe wearing and probably solved the problem of too large footwear. Low-cut shoe (r. s. No. 178) (Fig. 2) – the only decorated footwear finding, size 33, with low heel. All details are made from bovine skin of various thickness. Low-cut shoe is attached to the leg by front lacing.Mule (r. s. No. 118), size 33, with medium height middle heel. All leather parts are made from bovine skin but of a different thickness. Birch wood was used as filler. The unusual way of insole stitching suggests that the artist saved both materials and time. Mule (r. s. No. 177), size 39, has a pointed toe part and low heel. This footwear finding has the most intricate construction of this complex. Animal skin of different age was used to make this footwear. Based on the design and quality of materials used, it can be said that according to the price it had to be the most expensive footwear. Mule (r. s. No. 179) remained incomplete, a part of heel had been torn apart and some details are missing, it could have been size 38–39. All details were made from bovine skin of various thicknesses.The historic examples of the 17th century footwear are exhibited in major museums around the world, also the museums specialising only in the history of the development of footwear have accumulated historical footwear of this period. However, the vast majority of the exhibits are luxurious footwear of the rich. We see quite a different picture concerning footwear of ordinary people – peasants and townspeople. This footwear was often worn out and thrown away, therefore there are no historical findings. The largest amount of information about these findings is provided precisely by archaeological material and iconography.Comparing the Žagarė urban archaeological findings with the iconography data of Western Europe, it can be said that three mules that were found during the research can confirm the fact that this type of footwear at that time was very popular and well-liked among both rich and ordinary citizens. Footwear – (except for mule r. s. No. 177, which has a distinct design and sewing technique) low-cut shoes and mules, which were discovered, have a similar design, and a very similar sewing style. It can be assumed that the latter footwear could be made by the same craftsman. ; Straipsnyje, remiantis archeologiniais duomenimis, apžvelgiama XVII–XVIII a. Lietuvos periferijos miestelių avalynė. Kaip tipinės miestiečių avalynės pavyzdžiai detaliai pristatomi ir analizuojami XVII a. avalynės radiniai, aptikti Žagarės miesto archeologinių kasinėjimų (archeologas Ernestas Vasiliauskas) metu. Aptikti du pusbačiai ir trys klepės iki šiol yra vieninteliai informatyviausi miestiečių avalynę reprezentuojantys archeologiniai radiniai, surasti ne Lietuvos reikšmingiausių senųjų prekybos miestų teritorijoje, o periferijos miesteliuose. Radiniai autoriaus konservuoti ir restauruoti, aptartos tokio pobūdžio radinių konservavimo ir restauravimo problemos, siekiant maksimaliai išsaugoti jų informatyvumą tolesniam įvairiapusiam pažinimui. Ištirta radinių konstrukcija ir medžiagiškumas, atskleista avalynės gamybos technologija. Radiniai palyginti su to laikotarpio Vakarų Europos analogais.

Lawrence Aaron Nixon, born in Marshall, Texas, in 1883—as Will Guzmán chronicles in Civil Rights in the Texas Borderlands—grew to manhood at a time when whites in the Lone Star State, across the South, and indeed, across the entire United States, were vigorously undoing the gains achieved by blacks during the Civil War and Reconstruction, all the while imposing Jim Crow laws and practices. Despite these obstacles, Nixon graduated from Wiley College in Texas in 1902 and from Meharry Medical College in Tennessee in 1906. Shortly after establishing his practice in Cameron, Texas, in 1907, Nixon witnessed an act of racist vengeance when a mob executed a black prisoner: "Nixon was at his medical office at the time and remembers 'that chairs were placed on the balcony of the two-story building to accommodate the crowds gathered to witness the lynching,' while he stayed behind locked doors in his office, 'listening to the cries of the dying man'" (27). Anxious to leave Cameron, but reluctant to return to Marshall where lynchers had recently killed four blacks, Nixon went west and settled in the rapidly growing city of El Paso in 1909. Over the ensuing decades, Nixon played an important role in his adopted city as a physician and civil rights activist. Despite El Paso's relatively liberal reputation, blacks lived under stifling restrictions. Whites in El Paso limited Blacks to certain areas, such as the second ward neighborhood near downtown. This could be done in subtle ways, but it was also often accomplished through overt tactics such as racially restrictive covenants that simply stated 'said property shall not be sold to nor occupied by Negroes, nor for any immoral use.' By forcing Blacks to live in overcrowded areas, racially restrictive covenants 'imposed social disintegration, social pathology, and personal ill health on them' (47). As head of the El Paso Negro Ministerial Alliance, Nixon unsuccessfully petitioned the city in 1924 to honor its commitment to build a swimming pool for blacks in the city's principal park. He also became a founding member of the El Paso branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Even as the Ku Klux Klan assumed a major presence in El Paso, he "helped lay the foundation for Black voting rights in the South as the central plaintiff in two landmark US Supreme Court cases: Nixon v. Herndon (1927) and Nixon v. Condon (1932), and the little-discussed case of Nixon v. McCann (1934), Nixon's third attempt to dismantle the all-white Democratic primary." In so doing, he, "along with the NAACP, helped set legal precedent that ultimately led, in Smith v. Allwright (1944), to the dismantling of all-white primaries throughout the entire South" (67). Nixon was a strong candidate for plaintiff because he did not derive his income from whites, because he regularly paid his poll tax, and because—unlike most blacks—he was a registered Democrat who could plausibly claim the right to participate in the selection of the party candidate. Although Nixon and the NAACP prevailed in the first two cases, segregationists ultimately found loopholes that enabled them to maintain their exclusionary practices. Finally, between 1926 and 1934, Nixon invested his time and energy into establishing a hospital in El Paso for blacks suffering from tuberculosis, a dream that he pursued with his characteristic vigor but could not realize due to a lack of institutional support and funds. An ambitious and courageous professional and activist, Nixon's life and works rightfully deserve scholarly attention. With his exploration of archival and oral history sources, Will Guzmán has undertaken an important subject. Nevertheless, Civil Rights in the Texas Borderlands does not reconcile the theory presented in its introduction with the aims and the substance of the book. For instance, Guzmán clearly assumes that the civil rights movement occurred after World War II, an assumption at odds with his effort to write a history of one civil rights activist in the pre- and post-World War I periods. Nixon's life reveals much about the engagement of black professionals "in so-called racial uplift during the pre-civil rights movement" (1), he writes in one place; in another, he declares that "the pre-civil rights movement paved the way for all future actions" (7). Guzmán frames his subject as important only as precursor to the real movement decades later rather than as part of a deeper social justice struggle. He also misses an opportunity to engage the vibrant debate over the long civil rights movement. Although the book's title promises to situate Nixon in the borderlands, Guzmán doesn't follow through. He discusses the borderlands as concept and geographical space only in his introduction. Civil Rights in the Texas Borderlands makes surprisingly little effort to locate El Paso within this context and rarely invokes the larger social and racial milieu. The Mexican Revolution, an event of major importance, is barely mentioned. Nor did Nixon's activism reach across the "borderlands." The closest that Guzmán comes is in a reference to poet Langston Hughes's observation, after visiting El Paso, that "'it was strange to find that just by stepping across an invisible line into Mexico . . . so suddenly did Jim Crow disappear'" (46). While Guzmán references Mexicans and Mexican Americans throughout the book, they play a peripheral role, irrelevant background characters in a story revolving around black-white relations (despite the fact that "Mexican and Mexican Americans were in the majority" (4) in El Paso). The author does not mention the Santa Ysabel massacre of 1915, the El Paso race riot of 1916, or the El Paso bath riots of 1917. These ugly conflicts involved white and ethnic Mexican combatants, profoundly shaped local and regional race relations, and must surely have influenced Nixon. Given these absences, Guzmán is unconvincing when he asserts that the "particular, if not unique, racial climate in El Paso, and by extension the borderlands, permitted Nixon to take a proactive stance and engage in a heightened level of activism" (112). Guzmán situates his story "in the US West" (4), but this positioning also shifts in telling ways. He rightly challenges assumptions that the West was a racial utopia that differed markedly from the racist reality to the East, as "the western frontier did not turn out to offer the future southern Blacks had hoped for" (5). He never backtracks on that assertion, but he does make El Paso and its white citizens "southern" for the purposes of discussing a Jim Crow system that he views as inherently of the South. "Change was brewing for the South, and though for many the change brought hope, there were others who saw this change as a threat," he writes in his discussion of Nixon and the white primary. The rise of the Ku Klux Klan in El Paso and elsewhere proved that the Civil War "still burned in many southern communities" (68). He notes that the mayor was "a child of the segregated South who was born and raised during the Civil War and Reconstruction era," a man who "was not about to challenge the racial norms that [white] El Paso wanted to preserve" (63). Guzmán does not address the fact that, if whites in El Paso "wanted to preserve" segregation, they must have shared the mayor's "southern" views—irrespective of their sectional origins. (When another mayor—this one "from Iowa" (106)—vetoed an antidiscrimination measure in 1962, his racist attitudes aren't ascribed to Midwestern origins.) Wedded to inflexible notions of the "South" and the "West," Guzmán misses the opportunity to sketch the messy reality of race relations in El Paso. Sometimes Guzmán seems to claim more than his evidence can sustain. It does not denigrate Nixon's labors on behalf of black people or deny the courage and determination he exhibited to suggest that he was a more peripheral player in the El Paso movement than Civil Rights in the Texas Borderlands suggests. Throughout, Guzmán provides tangential discussions of people and events, and then, by means of a single sentence or two, ties them to Nixon. He reports, for instance, that Booker T. Washington visited El Paso in 1911, provides a brief biography of the black leader, and excerpts his speech, only to write, "Even if Lawrence Nixon did not attend Booker T. Washington's event in El Paso, he certainly must have been aware of it and learned what took place" (44). He writes of a 1933 petition to integrate the city pool, "a petition signed by 123 people (one of whom was perhaps Nixon . . . )" (64). Guzmán could have strengthened Civil Rights in the Texas Borderlands by examining the El Paso civil rights movement more broadly—including figures other than Nixon who played central roles in many of the episodes he describes—and by writing Mexicans and Mexican Americans more fully into the story. This would have added complexity to the narrative and provided a more convincing and multidimensional portrait of race relations and the civil rights movement as they unfolded in one place along the border.

Lärm gehört zu den größten Umwelt- und Gesundheitsproblemen unserer Zeit und folgt somit an zweiter Stelle nach der Luftverschmutzung. In der Europäischen Union (EU) sind rund 40 Prozent der Bevölkerung Lärm ausgesetzt, der die Grenze der Belästigung von 55 dB überschreitet. Die Motivation zu dieser Arbeit ist daher einerseits die hohe Dringlichkeit der Lärmbekämpfung aufgrund der großen Gesundheitsgefahr und andererseits die schlechte Qualität der Lärmkarten, die in der Praxis zur Information der breiten Öffentlichkeit verwendet werden. Diese sogenannten strategischen Lärmkarten bilden die Grundlage zur Bewertung von Umgebungslärm und für die Öffentlichkeitsbeteiligung, das heißt sie sind das Kommunikations- und Informationsmittel. Hauptinhalt der Karten ist die Schallimmission, dargestellt anhand des Lärmindexes Lden für Straßen-, Schienen-, Flug- und Industrielärm, der jeweils einzeln in einer Karte darzustellen ist. Lden ist der gewichtete A-bewertete äquivalente Dauerschallpegel für alle Tage eines Jahres. Er wird anhand von farbigen Isophonen, das sind Linien gleicher Lärmbelastung, in 5-dB-Klassen dargestellt. Die zu verwendenden Farben sind in der der Verordnung über die Lärmkartierung, festgeschrieben und in einer DIN definiert. Das vorgegebene Schema entspricht jedoch nicht dem aktuellen Forschungsstand der kartografischen Gestaltung. Bestehend aus einer Abfolge von Hellgrün, Mittelgrün, Dunkelgrün, Gelb, Ocker, Orange, Rot, Dunkelrot, Lila, Hellblau und Dunkelblau, ist es qualitativ und die Farben aufgrund des Fehlens einer systematischen Helligkeits- und Sättigungsverteilung nicht den ansteigenden Werten der dB-Skala zuzuordnen. Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit war daher, die Lärmkarten, wie sie entsprechend der END zur Öffentlichkeitsbeteiligung verwendet werden, zu analysieren und für den wichtigsten Karteninhalt, die Schallimmissionen, ein neues Farbschema zu entwickeln. Neben einer qualitativen kartografischen Analyse, einer Bestandsanalyse der Lärmkarten der 27 deutschen Ballungsräume, die zur Lärmkartierung verpflichtet sind, und einer Task-Analyse, wurden in einer Anforderungsanalyse die Voraussetzungen für die Entwicklung des neuen Farbschemas bestimmt und in einem nutzerorientierten, iterativen Prozess ein neues Farbschema zur Darstellung der Schallimmissionen entwickelt. Bedingt durch die Farbwahrnehmung und bei genauerer Betrachtung des Anwendungsfalles, der Darstellung der Schallimmissionen, werden die Herausforderungen zur Erstellung eines Farbschemas klar. Die Schallimmissionen werden zwar in 5-dB-Klassen dargestellt, aber der zugrundeliegende Schalldruckpegel ist ein logarithmisches Maß, dadurch tragen höhere Werte stärker zu einem Mittelwert bei und die dargestellte Wertespanne ist sehr groß. Um eine sinngemäße Interpretation zu ermöglichen, müssen diese daher auch in der Darstellung stärker betont werden, was durch einen starken Anstieg der Sättigung der Farben für hohe Werte erreicht wurde. Da Lärmkarten die Lärmbelastung darstellen, ist es für eine verbesserte Interpretation sinnvoll, Farben zu wählen, die mit der Belastung assoziativ sind. Aus diesem Grund wurde von der kartografischen Konvention abgewichen und ein Schema mit zwei Farbtonübergängen gewählt. Insgesamt besteht das entwickelte Farbschema aus zehn Farben, die drei Wirkungsklassen bilden. Jeder Wirkungsklasse ist ein Farbton zugeordnet - Blaugrün, Orange und Lila - der assoziativ mit dem Grad der Belästigung und dem Gesundheitsrisiko ist und somit die Interpretation erleichtert. Da es pro Farbton somit nur drei bis vier Helligkeitsstufen gibt, werden die Unterscheidbarkeit und die Zuordnung der Farben zur Legende erleichtert. Durch die Vermeidung von Ampelrot und –grün konnte die Eignung für Menschen mit Farbenfehlsichtigkeiten stark gesteigert werden. Um die Farbtöne in eine visuelle Hierarchie zu bringen, wurden die Helligkeit und die Sättigung systematisch variiert. Die Helligkeit ist am größten bei der vierten Farbe und nimmt in Richtung beider Enden ab, die Sättigung hingegen nimmt v. a. zum unteren Ende der Skala, d. h. in Richtung der hohen Werte, stark zu. Durch dieses "bipolare" Schema wird eine Betonung der Regionen erreicht, die von größtem Interesse sind: die positiven, ruhigeren Bereiche und die Bereiche hoher Belastung. Das Schema wurde in vier Nutzerstudien evaluiert, die Ergebnisse flossen jeweils in die Weiterentwicklung ein. Die Ergebnisse der ersten Studie zeigten, dass es signifikante Einflüsse des Farbschemas auf die Interpretation der Lärmbelastung gibt. Weitere Studien ergaben, dass die verwendeten Farben unterscheidbar sowie assoziativ mit der Belastung sind und dass großeWertespannen besser anhand konträrer Farben, wie beispielsweise Komplementärfarben dargestellt werden, was sehr für das Farbschema mit Farbtonübergängen spricht. Es zeigt sich, dass die Farben auch für Menschen mit Farbenfehlsichtigkeit unterscheidbar sind. Der Anwendungsfall zur Entwicklung waren deutsche Straßenlärmkarten, daher wurden die Anwendbarkeit in anderen EU-Ländern und die Übertragbarkeit auf andere Lärmquellen untersucht. Zur Übertragbarkeit auf andere Lärmquellen sowie auf Daten aus Crowdsourcing müssen die Anforderungen und darauf aufbauend die Darstellung an die spezifischen Charakteristika der Werte angepasst werden, wie zum Beispiel die Wiederholungsrate, die Dauer, oder die Häufigkeit von Messungen. Über das Farbschema hinaus ergab die Analyse u. a., dass zur Vermittlung einer wahrnehmungsgetreuen Lärminformation psychoakustische Aspekte der Wahrnehmung integriert werden müssen, denn physikalische Parameter, wie Lden, scheinen dafür nicht auszureichen und kein ausreichendes Bild einer tatsächlich wahrgenommenen Lärmsituation zu liefern. ; Noise is one of the most serious environmental and health risks, a close runner-up to air pollution. Roughly 40 percent of the population in the European Union (EU) are exposed to a noise level of 55 dB, which is at the verge of annoyance. Therefore, the motivation for this research project was the acuteness for noise abatement due to high health risk, on the one hand, and the lack of quality that can be observed in noise maps used for public information on the other hand. These so-called strategic noise maps have to be drawn up every five years according the EU Environmental Noise Directive (END, RL 2002/49/EG). They form the basis for noise assessment and public participation and, therefore, they are a major tool of communication and information. The main map content is sound immission, presented by means of the noise index Lden for road traffic, train noise, airport noise, and industrial noise; each noise source has to be presented in a separate map. Lden is the A-weighted equivalent continuous sound level for all days of a year. It is represented by means of colored isophones, which are areas of equal noise pollution, in 5 dB steps. The colors that have to be used are established in the German regulation about noise mapping, and defined in a German standard. However, this predefined color scheme does not conform to the latest standard in cartographic research and science. Being composed of a sequence from light green, green, dark green, yellow, light brown, orange, red, dark red, purple, light blue, and dark blue it is counterintuitive because a systematic change of lightness and saturation is missing. Also, the colors cannot be matched with the increasing values of the dB-scale. The aim of this research effort, therefore, is to analyze END-conform noise maps and to develop a color scheme for the most important map content, the sound immission. Besides a qualitative, cartographic analysis the author undertook a status analysis of the maps published by the 27 agglomerations, which are legally obliged to draw up noise maps, an analysis of the tasks users carry out in accordance with their aims, and a requirements analysis for noise maps. The requirements are the foundation for the user-centered and iterative color design process to develop a new color scheme for the presentation of noise immission. Looking at the vast number of cartographic research on color-design the development of a color scheme might seem trivial. However, due to color perception and the specific case of application challenges become clear. Noise immission is presented in 5-dB-classes, but the underlying sound pressure is logarithmic. The effect is that higher values contribute more to the energetic mean value and the span between extreme values is big. To support that colors are logically assignable to the characteristics of noise data, higher values have to be highlighted. This is achieved by an increase of saturation for higher values. To facilitate interpretation it makes sense to choose colors that are associative with the presented noise pollution. That was the reason for choosing a color scheme with two color transitions against cartographic custom. In total the color scheme consists of ten colors and three color hues – blue-green, orange, and purple. The color hues symbolize three levels of noise exposure as well as health risk and support recognition. For each hue there are only three to four lightness steps, which supports distinguishability and the matching of colors in the map with colors in the legend. Through avoidance of red and green the scheme's suitability for people with color vision deficiencies was achieved. A systematic change of saturation and lightness supports a visual hierarchy of the presentation. The fourth color is the lightest while lightness decreases at both ends of the scale. Saturation, in contrast, increases for higher values. By means of this "bipolar" scheme areas of interest are highlighted, which are quiet areas as well as highly polluted areas. The scheme is evaluated in four user studies following an iterative design. Thereby results of the studies are considered for the further development of the scheme. Results of the first study show that color schemes have an influence on the interpretation of noise maps. The other studies prove that the colors of the scheme can be distinguished, also by users with color vision deficiencies, and are associative with the level of pollution. Studies also show that contrary colors with a high color or lightness contrast are appropriate to represent a big span between extreme values. This is the argument for the proposed scheme with two hue transitions. The case of application for the development of this new color scheme were German traffic noise maps, therefore the adaptability of results for other EU member states and for other noise sources was evaluated. Results show that there is no effect between place of residence and color association. Consequently, the color scheme can also be used in countries other than Germany. To be used for other noise sources as well as data from crowdsourcing, requirements and presentation styles have to be adapted to the specific data characteristics, such as repetition rate, duration, or the frequency of metering. Beyond insights for the color scheme the analysis revealed that the presentation of physical parameters like Lden is not sufficient to represent noise information that is in line with the individual perception of affected people. Therefore, psychoacoustic aspects have to be integrated to a greater degree.

Seymen, Oya Aytemiz (Balikesir Author) ; Araştırmanın Amacı: İlgili yazında güven kavramı ağırlıklı olarak tek yönlü olarak ele alınıp; örgütsel süreçlerdeki rolü incelenmiştir. İkili güven kavramını araştıran çalışmamızda, işgörenlerin hem örgüte hem de sendikaya bağlı olmaları nedeniyle, güvenin iki yönlü (sendika/örgüt) olarak incelenmesi ve bir tarafa duyulan güven ya da güvensizliğin diğer tarafı nasıl etkileyeceği, konusu önem taşımakta olup; ilgili yazında bu yetersizliğin belli ölçüde giderilmesi amaçlanmıştır. Yazındaki bu boşluğu doldurabilmek için, bu çalışmada örgütsel güven kavramı iki yönlü olarak ele alınıp incelenecektir. Yöntem: Araştırmanın teorik kısmı ilgili yazın taraması ve yararlanılarak araştırma araştırması ise Enerji, Sağlık ve Eğitim olmak üzere üç farklı Kamu sektöründen 553 işgörene anket yöntemi kullanılarak tamamlanmıştır. Elde edilen veriler SPSS ve LISREL istatistik programlarında temel ve ileri düzey (Yapısal Eşitlik Modellemesi) testlere tabi tutulmuş ve sonuçlara ulaşılmıştır. Bulgular ve Sonuç: Yapısal Eşitlik Modeli (YEM) analizi sonucuna göre örgütsel güven düzeyinin bütün alt boyutlarının, sendikaya güven düzeyindeki bütün alt boyutları pozitif şekilde etkilediği, sendika yöneticisine karşı olan güven düzeyinin sendikaya olan güveni pozitif yönde etkilediği ve en yüksek güven düzeyinin enerji sektöründe, en düşük ise eğitim sektöründe olduğu sonucuna ulaşılmıştır. ; Objectives of the Research: In related literature, the concept of trust, approached from such one-way perspective, and its role in the organizational process, has thoroughly been discussed and studied. Our research aims to investigate the concept of dual trust, built upon experience of two-way relations and commitments of the employees towards both sides of their polarised environment to better reflect the character of these dual links with the organization on one, and the trade union, on the other side of this polar structure. Examining the issue of trust from this new perspective will allow to better establish, how exactly, the measure of confidence or distrust, existing in relation with any one side of such environment, can simultaneously be found affecting the relation of the employee with the other side of the organizational system. Thus existing theoretical deficiency is intended to be resolved upon the results of this study, to fill the gap in literature with concept of organizational trust, which comprises of extended model of analysis of these dual, simultaneous relations. Methods: The theoretical part of the study has been developed based on reviews of literature and in conjunction with conducted researches. Field research has been completed by using a questionnaire method, applied to 553 employees from three different public sectors: Energy, Health, and Education. Data obtained has been subjected to basic and advanced tests (Structural Equation Modeling) in SPSS and LISREL statistical software suites and results achieved were evaluated. Results: According to the results of Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analysis, it is concluded that all the sub-dimensions of organizational trust level affect all the sub-dimensions of trust toward the trade union, the level of trust towards the union leaders, positively affects the trust towards the union itself and, that the highest levels of the trust in general, are seen in energy sector, while the lowest levels, within the scope of this research, respectively, are seen in the sector of educationroblem of the Research: If employees work in a situation of direct and simultaneous relations with two organizations (workplace and a trade union) which are both, competing with each other in conflict of interest. This situation, can be found in literature, described as a 'dual link' (Stagner, 1954). The necessity of maximizing organizational aims through relations with employees on both sides will be seen directly affecting the perceptions and behaviors of employees towards both of the organizations. Within such a context, the concept of 'organizational trust' will also have to be seen as linked to, and in either positive or negative manner affected by these dual links relations. However, when the relevant literature is examined, it is seen that this concept is discussed and approached, either as a trust to the union, or only to the workplace. The concept of trust of the employees, built upon the two conflicting influences and affected by rival organizations, not being previously examined as a concept of 'dual trust', can thus be highlighted, as the problem of this study. Objectives of the Research: In related literature, the concept of trust, approached from such one-way perspective, and its role in the organizational process, has thoroughly been discussed and studied. Our research aims to investigate the concept of dual trust, built upon experience of two-way relations and commitments of the employees towards both sides of their polarised environment to better reflect the character of these dual links with the organization on one, and the trade union, on the other side of this polar structure. Examining the issue of trust from this new perspective will allow to better establish, how exactly, the measure of confidence or distrust, existing in relation with any one side of such environment, can simultaneously be found affecting the relation of the employee with the other side of the organizational system. Thus existing theoretical deficiency is intended to be resolved upon the results of this study, to fill the gap in literature with concept of organizational trust, which comprises of extended model of analysis of these dual, simultaneous relations. Methods: The theoretical part of the study has been developed based on reviews of literature and in conjunction with conducted researches. Field research has been completed by using a questionnaire method, applied to 553 employees from three different public sectors: Energy, Health, and Education. Data obtained has been subjected to basic and advanced tests (Structural Equation Modeling) in SPSS and LISREL statistical software suites and results achieved were evaluated. Results: In this study, how the employees' level of trust towards two organizations (Trade Union/Work Place) which are in conflict of interest influence the other is attempted to be determined with 'dual trust' approach. In this context, these following conclusions have been reached. It is found that there is a positive relationship between three sub- dimensions of the trust level to the organization and three subdimensions of the trust level to the trade union as a result of an analysis of all the variables through Structural Equation Model. According to this result it is concluded that the level of trust to the organization has a positive effect on the level of trust to the union. These results demonstrate us that being connected to two rival organizations improves perception of trust to the both sides. Apart from this study in related literature, because there isn't a study related to dual trust, making a comparison hasn't been possible. However, Stagner (1954) who asserts dual trust points that two-way commitment shapes with the tendency of perceiving organizations and trade unions as a whole and the tendency of trusting to the both organizations when the working conditions are good. Additionally, the level of trust to the union management's positive influence on the trust to the union is another new relation discovered in this study of research. With reference to this result, it is seen that trust to the manager is the key role in achieving trust to the organization. In the research, it is found that the average level of trust of the employees to the union is , the average level of trust to the work place is . On the other hand, according to the 2000 World Values Survey results (www.bahcesehir.edu.tr) it is indicated that trust towards union is ; trust towards organization . The research has been conducted in three different institutions. Among these institutions, energy sector has the highest level of trust, the second one is health sector and the third one is education sector. The reason of having the lowest level of trust in education sector can be having a higher level of education in comparison with other sectors. Because most of the teachers have bachelor's degree and the lowest level of trust belongs to the bachelor's in our study. Through this study, which is considered the Pioneer study in this area of work, dealing with concept of Dual Trust within three different concepts and improving models with reference to the issue have reached important conclusions. On the other side, by virtue of lack of study on 'dual trust' has not permitted to do a literal comparison. This case can be shown one of the restrictions of this study of research.

Gas maldistribution is one of the most common problems in large-scale fluidized beds. High superficial gas velocities should be used to create a high pressure drop across the distributor plate to achieve an even gas distribution within the bed. However, higher pressure drop leads to higher power consumption in blowers, which means higher operational costs. In addition, the superficial gas velocity in large-scale reactors is seldom constant. As long as gas velocity perturbations lead to pressure drop variations, it is important to maintain the distributor pressure drop as low as possible. Maldistribution depends on the superficial gas velocity, the type of solids used as bed material and the distributor plate design. Low values of superficial gas velocity are more prone to generate gas maldistribution and therefore, several authors recommend operating beyond a critical value of gas velocity, at which all distributor plate orifices or tuyeres are considered active. The type of solids used as bed material determines the tendency of the bed to agglomerate. Since agglomeration could lead to maldistribution and defluidization, it is important to select the bed material properly. The distributor design affects mainly to the pressure drop, which is also dependent of other variables such the superficial gas velocity, the number of orifices and its diameter, the distributor plate thickness, the temperature. . . Pressure measurements and visual inspection of the bed surface are robust techniques commonly used in fluidized bed reactors for monitoring purposes. Therefore, these techniques were employed in this thesis to study maldistribution. Visual inspection technique was employed in a 3D cylindrical bubbling fluidized bed to detect maldistribution in the bed surface. To create a controlled induced maldistribution, the half of the distributor plate cross-section was covered. It was found that a high superficial gas velocity could overcome maldistribution at the bed surface, even though the maldistribution problem could still prevail at the bottom of the bed. According to that, pressure fluctuations measurements were investigated as a detection method for maldistribution. Several monitoring methods based on the pressure signal analysis were studied to evaluate the boundary of maldistribution grade that can be detected. The effect of the pressure probe location was also investigated and it was concluded that pressure probes should be located at 50-75% of the bed height for maldistribution detection purposes. A single pressure probe could be suficient to detect maldistribution in a lab-scale fluidized bed; however, several pressure probes should be placed in a large-scale fluidized bed reactor to cover all the bed cross-section. Visual inspection technique was also employed to develop a model for estimating the size of the stagnant zones created by covered parts of the distributor plate. A correlation was obtained using Digital Image Analysis and Particle Image Velocimetry of pictures taken in a pseudo-2D fluidized bed. The proposed correlation, coupled with correlations from the literature, was extrapolated to a 3D facility. The model was found to predict the size of the stagnant zones in a 3D fluidized bed with a maximum relative error of 20% and it could be used to estimate the size of the distributor cross-section affected by maldistribution. The distributor plate performance under operational conditions was also investigated. The effect of temperature on the distributor pressure drop was studied for two different distributor plates (i.e. multiorifice and tuyere type) in a Biomass Bubbling Fluidized Bed Gasifier. The results were employed to develop a methodology to design gas distributor plates at elevated temperature. The model predicts accurately the minimum distributor open area needed to satisfy a distributor to bed pressure drop ratio for a given temperature and operation conditions. ; Uno de los problemas más comunes de los lechos fluidizados industriales es la mala distribución del gas en el lecho. Se deben emplear elevadas velocidades de gas para generar grandes pérdidas de carga en el distribuidor que garanticen la distribución uniforme del gas en el interior del lecho. Sin embargo, una elevada pérdida de carga en el distribuidor supone también un aumento en la potencia consumida por los elementos de impulsión del gas, que se traducen en un aumento de los costes de operación. Además, en los reactores industriales de lecho fluidizado la velocidad del gas es raramente constante. Dado que las perturbaciones en el flujo de gas generan a su vez perturbaciones en la pérdida de carga del distribuidor, es importante conseguir que esta pérdida de carga sea lo más baja posible. La mala distribución del gas depende de la velocidad superficial del gas, del tipo de sólido empleado como material inerte y de varios aspectos del diseño del distribuidor. Si se emplean velocidades de gas demasiado bajas, el gas es más propenso a la mala distribución, y por ello varios autores recomiendan operar por encima de un valor crítico de velocidad por encima del cual todos los orificios o campanas del distribuidor se consideran activos. El tipo de sólido empleado como material inerte determina la tendencia del lecho a la aglomeración. Es importante seleccionar un material adecuado puesto que la aglomeración del lecho puede conducir a la mala distribución del gas e incluso a la defluidización. El diseño del distribuidor afecta principalmente al valor de la pérdida de carga, que a su vez depende de otros factores como son la velocidad del gas, el número de orificios y su tamaño, el espesor de la placa distribuidora, la temperatura. Tanto las medidas de presión como el análisis visual de la superficie del lecho son técnicas de medida robustas que se utilizan comúnmente en la monitorización de reactores de lecho fluidizado. Por lo tanto, estas técnicas se han empleado en esta tesis para el estudio de la mala distribución del gas en el lecho. El análisis visual se utilizó en un lecho fluidizado cilíndrico (3D) para la detección de la mala distribución del gas en la superficie del lecho. Para conseguir un estado de mala distribución inducida se tapó la mitad de los orificios de la placa distribuidora. Se observó que, aunque una velocidad de gas elevada puede hacer que la mala distribución no se detecte en la superficie, el problema persiste en la zona baja del lecho. De acuerdo con este hecho, se investigó el uso de las medidas de fluctuaciones de presión en el interior del lecho como herramienta para la detección de la mala distribución del gas. Se emplearon varios métodos de monitorización basados en el análisis de las fluctuaciones de presión para establecer el umbral de grado de mala distribución que puede ser detectado. También se investigó el efecto de la localización de las sondas de presión y se concluyó que deben ser colocadas a una altura entre el 50 y el 75% de la altura total del lecho si el objetivo es detectar la mala distribución del gas. Una única sonda puede ser suficiente para la detección en un lecho de escala de laboratorio, sin embargo, se deberían emplear varias sondas en lechos industriales para poder cubrir la medida en toda la sección del lecho. El análisis visual se utilizó también para el desarrollo de un modelo capaz de estimar el tamaño de las zonas muertas generadas por el bloqueo de una parte de los orificios del distribuidor. Se obtuvo una correlación a partir del análisis digital de imagen y la velocimetría de partículas de imágenes tomadas en un lecho fluidizado bidimensional (2D). La correlación propuesta, junto a otras correlaciones de la literatura, se utilizó para extrapolar datos a un lecho 3D. Se observó que el modelo es capaz de predecir el tamaño de las zonas muertas en un lecho 3D con un error máximo del 20%, y puede además emplearse para estimar el tamaño de la sección afectada del distribuidor. Se estudió el efecto de la temperatura de operación en la pérdida de carga del distribuidor para dos tipos distintos de distribuidores (placa perforada y campanas) en una planta piloto de gasificación de biomasa en lecho fluidizado. Los resultados obtenidos se utilizaron en el desarrollo de una metodología para el diseño de distribuidores a alta temperatura. El modelo propuesto predice la mínima área de orificios necesaria para cumplir una relación dada de pérdida de carga entre el distribuidor y el lecho, y para una temperatura y condiciones de operación fijadas. ; The author deeply appreciates the funding support by the Spanish Government (Project DPI2009-10518) and the Autonomous Community of Madrid (Project S2009/ENE-1660), ; Programa Oficial de Doctorado en Ingeniería Mecánica y de Organización Industrial ; Presidente: Bo Leckner.- Secretario: Celia Sobrino Fernández.- Vocal: José Antonio Almendros Ibáñez

Con la elaboración de la presente Tesis doctoral hemos profundizado en el concepto y naturaleza jurídica del matrimonio a lo largo de la Historia de Roma, sus presupuestos constitutivos, así como hemos analizado de qué manera la ausencia de los requisitos de capacidad física y jurídica determinaban el nacimiento de ciertas prohibiciones o impedimentos matrimoniales que conformaban las denominadas "uniones extra-familiares" surgidas en Roma durante su etapa de mayor esplendor, esto es, la etapa clásica o también conocida como fase política del Principado de Augusto. Entendemos que un estudio centrado en el Derecho de Familia y, en particular, en lo que se refiere al matrimonio y su evolución merece ser objeto de una investigación específica y separada debido a la escasez de fuentes clásicas que regulan esta materia ya que, en gran medida, sólo conservamos la visión postclásica y justiniaea. En este sentido, el interés que suscita en nuestros días conocer cuál es el fundamento y evolución jurídica de la institución matrimonial para comprender lo que hoy conocemos como "Crisis de la familia tradicional" y tratar así de dar respuesta a las lagunas jurídicas existentes en nuestro Ordenamiento, nos ha llevado a plantearnos como objetivo principal el realizar una interpretación de los textos con los que contamos que refleje los impedimentos a contraer un matrimonium iustum durante la vigencia del Derecho Romano clásico. Dicho análisis jurídico ha derivado en la aportación de una completa y original clasificación de las limitaciones al ius conubii que no sólo recoge las uniones extramatrimoniales existentes en la Roma clásica sino que establece seis criterios clasificatorios para agruparlas. Este objetivo general da la razón de ser a la línea de investigación "Derecho de Familia" en la que venimos trabajando desde hace diversos años. Partimos de la importancia del conubium, entendido como el derecho o la capacidad jurídica para contraer matrimonio y cómo, la falta de este requisito, determinaba su inexistencia en Roma. Hecho que nos lleva a otorgar una especial relevancia a la ausencia de conubium en la Roma clásica, justificado por varias razones: i.- la primera, la inexistencia de un conjunto de textos jurídicos que regulen no sólo la institución marital, sino aquellas otras uniones extra-familiares calificadas como tal por no cumplir con los requisitos o elementos exigidos por el Derecho Romano clásico para ser consideradas como un matrimonium iustum; ii.- la segunda, por ser la etapa de mayor esplendor no sólo para el Derecho sino para otros campos como la Literatura, la Poesía y el Arte. Comparar, pues, de qué manera se limitaban los matrimonios iniustum con las diferentes uniones que están surgiendo, puede servirnos para entender las transformaciones jurídicas actuales en la institución marital. Por lo expuesto, la falta de sistematización doctrinal que existe entre las prohibiciones matrimoniales debido a la disparidad de textos que regulan tal cuestión ha favorecido una agrupación personal y homogénea de tales limitaciones. Sin embargo, nos hemos enfrentado ante dos obstáculos que en cierta medida nos han dificultado el análisis jurídico de las instituciones familiares clásicas, como son, la ausencia de un método jurídico que pueda ser utilizado por el jurista para aplicarlo a cualquier línea basada en el Derecho Privado y, cómo lo anterior, propicia una investigación interdisciplinar. Igualmente, hemos considerado necesario precisar el contenido exacto del término impedimentum ya que si bien su origen es de Derecho Canónico, tal y como lo ha venido confirmando la Communis opinio, lo cierto es que nos encontramos con fuentes anteriores que lo utilizan en sentido genérico para aludir al conjunto de restricciones o limitaciones surgidas durante la etapa clásica, que imposibilitaban celebrar válidamente un matrimonio romano conforme a derecho y que éste desplegase plenos efectos. Ello justifica que a lo largo de nuestra exposición nos hayamos referido de forma general a la ausencia de conubium o impedimentum, según nos encontrábamos en Derecho Clásico o en el Derecho Justinianeo. En suma, la escasez de estudios que tratan sobre la regulación jurídica de las limitaciones matrimoniales existentes en el Derecho clásico nos ha llevado a la exposición de la presente Tesis doctoral. Con ella, pretendemos ahondar en la línea de investigación iniciada desde el Trabajo de investigación de la autora (DEA), centrado en el estudio de las relaciones familiares y extra-familiares surgidas desde la etapa clásica hasta la justinianea, así como en el fundamento legal de los impedimentos matrimoniales. ; With this doctoral Thesis we have deepened on the legal nature and constituent elements of the concept of marriage, as it has evolved through the History of Rome. We have analyzed how the absence of physical capacities and legal requirements determined certain prohibitions or impediments to marriage denominated "extramarital unions", which emerged in the period of greatest splendor of Rome, that is, in the classical period or also known as the political phase of the Principality of Augustus. In the context of Family Law, the concept of marriage an its evolution in Rome, merited specific research because of the shortage of classical sources that regulate this legal field, since we only keep the postclassic and justinian vision. In this sense, nowadays, the interest to know which is the foundation and legal evolution of the institution of marriage to understand what we call "Crisis of the traditional family" and solve the loopholes that exist in our legal system, justify the main objective of making a legal interpretation of the texts that we have, in order to reflect the impediments to getting a matrimonium iustum during the term of classical Roman Law. This legal analysis has resulted in a complete and original classification of ius conubii limitations, that not only includes the extramarital unions in classical Rome, because we have identified six criteria for classifying the unions. That general objective justified the investigation line "Family Law", in which we have been working for several years. We start with the importance of the conubium, considered as a right or a legal capacity for marriage; the lack of this essential requirement determined its absence in Rome. This fact leads us to give a special relevance to conubium in the classical Rome period, based on the following reasons: i.- the first, the absence of legal texts that regulate not only the marital institution but those other extramarital unions, designated as such by classical Roman Law, not to comply with the requirements to be considered as a iustum matrimonium; ii.- the second reason, this phase being the period of greatest glory, not only to Law but to other fields like Literature, Poetry and Art. Comparing how iniustum marriages were limited with the various unions that are emerging today, can help us to understand the present legal changes in the marital institution. For these reasons, the lack of doctrinal systematization between marriage restrictions because of the disparity of texts regulating this matter, has favored a personal and homogeneous grouping of such limitations. However, we have faced two obstacles that somehow hindered us the legal analysis of classical family institutions, such as, the absence of a legal method that can be used by lawyers to apply to any line of research that focuses on Private Law, and how that lack, encourages an interdisciplinary research. We have also considered necessary to specify the exact content of the term impedimentum. Although its origin comes from the Canon Law as it has been confirmed by the Communis opinio, we found earlier sources in which it was used with a generic sense to refer to the set of constraints or limitations, arising during the classical period, which precluded the celebration of a valid marriage according to Roman Law and its full effects. This justifies that throughout our discussion, we talked about the absence of conubium or impedimentum, according we were in the Classical or Justinian Law. In summary, the paucity of studies dealing with the legal regulation of marriage limitations in the classical Roman Law has led us to the involvement in the present Thesis. With it, we aimed to deepen the research initiated in the author´s DEA research work, based on marital and extramarital unions existing from the classical period to the justinian phase, as well as the legal ground of matrimonial impediments.

Arthur Carvalho (" Sharing Rewards Among Strangers Based on Peer Evaluations ") is a Ph.D. candidate in the Cheriton School of Computer Science at the University of Waterloo. His research interests include crowdsourcing, forecasting, information markets, proper scoring rules, consensus, fair division, game theory, mechanism design, electronic commerce, and decision analysis. Email: a3carval@cs.uwaterloo.ca . Luis C. Dias (" A Note on a Group Preference Axiomatization with Cardinal Utility ") obtained a degree in informatics engineering from the School of Science and Technology at the University of Coimbra in 1992 and a Ph.D. in management/systems sciences in organizations from the University of Coimbra in 2001. He is currently an assistant professor with tenure at the Faculty of Economics at the University of Coimbra (FEUC), which he joined in 1992. He has been teaching courses on decision analysis, operations research, informatics, and related areas. Since 2007, his tasks have involved coordinating the Masters in Management at FEUC and being a member of the Coordination and Management Board of the Energy for Sustainability initiative of the University of Coimbra, with responsibilities for the coordination of the Masters in Energy for Sustainability and the Ph.D. in Sustainable Energy Systems (MIT Portugal Program). He is also a researcher of the INESC Coimbra R&D Institute, where he was part of the board of directors from 2001 to 2007. He has been appointed to the editorial board of the recently created EURO Journal on Decision Processes. His research interests include multicriteria decision analysis, performance assessment, group decision and negotiation support, decision support systems, and applications in the areas of energy and environment. Email: lmcdias@fe.uc.pt . Seth D. Guikema (" Resource Allocation for Homeland Defense: Dealing with the Team Effect ") is an assistant professor in the Systems Analysis, Economics, and Policy Group of the Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering at the Johns Hopkins University (JHU), with joint appointments in civil engineering and earth and planetary sciences at JHU. He is also a professor II (adjunct) in the Department of Industrial Economics, Risk Management, and Planning at the University of Stavanger in Norway; a senior decision analyst with Innovative Decisions, Inc.; and a member of the core faculty in the JHU Systems Institute. His research focuses on risk analysis, statistical learning theory, and multiperson decision problems, particularly for natural disasters, terrorist attacks, and infrastructure systems. He is an associate editor for the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Journal of Infrastructure Systems and is a member of the editorial boards of Risk Analysis, Reliability Engineering & System Safety, and Journal of Performability Engineering. He received his B.S. (Cornell University), M.S. (Stanford University), and M.E. (University of Canterbury, New Zealand) in civil and environmental engineering, and his Ph.D. (Stanford University) in engineering risk and decision analysis. Prior to JHU, he was a postdoctoral researcher at Cornell University and an assistant professor at Texas A&M University. He received the Chauncey Starr Distinguished Young Risk Analyst Award from the Society for Risk Analysis in 2010 and currently serves on the councils of the INFORMS Decision Analysis Society and the Society for Risk Analysis. Email: sguikema@jhu.edu . Jeffrey M. Keisler (" Communicating Analytic Results: A Tutorial for Decision Consultants ") is an associate professor in the Management Science and Information Systems Department at the University of Massachusetts Boston. One of his main research interests is finding ways to make decision analysis more effective in practice, and he recently coedited the book Portfolio Decision Analysis. He received his Ph.D. in decision sciences from Harvard University and his M.B.A. from the University of Chicago. He is a Fellow in the Society of Decision Professionals. Prior to becoming a professor, he worked as a management consultant at Strategic Decisions Group and as a decision analyst with Argonne National Laboratory and General Motors. He currently serves as president-elect of the INFORMS Decision Analysis Society. Email: jeff.keisler@umb.edu . L. Robin Keller (" From the Editors: Copulas, Group Preferences, Multilevel Defenders, Sharing Rewards, and Communicating Analytics ") is a professor of operations and decision technologies in the Merage School of Business at the University of California, Irvine. She received her Ph.D. and M.B.A. in management science and her B.A. in mathematics from the University of California, Los Angeles. She has served as a program director for the Decision, Risk, and Management Science Program of the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF). Her research is on decision analysis and risk analysis for business and policy decisions and has been funded by NSF and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Her research interests cover multiple attribute decision making, riskiness, fairness, probability judgments, ambiguity of probabilities or outcomes, risk analysis (for terrorism, environmental, health, and safety risks), time preferences, problem structuring, cross-cultural decisions, and medical decision making. She is currently the editor-in-chief of Decision Analysis, published by the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS). She is a Fellow of INFORMS and has held numerous roles in INFORMS, including board member and chair of the INFORMS Decision Analysis Society. She is a recipient of the George F. Kimball Medal from INFORMS. She has served as the decision analyst on three National Academy of Sciences committees. She has been appointed to the editorial board of the new EURO Journal on Decision Processes. Email: lrkeller@uci.edu . Dorota Kurowicka (" Conditionalization of Copula-Based Models ") studied mathematics at the University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland, and specialized in numerical methods. She performed her Ph.D. research at the Gdynia Maritime Academy and the Delft University of Technology. She received her Ph.D. from Delft University in 2000. Since then, she has been employed at Delft Institute of Applied Mathematics, first as an assistant professor and from 2006 on as an associate professor. Her current research is carried out in the area of uncertainty and risk analysis. Email: d.kurowicka@tudelft.nl . Kate Larson (" Sharing Rewards Among Strangers Based on Peer Evaluations ") is an associate professor in the Cheriton School of Computer Science at the University of Waterloo. She received her Ph.D. in computer science from Carnegie Mellon University. She is interested in issues that arise in settings where self-interested agents interact and works with ideas that lie in the intersection of artificial intelligence, game theory, and microeconomics. In particular, she is interested in understanding how computational limitations influence strategic behavior in multiagent systems, as well as developing approaches to overcome such computational issues. Email: klarson@cs.uwaterloo.ca . Patrick S. Noonan (" Communicating Analytic Results: A Tutorial for Decision Consultants ") is an associate professor in the practice of decision and information analysis at Emory University, where he also serves as associate dean of Management Practice. His coursework and writing spans decision modeling, applications of game theory and strategic decision making, and structured problem solving. He received his Ph.D. in decision sciences from Harvard University. Previously he worked as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company, and as cofounder and director of Planning Technologies Group. He also holds an M.B.A. and B.S. in engineering and applied science from Yale University. He is the author of Decision and Information Analysis, a textbook on analytics (published by McGraw-Hill). Email: patrick.noonan@bus.emory.edu . Andrew Samuel (" Resource Allocation for Homeland Defense: Dealing with the Team Effect ") is an assistant professor in the Department of Economics at the Sellinger School of Business, Loyola University Maryland. His research focuses on contract theory, game theory, and the economics of incentives. He is especially interested in applying these topics to study the economics of corruption and bribery and has published several articles on the incentives for corruption within organizations. He received a B.A. in economics from Calvin College and an M.A. and Ph.D. in economics from Boston College. Email: asamuel@loyola.edu . Paula Sarabando (" A Note on a Group Preference Axiomatization with Cardinal Utility ") received her B.S. degree in mathematics and M.Sc. degree in information management from the University of Coimbra, Portugal, in 2003 and 2006, respectively. In early 2011, she finished her Ph.D. in management science applied to decisions at the School of Economics of the University of Coimbra, with a thesis on multiattribute decision analysis with ordinal information. She is currently a lecturer at the Escola Superior de Tecnologia de Gestão de Viseu (Polytechnic Institute of Viseu, Portugal) and a researcher at the INESC Coimbra R&D Institute. Her interests include decision analysis, namely, evaluation with multiple criteria, evaluation with multiple actors (group decision and negotiation), and working with qualitative and ordinal information. Email: psarabando@mat.estv.ipv.pt .

At first glance, it may be surprising to consider the German-Jewish born sociologist Norbert Elias (Breslau, 1897–Amsterdam, 1990) as a reference of primary importance for thinking about the future of democracy and citizenship in Europe and beyond. Until recently, 'classics' of historical sociology as a whole have rarely been considered as highly relevant for investigations of the present state and future of relations between political communities in the age of globalisation. Moreover, in Elias's work, which focuses on very long-term social (including political) processes in pre- modern and modern Europe, the major terms used in European Studies and in political theories on European Union – such as 'legitimacy', 'sovereignty', 'citizenship' or 'democracy' – are rarely mentioned. Elias was obviously not first and foremost a theorist of nationalism or a post-nationalist author. He would even have refused to be considered mainly as a political or social theorist, and even less as a theorist or as a philosopher tout court. Elias's first doctorate was in philosophy but he was to abandon that discipline in favour of sociology, an intellectual break that deeply shaped his subsequent thinking (Elias 1994; Mennell 1998: 7-9). Elias's sociology was then marked by the opposition between positive, descriptive or 'reality congruent' social sciences, on the one hand, and normative philosophy, sometimes denounced as unrealistic or utopian, on the other. In addition, he refused to consider politics or policy as a distinct sphere. Moreover, Elias's historical sociology, in its more political aspects, mostly seems interested in the genesis of the state (Elias 1996; 1997), as were such sociologists as Anderson (1977) and Tilly (1993). However, a closer examination of his work reveals the undoubtedly central character of the question of social and political integration beyond the nation state. This preoccupation is already present in the conclusion of Über den Prozess der Zivilisation (1997, completed in 1939), often considered as his magnum opus, which reveals that, at this early stage in his writings, Elias questioned the relationship between nation-states and democracy. He continued to do so in later essays, especially in the crucial text, 'Changes in the We–I Balance' (1991, written in 1987), on which I will focus in the following discussion, and in Humana Conditio (2010, written in 1985). Now, the nature of this 'link' – historical and contingent, or, alternatively, conceptual or necessary – has led in the past twenty years to a well-known opposition between the so-called 'post-nationalist' authors and the 'national republicans', in France, or the 'liberal' or 'civic nationalists', in Great Britain (see Lacroix 2002; 2004). Even though Elias did not directly confront the problem of transcending national borders in conceiving of, and implementing, democracy in European Union, his intuitions can be read in relation to these recent debates about the pertinence of the national-democratic and post-national paradigms. It is true that Europe in the sense of the actual European Union does not really receive close attention in his writings. Quite obviously in Elias's view, European integration, if it would really take place, should rather be considered as a first step or as a transitional phase towards a more global, worldwide integration. Nevertheless, he demonstrated through all his work how much historical sociology is relevant for thinking about European integration and the very nature of the European Union. In 'Changes in the We–I Balance', Elias did not explicitly examine whether democracy can, or should, exist beyond the nation state, although it appears quite obvious, as in Humana Conditio (2010), that the nation-state is not the end of history. The originality of Elias's sociology lies elsewhere, and is twofold. On the one hand, it is to be found in Elias's forceful suggestion that any immediate political problem has to be considered in the light of long-term developments (see Déloye 2000; 2008) and in an all-embracing sociological perspective. Recently, Stefano Bartolini's book Restructuring Europe (2005) is an exceptional attempt to adopt a genuinely long-term socio-political perspective in order to understand the centralising processes that led to nation-states and to European integration. However, it remains focused on politics whereas Elias's more comprehensive approach includes the domains of psychology and the emotions. On the other hand, Elias's originality consists of his determination not to turn observations into norms or values that could legitimate particular conceptions of politics. If one forgets that sociological, self detached, standpoint, then Elias's propositions might sometimes seem similar to nationalist ideas, of course referring to civic or liberal nationalism (see Miller 1995; 2000) that considers the nation as the 'ultimate horizon of a political identity', or at least to the notion that democracy cannot be detached from the national frame. First of all, Elias strongly insists on the importance of affects and emotions for all kinds of collective identities, including political ones, and for every social and individual process of integration. Furthermore, his writings lay great stress on the enduring importance of the 'national habitus' (Elias 1991; 1996), particularly in the case of the old European countries. Finally, Elias sometimes seems to define the community as founded on conflicts with outsiders, both inside the community (Elias 2008), at the cultural or national level (Elias 1996), and beyond (Elias 1991), which at first glance resembles the fashionable idea (after Edward Said) of 'the Other'. In this paper, I will challenge this 'national' or culturalist reading of Elias's work, a reading that insists on the importance of belonging to a national community that one can find in the French sociologist Dominique Schnapper's essay La communauté des citoyens (1994). I will show that Elias's intuitions, by giving a crucial role to democratisation processes, contribute much more to deepen, from a sociological standpoint and in a critical way, the conceptions articulated by the post-nationalist authors – first of all the concept of 'constitutional patriotism' advocated by Jürgen Habermas[2] (1998; 2000) and that of 'post-national identity' presented by Jean-Marc Ferry (1992; 2000; 2005). And yet, according to Elias, European union, European unity or European integration, is not, first of all, a matter of values or ideals, political will or belief. More generally and less consciously, the growing repulsion towards suffering and pain would reveal a growing emotional identification between human beings over the centuries, though most obviously within their particular nation-states. However, just like Habermas, Elias suggests that a democratic political community could not be entirely based on such a feeling, although it is a 'civilising' one. This is because of his rational preferment that leads him to argue that people should rather base their acts on an understanding of the reality of their social relations. Moreover, there is no reason to consider as typically European in any meaning of the term that conscience-formation process associated with a widening circle of mutual identification. Elias admittedly studied the civilizing process by focusing on modern Western Europe at first, but it has never signified that European people have to be considered as 'civilized', compared to others, or even 'more civilized' thanks to cultural specific features, or in the vanguard of such a decentred conscience-formation process thanks to a specific European process. Not only did Elias severely criticise all nationalist and Eurocentric positions but, in the twentieth century more than ever before, humanity as a whole has to be considered as the real social unit of reference in a wholly interdependent world. In what follows, I firstly propose to review briefly the main ideas of the theory of the civilising process from state formation to globalisation that provides the framework for a long-term historical sociology. In this first part I will emphasize the crucial question of the links between the nation-state and democracy in the twentieth century that constitute the background of the current discussion between (liberal, civic) nationalists and post-nationalists. Second, I will show how the question of post-national interdependence and integration appears as a central problem in Elias's 'political' sociology, that always considers distinctly and together national, European, and global levels in a processual way. Third, I will tackle what are, according to Elias, the main obstacles to post-national political integration in terms of the endurance of national habitus, and will insist on the importance of not conflating the sociological study of such a phenomenon with its political justification. I will end with some comments on Eliasian post-nationalism and on his 'realist cosmopolitanism'. My opinion is that the stimulating tension between Hobbesian and Kantian inflexions in Elias's work, already analysed by Andrew Linklater in the field of international relations theory (Linklater 2004; 2011), is interestingly questioned when post-national integration in Europe or civic patriotism is at stake. My hypothesis is that, from an 'Eliasian' standpoint, the sociological study of long-term historical processes would not only reveal what separates Europeans from each other, but also what (temporarily) binds them together, 'for better and for worse', and what (more definitely) binds Europeans to the rest of the world.

At first glance, it may be surprising to consider the German-Jewish born sociologist Norbert Elias (Breslau, 1897–Amsterdam, 1990) as a reference of primary importance for thinking about the future of democracy and citizenship in Europe and beyond. Until recently, 'classics' of historical sociology as a whole have rarely been considered as highly relevant for investigations of the present state and future of relations between political communities in the age of globalisation. Moreover, in Elias's work, which focuses on very long-term social (including political) processes in pre- modern and modern Europe, the major terms used in European Studies and in political theories on European Union – such as 'legitimacy', 'sovereignty', 'citizenship' or 'democracy' – are rarely mentioned. Elias was obviously not first and foremost a theorist of nationalism or a post-nationalist author. He would even have refused to be considered mainly as a political or social theorist, and even less as a theorist or as a philosopher tout court. Elias's first doctorate was in philosophy but he was to abandon that discipline in favour of sociology, an intellectual break that deeply shaped his subsequent thinking (Elias 1994; Mennell 1998: 7-9). Elias's sociology was then marked by the opposition between positive, descriptive or 'reality congruent' social sciences, on the one hand, and normative philosophy, sometimes denounced as unrealistic or utopian, on the other. In addition, he refused to consider politics or policy as a distinct sphere. Moreover, Elias's historical sociology, in its more political aspects, mostly seems interested in the genesis of the state (Elias 1996; 1997), as were such sociologists as Anderson (1977) and Tilly (1993). However, a closer examination of his work reveals the undoubtedly central character of the question of social and political integration beyond the nation state. This preoccupation is already present in the conclusion of Über den Prozess der Zivilisation (1997, completed in 1939), often considered as his magnum opus, which reveals that, at this early stage in his writings, Elias questioned the relationship between nation-states and democracy. He continued to do so in later essays, especially in the crucial text, 'Changes in the We–I Balance' (1991, written in 1987), on which I will focus in the following discussion, and in Humana Conditio (2010, written in 1985). Now, the nature of this 'link' – historical and contingent, or, alternatively, conceptual or necessary – has led in the past twenty years to a well-known opposition between the so-called 'post-nationalist' authors and the 'national republicans', in France, or the 'liberal' or 'civic nationalists', in Great Britain (see Lacroix 2002; 2004). Even though Elias did not directly confront the problem of transcending national borders in conceiving of, and implementing, democracy in European Union, his intuitions can be read in relation to these recent debates about the pertinence of the national-democratic and post-national paradigms. It is true that Europe in the sense of the actual European Union does not really receive close attention in his writings. Quite obviously in Elias's view, European integration, if it would really take place, should rather be considered as a first step or as a transitional phase towards a more global, worldwide integration. Nevertheless, he demonstrated through all his work how much historical sociology is relevant for thinking about European integration and the very nature of the European Union. In 'Changes in the We–I Balance', Elias did not explicitly examine whether democracy can, or should, exist beyond the nation state, although it appears quite obvious, as in Humana Conditio (2010), that the nation-state is not the end of history. The originality of Elias's sociology lies elsewhere, and is twofold. On the one hand, it is to be found in Elias's forceful suggestion that any immediate political problem has to be considered in the light of long-term developments (see Déloye 2000; 2008) and in an all-embracing sociological perspective. Recently, Stefano Bartolini's book Restructuring Europe (2005) is an exceptional attempt to adopt a genuinely long-term socio-political perspective in order to understand the centralising processes that led to nation-states and to European integration. However, it remains focused on politics whereas Elias's more comprehensive approach includes the domains of psychology and the emotions. On the other hand, Elias's originality consists of his determination not to turn observations into norms or values that could legitimate particular conceptions of politics. If one forgets that sociological, self detached, standpoint, then Elias's propositions might sometimes seem similar to nationalist ideas, of course referring to civic or liberal nationalism (see Miller 1995; 2000) that considers the nation as the 'ultimate horizon of a political identity', or at least to the notion that democracy cannot be detached from the national frame. First of all, Elias strongly insists on the importance of affects and emotions for all kinds of collective identities, including political ones, and for every social and individual process of integration. Furthermore, his writings lay great stress on the enduring importance of the 'national habitus' (Elias 1991; 1996), particularly in the case of the old European countries. Finally, Elias sometimes seems to define the community as founded on conflicts with outsiders, both inside the community (Elias 2008), at the cultural or national level (Elias 1996), and beyond (Elias 1991), which at first glance resembles the fashionable idea (after Edward Said) of 'the Other'. In this paper, I will challenge this 'national' or culturalist reading of Elias's work, a reading that insists on the importance of belonging to a national community that one can find in the French sociologist Dominique Schnapper's essay La communauté des citoyens (1994). I will show that Elias's intuitions, by giving a crucial role to democratisation processes, contribute much more to deepen, from a sociological standpoint and in a critical way, the conceptions articulated by the post-nationalist authors – first of all the concept of 'constitutional patriotism' advocated by Jürgen Habermas[2] (1998; 2000) and that of 'post-national identity' presented by Jean-Marc Ferry (1992; 2000; 2005). And yet, according to Elias, European union, European unity or European integration, is not, first of all, a matter of values or ideals, political will or belief. More generally and less consciously, the growing repulsion towards suffering and pain would reveal a growing emotional identification between human beings over the centuries, though most obviously within their particular nation-states. However, just like Habermas, Elias suggests that a democratic political community could not be entirely based on such a feeling, although it is a 'civilising' one. This is because of his rational preferment that leads him to argue that people should rather base their acts on an understanding of the reality of their social relations. Moreover, there is no reason to consider as typically European in any meaning of the term that conscience-formation process associated with a widening circle of mutual identification. Elias admittedly studied the civilizing process by focusing on modern Western Europe at first, but it has never signified that European people have to be considered as 'civilized', compared to others, or even 'more civilized' thanks to cultural specific features, or in the vanguard of such a decentred conscience-formation process thanks to a specific European process. Not only did Elias severely criticise all nationalist and Eurocentric positions but, in the twentieth century more than ever before, humanity as a whole has to be considered as the real social unit of reference in a wholly interdependent world. In what follows, I firstly propose to review briefly the main ideas of the theory of the civilising process from state formation to globalisation that provides the framework for a long-term historical sociology. In this first part I will emphasize the crucial question of the links between the nation-state and democracy in the twentieth century that constitute the background of the current discussion between (liberal, civic) nationalists and post-nationalists. Second, I will show how the question of post-national interdependence and integration appears as a central problem in Elias's 'political' sociology, that always considers distinctly and together national, European, and global levels in a processual way. Third, I will tackle what are, according to Elias, the main obstacles to post-national political integration in terms of the endurance of national habitus, and will insist on the importance of not conflating the sociological study of such a phenomenon with its political justification. I will end with some comments on Eliasian post-nationalism and on his 'realist cosmopolitanism'. My opinion is that the stimulating tension between Hobbesian and Kantian inflexions in Elias's work, already analysed by Andrew Linklater in the field of international relations theory (Linklater 2004; 2011), is interestingly questioned when post-national integration in Europe or civic patriotism is at stake. My hypothesis is that, from an 'Eliasian' standpoint, the sociological study of long-term historical processes would not only reveal what separates Europeans from each other, but also what (temporarily) binds them together, 'for better and for worse', and what (more definitely) binds Europeans to the rest of the world.

The numerous twentieth century essays concerning Melchiorre Cesarotti (l730-1808) have thoroughly demonstrated the prominent role that the Italian author played in the relationship between Italian and European cultures at the turn of the nineteenth century, but they have never been mindful of the assistance that he received from his circle, In fact, Cesarotti's personal work was only the first gear of a well-oiled literary machine sustained by a large group of male and female literary enthusiasts: the school of Cesarotti. The full reconstruction of Cesarotti's unpublished correspondence reveals that this school was not typical. Rather, it was a company that developed its own traditions and "liturgy" over many years, each pupil of which sharing his or her time and cultural activities with the teacher and other comrades in a spirit of brotherhood. The prideful professor-patriarch, who sincerely loved his pupils, dominated the group, or family, which ultimately became too concave to produce literature or poetry adapted to the looming, new century. This is the basis on which Ugo Foscolo (1778-1827) built his critique of the school. The Greco-Venetian poet made his debut in the school of Cesarotti, but soon conscious of its unbearable faults, limits, and constrictions, he left and finally founded a new school, based on a stronger awareness of the historical and civic mission of the man of literature. ; La storia del magistero cesarottiano mostra bene quel fenomeno, tipico della "biologia" letteraria, per cui in un grande autore si ha quasi sempre una fase di ascesa, di gloria, e quindi un declino, ed offre l'esempio lampante di quella classica loro tendenza a diventare sempre più conservatori e di maniera col passare del tempo. Cesarotti si formò ribelle, ma presto, ottenuta la gloria, spaventato dai tempi e dalla propria stessa fama, si moderò e, posto di fronte alla prova degli eventi, non seppe tenersi al passo coi tempi. Il suo cinquantennale magistero, nel giro di pochi anni, perse l'iniziale vigore e combattività, e non sopravvisse alla sua morte. Di esso, fu senza dubbio lodevole il tentativo di avvicinare la propria cultura a quelle straniere, senza pregiudizi e con il gusto della scoperta. Ma dopo gli eventi della Rivoluzione, questo nobile cosmopolitismo non fu più sufficiente. Fu notevole anche la sua capacità di restare sempre a contatto con l'ultima generazione e di coadiuvarla, e nobile la sua ambizione di fare, di quei giovani, l'élite da crescere e guidare all'amore del Bello e della Virtù. Di farne l'illuminata classe dirigente dell'avvenire. Credette fermamente e sinceramente a questa missione, ma non seppe applicarla nel modo migliore. Creò una squadra, ma non seppe renderla autonoma. Non riuscì a fare in modo che essa potesse proseguire da sola e riformarsi dall'interno, ed in tal modo sopravvivergli. Cesarotti cadde nel difetto di affezionarsi troppo al proprio ruolo pedagogico in sé, senza pensare alle conseguenze per gli allievi, e perdendo man mano contatto con la Storia. Anziché formare gli allievi, volle replicare se stesso in loro, imponendogli il proprio modello letterario ed affettivo perché a loro volta lo ripetessero uguale. Padre troppo affettuoso, viziò i "figli" e dimenticò il ruolo fondamentale dell'educazione, ossia non quello di creare un individuo ma di aiutarlo a trovare autonomamente la propria strada. Tradì in tal modo il suo stesso insegnamento letterario: predicò dalla cattedra e dai libri di non idolatrare nessuno, ma al momento della gloria accettò di divenire oggetto di culto. Dimenticò, o forse mai comprese davvero la natura storica della letteratura, come di un continuo, un progresso, uno sviluppo di idee necessariamente destinate ad evolversi col mutare dei tempi, da insegnare parallelamente al corso degli eventi e, se possibile, di partecipare a modificarli. Non comprese che persino il cesarottismo necessitava di una riforma interna, senza la quale non sarebbe sopravvissuto alla selezione della Storia. Cesarotti ebbe grandi intuizioni, ma gli mancò il tempo di metterle in pratica, e fu circondato da una squadra di allievi non in grado di farlo al suo posto, perché mai formata a tale compito. Previde i nuovi tempi ma non volle riconoscerne l'arrivo, e ne rimase deluso e travolto. Vide il nuovo secolo, quel secolo che egli stesso aveva preconizzato ma, una volta giunto, non seppe accettarlo: gli eventi procedettero troppo veloci e superarono le sue capacità di comprensione. Volle riforme, e si ritrovò addosso una rivoluzione. In mezzo a un mare di lodi e di glorificazione, un solo allievo sembrò accorgersi per tempo di questi limiti. La critica del Foscolo è stata esemplare nel mostrare con tempismo e lucidità i limiti della scuola cesarottiana. Fu l'allievo ribelle a capire che ciò che davvero mancava in quel gruppo era qualcuno che da quel magistero, da quella teoria di apertura e di rinnovamento, ricavasse concretamente nuova poesia, la poesia dei nuovi tempi e del nuovo secolo. A capire che il gruppo cesarottiano era un'eccellente fase di rodaggio, che sapeva preparare le macchine ma che non avviava un processo di trasformazione. I fatti gli diedero ragione. Giunto il nuovo secolo, la scuola cesarottiana mostrò tutta la propria crisi. I "figli" ed allievi, una volta diventati professori, non "salirono di fama", come appunto aveva notato Foscolo, e - aggiungiamo noi - non riuscirono a fondare un magistero altrettanto incisivo ed innovatore: ebbero allievi illustri, ma nulla di anche solo vagamente simile a quello che il Cesarotti era stato capace di assemblare. Mario Pieri, ottenuta la cattedra padovana, fu freddo e impacciato in classe, e distante dagli studenti: l'eloquente racconto, da lui stesso lasciatoci, dei fischi ricevuti ad una lezione dice tutto.1179 Non ebbe a sua volta né "figli" né allievi prediletti, né seppe metter su una squadra; non divenne il mentore di nessuno, e dopo appena sette anni riuscì - bontà sua - a farsi giubilare ed a ritirarsi a vita privata, letteraria sì ma fieramente solitaria. Giuseppe Barbieri, pur titolare di un insegnamento più duraturo, mostrò gli stessi limiti. Proseguì la lezione del "padre" in analoga solitudine, anch'egli bersagliato dal suo studente più celebre e promettente. Nel complesso, ottenne molto più sèguito come predicatore quaresimale.1180 Giuseppe Greatti ottenne la direzione di un collegio ma non si ha notizia di suoi continuatori. Angelo Zendrini visse lo stesso distacco, chiuso nei propri studi. Rarissimi i contatti di questi allievi con personalità europee: i loro carteggi sono pressoché limitati alla sola Italia, con larga preferenza per il Triveneto: nulla, assolutamente nulla di paragonabile alla rete epistolare a suo tempo intessuta dal Cesarotti, intellettuale rinomato ed aperto che aveva insomma creato una generazione di piccoli ingegni "locali", isolati, oggi per lo più dimenticati o ricordati unicamente come allievi di tanto maestro. Ma era Cesarotti stesso, in fondo, il principale responsabile di questo fallimento. Era lui a non aver saputo riconoscere il proprio continuatore. Molto più che nel docile Barbieri, era proprio nel giovane, irruento Foscolo che egli aveva avuto il migliore allievo. Non poté né volle accettarlo tra i suoi "figli": quel giovane e promettente poeta si muoveva troppo autonomamente, ne ebbe paura. In lui, Foscolo non aveva mosso solo sentimenti di paternità, ma anche di gelosia e d'impazienza. Cesarotti provò a moderarlo e a riassorbirne l'ingegno nel sicuro recinto della propria scuola, ma non riuscì ad irregimentarlo in quel tipo di educazione, in quella pedagogia letteraria da lui organizzata e affinata in cinque decenni di magistero ma che, alla fin fine, altro non lasciò in eredità al mondo poetico italiano che una breve generazione di epigoni ossianisti. Una generazione già individuata dal Foscolo, e definitivamente affossata da Luigi Carrer, lui sì degno erede, veneto e in Veneto, del magistero cesarottiano e foscoliano, come mostra il suo illuminante articolo Gli ossianeschi (1837), fine analisi della "crisi" del cesarottismo che concludeva per sempre la fase ossianica della letteratura italiana. Non Barbieri, insomma, ma Foscolo fu il vero "figlio" di Cesarotti. Ma Cesarotti non se ne accorse, non sembrò capirlo. Troppo affezionato al proprio ruolo ed al proprio modo di vedere gli affetti, e la letteratura che da quegli affetti doveva prendere ispirazione, trattò Foscolo da ribelle, e non comprese che era proprio questi ad aver assimilato e messo in pratica il suo insegnamento di proiezione verso il nuovo, di apertura al bello in ogni sua forma, di libertà creatrice scevra da qualsiasi idolatria. In questo davvero Foscolo superò il maestro. Non si fece intaccare dai pregiudizi della scuola. Apprese il metodo cesarottiano, e lo applicò sistematicamente a tutti: ad Alfieri, a Parini, a Monti, ed allo stesso Cesarotti. Tracciò la sua strada, in Italia e fuori d'Italia e, a differenza dei prediletti cesarottiani, seppe trovare elementi validi tra i propri allievi, e valorizzarli. Trovò Di Breme, Berchet, Pellico, Borsieri, e gettò con loro le basi di una nuova scuola e di un nuovo magistero adatto ai nuovi tempi e, proprio per questo, molto più duraturo.

"The difference between selling a vote and selling access is a matter of degree, not kind. And selling access is not qualitatively different from giving special preference to those who spent money on one's behalf."Supreme Court Justice John-Paul Stevens, author of dissenting opinion on Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission."By definition, an independent expenditure is political speech presented to the electorate that is not coordinated with a candidate."Supreme Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, writing for the majority, Citizens v Federal Election CommissionThe 2010 midterm elections cost a total of $4 billion dollars, including federal campaign spending by candidates and political parties raised in the two-year cycle 2008-2010, and funding by independent groups. Although the Democratic Party committees raised more money than the Republican Party, Conservative-leaning independent groups outspent Democratic-leaning group two to one. The US Chamber of Commerce, American Action Network, American Crossroads and Crossroads GPS, four "shadow GOP" groups, top the chart of independent donor groups, with two Democratic-leaning federal employee unions coming in a distant fifth and sixth, according to data reported by Opensecrets.org. The Supreme Court decision Citizens v. Federal Electoral Commission of January 2010 changed the law to allow corporations and unions to spend unlimited amounts of money on behalf of or against political candidates. If they choose to do so directly, they must report their expenditures and reveal their donors. Unions regularly report their donations to the Department of Labor and the FEC. However, corporations are loath to reveal their donors, so they take an easier and more enticing alternative made possible by the same ruling, which lifted an earlier ban that prohibited them to give money to nonprofit organizations. Referred to as501c organizations, these are groups that finance advocacy advertisements (also known as "issue ads" or "electioneering communications") and are not required by law to reveal their donors. Needless to say, an array of these new non-profits suddenly exploded into the political landscape and propped up the campaigns of the Tea Party newcomers and other Republican candidates who, oh so ironically, want to "change Washington from the inside." They were very successful in winning House races, but much less so in the Senate.In American politics, there are three main sources of campaign financing: money spent by the candidates themselves (form their own fund-raising or personal wealth), money spent by the party campaign committees on behalf of the party candidates, and money invested by outside groups who in general fund "issue ads" attacking or defending a candidate's record on issues but not explicitly soliciting the vote. In deciding by a 5-4 vote that corporations have the right to spend unlimited amounts of money for and against candidates, the Supreme Court transformed the electoral landscape in a way potentially more profound than it can be fathomed today. As many predicted, the Citizens United ruling unleashed the greatest wave of corporate spending in history, though it is probably safe to say that their spending in 2012 will make this year's outlay look modest. Although Democratic candidates raised more money and had a 60% spending advantage at the outset of the campaign, the new "GOP shadow" groups created outside the party overpowered them with their large, unrestricted donations. For example, American Crossroads and American Crossroads GPS, two organizations set up by political wonk Karl Rove spent at least $75 million on key House races. And although Labor unions in some cases matched that number in support of Democrats, the main difference lies in the fact that Labor unions do it openly, while the other "non-profit', "advocacy" groups operate anonymously. By law, they do not have to disclose their donors to the Federal Election Commission. Although it is true that most money is candidate- driven or party- driven and is therefore regulated, the rest, so called "soft money" that doesn't go directly to a candidate's campaign is now completely unregulated. As the tide turned decisively against the Democrats in the last two weeks before the election, Obama took aim at the anonymous flood of money by outside groups on behalf of Republican candidates, saying that it corrupts the process and provides an unfair advantage to their opponents. Along that same line of thought, many Democrats have claimed that the big winners of the election were not Tea Partiers and the GOP, but Big Oil, pharmaceutical corporations and insurance companies who have the most to lose from the President's reform agenda. Republicans prevailed in 75% of the House races in which they spent more than Democrats. But they were not so fortunate in the Senate, where the money impact was less or in some instances, even backfired.Money alone cannot sway an election, of course. But anonymous money can be much more effective in creating political furors over false information, for which there is no responsibility and little deniability, since the source is unknown. This is why revealing the source is important for the integrity of the democratic process. People need to know whose interests the newly-elected Congress will be representing. The huge number and clout of these undisclosed campaign financiers is arguably the most antithetical trait of a government of the people, by the people, for the people. Even more so in a year of populist anti-incumbent mood and new blood coming to Washington directly from the grassroots, to do away with appropriations, deny access to interest groups and balance the budget based on the best interests of, who else, but the American people?Indeed, to add plausibility to the above argument, money appeared to be much less effective when voters knew where it came from. A case in point is that of the self-funded millionaire candidates. Republican candidate Meg Whitman, former eBay CEO running for governor of California, spent $ 140 million of her own money (the most expensive race of all times and at all levels) and lost to District Attorney Jerry Brown (a former Democratic governor was has beaten two gubernatorial records in his lifetime, being the youngest governor when he was first elected in 1974 and the oldest one today). Similarly, Republican Linda McMahon, former CEO of the World Wrestling Federation, who was running for a Senate seat in Connecticut, also lost in spite of having spent 46 million of her own money. And the list goes on and on, with few exceptions. Of the 32 candidates who spent more than a million of their own money in a federal race, only 4 won.But this election is not only important for the obvious reasons, namely, that it may deny President Obama a second term and give a free hand for Republicans to repeal everything the White House has accomplished in these two years. There is another less conspicuous but not less relevant issue at stake. At the same time as they were voting for Congress representatives and some Senate seats, Americans in several states were also electing new governors and new state legislators. Republicans won 11 state governorships and seized 18 state legislatures that were previously in Democratic hands. These newly elected Republican state legislatures and governors will have the power of re-districting, that is, of re-drawing new political district boundaries of about 200 House districts in 2011. This is an opportunity that comes on the year after a federal Census, which is held every ten years, and that each party covets, since it enables the incumbent party to reshape the political landscape at the national level for a generation. Redistricting (or its corrupted form, "gerrymandering") is an obvious vice of the "Winner Takes All" electoral system and one that not many are interesting in reforming, since both parties take advantage of it when in power. In sum, the huge amounts of money strategically invested in this 2010 mid-term election delivered a Republican tsunami that affected all levels of government, put the next re-districting cycle safely in Republican hands and rebuilt party capacity for the near future. In the meantime, on Sunday night all pundits' eyes were on Sarah Palin's new reality show on The Learning Channel, "Sarah Palin's Alaska", where she goes hunting and fishing with her family and makes intriguing, but no doubt, very deep remarks about " Mamma Grizzly" and her protective instincts, as bear cubs pounce around in the creek to catch their salmon. She also quips about building a 14-foot fence to prevent her nosy neighbor from intruding into her life and cleverly draws a parallel between her fence and "how to secure our borders". Ready to fall asleep, I suddenly startled myself with the thought that this was the first broadcast episode of a presidential primary already underway.Senior Lecturer, Department of Political Science and Geography Director, ODU Model United Nations Program Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia

2008/2009 ; In light of the negotiations and the accession of Croatia to the European Union in a very near future, a dissertation on this topic presented itself as a very interesting opportunity. Agriculture has been (in case of past candidate countries, now Member States of the EU) and remains one of the most complex, discussed and controversial elements of the said negotiations. The PhD candidate, being a selected official translator and interpreter of the Croatian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integrations and working in particular in the framework of negotiations conducted in Chapter 11 - Agriculture and rural development and Chapter 12 - Food safety, veterinary and phytosanitary policy, observed the need to give an overview of the social and historical context in this respect, describe the most recent developments, as well as to provide for a comprehensive terminology corpus to be used as reference for the translation of a very large number of documents in this sector in order to avoid any imprecision, lack of consistency and ambiguity of terms used. Interpretation and full understanding of EU acts by policy makers is crucial if those acts are to be transposed and implemented at the national level accurately and correctly, and a faithful and correct translation thereof plays a decisive role in this process. The PhD candidate was often faced with texts dealing with the same topic, but presenting significant discrepancies in translation approach and terminology (often errant solutions in spite of the existence of very precise terms in target language), which caused frequent misunderstandings between English- and Croatian-speaking participants and experts and unnecessary delays. The candidate also discovered a major lack of general knowledge by Croatian participants and translators regarding the Common Agricultural Policy and its effects on the Croatian agricultural sector, which has sometimes lead to embarrassing situations. Furthermore, failure to use "user-friendly" terminology, as well as to give less complex explanations of different mechanisms has been perceived by farmers as lack of transparency and fuels their mistrust towards the reforms enforced by the Croatian government. The identification and the use of appropriate terms in the target language should help not only to avoid that their meaning is misunderstood, but also to preserve a national language as is by using its existing resources and without recurring to unnecessary foreign words which might only add up to the vagueness of certain concepts, in particular taking into account that the final users required to apply any given act in this area are not policy-makers, but the general public, more precisely farmers. The choice of restricting the area of interest to agriculture has been done on the basis of the candidate's specialisation therein and due to the fact that agriculture has been one of the most challenging issues of the enlargement of the EU and it will continue to be so in the context of the future enlargements. The present dissertation and its glossary in particular are the result of three years of participation in negotiations at different levels and technical staff meetings, as well as of an equally long translation work and analysis of a large number of EU documents and national legal acts (including ordinances, orders and instructions) by means of which they are transposed into the Croatian legislation, as well as reports and memorandums. The trilingual approach has been selected owing to the experience gained in translating different kinds of EU documents, the English version of which (English has been selected as the source language by the aforementioned Ministry) sometimes presents ambiguities and inconsistencies, which requires a parallel use of the same document written in another language. The choice of Italian as the "control" language is a personal choice of the candidate, who often uses a fourth language, Slovene, for its similarity to Croatian as target language since both belong to the South-Slavic language group. However, Slovene has not been included in the glossary due to the candidate's passive knowledge only. The present dissertation consists in four main parts. The first part (Chapter 2) offers an overview of the history and enlargements of the European Community - from the aftermath of the World War II, the gradual enlargement to different European countries that have very soon realised the advantages of "standing together", evolution of European institutions (how they started and how their powers and responsibilities evolved over time) and the gradual formation of the European Economic and Monetary Union, to the dramatic events of 1989 which gave rise to unprecedented social and political changes of the 20th century and changed forever the face of the world and the course to which the European Community was heading. A separate sub-chapter is dedicated to the fifth enlargement – the largest and the most difficult so far as it included 8 former communist countries in 2004 (plus Malta and Cyprus) followed by Romania and Bulgaria in 2007. The said sub-chapter provides also for an overview of the accession process in general and certain difficulties encountered both by the new Member States and current candidate countries since the accession to the EU is not a goal per se, but an instrument to facilitate the implementation of reforms necessary to complete the transition, which goes far beyond the mere accession. The following sub-chapter deals with Croatia, in particular the timeline of its accession process and the main obstacles therein, which to a certain extent are somewhat different with respect to other candidate countries. The third chapter deals entirely with the agriculture – from the creation of the Common Agricultural Policy, the introduction of the Single Payment Scheme in 2003, representing one of the most substantial reforms in this respect, and the adjustment of the SPS due to the 2004 and 2007 enlargements to countries with a significantly lower standard and level of wellbeing, as well as with a very different economic background which has influenced their agriculture for almost half a century. The introduction of the SPS was an attempt to make the aid schemes in agriculture fairer and simpler. However, the second goal had to be sacrificed for the sake of the first one, which is reflected in numerous exceptions and derogations granted to single Member States on the basis of their particular national situation. An important sub-chapter herein is concerned with the enlargement and its impact on the agriculture of both old and new Member States. For farmers in the EU-15 the enlargement meant the reduction of EU aid, while for farmers in candidate countries it meant higher competition, but also the accessibility of EU funding. Each candidate country defined the conditions thereof in the framework of accession negotiations, which meant that some of them got a better deal than the others. In this sub-chapter particular attention has also been given to the illustration of some of the effects the CAP has had in the Central and Eastern European countries and different kinds of aid and pre-accession programmes available as central part of the CAP in order to prepare them for what is coming after the accession. The fourth chapter is concerned with the Croatian agricultural sector and it gives a general overview of its geography and climate, as well as certain statistical data regarding the current level of development. A sub-chapter is dedicated to a very important aspect, that is the legacies of the socialist past of the country, characterised by collectivism, state ownership, planned production entirely inconsistent with the market demand and low consideration for the environmental protection, but also to certain phenomena, such as the considerable fragmentation of agricultural land, the source of which is to be looked for beyond the past 50 years. A paragraph is also dedicated to cooperatives, which played a significant role in the Croatian agricultural sector before the World War II and which might become the key of the future development in this respect. The last sub-chapter describes the possible consequences and challenges before the Croatia agriculture in view of the accession of this country to the EU. Some of them are common to new Member States and Croatia can certainly learn a lot from their experience, but certain issues must be dealt with by Croatia alone as they concern its particular history, culture, traditions and political and social context. The fifth and the last chapter, which is also the most comprehensive one, is the terminology corpus with appropriate definitions developed by the author of the dissertation during the three-year-long research and containing more than 2100 entries in three languages. This glossary is non-exhaustive, which means that it is not a definitive one, but it will continue to be expanded and amended in parallel with the ongoing translation of Community documents. ; XXI Ciclo

Author's introductionThe process of globalization can be defined in neutral terms as the increasing cross‐border flows of goods (e.g., coca‐cola, cocaine), services (e.g., McDonalds, prostitution), money (e.g. family cash, corporate banking), people (e.g., migration, vacation), information (e.g., internet, movies), and culture (e.g., fashion, religion), resulting in greater economic and political interdependence. Defined in this way, globalization appears rather benign – even positive. But in truth, the 'interdependence' that is being created is not one of equality or hope for most people in the world. Multinational corporations are certainly benefiting from globalization, but ordinary workers are not. In this article, I explore the way in which globalization is altering social identities in ways that are both exploitive and liberating.Author recommendsJoseph E. Stiglitz, Globalization and its Discontents (New York, NY: W.W. Norton and Company, 2002).This is an important and influential critique of globalization written by a Nobel Prize winning economist. During his career as an academic, Stiglitz was a strong advocate of economic globalization, but after serving as a White House advisor and Chief economist at the World Bank, his opinion changed. He wrote this book in an attempt to publicize the devastating effect of globalization on developing countries. Written for a general audience, Stiglitz explains how globalization managed from the top down must be radically revised before the poor will benefit from global economic policies.Barbara Ehrenreich and Arlie Russell Hochschild, Eds, Global Women: Nannies. Maids, and Sex Workers in the New Economy (New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company, 2002).This research anthology offers extensive documentation of the real world impact of economic globalization on women and their families. Fifteen chapters cover a range of penetrating investigations of women from across the globe who migrate, suffer and sometimes surrender in their quest for economic security. A common theme is the immense sacrifice made by mothers and children who are struggling to carve out a life amidst the powerful forces of a new global economy. The studies provide heart‐wrenching evidence that economic policies managed from the top, serve to exploit the poor, alter women's lives, and change the meaning of family.Jan Nederveen Pieterse, Globalization and Culture: Global Mélange (Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2004).The potential impact of globalization on world cultures is explored in this brief but highly instructive book. Jan Nervenn Pieterse offers an accurate summary of competing theories of cultural globalization and artfully guides the reader through important intellectual debates. Does globalization lead to greater cultural integration? Are unique cultural identities and practices dissolving under the pressure of globalization? Is the world becoming uniform, standardized, and homogenized? There are no certain answers to these questions, but the author argues forcefully that globalization is leading to hybrid cultures with greater diversification and cultural mixing – a global mélange.Jeremy Brecher, Tim Costello and Brendan Smith, Globalization from Below: The Power of Solidarity (Cambridge, MA: South End Press, 2000).The worldwide movement of resistance to top‐down globalization is reviewed, defended and advocated in this powerful little book. This inspirational volume is much more than an academic analysis of the anti‐globalization movement; it is an answer to all those who ask, 'What can be done?' The historical power of social movements is a guiding theme from start to finish. Chapters examine a global program for change, practical policy initiatives, and opportunities for participating in grassroots democracy. This is an outline for hope and a pragmatic strategy for how globalization can be altered from the bottom‐up.Hubert J. M. Hermans and Giancarlo Dimaggio, 'Self, Identity, and Globalization in Times of Uncertainty: A Dialogical Analysis', Review of General Psychology, 11(2007), 31–61.This is an excellent review article that examines the psychological consequences of globalization. According to the authors, the social, cultural and economic changes associated with globalization have disrupted traditional life patterns and have called in to question normative expectations. As a consequence, many individuals are left with a powerful sense of psychological uncertainty that motivates individuals and groups to find local niches to construct a stable identity. The organizing argument is that the processes of globalization and localization (globalization's counterforce) require a conceptualization of self and identity in which global and local voices are involved in continuous interchanges and negotiations.Jan E. Stets and Peter J. Burke, 'A Sociological Approach to Self and Identity'. In: Mark Leary and June Tangney (Eds), Handbook of Self and Identity (Guilford Press), 128–152.In this review article, the authors present a nice summary of a particular sociological view of self and identity. George Herbert Mead influences their approach, which falls within the theoretical tradition known as 'structural symbolic interactionism'. A key insight is that our conceptions of self are organized by larger social structures, while at the same time, social structures emerge from individual actions. The review includes an examination of different types of identities, the influence of social roles, and the impact of emotions.Online materialsGeorge Herbert Mead http://www.iep.utm.edu/m/mead.htm Mead is one of the most influential theorists of the self. His life and work are reviewed in detail at this site.Global Capitalism: The World Trade Organization http://www.wto.org/ The World Trade Organization (WTO) is one of the most powerful economic institutions in modern history. It is the organization through which top‐down, capitalists, and powerful nation states implement global economic policy. At this site, the WTO defends its goals and explains its operations and strategies.Fundamentalist Responses to Globalization http://www.jihadunspun.com/index.php This controversial web site represents the political and cultural interests of some Islamic fundamentalists. A significant portion of the site is devoted to news stories from the Middle East where Islamist groups are engaged in political and military battles with competing political parties and nation states. This particular web site illustrates both a fundamentalist response to globalization and the global communication tools employed by some fundamentalist groups.Democratic Responses to Globalization http://www.forumsocialmundial.org.br/index.php?cd_language=2&id_menu= The World Social Forum is an excellent example of how democratic resistance to top‐down globalization is global in scope. At this site, one can see evidence of bottom‐up, grassroots organizing. Learn how social movements, NGOs, and other civil society organizations come together to debate ideas and formulate proposals for ending top‐down globalization. http://www.globalexchange.org/index.html Global Exchange is another organization committed to resisting the destructive effects of globalization. This site provides a bottom‐up perspective on international trade and a wide range of resources for democratic activists. Video links also offer illustrations of some recent protest actions. http://www.topics‐mag.com/globalization/page‐resist.htm This simple but instructive site gives a basic introduction to globalization and provides several examples of local people from across the globe who are working to resist the homogenizing and harmful effects of capitalist globalization. Examples include campaigns to protect regional cuisines in Korea, France, and Brazil by protesting fast food chains and advocating for a 'slow food' movement.Sample syllabus Globalization from Above and Below Week 1: The Sociology of Globalization Anthony Giddens, Runaway World: How Globalization is Reshaping Our Lives (New York, NY: Routledge, 2003). Weeks 2–6: Globalization from Above Joseph E. Stiglitz, Globalization and its Discontents (New York, NY: W.W. Norton and Company, 2002).Naomi Klein, The Shock Doctrine: The Rise and Fall of Disaster Capitalism (New York, NY: Metropolitan Books, 2007).Barbara Ehrenreich and Arlie Russell Hochschild, Eds., Global Women: Nannies. Maids, and Sex Workers in the New Economy (New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company, 2002).Video: China Blue (Teddy Bear Films, 2006).This breathtaking documentary of life in a Chinese sweatshop is an excellent illustration of how globalization from above connects and exploits workers from across the globe (88 minutes). Weeks 7–10: Globalization and Culture John Tomlinson, Globalization and Culture (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1999).Jan Nederveen Pieterse, Globalization and Culture: Global Mélange (Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2004).George Ritzer, The Globalization of Nothing (Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press, 2004).Video: Wal‐Mart: The High Cost of Low Price (Brave New Films, 2005).This is a penetrating documentary that exposes the dark side of Wal‐Mart's ruthless global expansion (95 minutes). Weeks 12–15: Globalization from Below Jereny Brecher, Tim Costello and Brendan Smith, Globalization from Below: The Power of Solidarity, (Cambridge, MA: South End Press, 2000).Leslie Sklair, 'Social Movements and Global Capitalism', Sociology, 29 (1995), 495–512.Walden Bello, Deglobalization: Ideas for a New World Economy (London, UK: Zed Books, 2005)Video: This is What Democracy Looks Like (Big Noise Films, 2005).Here, we find remarkable documentary examination of the 'Battle in Seattle' when 50,000 activists from across the globe effectively shut down the ministerial meetings of the World Trade Organization in 1999 (72 minutes).Notes
* Correspondence address: Peter L. Callero, Western Oregon University, 345 North Monmouth Avenue, Monmouth, OR 97361, USA. Email: callerp@wou.edu