Suchergebnisse

Coconut is one of the top agricultural commodities in the country providing a significant contribution, particularly in terms of employment and export earnings. Globally, the Philippines is included as one of the major producers of coconut and was ranked 2nd with Indonesia at first place and India as third last 2014. According to PSA (2016), the top-producing regions in the country from 2010-2014 are Davao Region, Northern Mindanao, Zamboanga Peninsula and Eastern Visayas. Quezon has been consistently leading among all the provinces. Due to this, the province has been a frequent subject of research related to coconut and coconut products. This study aimed to determine the present conditions of the coconut farms in the top-producing municipalities in Quezon. Specifically, it intends to: 1) present the profile of the coconut farms and farmers 2) determine the status of the coconut farms in terms of their business functions 3) identify problems and issues encountered by the farms as well as opportunities available to them and 4) provide recommendations for the improvement and development of the farms, farmers and the industry. Eighty-two coconut farmers were interviewed, with 30 respondents from Lopez and 52 respondents from Catanauan. The average age of the respondents was 59 reflecting an aging workforce that can serve as a threat for the continuity of the farms. The average household size and number of children was four. Furthermore, almost half (49%) only reached secondary education. On the average, the respondents have devoted 35 years in coconut farming with varying farm performances. Majority (81%) of the respondents claimed that their major source of income was coconut, earning an average of Php 38, 026 per year. Their other sources of income were livestock production, planting intercrops, rice production, fishing, employment with DPWH, LGU and local government among others, store ownership and buying of coal. Most of the farmers were affiliated with local organizations such as Kasaganaan sa Ilalim ng Niyogan, Kaunlaran ng Bayan (KAANIB), Lapitan Ito ng Maliliit na Magniniyog ng Babaeng Silangan (LIMBAS) and farmers" organizations in their area. The mean farm size computed was 5.23 ha with only 4.8 ha being fully utilized. Majority (75%) of the farms were inherited by the farmers from their parents. The types of land ownership included purchased land, inherited plus purchased land and land given by institutions as well as other tenurial status such as being tenant and being a caretaker. Flat and sloping features were both present in most of the farms and the common spacing used was 7x7 meters. The average number of trees per ha was 224. Meanwhile, the average number of young trees of all the respondents was 306 and old trees, 607, existing for an average of 50 years. Most of the farmers harvest coconuts six times a year. According to the farmers, the peak month was August and the lean months, February and March. Among the three main products of the farms - copra, matured coconut and young coconut - the most labor-intensive was copra due to the additional labor and needed time for the copra making while in terms of price, it received the highest value. As for fertilizer and pesticide application, the farmers mainly relied on the chemicals provided by government institutions. Generally, the farms were located far from the main market. More than half (52%) of the producers did not incur delivery costs because their buyers picked up the former"s harvest. The other 48% deliver their products by: renting a truck or tricycle, or using their own vehicles, or paying for horses and carabao. The farmers did not need to promote their products since all of their harvests were usually bought by the buyers. The farmers were all paid in cash after they delivered the coconuts. An average of one worker per hectare was employed by a coconut farm and were paid per day or per a certain number of pieces. The wage rate ranged from Php 200 to 350 a day or per 1000 pieces. In terms of capital use, the usual investments were land, production tools and vehicles. It was observed that the farms were lacking in terms of Management Information Systems and in Research and Development as they were still practicing the conventional farming methods. They had access only to information regarding potential market and current prices, and new technologies or processes such as new hybrids or varieties and production of coconut products, were not yet adapted in the farms. The common problems cited by the farmers were: calamities, supply of fertilizer, drought and pest and diseases for production aspect unstable and low prices, farm-to-market roads in marketing aspect loans, source of capital and low income for finance aspect and unpaid salaries and labor-intensive work for the personnel aspect. The identified problems for MIS and R&D were absence of recording system, lack of knowledge on new farming practices or technologies and reliance on subsistence farming. Some of the opportunities that the farmers can take advantage of are the high demand for coconut products in the domestic and export markets, the availability of high-yielding varieties that can replace their aging trees, and the continuous support from government institutions. The recommendation for the coconut farmers and the village traders is for them to engage in coconut processing to add value to their products and consequently increase their profits and for them to penetrate niche markets. In addition, a strong relationship with the farmers and their customers should be maintained by the village traders and byaheros for the former to be ensured of continuous supply of coconuts. Lastly, government institutions should implement programs and activities to assist the farmers financially, technically and logistically. Local organizations should link the farmers to government institutions and monitor the programs and action plans being implemented for the farmers.

Understanding why some countries are prosperous while others fail in achieving high standards of welfare and wellbeing is one of the most interesting and investigated topics in economics. Several candidate exlplanations have been proposed, for instance cultural factors (Banfield 1958, Putnam 1993), geographical determinism (Diamond 1997), institutional determinants (North 1990, Acemoglu 2000, Acemoglu 2012). Interestingly, a common feature of any theoretical argument is that each of them fits well with the recent European history. If it is the theory which has been adapted to Europe or if it is Europe which presents the characteristics suited to successful economic growth is debatable. According to Landes (1999), it is just a stylized fact that Europe took and kept the lead for at least the last one thousand years. Therefore, even though "some would say that Eurocentrism is bad [.], hence to be avoided", it can be understood as an aknowledgement of history. Of course, there is not full agreement on the topic and different perspectives on the matter have been proposed (Hobson 2004). Whatever the story is, the European case is an interesting one, both in historical and in current terms. Indeed, since the Nineteenth century Europe (and the Western World) has been undertaking a continuous growth process, achieving unprecedented levels of wealth. Such a historical path allowed the Western countries to take the lead economically and politically. Using Landes (1999) words, "we live in a world of inequality and diversity, in which there are three kinds of nations: those that spend lots of money to keep their weight down; those whose people eat to live; and those whose people don't know where the next meal is coming from". Europe and the West have been constantly in the first kind. However, richies have never been evenly distributed also within rich countries and this is true for Europe as well. In particular, European geography has been characterized by a growing dichotomy. On the one hand, some countries have been performing succesfully, maintaining levels of wealth which are top standards on a global scale. This is the case for continental countries, including Scandinavian economies and the United Kingdom. On the other hand, other countries have been falling behind and have not been able to keep in touch with the fast growing core. In this group we find the so called South of Europe, i.e. the Mediterranean countries, as well as the former sovietic Eastern economies. Of course, disparities have always been with us and this is not necessarily bad, since growth does not need to be a perfectly balanced process (Hirschman 1958). However, such an issue becomes relevant as long as national and regional disparities either do not reduce or worsen overtime. This is even more important if the diverging economies belong to the same political entity. This is precisely the case of Europe, in particular of the European Union, a political and economic construct in which policy interventions have been implemented in the last decades to foster convergence and cohesion between economies. This dissertation investigates some of the main topics in the empirical literature on economic growth. The scope is to assess empirically the validity of some theoreatical statements and policy provisions, focussing mostly on European economies because of their peculiar economic history. A broader cross-country analysis is also provided in the last section. As a first step we will test whether under some specific circumstances economies will tend to get closer and closer in terms of wealth. Theoretically, following Solow (1957), the standard neoclassical model predicts that one should find evidence of convergence, in the sense that poorer economies ar expected to grow faster than richer ones (Barro 1992, Mankiw 1990). Of course, this holds as long as economies are similar in terms of structural characteristics (as the composition of output and the distribution of labour force across sectors) and technology. Hence, the first part of this dissertation will address unconditional convergence in European regions from 1990 to 2007, a relitvely homogeneous set of economies, emphasizing the role of sectoral dynamics in shaping aggregate outcome. The analysis of the dynamics of economic output provides an insightful picture of trends in economic growth and inequality between regions, fully describing the evolution of the distribution. Even though some policy implications can be drawn, they are quite limited. Indeed, such an unconditional analysis does not allow to tell which factors are positively associated with economic performance and which are not. The second section of this dissertation explores this line of research by focusing on two domains which have become particularly relevant after the last crisis in 2008: deregulation and liberalization of the labour market, fiscal parameters. The last part of this work takes a broader perspective on economic growth and correlated phenomena, also enlarging the sample under analysis beyond the European Union. One of the emerging topic in the empirical literature concerns the investigation of the relationship between environment degradation and economic growth. If at a first glance a positive relationship may be the more obvious pattern, some theoretical arguments suggest that under specific conditions environmental degradation may start declining at higher levels of GDP. In particular, three factors may be fostering such a process: environmental friendly technological innovation, structural change towards less energy-intensive activities, change in individual preferences together with regulation. Given this set of hypothesis, starting from the Nineties a large amount of empirical studies has been investigating the relationship between various indicators of environmental degradation and GPD. The main scope is to test empirically the so called Environmental Kuznetz Curve hypothesis, which states that environmental degradation increases with income until a threshold level, after which the relationship turns negative. The main idea is that at a sufficiently high level of income the three mechanisms above will trigger the switch in the relationship. We will test this hypothesis for a large sample of countries, augmenting the standard model in order to account for convergence in environmental degradation.

Los conflictos por el control de los recursos naturales han sido una constante en la historia de América Latina. A inicios del siglo XXI, sin embargo, un conjunto de nuevos procesos de transformación de los territorios rurales que involucran nuevos y viejos actores están teniendo lugar en el continente. Esto genera conflictos y también alianzas, cuyas implicaciones para el diseño e implementación de las políticas agroalimentarias y de superación de la pobreza es necesario analizar. En otras palabras, la cuestión agraria del siglo XXI está actualmente vinculada a dos principales procesos de acaparamiento de tierras y recursos naturales que se deben esclarecer: por una parte, los acaparamientos vinculados a los agro negocios para la producción de cultivos con múltiples usos (e.g., soya, caña de azúcar, palma aceitera, maíz, etc.); y, por otra parte, los vinculados a empresas extractivas (e.g., petroleras, mineras, de bioenergía, madereras, etc.). Estosprocesos, sin embargo, están asociados a otros de más larga data y que continúan ocurriendo paralelamente o que crecientemente tienden a estar subordinados: los vinculados a los agricultores familiares parcialmente vinculados a los mercados; los vinculados a productores rurales diversificados; y, por último, los vinculados a poblaciones «campesinas» y/o grupos étnicos total o parcialmente excluidos de los mercados. El documento tiene como principal objetivo identificar las características que asume cada proceso en los países de la región,y desde una perspectiva normativa, sugerir cómo deberían ser diseñadas e implementadas las políticas para la superación de la pobreza rural, la seguridad y soberanía alimentarias, así como un crecimiento económico respetuoso de los procesos ecológicos naturales en este nuevo contexto. ; Conflicts over control of natural resources have been a constant in Latin America´s history. At thebeginning of the twenty-first century a new set of rural transformation processes involving new and oldactors are taking place in the continent. This generates conflicts and alliances with implications for thedesign and implementation of agri-food policies and poverty reduction. The agrarian questions of the 21stcentury are currently linked to two main land and territorial grabbing processes: on the one hand, thoselinked to agribusinesses for the production of multiple use crops (e.g. soy, sugar cane, oil palm, corn, etc.);and, on the other hand, those linked to extractive firms (e.g. oil, mines, bio-energy, wood, etc.). The twoprocesses are connected, however, to others with a longer time span, which continue taking place in parallel: those linked to family farms partially related to; those related to diversified rural producers; and,finally, those related to «peasant» populations and/or ethnic groups totally or partially excluded from themarkets. The main goal of this paper is to identify the characteristics assumed by each process in thecountries of the region; and, from a normative perspective, to outline what policies should be designed andimplemented for overcoming rural poverty, food security and food sovereignty, and an economic growthrespectful of natural ecological processes in this new context. ; Les conflits pour le contrôle des ressources naturelles ont été une constante dans l'histoire de l'AmériqueLatine. Au début du XXIème siècle, un nouvel ensemble de processus de transformation des zones ruralesimpliquant anciens et nouveaux acteurs se déroulent dans le continent. Ceci génère des conflits et desalliances, dont les implications, il est nécessaire d'analyser pour la conception et la mise en oeuvre despolitiques agroalimentaires et de réduction de la pauvreté. Autrement dit, la question agraire du XXI siècleest désormais en rapport avec deux principaux processus liés à l'accaparement des terres et des ressourcesnaturelles : d'une part ceux attachés aux grandes industries agroalimentaires (le soja, la canne à sucre, lepalmier à huile, le maïs, etc.); et, d'autre part ceux unis aux industries extractives (les hydrocarburants,l'exploitation minière, la bioénergie, le bois, etc.). Ces processus, cependant, sont associés à d'autres delongue date ou qui, survenant en parallèle, ont tendance à être de plus en plus subordonnés: ceux liées auxagriculteurs familiaux partiellement couplées aux marchés, ceux liées aux agriculteurs diversifiés; et, enfin,ceux rattachées aux populations « paysannes » et/ou aux groups ethniques entièrement ou partiellementexclus du marché. L'objectif de cet article est d'identifier les caractéristiques que chaque processus présentedans les différents pays de la région; et, d'un point de vue normatif, d'accorder la façon dont les politiquesdevraient être conçues et mises en oeuvre pour la réduction de la pauvreté rurale, la sécurité et souverainetéalimentaire tout en faisant partie d'un processus de croissance économique respectueux de l'environnementdans ce nouveau contexte. ; O conflito sobre os recursos naturais têm sido uma constante na história da América Latina. No início doséculo XXI, no entanto, um conjunto de novos processos de transformação de áreas rurais envolvendonovos e antigos atores estão ocorrendo no continente. O que gera conflitos e alianças, as implicações paraa concepção e implementação de políticas agroalimentares e redução da pobreza deve ser analisada. Emoutras palavras, a questão agrária do século XXI está agora ligada a dois principais processos de grilagem deterras e recursos naturais, que são necessárias para esclarecer: em primeiro lugar, aqueles relacionados aoagronegócio para produzir culturas com usos múltiplos (p ganhar. por exemplo, soja, cana de açúcar, óleode palma, milho, etc.); e, além disso, ligada a empresas extractivas (por exemplo, petróleo, mineração,bioenergia, madeira, etc.). Estes processos, no entanto, estão associados com outros mais longa e continuama ocorrer em paralelo ou cada vez mais tendem a ser subordinado: aqueles relacionados aos agricultoresfamiliares parcialmente ligados aos mercados; ligada aos agricultores diversificados; e, finalmente, ligada àspopulações camponesas» e / ou grupos de mercados étnicos integral ou parcialmente excluídos. O principalobjetivo do trabalho é identificar as características que cada processo nos países da região e de uma perspectivapolítica, sugerem como eles devem ser desenhado e implementado políticas de superação da pobreza rural,segurança e soberania alimentar, e crescimento econômico amigável dos processos ecológicos naturaisneste novo contexto. ; 61-78 ; lllambi@ivic.ve ; Semestral

The case of Australia and the film «Australia» as an example of the effective using of cinema in place branding is represented. It is proved that films are strong and effective communication channels within internationals relations, which are able to have an impact on a distribution of the global flows of potential visitors to the country. It is shown that placing of the state brand into cinematography form enables the process of formation of the international image of a state, improving the country's reputation in the eyes of public community of the other countries. The author shows the conditions the use of cinema as a tool of place branding brings the most effective results under which. As such conditions the author considers world­class events in the countries where the movies were filmed. The article also focuses on a role of public authorities within successful place branding. A successful Australian marketing campaign «Come Walkabout» which was held by state agency «Tourism Australia» in 2008 is analyzed. The peculiarity of this campaign was its establishment on a base of the film «Australia». It became a unique packaging for state brand with its subsequent representation towards wide circles of the international community. The article also rises the question of interdependence among state image and the images of its components. The reputation of the country on the international scene, respect and trust in it, which causes craving and love for the country or, conversely, a poor reputation among other international actors and, consequently, a negative attitude towards it from the international environment, are important intangible components of any modern country. At a time when the "soft power" becomes even more important in interactions, even in spite of local armed conflicts and growing tension in certain regions of the world, the positive image of the country to this day contributes to a successful constructive dialogue with the rest of the international actors, and cooperation and cooperation at the international level. the arenas do not lose their relevance. Considering cinema as a powerful information channel and an influential tool for substituting institutions in the audience's minds, we wondered if it could be viewed in terms of image-maker functionality that could form a positive image of the country in the domestic political and, in particular, the foreign policy field, to promote the brand of the country to in the international arena and / or weaken competitors' rivalry for world resources. Modern films never become powerful channels of communication, ceasing to be only creative works of authors' collectives. The ability of cinema to mythologize events, to replace some installations in the human minds of others, in a heap of new technologies of film production, make it the most important kind of psychological influence, and therefore - the creation of a new reality. The problems of the relationship between culture (cinema) and space (the country), their interaction, are extremely relevant both in the field of scientific research of various humanitarian disciplines (cultural studies, political science, history, philology, psychology, etc.), as well as in the field of direct human practice - be it the protection of cultural and natural heritage, foreign and domestic policy of states, international relations, socio-economic development of different regions and countries. The substantiation and research of the possibilities of cinematography in the processes of creation and promotion of the brand of the country, its potential as a systemic mechanism for spreading a positive image of the country in its foreign policy context is becoming relevant. The design of the placement branding, which we consider to be the direction of modern state policy, becomes the locomotive that leads the practice of managing reputational capital of the country to a qualitatively new level. The involvement of cinematography as a tool for the performance of the play-branding activity makes it possible to talk about the emergence of the first practical models of purposeful and systematic activity in relation to the image of the country on the international scene, which favorably differ from the popular but ineffective casual acts of state bodies and enthusiasts from the private sector, in order to improve perception of the country to the rest of the world. ; Презентується кейс Австралії та фільму «Австралія» як приклад ефективного використання кінематографа в процесі плейсбрендингу. Доведено, що кінофільми є вагомими та ефективними комунікаційними каналами в міжнародних відносинах, здатними впливати на розподіл глобальних потоків потенційних відвідувачів країни. Показано, що розміщення бренду країни в кінематографічній формі уможливлює процеси формування міжнародного іміджу країни, поліпшення репутації країни в очах громадської спільноти інших країн. Автор демонструє умови, при яких використання кінематографа в якості інструменту плейсбрендингу приносить найефективніші результати. До таких умов він відносить проведення подій світового рівня в країні, де знімався кінофільм. Стаття також акцентує увагу на ролі державних органів у процесі успішного плейсбрендингу. Проаналізована успішна маркетингова кампанія Австралії «Спробуй піший туризм» проведена державним агентством «Туризм Австралії» в 2008 році. Особливістю цієї кампанії було її започаткування саме на основі кінофільму «Австралія», який послужив унікальним пакуванням для бренду країни із його подальшим репрезентуванням широким колам світової спільноти. В статті також порушується питання взаємозалежності іміджу країни та іміджу її складових елементів. ; Презентується кейс Австралії та фільму «Австралія» як приклад ефективного використання кінематографа в процесі плейсбрендингу. Доведено, що кінофільми є вагомими та ефективними комунікаційними каналами в міжнародних відносинах, здатними впливати на розподіл глобальних потоків потенційних відвідувачів країни. Показано, що розміщення бренду країни в кінематографічній формі уможливлює процеси формування міжнародного іміджу країни, поліпшення репутації країни в очах громадської спільноти інших країн. Автор демонструє умови, при яких використання кінематографа в якості інструменту плейсбрендингу приносить найефективніші результати. До таких умов він відносить проведення подій світового рівня в країні, де знімався кінофільм. Стаття також акцентує увагу на ролі державних органів у процесі успішного плейсбрендингу. Проаналізована успішна маркетингова кампанія Австралії «Спробуй піший туризм» проведена державним агентством «Туризм Австралії» в 2008 році. Особливістю цієї кампанії було її започаткування саме на основі кінофільму «Австралія», який послужив унікальним пакуванням для бренду країни із його подальшим репрезентуванням широким колам світової спільноти. В статті також порушується питання взаємозалежності іміджу країни та іміджу її складових елементів.

Resumen: La salud mental y el bienestar son fundamentales para nuestra capacidad colectiva y individual como seres humanos de pensar, de exteriorizar los sentimientos, de establecer y mantener relaciones, para estudiar, para perseguir las actividades de ocio, para tomar decisiones diarias y para disfrutar de una vida plena. Una adolescencia saludable es un prerrequisito para una vida adulta saludable. Sin embargo, la realidad actual presenta un panorama preocupante. La formación del capital mental individual y colectivo - especialmente en las primeras etapas de la vida - está siendo retenida por una serie de riesgos evitables para la salud mental (World Health Organization [WHO], 2013). Los adolescentes del sur de Europa (región que ha sido más severamente afectada por la crisis financiera; e.g., Portugal) son señalados como un grupo extremadamente vulnerable, ya que su salud mental fácilmente podría ser influenciada por las dificultades económicas de sus padres y la escasez de solidaridad social (European Parliament, 2012). La promoción de la salud mental de los adolescentes es considerada como una preocupación fundamental (WHO, 2005a, 2013). En este ámbito, las intervenciones centradas en la promoción de la literacía de la salud mental han revelado importantes ventajas en la prevención, reconocimiento, intervención precoz y la reducción del estigma (Pinfold, Stuart, Thornicroft & Arboleda-Florez, 2005; Pinfold, Toulmin, Thornicroft, Huxley, Farmer & Graham, 2003; Schulze, Richter-Werling, Matschinger & Angermeyer, 2003; Stuart, 2006). En consonancia con los marcos de promoción de la salud mentales propuestos por la Organización Mundial de la Salud (2005a), tenemos que involucrar a jóvenes en los ambientes donde interactúan (Burns, 2011). Las escuelas son implícitamente uno de los locales más importantes para la promoción de la salud mental de los adolescentes (Barry, Clarke, Jenkins & Patel, 2013; WHO, 2001). El proyecto "Abrir Espacio para la Salud Mental – Promoción de la salud mental en adolescentes (12-14 años)" tiene como objetivo incrementar literacía de la salud mental en los jóvenes. En el primer año se ha desarrollado un instrumento de evaluación - Mental Health Literacy questionnaire (MHLq) - y la intervención para la promoción de la salud mental. La intervención consiste en 2 sesiones, 90 minutos cada una, implementadas con intervalo de una semana. Siguen una metodología interactiva, utilizando dinámicas de grupo, videos, música y discusión. El estudio de la eficacia de la intervención se lleva a cabo mediante un análisis pre y pos-test con el MHLq, utilizando un grupo experimental y un grupo de control. Este artículo presenta los resultados preliminares de la eficacia de la intervención de promoción de la salud mental en una muestra de 100 adolescentes portugueses (12-14 años). El pos-test mostró un incremento de los niveles de conocimientos de salud mental y estrategias de autoayuda. Los resultados sugieren que la intervención desarrollada parece ser adecuada al objetivo propuesto y refuerzan la creencia de que intervenciones escolares, sistemáticas y sostenibles, para la promoción de la salud mental con jóvenes, es un enfoque prometedor para la promoción de la literacía de la salud mental (Schulze et al., 2003; Rickwood et al., 2005; Corrigan et al., 2007; WHO, 2010). ; Abstract: Mental health and well-being are fundamental to our collective and individual ability as humans to think, to feel emotions, to form and maintain relationships, to study, to pursue leisure interests, to make day-to-day decisions and to enjoy a fulfilling life. A healthy adolescence is a prerequisite for a healthy adulthood. However, the current reality presents a concerning picture. The formation of individual and collective mental capital – especially in the earlier stages of life – is being held back by a range of avoidable risks to mental health (World Health Organization [WHO], 2013). Adolescents from Southern Europe (region that has been more severely hit by the financial crisis; e.g., Portugal) are pointed out as an extremely vulnerable group, as their mental health might easily be influenced by their parents' economic difficulties and by the lack of social solidarity (European Parliament, 2012). Adolescents' mental health promotion is regarded as a vital concern (WHO, 2005a, 2013). Interventions focused on mental health literacy promotion have revealed important advantages in preventing, recognising, early intervening and reducing stigma (Pinfold, Stuart, Thornicroft & Arboleda-Florez, 2005; Pinfold, Toulmin, Thornicroft, Huxley, Farmer & Graham, 2003; Schulze, Richter-Werling, Matschinger & Angermeyer, 2003; Stuart, 2006). Consistent with mental health promotion frameworks proffered by the World Health Organization (2005a), we must engage with young people in environments where they interact (Burns, 2011). Schools are implicitly one of the most important settings for promoting the mental health of adolescents (Barry, Clarke, Jenkins & Patel, 2013; WHO, 2001). The "Finding Space to Mental Health: Promoting mental health in adolescents (12- to 14 year olds)" project aims at increasing young people's mental health literacy. During the first year, an assessment instrument – Mental Health Literacy questionnaire (MHLq) - and a two-day intervention were developed. The intervention is composed by 2 sessions at one-week intervals, lasting 90 minutes each. Sessions follow an interactive methodology, using group dynamics, music and videos and group discussions regarding participants' emotional well-being. The study of the intervention's effectiveness is conducted through a pretest-postest design using the MHLq in both an experimental group and a control group. This article presents the preliminary results regarding the effectiveness of the intervention aimed at enhancing mental health literacy in a sample of 100 Portuguese adolescents (12- to 14-year-olds). The postest showed students' increased levels of knowledge and self-help strategies. These results suggest that the intervention developed appears to be adequate to the proposed goal, and they strengthen the belief that targeting young people in systematic and sustainable school-based intervention is a promising approach for the promotion of mental health literacy (Rickwood, Deane, Wilson & Ciarrichi, 2005; Schulze et al., 2003; WHO, 2010).

Dengue: To determine the level of Knowledge of the children of 6to Degree of the Municipal Schools of the City of Cordoba. Perspective for the Prevention The Dengue is an increasing problem of world-wide health, where single in the region of the Américas the four serotypes of dengue circulate; and where it is probable that the magnitude of the problem of dengue/dengue hemorrhagic, it continues increasing, due to the alarming increase of the vector Aedes Aegypti. The promotion and the prevention of the health are an urgent priority. It mainly assures the right to the health in the childhood, it is responsibility of all and it is the investment that each society must make to generate through the creative and productive capacity of the society everything and the young people in special, sustainable a social and human futureThe new generation of Programs of Prevention and Control of the Dengue demands changes in the management of the programs, demands changes in the profile of the programs. The strategies of control before applied no longer are applicable to the present reality, due to the changes of the situation social, demographic, economic and political of the countries. It is for that reason that stops to have success in the new programs is due to incorporate a communitarian sense with base in the appropriation of the control problem. From this work arises the present that it has like objective to determine the level of knowledge of the children of scholastic age, since the author is convinced that the continuous qualification in the classrooms, next to the already existing programs, will produce great changes for the re-emergent and easily preventives diseases.For it a previous survey was made that determined the level of knowledge of the children, and after the made factories it was come to carry out another survey of equal characteristics to first. One concludes that evidently it is begun with a high percentage of ignorance on the part of the pupils, but which through the made factories where the children are active part of such and the professionals single guides in the task, these young people acquired the knowledge and they introduced in his costume, since the second survey responds to the expectations of the author widely It is through the present work that confirms the necessity of a change of strategies in the programs of scholastic health, where this must be united of systematic and continuous way to all the other programs of prevention. It is essential to use the communitarian participation and the education in health outside the epidemics and emergencies to be able to maintain with successes the results during the same ones Education continues in form of factories in the scholastic population, like way of promotion and prevention of the transmissible diseases. The solution for the disease of the Dengue and therefore other transmissible ones is to aim towards a holística vision in the promotion, a glance that promotes changes of behaviors, non single in the community but also, in the way as the programs of prevention and control are being carried out. ; Dengue: Determinar el nivel de Conocimientos de los niños de 6to Grado de las Escuelas Municipales de la Ciudad de Córdoba. Perspectivas para la Prevención.El Dengue es un problema creciente de salud mundial, donde solo en la región de las Américas circulan los cuatro serotipos del dengue; y donde es probable que la magnitud del problema del dengue / dengue hemorrágico, siga aumentando, debido al alarmante aumento del vector: Aedes Aegypti.La promoción y la prevención de la salud es una prioridad impostergable. Asegura el derecho a la salud sobre todo en la infancia, es responsabilidad de todos y es la inversión que cada sociedad debe hacer para generar a través de la capacidad creadora y productiva de la sociedad toda y de los jóvenes en especial, un futuro social y humano sostenible.La nueva generación de Programas de Prevención y Control del Dengue demanda cambios en la gestión de los programas, demanda cambios en el perfil de los programas. Las estrategias de control antes aplicadas ya no son aplicables a la realidad actual, debido a los cambios de la situación social, demográficos, económicos y políticos de los países. Es por ello que para tener éxito en los nuevos programas se debe incorporar un sentido comunitario con base en la apropiación del problema de control. De esto surge el presente trabajo que tiene como objetivo determinar el nivel de conocimiento de los niños de edad escolar, ya que el autor está convencido que la capacitación continua en las aulas, junto a los programas ya existentes producirán grandes cambios para las enfermedades re-emergentes y fácilmente prevenibles.Para ello se realizó una encuesta previa que determinó el nivel de conocimiento de los niños, y luego de los talleres realizados se procedió a efectuar otra encuesta de iguales características a la primera. Se concluye que evidentemente se comienza con un alto porcentaje de desconocimiento por parte del alumnado, pero que a través de los talleres realizados donde los niños son parte activa de los mismos y los profesionales solo guías en la tarea, estos jóvenes adquirieron el conocimiento y lo introdujeron en su acerbo, ya que la segunda encuesta responde ampliamente a las expectativas del autor.Es a través del presente trabajo que se confirma la necesidad de un cambio de estrategias en los programas de salud escolar, donde esta tiene que estar unida de manera sistemática y continua a todos los demás programas de prevención. Es imprescindible utilizar la participación comunitaria y la educación en salud fuera de las epidemias y emergencias para poder sostener con éxitos los resultados durante las mismas.Educación continúa en forma de talleres en la población escolar, como manera de promoción y prevención de las enfermedades transmisibles.La solución para la enfermedad del Dengue y por ende otras transmisibles es apuntar hacia una visión holística en la promoción, una mirada que promueve cambios de comportamientos, no solo en la comunidad sino también, en la manera como los programas de prevención y control están siendo llevados a cabo.

Dengue: Determinar el nivel de Conocimientos de los niños de 6to Grado de las Escuelas Municipales de la Ciudad de Córdoba. Perspectivas para la Prevención.El Dengue es un problema creciente de salud mundial, donde solo en la región de las Américas circulan los cuatro serotipos del dengue; y donde es probable que la magnitud del problema del dengue / dengue hemorrágico, siga aumentando, debido al alarmante aumento del vector: Aedes Aegypti.La promoción y la prevención de la salud es una prioridad impostergable. Asegura el derecho a la salud sobre todo en la infancia, es responsabilidad de todos y es la inversión que cada sociedad debe hacer para generar a través de la capacidad creadora y productiva de la sociedad toda y de los jóvenes en especial, un futuro social y humano sostenible.La nueva generación de Programas de Prevención y Control del Dengue demanda cambios en la gestión de los programas, demanda cambios en el perfil de los programas. Las estrategias de control antes aplicadas ya no son aplicables a la realidad actual, debido a los cambios de la situación social, demográficos, económicos y políticos de los países. Es por ello que para tener éxito en los nuevos programas se debe incorporar un sentido comunitario con base en la apropiación del problema de control. De esto surge el presente trabajo que tiene como objetivo determinar el nivel de conocimiento de los niños de edad escolar, ya que el autor está convencido que la capacitación continua en las aulas, junto a los programas ya existentes producirán grandes cambios para las enfermedades re-emergentes y fácilmente prevenibles.Para ello se realizó una encuesta previa que determinó el nivel de conocimiento de los niños, y luego de los talleres realizados se procedió a efectuar otra encuesta de iguales características a la primera. Se concluye que evidentemente se comienza con un alto porcentaje de desconocimiento por parte del alumnado, pero que a través de los talleres realizados donde los niños son parte activa de los mismos y los profesionales solo guías en la tarea, estos jóvenes adquirieron el conocimiento y lo introdujeron en su acerbo, ya que la segunda encuesta responde ampliamente a las expectativas del autor.Es a través del presente trabajo que se confirma la necesidad de un cambio de estrategias en los programas de salud escolar, donde esta tiene que estar unida de manera sistemática y continua a todos los demás programas de prevención. Es imprescindible utilizar la participación comunitaria y la educación en salud fuera de las epidemias y emergencias para poder sostener con éxitos los resultados durante las mismas.Educación continúa en forma de talleres en la población escolar, como manera de promoción y prevención de las enfermedades transmisibles.La solución para la enfermedad del Dengue y por ende otras transmisibles es apuntar hacia una visión holística en la promoción, una mirada que promueve cambios de comportamientos, no solo en la comunidad sino también, en la manera como los programas de prevención y control están siendo llevados a cabo. ; Dengue: To determine the level of Knowledge of the children of 6to Degree of the Municipal Schools of the City of Cordoba. Perspective for the Prevention The Dengue is an increasing problem of world-wide health, where single in the region of the Américas the four serotypes of dengue circulate; and where it is probable that the magnitude of the problem of dengue/dengue hemorrhagic, it continues increasing, due to the alarming increase of the vector Aedes Aegypti. The promotion and the prevention of the health are an urgent priority. It mainly assures the right to the health in the childhood, it is responsibility of all and it is the investment that each society must make to generate through the creative and productive capacity of the society everything and the young people in special, sustainable a social and human futureThe new generation of Programs of Prevention and Control of the Dengue demands changes in the management of the programs, demands changes in the profile of the programs. The strategies of control before applied no longer are applicable to the present reality, due to the changes of the situation social, demographic, economic and political of the countries. It is for that reason that stops to have success in the new programs is due to incorporate a communitarian sense with base in the appropriation of the control problem. From this work arises the present that it has like objective to determine the level of knowledge of the children of scholastic age, since the author is convinced that the continuous qualification in the classrooms, next to the already existing programs, will produce great changes for the re-emergent and easily preventives diseases.For it a previous survey was made that determined the level of knowledge of the children, and after the made factories it was come to carry out another survey of equal characteristics to first. One concludes that evidently it is begun with a high percentage of ignorance on the part of the pupils, but which through the made factories where the children are active part of such and the professionals single guides in the task, these young people acquired the knowledge and they introduced in his costume, since the second survey responds to the expectations of the author widely It is through the present work that confirms the necessity of a change of strategies in the programs of scholastic health, where this must be united of systematic and continuous way to all the other programs of prevention. It is essential to use the communitarian participation and the education in health outside the epidemics and emergencies to be able to maintain with successes the results during the same ones Education continues in form of factories in the scholastic population, like way of promotion and prevention of the transmissible diseases. The solution for the disease of the Dengue and therefore other transmissible ones is to aim towards a holística vision in the promotion, a glance that promotes changes of behaviors, non single in the community but also, in the way as the programs of prevention and control are being carried out.

El riesgo sísmico y en general los desastres futuros que puede sufrir una ciudad, una región o un país significan una obligación o pasivo contingente no explícito que puede afectar, desde el punto de vista macroeconómico, la sostenibilidad fiscal del Estado. En otras palabras, del riesgo de desastre se deriva una exposición fiscal que debe ser dimensionada de acuerdo con la responsabilidad del Estado, el cual es un tomador de riesgo, consciente o no, que debe formular una estrategia para afrontar dicho riesgo y, así, evitar efectos económicos adversos que afecten su sostenibilidad económica. En esta investigación se ilustra el porqué tanto los desastres extremos como los desastres menores recurrentes significan una exposición fiscal y son pasivos contingentes que deben tenerse en cuenta en el balance contable de las naciones. La evaluación de la vulnerabilidad fiscal frente a desastres depende del potencial de pérdidas económicas que puede llegar a tener un país y de la capacidad o resiliencia económica que tiene para afrontarlas y llevar a cabo la reposición o reconstrucción postdesastre. Aquí se sustenta que la forma más apropiada para llevar a cabo dicha evaluación es utilizando modelos probabilistas de riesgo que den cuenta del potencial de pérdidas máximas esperadas para un período de retorno y de modelos analíticos que permitan determinar la capacidad o el acceso a recursos económicos que permitan cubrir el déficit que puede generar un desastre. El presente documento presenta el tipo de técnicas actuariales con las cuales se puede dimensionar la exposición fiscal, evaluando en forma probabilista el daño estructural y las pérdidas que se derivan sobre los activos o bienes inmuebles de responsabilidad del Estado. La modelización probabilista del riesgo catastrófico y el inventario de efectos económicos de los eventos menores recurrentes son insumos fundamentales para proyectar mecanismos financieros factibles y estructuras alternativas de retención y transferencia del riesgo de acuerdo con análisis de optimización financiera. Dicha modelización actuarial permite proponer índices para asignar la prioridad de rehabilitación o refuerzo estructural de inmuebles utilizando la relación beneficio-costo de este tipo de intervenciones. Se presenta una descripción de los instrumentos financieros que se podrían explorar para definir una estrategia óptima de protección financiera. Se describe la aplicación de la modelización probabilista del riesgo sísmico a nivel urbano para el caso de Manizales, Colombia, con el propósito de ilustrar el diseño del seguro colectivo voluntario por terremoto para las edificaciones privadas, que actualmente está operando, cubriendo a los estratos sociales de bajos ingresos de la ciudad a través de un subsidio cruzado. También se presenta el cálculo del riesgo sísmico y las estrategias financieras de gestión del riesgo para Bogotá, Colombia, y la evaluación del riesgo sísmico de Barcelona, España, utilizando métricas probabilistas. Finalmente se incluye el análisis de riesgo sísmico del portafolio de edificaciones públicas de Colombia, para ilustrar un análisis de riesgo a nivel de un país y los resultados de riesgo, utilizando indicadores, para los países de las Américas y a nivel mundial, con el fin de dar cuenta del riesgo nacional (i.e. para el sector público y privado) y el riesgo soberano (i.e. de responsabilidad fiscal) de los países del mundo. ; Seismic risk and in general the potential disasters that a city, a region or a country can suffer mean a non-explicit contingent liability that can affect, from a macroeconomic perspective, the fiscal sustainability of the State. In other words, disaster risk derives in a fiscal exposure that has to be measure according to the responsibility of the State, which is a risk taker, conscious or not, that must develop a strategy to face that risk, thus, to avoid adverse economic effects that affect its economic sustainability. This research illustrates why both, extreme disasters and recurrent small disasters meand a fiscal exposure and why they are contingen liabilities that must be considered in the national balance of the countries. Fiscal vulnerability evaluation due to disasters depends on the potential economic losses that a country could have, and the ability or economic resilience that it has, to face them and carry out a post disaster recovery and reconstruction. It is explained the most appropriate way to develop an evaluation using probabilistic risk models that provides the potential maximum expected losses for a specific return period and describes how analytical models allow determining the ability to access economic resources to cover deficit that a disaster could generate. This document presents the kinds of actuarial techniques useful to measure fiscal exposure or fiscal vulnerability, evaluation, in a probabilistic way, structural damage and losses produced over the assets that are a fiscal responsibility of the government. Probabilistic catastrophe risk modeling and inventory of economic impact of recurrent small events are fundament supplies to propose feasible financial mechanisms and alternative structures of risk retention and risk transfer according to financial optimization analysis. This actuarial modeling allows proposing indices to prioritize, using cost/benefit rates, rehabilitation or structural reinforcement of assets. This thesis also presents a description of the financial instruments that can be explored to define an optimal strategy of financial protection. The document also presents the application of probabilistic seismic risk moddeling at urban level in three cities: The case of Manizales, Colombia illustrates the desighno of the voluntary collective earhtquake insurance of private buildings, which currentlycovers low-income homeowners of the city through a cross subsidy strategy; the seismic risk estimation and financial risk strategies for Bogota, Colombia; and the sismic risk evaluation of Barcelona, Spain. Finally, this thesis illustrates risk analysis at country level through presenting seismic risk analysis of public buildings portfolio of Colombia. Also, it describes a risk analysis at regional level in the Americas and at global level, using indicators to represent national risk (of public and private sectors) and sovereign risk (fiscal responsibility) of the whole countries of the world. ; Postprint (published version)

In these three essays collectively entitled "Essays on Externalities and Agriculture in the United States and Brazil", I discuss three topics. In the first essay, I review the economic literature on diversification in farming systems and comment on the economic incentives and disincentives for diversification in 21st century agriculture. In the second essay, I focus on deforestation in Brazil, which is an externality associated with the expansion of agricultural production at forest frontiers. Using a natural experiment (changes in international Foot-and-Mouth Disease certification), I identify the portion of annual deforestation that can be attributed to changes in disease status, and suggest that the mechanism for new deforestation may be due to increased prices when beef is considered to be safe for export. In my third essay, I discuss the production economics behind the use of sub-therapeutic antibiotics in U.S. pork and poultry production, and comment in detail on the potential for heterogeneity in the returns to antibiotic use (and costs of regulation). A more detailed summary of each essay follows.Chapter 1: Economic Factors Affecting Diversified Farming SystemsIn response to a shift toward specialization and mechanization during the 20th century, there has been momentum on the part of a vocal contingent of consumers, producers, researchers, and policy makers who call for a transition toward a new model of agriculture. This model employs fewer synthetic inputs, incorporates practices which enhance biodiversity and environmental services at local, regional, and global scales, and takes into account the social implications of production practices, market dynamics, and product mixes. Within this vision, diversified farming systems (DFS) have emerged as a model that incorporates functional biodiversity at multiple temporal and spatial scales to maintain ecosystem services critical to agricultural production. This essay's aim is to provide an economists' perspective on the factors which make diversified farming systems (DFS) economically attractive, or not-so-attractive, to farmers, and to discuss the potential for and roadblocks to widespread adoption. The essay focuses on how a range of existing and emerging factors drive profitability and adoption of DFS, and suggests that, in order for DFS to thrive, a number of structural changes are needed. These include: 1) public and private investment in the development of low-cost, practical technologies that reduce the costs of production in DFS, 2) support for and coordination of evolving markets for ecosystem services and products from DFS and 3) the elimination of subsidies and crop insurance programs that perpetuate the unsustainable production of staple crops. This work suggests that subsidies and funding be directed, instead, toward points 1) and 2), as well as toward incentives for consumption of nutritious food. Chapter 2: Foot-and-Mouth Disease and Deforestation in the Brazilian AmazonDeforestation in the Brazilian Amazon released approximately 5.7 billion tons of CO2 to the atmosphere between 2000 and 2010, and 50-80% of this deforestation was for pasture. Most assume that increasing demand for cattle products produced in Brazil caused this deforestation, but the empirical work to-date on cattle documents only correlations between cattle herd size, pasture expansion, cattle prices, and deforestation. This essay uses panel data on deforestation and Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) status--an exogenous demand shifter--to estimate whether changes in FMD status caused new deforestation in municipalities in the Brazilian Amazon and cerrado biomes during the 2000-2010 period. Becoming certified as FMD-free caused annual deforestation to be 42% to 85% higher than deforestation rates in infected municipalities, on average, during the 2000-2010 period. Chapter 3: Potential for heterogeneity in the returns to sub-therapeutic antibiotics in U.S. pork and poultry operationsEach year, more than 50,000 people in the U.S. die from hospital-acquired bacterial infections, millions experience episodes of foodborne illness, and reported cases of "superbugs" such as Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) are on the rise. For those who acquire a resistant infection in their food, in their community, or in a hospital, resistance is associated with a longer duration of treatment, the use of more potent antibiotics, and longer hospital stays. This, in turn, means increased health care costs and costs to society due to antibiotic-resistant infections. Antibiotic resistance is contributing to the scope and severity of this health care crisis, and at least some of the responsibility for antibiotic resistance sits on the shoulders of industrial livestock production. In livestock operations, low or sub-therapeutic doses of antibiotics (STAs) are used to promote growth, in addition to their use to prevent and control disease. Today, more antibiotics are used in livestock production and the production of milk and eggs than in humans. While the use of sub-therapeutic doses of antibiotics is regulated less stringently in the United States than in the European Union, there is movement toward and potential for such regulation. Beginning in the 1970s, economic researchers began to study the potential impacts of bans on the use of sub-therapeutic antibiotics on the pork, poultry, and beef sectors and on U.S. consumers, but there has been little study of how heterogeneity impacts antibiotic use, and in turn, how it impacts returns to using antibiotics in U.S. livestock operations. I concentrate on U.S. pork and poultry operations since they are the largest users of sub-therapeutic antibiotics by volume in the U.S., and explore the existing literature on the economics of sub-therapeutic antibiotic use for glimpses of heterogeneity in the returns to antibiotic use. Perhaps the most interesting source of heterogeneity in returns to antibiotic use may be heterogeneity in management and/or the use of potential substitutes for antibiotics, such as improved sanitation practices and more modern facilities. Productivity and use of technologies that substitute for STA use vary amongst producers, and likely by region and farm size. Thus, the marginal abatement costs of reducing STA use vary across industries, producers, production systems, and regions.

The aim of the article is to describe the attitude of Latgalians towards the components of natural objects of their nearby residence space (micro environment) – mežs (forest) and prūds (pond), as well as the objects created by humans – ceļš (road), which to a certain extent confi rm the understanding of the objects close to the place of residence in daily life of the preceding generations of Latgalians, as well as allow to compare these insights to the manifestations of Latgalianness discovered in the discourses of today. Researchers of the geographical environment and identity defi ne space as a geometrical, topological, three-dimensional structure, in which the objects and their relationships interact with a subject (human). In the social and cultural background of each populated area and the structures typical to them maintain the carriers of the micro-environmental identity, interaction of which with the priorities of a human activity facilitates and maintains the comprehension of values. Within the process of interaction of several groups of factors are forming the spatial and - in a wider meaning - environmental identity of micro environmental objects, which is defined as a significant sub-structure of personal self-identity. The environmental psychologists are emphasising the importance of functional knowledge, which is developed by using 'bad' and 'good' experiences regarding some objects, places and spaces according to their capability to satisfy the biological, psychological, social and cultural needs. Thus the value systems within a framework of a specific community are influenced by the experience of application of environmental objects, while multiform functions of micro environmental objects are reflected in the ethic, aesthetic, cognitive, educative and other notions about themselves and society in general. The attitude towards the micro-environment reveals also the body of macro-environmental factors – social and economic, ecological, as well as geographical and spatial, which a person faces in his/her daily activity. Various studies on the Latgalian mentality, as well as language and culture carried out in the previous century, are highlighting that exactly the rural environment is the basis of a Latgalian person's interest in the individual's place in nature, and in great things – such as individual's mission, identity, Latgalianness, responsibility for its preservation, etc. This identity is not separable from the recognition of belonging to some social unit. In its turn the closest surrounding or micro environment of a contemporary Latgalian consists of several segments, with which s/he is tightly linked: family members and their occupation, house, natural objects of the closest surrounding, neighbours and their occupation, objects of the social life and traditions, etc. New modern aspects are introduced in these segments by the involvement of regional population in political, cultural and scientific processes of the state. Since the first condition for formation and development of a personality is the entirety of action and personal relationship, ensuring the orientation in various community systems of relations and viewpoints, then through language joining of the system of values is taking place, recognized not only in the regional community, but also in the national country. Involvement on the state level circulations nowadays confirms not only possibilities of the Latgalians, but also creates new tendencies and opportunities in the understanding of Latgalianness and also in the position against the attitude of inhabitants of other counties and the national state towards all the Latgalic matters. Thus the personalities popular in the Latgalian society, by confirming the link among the historical and contemporary Latgalian identity tendencies, significance of micro-environmental phenomena in the daily communication of regional population, Latgalian identity and psychology, as well as culture maintenance and preservation topicality, facilitate the orientation of regional society socialization, maintain the power of intellect, civic position and through the kinds of public consciousness manifestations activate the issues of equal rights and perseverance of their own native language. Active involvement in the process of solving of the present economic, political, cultural, ecological, administrative, scientific, etc. national issues of Latvia makes modern society to consider the factors of Latgalianness and contemporary tendencies of the identity manifestations. If the insights that a personality of an individual is mainly formed by the inborn characterizers have dominated in the description of former generations then the present social advancement and contribution of an individual him/herself in the personal development (his/ her self-performance and socialization experience), his/her patriotism, feeling of the micro- environment of Latgale region as a component of the system of values comprehension is based mainly on the attitude towards four interrelated elements: 1) nature environment maintaining a certain order and equilibrium in the geographical space of Latgale and, by meeting the needs of a human economic activities and social life, simultaneously facilitates also the formation of a certain attitude towards the objects created by nature; 2) the environment created by human – houses, household buildings, towns, etc., that as places for concentration of the people make the corresponding infrastructure of the specific society's standard of living to develop and to be maintained, by serving to meet the social, economical and cultural needs of the community members; 3) social environment formed by mutual relationship of the people in a community, region, country. Social environment reflects also the relationship with other communities (at the regional, state, international level), as well as the influence of scientific and technical achievements on the geographical environment of Latgale and the entire Latvia in general, meeting the political, social, economical, cultural, communication and other needs of a person; 4) internal environment is formed by the body of personal viewpoints of separate individuals – attitude towards cultural, economic, political, etc. ideas typical to the epoch and their implementation patterns (historical consciousness), making to revaluate their opportunities and making of a decision regarding an active or observing position. Thus the interaction of Latgalian micro-environment with the internal environment of a contemporary Latgalian person confirms not only him/her personality order at a physical, mental, emotional and intellectual level, but also forms the basis of social equilibrium and the most significant factor of the identity or the awareness of place belonging and choice of activity direction.

Anotācija Mazie uzņēmumi veido lielāko daļu uzņēmumu Latvijā, un tajos ir nodarbināti vairāk nekā puse iedzīvotāju darbspējīgā vecumā. Mazo uzņēmumu attīstības jautājumi ir īpaši aktuāli situācijā, kad globalizācijas rezultātā pieaugusi starptautiskā konkurence, augušas kvalitātes prasības produktiem un pakalpojumiem, pieaudzis bezdarbs. Pasaulē veiktie zinātniskie pētījumi liecina, ka vāja mazo uzņēmumu vadīšana ir viens no galvenajiem iemesliem, kādēļ uzņēmumu darbības rezultāti pasliktinās un uzņēmumi tiek likvidēti. Promocijas darba mērķis ir izpētīt mazo uzņēmumu vadīšanu nozīmīgi ietekmējošos faktorus un to savstarpējās ietekmes kopsakarības, izpētīt mazo uzņēmumu vadītāju uzskatus par izglītības un prasmju uzņēmuma vadīšanā nozīmīgumu, atklāt iespējas mazo uzņēmumu vadīšanas pilnveidošanai. Promocijas darba pirmajā nodaļā analizēta akadēmiskā literatūra un jaunākie zinātniskie pētījumi par mazo uzņēmumu vadītāju zināšanu un prasmju nozīmīgumu uzņēmuma vadīšanā, vadītāja personisko īpašību nozīmīgumu, mazo uzņēmumu vadīšanas īpatnībām, kā arī ārējās vides ietekme uz mazo uzņēmumu vadīšanu. Nodaļā analizēti zinātniskie pētījumi par uzņēmuma klimata nozīmīgumu uzņēmumos un to ietekmējošiem faktoriem, kā arī par zināšanu vadības nozīmīgumu organizācijās un zināšanu vadības nepieciešamību mazos uzņēmumos. Otrajā nodaļā pētīta mazo uzņēmumu attīstība un īpatnības Latvijā, izpētīta valdības politika mazo uzņēmumu atbalstam, analizēti valsts atbalsta pasākumi un ES fondu atbalsts maziem uzņēmumiem, analizēta uzņēmējdarbības izglītības īstenošana augstākās izglītības iestādēs. Promocijas darba trešajā nodaļā autore pētījusi, kā uzlabot mazo uzņēmumu vadīšanu Latvijā. Izpētīti ir mazo uzņēmumu vadītāju uzskati par uzņēmējdarbības izglītības un pieredzes nozīmīgumu. Noskaidrots, kādi ir mazo uzņēmumu vadītāju uzskati par apmācību, motivācijas un komunikācijas nozīmīgumu uzņēmumā. Analizētas vadītāju uzskatu atšķirības Latvijas reģionos, kā arī tautsaimniecības nozaru griezumā un arī atkarībā no uzņēmuma lieluma un vadītāja dzimuma. Izpētītas vadītāju apmācību, motivācijas, komunikācijas nozīmīguma vērtējumu savstarpējās sakarības un saistība ar uzņēmuma inovatīvās darbības vērtējumu. Pētīta interneta lietošanas aktivitāte mazos uzņēmumos, sīkāk izpētītas interneta lietošanas aktivitātes atšķirības Latvijas reģionos, kā arī atkarībā no nozares un uzņēmuma lieluma. Nodaļā analizēti mazo uzņēmumu vadītāju viedokļi par valsts atbalsta pasākumu, nodokļu politikas, finanšu resursu pieejamības, ārējās vides stabilitātes, administratīvo procedūru, kā arī informācijas pieejamības atbalsta pasākumiem nozīmīgums. Noteikti galvenie spēki, kas ietekmē mazos uzņēmumus. Pamatojoties uz zinātniskās literatūras analīzi un empīriskā pētījuma rezultātiem, atklātas mazo uzņēmumu vadīšanas pilnveidošanas iespējas. Promocijas darba pamata saturs ir izklāstīts 194 lappusēs. Darbā ievietoti 28 attēli un 11 tabulas. Literatūras un avotu sarakstā iekļautas 228 vienības. Promocijas darbam ir 7 pielikumi. Atslēgvārdi: mazo uzņēmumu vadīšana, uzņēmējdarbības izglītība, apmācība, motivācija, komunikācija ; Abstract Small enterprises account for the majority of enterprises in Latvia and employ more than a half of the working age population. The development issues of the small enterprises are particularly topical in the situation when as a result of globalization international competition has increased, higher quality is required from products and services, qualification requirements towards businesses are becoming tenser, and there has been a rise in unemployment. The globally conducted scientific research suggests that poor management of small businesses is one of the key reasons why the performance of these enterprises is deteriorating and the businesses are liquidated. The aim of the promotion paper is to study the factors which considerably influence the management of small businesses and regularities of their mutual interaction and to study the opinions of the managers of small businesses about the role of education and skills in corporate management and identify the opportunities for the improvement of corporate management. The first chapter of the promotion paper analyses academic literature and latest scientific research on the role of a small business managers' knowledge and skills of corporate management, the importance of the manager's personal qualities, key actions of small business managers in managing their enterprises as well as the influence of the external environment on the management of small businesses. The chapter analyses the research on the corporate climate in small enterprises and the factors influencing the climate as well as the importance of knowledge management as well as the role of knowledge management in organizations and the need for knowledge management in small businesses. The second chapter explores the development and peculiarities of small businesses in Latvia and studies the government policy for the support of small businesses as well as analyses the national support measures and EU support to small enterprises. The chapter also deals with the implementation of business administration education in the tertiary and vocational education institutions in the study programmes not focusing on economics and business administration. In the third chapter of the promotion paper the Author has studied the possibilities of improving the management of small businesses in Latvia. The research has also been made of the opinions of the small business managers about the importance of business management education and experience. The Author has studied and identified the opinions and differences in the opinions of small business managers about the role of training, motivation and communication in an enterprise. The differences of opinions have been examined in the cross-section of the regions of Latvia and industries as well as depending on the size of the enterprise and the manager's gender. The Author has studied the mutual correlations and relations of the assessments of training, motivation and communication importance on the innovative performance of a company. Other aspects under study are the intensity of the use of the Internet in small enterprises, differences in the intensity of using the Internet in the regions of Latvia as well as depending on the industry and size of the enterprise. The chapter analyses the opinions of small business managers about 54 the influence of state support measures, tax policy, availability of financial resources, stability of the external environment, influence of administrative procedures as well as availability of information on support measures. The Author has identified the key forces influencing small enterprises. Based on the analysis of scientific literature and empirical research results improvement opportunities of small business management have been revealed. The main contents of the promotion paper covers 190 pages. It contains 28 figures and 11 tables. The list of references contains 228 items, the promot

El riesgo sísmico y en general los desastres futuros que puede sufrir una ciudad, una región o un país significan una obligación o pasivo contingente no explícito que puede afectar, desde el punto de vista macroeconómico, la sostenibilidad fiscal del Estado. En otras palabras, del riesgo de desastre se deriva una exposición fiscal que debe ser dimensionada de acuerdo con la responsabilidad del Estado, el cual es un tomador de riesgo, consciente o no, que debe formular una estrategia para afrontar dicho riesgo y, así, evitar efectos económicos adversos que afecten su sostenibilidad económica. En esta investigación se ilustra el porqué tanto los desastres extremos como los desastres menores recurrentes significan una exposición fiscal y son pasivos contingentes que deben tenerse en cuenta en el balance contable de las naciones. La evaluación de la vulnerabilidad fiscal frente a desastres depende del potencial de pérdidas económicas que puede llegar a tener un país y de la capacidad o resiliencia económica que tiene para afrontarlas y llevar a cabo la reposición o reconstrucción postdesastre. Aquí se sustenta que la forma más apropiada para llevar a cabo dicha evaluación es utilizando modelos probabilistas de riesgo que den cuenta del potencial de pérdidas máximas esperadas para un período de retorno y de modelos analíticos que permitan determinar la capacidad o el acceso a recursos económicos que permitan cubrir el déficit que puede generar un desastre. El presente documento presenta el tipo de técnicas actuariales con las cuales se puede dimensionar la exposición fiscal, evaluando en forma probabilista el daño estructural y las pérdidas que se derivan sobre los activos o bienes inmuebles de responsabilidad del Estado. La modelización probabilista del riesgo catastrófico y el inventario de efectos económicos de los eventos menores recurrentes son insumos fundamentales para proyectar mecanismos financieros factibles y estructuras alternativas de retención y transferencia del riesgo de acuerdo con análisis de optimización financiera. Dicha modelización actuarial permite proponer índices para asignar la prioridad de rehabilitación o refuerzo estructural de inmuebles utilizando la relación beneficio-costo de este tipo de intervenciones. Se presenta una descripción de los instrumentos financieros que se podrían explorar para definir una estrategia óptima de protección financiera. Se describe la aplicación de la modelización probabilista del riesgo sísmico a nivel urbano para el caso de Manizales, Colombia, con el propósito de ilustrar el diseño del seguro colectivo voluntario por terremoto para las edificaciones privadas, que actualmente está operando, cubriendo a los estratos sociales de bajos ingresos de la ciudad a través de un subsidio cruzado. También se presenta el cálculo del riesgo sísmico y las estrategias financieras de gestión del riesgo para Bogotá, Colombia, y la evaluación del riesgo sísmico de Barcelona, España, utilizando métricas probabilistas. Finalmente se incluye el análisis de riesgo sísmico del portafolio de edificaciones públicas de Colombia, para ilustrar un análisis de riesgo a nivel de un país y los resultados de riesgo, utilizando indicadores, para los países de las Américas y a nivel mundial, con el fin de dar cuenta del riesgo nacional (i.e. para el sector público y privado) y el riesgo soberano (i.e. de responsabilidad fiscal) de los países del mundo. ; Seismic risk and in general the potential disasters that a city, a region or a country can suffer mean a non-explicit contingent liability that can affect, from a macroeconomic perspective, the fiscal sustainability of the State. In other words, disaster risk derives in a fiscal exposure that has to be measure according to the responsibility of the State, which is a risk taker, conscious or not, that must develop a strategy to face that risk, thus, to avoid adverse economic effects that affect its economic sustainability. This research illustrates why both, extreme disasters and recurrent small disasters meand a fiscal exposure and why they are contingen liabilities that must be considered in the national balance of the countries. Fiscal vulnerability evaluation due to disasters depends on the potential economic losses that a country could have, and the ability or economic resilience that it has, to face them and carry out a post disaster recovery and reconstruction. It is explained the most appropriate way to develop an evaluation using probabilistic risk models that provides the potential maximum expected losses for a specific return period and describes how analytical models allow determining the ability to access economic resources to cover deficit that a disaster could generate. This document presents the kinds of actuarial techniques useful to measure fiscal exposure or fiscal vulnerability, evaluation, in a probabilistic way, structural damage and losses produced over the assets that are a fiscal responsibility of the government. Probabilistic catastrophe risk modeling and inventory of economic impact of recurrent small events are fundament supplies to propose feasible financial mechanisms and alternative structures of risk retention and risk transfer according to financial optimization analysis. This actuarial modeling allows proposing indices to prioritize, using cost/benefit rates, rehabilitation or structural reinforcement of assets. This thesis also presents a description of the financial instruments that can be explored to define an optimal strategy of financial protection. The document also presents the application of probabilistic seismic risk moddeling at urban level in three cities: The case of Manizales, Colombia illustrates the desighno of the voluntary collective earhtquake insurance of private buildings, which currentlycovers low-income homeowners of the city through a cross subsidy strategy; the seismic risk estimation and financial risk strategies for Bogota, Colombia; and the sismic risk evaluation of Barcelona, Spain. Finally, this thesis illustrates risk analysis at country level through presenting seismic risk analysis of public buildings portfolio of Colombia. Also, it describes a risk analysis at regional level in the Americas and at global level, using indicators to represent national risk (of public and private sectors) and sovereign risk (fiscal responsibility) of the whole countries of the world. ; Postprint (published version)

The unsaturated zone is the part of the soil between the aquifer and the atmosphere. Unsaturated flow processes are highly dynamic and control e.g. the growth of plants or groundwater recharge. Environmental problems such as the agricultural use of arid regions and groundwater contamination call for sustainable solutions, which can only be achieved with model predictions. To improve the quality of models, a sound understanding of unsaturated flow processes and the used model approaches is necessary. The present work is intended to contribute to the understanding of modeling unsaturated flow with focus on the influence of water extraction by plant roots (root water uptake) and soil structure. The model for root water uptake, in the following called standard or basic approach, is determined by the atmospheric demand, the distribution of roots in the soil and the soil water status. Soil properties are described by autocorrelated random fields with layered structure (1D) and multi-Gaussian or non multi-Gaussian distribution (2D). For steady state flow in layered media, a semi-analytical first-order second-moment solution for mean and variance of pressure head is presented. Flow in 2D heterogeneous media is analyzed using numerical simulations where steady state and dynamic scenarios with one or several drying-rewetting phases are carried out. The results show that only under very wet conditions, the mean pressure head in the differently structured fields is well predicted by the analytical solutions while variances of pressure head are overestimated if the variance of the loghydraulic conductivity is large. Under drier conditions, root water uptake and soil structure have combined effects on unsaturated flow, which are not observed if one of these two factors is neglected, and which cannot be predicted by first-order second-moment effective models. In particular, distinct regions with pressure head values at the wilting point, where root water uptake is zero (local wilting), occur in lenses of coarse material. Furthermore, root water uptake affects the variance of pressure head and saturation during drying and rewetting phases in comparison to an equally dry state where root water uptake is not accounted for. Other effects introduced by root water uptake arise from a decreasing local net infiltration rate with depth, caused by the continuous extraction of water by roots within the root-zone. With decreasing local net infiltration rate, which leads to drier states, the impact of soil structure increases. For water flow, this leads e.g. to a depth dependency of the width of the infiltration front during rewetting. For solute transport, earlier arrival, smaller tailing and less impact of the considered structures of soil properties are observed due to root water uptake, when scenarios with and without root water uptake, which have the same groundwater recharge rate, are compared. To test modeling approaches for root water uptake, alternative uptake strategies that allow for compensation of stressed (uptake-reduced) locations by enhanced uptake at other, more favorable locations are considered. These strategies affect the distribution of pressure head and saturation, leading to smaller variances in the root-zone and attenuated local wilting, but do not prevent local wilting. The difficulty to evaluate the effect of local wilting as realistic physical phenomenon or unrealistic model artifact, the fact that the trend of the impact of root water uptake on the variability of flow depends on the uptake strategy and the lack of knowledge of how roots really extract water in heterogeneous soils emphasize the need for a deeper understanding of root functioning at smaller scales before macroscopic models for root water uptake can be used for reliable predictions of flow in heterogeneous media. ; Die ungesättigte Zone ist der Bereich des Bodens zwischen Grundwasserleiter und Atmosphäre. Strömungsprozesse in der ungesättigten Zone spielen u.a. eine tragende Rolle für das Wachstum von Pflanzen, die Grundwasserneubildung oder den Eintrag von Wasser in die Atmosphäre. Nachhaltige Lösungsstrategien für umweltpolitische Fragestellungen wie z.B. die agrikulturelle Nutzung von ariden Gebieten oder die Verschmutzung von Grundwasserressourcen werden mit Hilfe von Modellvorhersagen entwickelt. Um die Genauigkeit der Vorhersagen zu verbessern, ist ein fundiertes Verständnis von Strömungsprozessen in der ungesättigten Zone und der verwendeten Modelle notwendig. Die vorliegende Arbeit soll zur Verbesserung dieses Verständnisses beitragen. Im folgenden wird die Modellierung von Strömungs- und Transportprozessen in der ungesättigten Zone behandelt. Der Schwerpunkt liegt hierbei auf dem Zusammenwirken des Einflusses der Wasseraufnahme von Wurzeln und der Bodenstruktur. Für die Modellierung der Wasseraufnahme von Wurzeln werden vereinfachte, makroskalige Modelle verwendet. Die Wasseraufnamerate ist, im hier als Standard-Modell' bezeichneten Ansatz, vom atmosphärischen Bedarf, der Verteilung von Wurzeln und dem vorhandenen Wasser im Boden bestimmt. Die Bodenparameter werden durch autokorrelierte Zufallsfelder mit geschichteter Struktur (1D-Felder) und multi-Gaußschen oder nicht-multi-Gaußschen 2D-Feldern beschrieben. Für die Strömung in geschichteten Medien werden semi-analytische (first-order second-moment) Lösungen vorgestellt. Die Strömung in 2D heterogenen Strukturen wird mittels numerischer Simulationen untersucht, wobei sowohl stationäre Randbedingungen als auch zeitlich veränderliche Randbedingungen mit einem oder mehreren Trocknungs-Bewässerungszyklen angelegt werden. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass der Mittelwert des Drucks in den unterschiedlichen Strukturen, mit den gewählten Parametern, nur unter sehr nassen Bedingungen gut von den analytischen Lösungen wiedergegeben wird. Die Varianz des Drucks wird hingegen überschätzt, sobald die Varianz der logarithmischen hydraulischen Leitfähigkeit zu groß wird. Unter trockeneren Bedingungen nehmen Wasseraufnahme von Wurzeln und Bodenstruktur gemeinsam Einfluss auf Strömungsprozesse in der ungesättigten Zone, was zu Effekten führt, die unter Vernachlässigung einer der beiden Faktoren nicht beobachtet werden und die von effektiven Modellen, welche auf first-order second-moment Lösungen beruhen, nicht vorhergesagt werden. Ein Beispiel dafür ist das Auftreten von extrem trockenen Stellen in aus grobem Material bestehenden Linsen, an denen der Wasserdruck Werte am Welkpunkt erreicht und die Wasseraufnahme von Wurzeln null ist (lokales Welken). Desweiteren beeinflusst die Wasseraufname von Wurzeln, im Vergleich zu gleich trockenen Zuständen bei denen Wurzelaufnahme nicht berücksichtigt wird, die Varianz von Druck und Sättigung während Trocknungs- und Bewässerungsphasen. Weitere Effekte, die unter Miteinbeziehung der Wasseraufnahme von Wurzeln beobachtet werden, entstehen hauptsächlich aufgrund der kontinuierlichen Entnahme von Bodenwasser durch Wurzeln, was zu einer abnehmenden lokalen Netto-Infiltrationsrate mit steigender Tiefe führt, wodurch die Struktur mit steigender Tiefe an Einfluss gewinnt. Dies bewirkt eine Tiefenabhängigkeit der Breite der Infiltrationsfront während der Bewässerung und beeinflusst den Transport von Schadstoff. Unter Berücksichtigung von Wasserwurzelaufnahme werden, im Vergleich zu Szenarien bei denen die Wasseraufnahme von Wurzeln vernachlässigt wird und die die gleiche Grundwasserneubildungsrate aufweisen, frühere Ankunftszeiten des Schadstoffes, weniger ausgeprägtes Tailing und eine geringere Beeinflussung durch die berücksichtigten Bodenstrukturen beobachtet. Um verschiedene Modellansätze für Wasserwurzelaufnahme zu testen, werden alternative Modelle betrachtet, die eine reduzierte Aufnahme an gestressten Stellen durch erhöhte Aufnahme an günstigeren Stellen kompensieren können. Diese Strategien führen zu einer geringeren Varianz der Druck- und Sättigungsverteilung innerhalb der Wurzelzone. Das Auftreten der trockenen Stellen wird, im Vergleich zum Standard-Modell, mit diesen Strategien abgeschwächt, jedoch nicht grundsätzlich verhindert. Die Schwierigkeit, das Auftreten lokal verwelkter Stellen als realistisch oder unrealistisch einordnen zu können, die Tatsache dass der Einfluss von Wurzeln auf die Variabilität von Druck und Sättigung von der Aufnahmestrategie abhängt und die vorherrschende Wissenslücke, tatsächliche Entwicklungs- und Aufnahmemechanismen von Wurzeln in heterogenen Böden betreffend, verdeutlichen die Notwendigkeit eines tieferen Verständnisses für die Funktionsweise von Wurzeln auf kleinen Skalen bevor makroskalige Modelle für die Wasseraufnahme von Wurzeln für verlässliche Vorhersagen von Strömungsprozessen in heterogenen Böden verwendet werden können.

Il presente lavoro riflette in prospettiva sociologica,sulla riscoperta degli aspetti etici del consumo. I cosiddetti consumi critici, sostenibili e responsabili, che presuppongono un agire sociale dotato di senso, rappresentano una pratica di acquisto tesa al ben-vivere. Il consumo da vicario della produzione -qual' è stato per un lungo periodo- è diventato uno dei principali, se non il principale, punto di snodo della società in cui ci muoviamo. I consum-attori postmoderni, tecnicamente più preparati e in grado di esprimere richieste al mondo della produzione e della distribuzione, sono consapevoli che l'atto di acquisto è diventato uno strumento per esprimere impegno e responsabilità nella sfera pubblica. Tale pratica contribuisce all'affermazione e alla determinazione di nuovi modi di essere e di agire dove confluiscono nuovi valori simbolici legati all'emergere di nuove abitudini di spesa. Partendo da tale ipotesi, la parte empirica del lavoro affronta un'analisi qualitativa prendendo in esame lo sviluppo del farmer's market, il mercato degli agricoltori, forma ed espressione della filiera corta. Si osserva un caso di studio nella Regione Molise allo scopo di comprendere cosa si cela dietro l'atto di acquisto e perché si predilige un atteggiamento alternativo al sistema della grande distribuzione. Il farmer's market è un luogo di convivialità dove è possibile fermarsi, parlare, consumare qualcosa in compagnia. E' un'occasione in cui vengono accorciate le distanze fisiche, economiche e soprattutto sociali, in cui diventa sempre più lontana l'idea della spesa intesa come atto funzionale ed alienante tipico dell'homo consumericus. Concezioni, abitudini e atteggiamenti che propongono il passaggio da un modello di consumi in cui l'elemento fondante è rappresentato dal benessere soggettivo -componente primario della felicità personale anche dal punto di vista identitario ed espressivo - ad un modello in cui i consumi restano fondamentali, ma come ingredienti di una migliore qualità del vivere. La prima parte del lavoro a valenza introduttiva, ripercorre con un excursus sulla letteratura, le teorie dei classici e dei contemporanei del pensiero sociologico, tentando di fornire una definizione di consumatore postmoderno. A questa, seguono i temi della sostenibilità ambientale e responsabilità sociale che mirano ad opporsi alle logiche proprie dello spreco-consumo, radici della crisi ambientale, del degrado e del rischio globale. La questione ecologica diventa, economica e politica, e ancor più una questione sociale, frutto di una nuova logica organizzativa in materia di consumo. La seconda parte affronta la ricerca sul campo riportando tra gli altri, i dati sulle motivazioni alla base di tale pratica di consumo e successivamente esplorando il ruolo del produttore/venditore attraverso l'attribuzione di credibilità che gli viene conferita. Il concetto di comunità, ambito tutt'oggi aperto nel dibattito sociologico, conclude il percorso di ricerca ponendo attenzione alla riscoperta del localismo. ; This thesis focuses on the rediscovery of the ethical aspects of consumption. Principal consumption that is both sustainable and responsible presupposes what Weber termed a rational social action and represents an aspiration to live well. Vicarious consumption - which has existed for a long time – has become one of the principal if not the principal turning point in the society in which we live. Post-modern consumers, technically more prepared and able to express their wishes to the world of production and distribution, are aware that shopping has become an instrument with which to express commitment and responsibility in the public domain. Shopping has contributed to the affirmation and the determination of new ways of being and behaving, which converge with the new symbolic values tied to the emergence of new shopping habits. Using this hypothesis as a starting point, the empirical part of this thesis engages with a qualitative analysis of the development of the farmers' market, the embodiment of a short distribution chain. It examines a case study in the region of Molise, with the aim of understanding what is concealed behind the act of shopping and why there is now a preference for an alternative way of thinking that goes against the model of mass production. The farmers' market is a place of conviviality, where it is possible to stop, talk and consume something in company. It is an occasion in which physical, economic and above all social distances are diminished, where the idea of food shopping as merely an essential and alienating act, typical of the homo consumericus, is remote. Conceptions, habits and attitudes now promote a move away from a model of consumption founded on the principle of subjective well-being – a primary component of personal happiness, even when seen from the point of view of identity and expression – to a model in which consumers remain fundamental, but are now the main players in the quest for a better quality of life. The first part of the thesis, as an introduction, reviews the literature and discusses both classic and contemporary sociological theory, with the aim of producing a definition of the post-modern consumer. This is followed by a discussion of environmental sustainability and social responsibility, two concepts that are set in opposition to the logics of wasteful consumption, something that can be seen at the heart of the global environmental crisis. The ecological debate has become not only economic and political but social; the fruit of a new organisational logic in the field of consumption. The second part of the thesis deals with the field work, presenting amongst other things, data concerning the motivation at the heart of this new model of consumption. This is followed by a detailed exploration of the role of the producer/seller by focusing on the attribution of credibility which has been conferred upon them. A discussion of the concept of community, a concept still wide open in sociological debate, with a particular emphasis on the rediscovery of localism, concludes this research. ; Dottorato di ricerca in Sociologia e Ricerca Sociale (XXIV ciclo)

Mass settlement of Latvian rural inhabitants in towns and cities started just a little more than a hundred years ago, therefore bond with nature is a specifically Latvian identity sign. Studying the peculiarities of a nation, garden and plants give an opportunity to see and understand what is hard to get in a direct way as garden reveals the hidden and open processes that have taken place and are still happening in the economic, political, and social life of an individual person or the whole society. To form a perspective on the plants existing in the cultural environment as a socially significant phenomenon in Latvian identity development and preservation, in 2008 interdisciplinary research "Plants as a sign of Latvian identity" was initiated in Latvia.The present article "Plants as a sign of Latgalian identity in cultural landscape, writing, and stories" covers the results of the fifth cycle of the above mentioned research. The goal of the research was to make out which plants are assumed to be the sign of Latgalian identity. The authors of the present paper were interested in singling out the factors that were considered essential by respondents in the formation of the notion of Latgalian plants, the colours believed to belong with Latgalian garden. Collecting stories was also considered important because not everything is preserved in written sources and, as the previous studies revealed, respondents' stories were those that made it possible to understand the role of plants in the sustaining of identity. The research made use of questionnaire and written interview. The obtained results were analyzed by means of the comparative method using evidence of the cultural landscape, popular works by Latgalian authors, press periodicals published in Latgalian, literature in horticulture and gardening, archive materials of the Open-Air Ethnographical Museum of Latvia, internet resources, postcards from the private collection of Andrejs Svilāns and the prior results gained within the interdisciplinary research "Plants as a sign of Latvian identity". We set to reveal in the research what opportunities for investigating Latgalian identity are offered by the plants grown in the cultural landscape of Latgale and the way the obtained results extend the existing studies of Latvian identity.Summarizing the results of 93 questionnaires and oral interviews, 139 diversities were recognized as Latgalian plants including 54 caulescent plants – decorative plants, 35 vulnerary plants and herbs, 22 trees and 28 shrubs. The notion of the Latgalian as well as Latvian plants, according to the respondents, has been formed mostly by the gardens seen by their parents, grandparents, relatives as well as their stories. The impact of fiction and classical folklore is recognized as most essential in case of Latvian plants. The plants growing in the cultural landscape used by writers of fiction are signs that are understood and unite people belonging to a particular cultural space, they function as symbols of Latgale and the native homestead. Works produced both in Latgalian and Latvian literary language by Latgalian authors have cultivated and continue to cultivate Latgalian self-awareness, but print bans and works produced before emigration and during emigration by Latgalian writers have attributed specific worth to fiction and folklore.The research revealed that identity signs are rather stable; both Latvian and Latgalian plants were most often assumed to be those grown by a couple of preceding generations – basically at the end of the 19th –beginning of the 20th century in estate and peasant gardens. These plants are considered to be Latgalian though their origin in most cases is not the local flora. At the same time in their replies to the question what should not be grown in a Latgalian garden respondents replied – "foreign plants", meaning plants that had entered rural homesteads later on (in recent decades).The research showed that, unlike respondents from other regions, Latgalians perceive their regional landscape in a more syncretic way, not excluding plants that, due to some stereotypical notions or symbolism, do not "fit" into it, e. g. alders, asps, osiers, etc.Traditions are formed in a long-term period, but those originated in the second half of the 19th century had a special significance. Under conditions of Russification, they helped to maintain Latgalian identity, also planting particular plant combinations in line with the notion of a Latgalian garden.The information concerning plants grown in peasant homesteads in Latgale is rather scarce in the materials of the Open-Air Ethnographical Museum of Latvia, as compared to other regions. Investigation of detached homestead and village garden cultures might be a task of the further research, as village was a closed community that maintained Latvian traditions.The research brought out several debatable issues that remain unanswered. To find answers to them, a necessity to address directly the supplier of information emerged clearly in further research as well as to prepare visual material – photographs, drawings that would make it easier to identify plants and reduce the problem of taxonomic differentiation that appeared in the preceding research. For instance, it is not clear where is the border between "briar-roses" – wild rose species (Rosa sp.) and cultivated rose species and old cultivars as well as between willows (Salix fragilis), pussy willows (S. caprea or S. acutifolia x daphnoides 'Pashal') a. o. taxa of the genus Salix.The present paper does not pretend to provide an exhaustive study and analysis of the factors affecting the notion of the Latgalian plants. This is the task of further studies, as, according to the prior studies of Latvian plants, each such factor is worth a separate voluminous research.The authors of the present paper intend to proceed with the studies of garden culture as well as collecting the Latgalian names of plants grown at home, in the garden, growing in the forest, meadow, field, studying the use of plants and their economic and social significance as well as collecting stories in order to preserve this non-material culture legacy as complete and correct as possible. We hope that the paper will encourage researchers of various fields to participate in the study to use the opportunities provided by garden plants for a more unusual insight.