Suchergebnisse

Capacity building and the scheduling of workshops within MACSUR were discussed during a special session at the kickoff meeting. The MACSUR proposal identifies five Tasks directly relevant to capacity building: H2.5/C6.5 (cross-cutting), C5.2 (Modelling training for CropM), C5.3 (Crop physiology), T4.1/D-T4.2 (Agricultural production and environmental modelling), T4.2/D-T4.3 (Policy impact assessment). CropM's online course on crop physiology is currently scheduled for February 2012 to November 2014. CropM's modelling training corresponds to several thematic workshops till early 2015. Tasks T4.1 and T4.2 are scheduled for the summer semester of 2014 (April-June). The course on agricultural production and environmental modelling with GAMS is intended for master and PhD students of agricultural economy and will take place at BOKU (University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences) in Vienna. The course on Policy impact assessment is a 2-day course prepared by ZALF (Katharina Helming) with practical exercises by Thünen Institute (Martin Banse) at the master and PhD level. The course could be offered at different universities. The discussion among the attendees indicated that one important aspect for stakeholders and policymakers to understand 'uncertainty'. It was therefore recommended to have such a workshop in year 2. It was further suggested to add a web page to macsur.eu with a listing of existing external on-line courses relevant for the MACSUR Themes and food security. Training of young scientists was another issue. It was proposed to ask MACSUR partners to provide bench space and topics for short-term internships. These offers could be listed on the web site. Interested scientists could use these internships for directly learning the approaches employed in MACSUR from the expert scientists. Forty-four meetings have been prosed in total. Most Theme-specific meetings are independent from those of other Themes. Nonetheless, Theme workshops should be advertised to all MACSUR members so that interested persons from other Themes could participate. The session organizers had presented a list of proposed meetings sorted by topic (capacity building, climate, farm-scale, model evaluation, pilot studies, scenarios, stakeholders). Workshops focussing on the preparation of integrated studies (M-T3.1, D-T3.3, M-L4.1) were proposed for M12 but may need to be shifted to M16. A related workshop (M-L3.3) might be advanced for combined with these for a larger event. Both TradeM and CropM proposed progress workshops. It was suggested that these workshops be held together and that LiveM contributes to them. Further coordination of workshops among Themes seems necessary. The recommendation of the 'final products' session (see report D-H3.3.1) to have a stakeholder congress at the end of the project and a science conference about half a year earlier constrain the meeting planning. The core results of the project should be available in M30 (Nov. 2014) to allow for writing the final report and book alternatively, a special issue in a scientific journal). This may require the adjustment of the current workplan.

Рассматривается динамика протестного движения шахтеров Кузбасса во время перехода к рыночным отношениям. Показана ее связь с социально-экономическими и общественно-политическими процессами в регионе и стране. Рост протестной активности вызывал качественно новую волну преобразований в главной отрасли экономики края, а затянувшаяся борьба негативно отразилась на социально-профессиональной структуре горняков, их лидерстве в рабочем движении, общей солидарности трудящихся на уровне региона и страны. ; Protest movement of miners of Kuzbas during the transition to market relations had its rise (1992-1996), culmination (1997-1998) and decline (1999). This dynamics, in general, coincide with the evolution of the strike movement in Russia in the 1990s. During the rise of the protest movement in the Kuzbas region (1992-1996) the activity of the miners was expressed, first of all, in the increase of the number of strikes, active participation in nationwide strikes. Back in the beginning of 1992 in the mines of the region spontaneous strikes began, which gradually began to acquire an organized system character. In subsequent years, there were new, including radical, forms of protest action of miners under-the-earth strike, hunger strikes, pickets, demonstrations, threats of mass suicide, ''rail war'', etc. Protest of miners did not only increase quantitatively, but changed qualitatively. So, for example, in the mid-1990s, along with economic demands, began to appear political ones. The climax of the protest movement of miners of Kuzbas during the transition to market relations was the period of 1997-1998. In the spring of 1997 there was a sharp aggravation of social tension in all the coal-mining regions of Russia, especially in Kuzbas. The most important features of the protest action of miners of Kuzbas were radicalism, duration, growth of solidarity, attraction of public attention. Miners began to use radical forms of protest, first of all, the blockade of the railway. ''Rail war'' became the most effective control measure for miners to defend their rights and interests, as it was followed by an immediate reaction from the authorities. The picketers immediately received guarantees of repayment of debts on wages. The example of miners was used not only in Kuzbas, but also in other regions of Russia. Since 1999, the protest movement of miners of Kuzbas has a marked negative dynamics. Of all the forms of struggle they mainly used the strike. In cases when the workers used radical measures (for example, went on hunger strike), the number of participants was small. The miners did not demand only the reduction of wage debt, but also allocation of funds for reconstruction of the enterprises and development of new technologies. In general, the dynamics of protest action of miners of Kuzbas during the transition to market relations corresponded to the dynamics of reforms in the coal industry of Russia. The growth of protest activity caused a new wave of reforms in the key sector of the economy. Meanwhile, the long-drawn struggle had a negative impact on the socio-professional structure of the miners, their leadership in the labour movement, the total solidarity of the workers at the level of the region and the country.

The way the people from two culturally very different countries perceive the psychological motives that lead political leaders to launch armed actions against other states was examined. Three types of possible psychological motives, taken from McClelland's (1985) theory of human motivation, were considered: motives associated with the state's power (e.g., increasing the country's economic power), motives associated with other states' political character (e.g., whether neighboring states are relatively peaceful democracies or threatening autocracies), and motives associated with domestic issues (e.g., appearing as a strong leader able to efficiently fight for the security of the country). A total of 442 participants living in Western Europe (France) and 180 participants living in the Maghreb (Algeria) were presented with a Motives of War questionnaire that was created for the present set of studies. Exploratory and confirmatory analyses showed that the hypothesized model of motives holds with the condition that the increasing power motive is divided into two separate motives: one associated with the economy and one associated with the territory. The motives of war tended to be seen as more personal and as more associated with domestic issues among people living in Algeria than among people living in France. Among traditional/authoritarian people living in France, the motives of war tended to be seen in a more positive light than among liberal people. In contrast, among traditional/authoritarian people living in Algeria, the motives of war tend to be seen in a more negative light than among liberal people. ; Se examina la forma en que las personas de dos países culturalmente muy diferentes perciben los motivos psicológicos que conducen a los líderes políticos a poner en marcha acciones armadas contra otro estados. Tres tipos de motivos psicológicos posibles, tomados de la teoría de McClelland (1985) sobre la motivación humana fueron consideradas: motivos asociados con el estado de poder (e.g., incrementar el poder económico del país), motivos asociados con políticas de otros estados (e.g., si los estados vecinos son relativamente democracias pacíficas o autocracias amenazantes), y motivos asociados con temas domésticos (e.g., aparicencia como un fuerte lidear capar para luchar eficientemente para mantener la seguridad del país). A un total de 442 habitantes de Europa Occidental (Francia) y 180 habitantes en Maghreb (Algeria) se les administró el cuestionario de Motivos de Guerra que fue diseñado para este estudio. Se presenta un análisis exploratorio y confirmatorio que hipotetiza el modelo de motivos mantenidos con la condición que el incremento en el motivo de poder se dividió en dos motivos separados: uno asociado con la economía y otro asociado con el territorio. Los motivos de guerra tienden a ser vistos como más personales y asociados con temas internos entre los habitantes en Algeria que los habitantes en Francia. Entre los tradicional y autoritarios habitantes en Francia, los motivos de guerra tienden a ser percibidos de forma más positiva que entre las personas liberales. En contraste, entre las personas autoritarias o tradiciones que habitan Algeria, los motivos de guerra tienen a ser vistos de forma más negativa que entre las personas liberales.

Статтю присвячено організації оцінювання якості шкільної освіти у Шотландії, її структурним та функціональним елементам. У статті детально розглянуто роботу Інспекторату її Величності в Шотландії, а також коротко схарактеризовано основні відмінності у роботі інспекторів шкіл Англії та Шотландії. Окрему увагу приділено процесу самооцінювання шкіл як ключовому елементу забезпечення якості шкільної освіти.Статья посвящена организации оценивания качества школьного образования в Шотландии, ее структурным и функциональным элементам. В статье подробно рассмотрена работа Инспектората ее Величества в Шотландии, а также кратко охарактеризованы основные отличия в работе инспекторов школ Англии и Шотландии. Отдельное внимание уделено процессу самооценки школ как ключевому элементу обеспечения качества школьного образования.The quality of education is positioned as a priority education policy of the European Union in the last decade. Significance of European cooperation in the development of high quality education is how to create a common platform for quality assurance in the Member-States and in the study and analysis of existing systems of evaluation of quality of school education to enrich the theory and practice in this area. European orientation of Ukraine determines the need for the study, synthesis, critical thinking and creative application of the achievements of European countries in this area. Scotland's experience in view of this is particularly important for Ukraine as a whole, and in particular British Scottish secondary education is positioned highly effective. The purpose of this article is to analyze the specifics of such a tool to ensure the quality of Scottish Education as Her Majesty's Inspectorate.Considering the problem of the quality of school education in Scotland, it should be noted the intensification of attention to this issue at all levels of Scottish society, due to socio- economic transformation. It is a fact that Scottish education decentralization in the context of intensified ideas of market economy provides greater autonomy to schools: schools are considered as one of the segments of «social benefits» as a company that is able to produce quality products without external assistance , educational institution are subjects in developing ways of education and impact on educational policy. Because schools receive more autonomy (which turns into a self- developing their curricula, selection of teaching materials, the possibility of innovation, independent distribution and use of budget funds, etc.) updated the institution responsible for compliance provided educational services established by government regulations , standards.So as we can see, in Scotland in the context of a process of ongoing improvement of the quality of educational services is a permanent improvement of the relevant authorities, while the main focus while born on enhancing the role of schools and the community – parents, community – in the process. Great attention is given to schools' self-assessment as a key element of quality assurance.Summarizing the Scottish experience emphasize that this organization evaluating the quality of school education would be very effective on the national educational plane, which would allow to significantly improve the quality of education provided by our schools, increase accountability of schools for their work, expand the autonomy of schools to develop their own curriculum to ensure the credibility of students and their parents to the national education system.

Chinese cities have been experiencing significant growth and profound socioeconomic transition since late 1970's. Reform and development on institution arrangement for land, which is one of the basic production elements, have been the core issue for the strategies of establishing market economy and urbanization. Land banking was a mechanism initiated in western European cities for directing urban development in early 1900's. Under this mechanism land is resumed by public authorized organizations and will be held for future use to implement public land use policies. Some Chinese cities began their own land banking operation in the 1990's. After nearly 20 years of introduction of land banking mechanism to China most of the cities and counties are now practicing this mechanism in their land management and supply framework. This study attempts to explore land banking mechanism and its effects on urban development comprehensively in lights of theories of new institutional economics and urban spatial structure applying the diachronic public policy analytical framework. Guangzhou, the third largest city and the first city to practice land banking mechanism, is taken as the study area. Spatial data for land supply records since introduction of land banking mechanism are collected and processed with GIS software. Archives in Guangzhou Construction Archive covering the land development and planning administration in Guangzhou were studied to facilitate in-depth understanding of the mechanism. Related statistics data, regulations, planning proposals, internal reports and were obtained to facilitate this study. Review on evolution of land banking mechanism in China and comparison of related regulations at state and local levels argue that the introduction of land banking mechanism into China has lead to institutional changes in the land development process by integrating western experience and local characteristics. Applying empirical transaction costs analysis on institutional models of major land supply mechanisms in China, this research illustrated that land banking mechanism has resulted in re-distribution of transaction costs of the land supply process, which reduces the transaction costs from the perspective land use right (LUR) users. However, for a specific case of land supply, overall transaction costs would increase under land banking mechanism compared to other land supply mechanisms. Exploration on data collected through GIS analysis illustrated that land banking mechanism strengthens city government's capacity to instruct changes in both macro level urban form and micro level built environment. Analysis on statistics data and budgetary reports of Guangzhou Municipal Government demonstrates that with land banking mechanism gains of LUR conveyance are providing supplement income for the city government, which is approximately 30% of the traditional tax-based fiscal income. Financing values of Guangzhou city's land bank are developed by land banking loans and establishment of the urban development financing platform. Supplement fiscal income and financing values of land banking greatly improve local governments' leading role in urbanization process mainly through investment on urban infrastructures. Case study on evolution of Liede village under land banking mechanism illustrates that different land development process and changes of urban form have also lead to rearrangement of socio spatial structure such as significant changes in residential spatial changes. ; published_or_final_version ; Urban Planning and Design ; Doctoral ; Doctor of Philosophy

[ES] La tesis se sitúa en el ámbito de la historia de la familia y de la antropología del parentesco y delimita como campo de análisis las redes familiares y político-clientelares que emergieron en una región de Iberoamérica en el período 1850-1930. El propósito central de la investigación es mostrar la centralidad de la familia en el surgimiento de una región donde los lazos personales-parentales tuvieron un fuerte poder estructurante en la organización de la vida económica, social, política y en la configuración de diversos entramados relacionales. El interés por comprender la organización de un determinado grupo social-las familias notables- en un contexto sociocultural particular permite, a través del análisis y reconstrucción de redes, establecer la conexión entre parentesco, economía y política e identificar los vínculos de diverso tipo que los integrantes de dichas familias establecieron para reproducirse en el espacio social. Conforme a este objetivo, se reconstruye la trayectoria económica, social y política de los egos seleccionados con relación al origen y consolidación del patrimonio, niveles de fortuna, empresas que conformaron, estrategia de de transmisión del patrimonio, relaciones de parentesco, intercambios matrimoniales, control de cargos públicos, compadrazgo y prácticas clientelares. La investigación concluye que el poder de las familias notables se derivó de tres fuentes principales: de la posición, de las relaciones y del uso estratégico de dichas relaciones al mismo tiempo que plantea que el parentesco como el clientelismo hacen referencia a formas de construir relaciones y que dichos vínculos son ante todo lazos relacionales que configuran un entramado que es necesario desentrañar para comprender la relación entre parentesco y poder ; [EN] The thesis is in the field of family history and anthropology of kinship and defines as field of interest the family networks and political patronage analysis, that emerged in a region of Latin America in the period 1850-1930. The central purpose of the research is to show the centrality of the family in the emergence of a region-parenting personal ties were strong structuring power in the organization of economic, social, political and configuration of various relational frameworks. Interest in understanding the organization of a particular social group-notable families in a particular sociocultural context allows, through the analysis and reconstruction of networks, the connection between kinship and political economy and identify the linkages of various kinds that members of these families settled to breed in the social space. Under this goal, the path is reconstructed economic, social and political egos selected regarding the origin and consolidation of assets, wealth levels, companies formed, transmission strategy heritage, kinship, intermarriage, control public office, cronyism and clientelism. The research concludes that the power of the notable families derived from three main sources: the position, relationships and strategic use of these relationships poses while that kinship as clientelism refer to ways to build relationships and that these links are primarily relational ties that form a framework that is necessary to unravel for understanding the relationship between kinship and power

美国和加拿大都是传统移民国家,家庭团聚是美国、加拿大移民政 策法规的重要组成部分。而对这一问题的研究,中国学术界极为薄弱。加强对家庭团聚移民政策的研究,对于深入剖析美国、加拿大移民法体系,发展两国经济,维持社会稳定与发展,具有重要理论和现实意义。本文分析了美国、加拿大家庭团聚移民政策,认为美国和加拿大都是传统移民国家,家庭团聚是美国、加拿大移民政策法规的重要组成部分,或者说是移民法体系的核心。实施综合移民改革,使家人得以团聚,意义重大,它使国家获得安全,经济得以恢复,这个艰辛而智慧的立法过程,也在最佳程度上反映了美国人和加拿大人的价值观。目前要求放宽家庭团聚的民间呼声持续高涨,体现美国和加拿大人价值观的"家庭团聚"成为难以被忽视的移民改革核心话题。The United States and Canada are traditional nation of immigrants, the United States, Canada family reunion is an important part of the immigration policies and regulations. But the study on this problem, Chinese academia is very weak. To strengthen the family reunion immigration policy research, for in-depth analysis of American, Canadian immigration law system, development of bilateral economy, maintain social stability and development, has the important theory and the practical significance. This paper analyzes the United States, Canada family reunion immigration policy, thinks the United States and Canada are traditional nation of immigrants, the United States, Canada family reunion is an important part of the immigration policies and regulations, or is the immigration law system core. The implementation of comprehensive immigration reform, make family to reunite, the sense is great, it makes national security, economic recovery, the hardships and the wisdom of the legislative process, but also in the best reflect the values Americans and Canadians. At present the requirement relaxes family folk voice rising, the United States and Canadian values embodiment of" family reunion" to be neglected the core topic for immigration reform. ; Non UBC ; Unreviewed ; Other

Closing keynote to the Scribani International Conference in Madrid, and European premiere of the documentary "Harvest of Loneliness," a critical reexamination of the bilateral US-Mexico contract labor program instituted in 1942 ostensibly to meet temporary labor shortages in the U.S. during World War II. But the program did not end when the war ended in 1945; at the behest of the corporate growers, it kept being extended by the U.S. Congress until 1964, becoming the largest such "guest worker" program of its kind to date — and one of the largest mass movements of workers in history. The program was presented to the public via newscasts, newspapers, journals and government publications as an ideal program that uplifted the economy of Mexico and satisfied the need for workers in the United States. The reality was much different. The Bracero Program was implemented to ensure accessible, cheap, controlled and disposable labor with little regard for the adverse and irreversible impact it had on Mexican families. During its 22 years no agricultural labor union succeeded in organizing or carrying out a strike — it was not until the end of the Bracero Program, which cut off of the supply of Mexican workers, that saw the emergence of the United Farm Workers. Still, after the Bracero Program ended formally in 1964 it was de facto maintained informally by growing streams of undocumented immigrant labor, leading to the present moment. Practically all of Mexico has been affected: fewer than 4% of Mexico's 2,443 municipalities have no migrants living and working in the U.S. Mexican-born immigrants in the U.S. today number nearly 12 million; over half of them are undocumented. In the U.S. the political vacuum left by the failure of the federal government to pass "comprehensive immigration reform" — given the irreconcilable conflict between those who sought "enforcement" solutions to the presence of millions of migrant workers (from their criminalization and deportation to fencing the southern border) to those who sought to forge paths to their eventual legalization and integration (denigrated as "amnesty" by opponents) — has been filled by hundreds of attempts by state and local governments to assume federal immigration control functions in a growing climate of fear and enforced opprobrium. Yet it is not an American problem but a worldwide issue of vast consequence that will grow in magnitude in the years to come. In looking to the future it is wise to reexamine the experience and lessons of the past — especially given Europe's parallel needs for manual laborers. These new braceros have been dubbed "outcasts of modernity," "irregular" labor migrants, "illegal aliens" — terms which describe an unequal master status affecting every aspect of the life of a subclass of people without rights. They are products of a globalized political and economic system that creates illegality by displacing people and then denying them equal rights to do what they have to do to survive: move to find work. As migration pressures continue to mount as a result of global inequality, so will fear of the foreigner — the xenophobia of what has been called a "society of contempt."

PhD Thesis ; This study focuses on maritime security and illegal actions that take place at sea which can evolve into international conflicts and disputes. The field of maritime security entails the comprehensive confrontation of illegal actions such as maritime piracy, maritime terrorism, illegal trade of drugs and arms, plunder and environmental crimes. This study will focus on the ports of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and will look at ways to achieve security and stability of the country's maritime transportation sector. The study concentrates mainly on three issues: maritime terrorism, illegal trade and illegal immigration. Terrorism has increased, especially after the events of 9/11, and terrorists are using new methods to attack civilians and governments all over the world. The study concentrates on the danger of terrorism in seaports and sets out a strategy to confront it. Illegal trade is considered one of the most dangerous international crimes and all countries of the world suffer from the trafficking of drugs and arms. KSA is no exception. It suffers from these crimes across its maritime and territorial borders. Thus, it is important to tackle this crime via a security strategy for protecting Saudi ports. KSA also suffers from a high level of illegal immigration across its maritime and territorial borders, mainly from neighbouring countries such as Yemen, Somalia and Iraq. Illegal migrants are usually searching for work and a better life. The study tries to find new methods to solve the problems of maritime terrorism, illegal trade and illegal immigration at large ports. Securing the coasts of KSA, which stretch 2000 km along both the Red Sea and the Arab Gulf, is an important matter, XIII especially nowadays with the spread of terrorist attacks due to international political and religious conflicts. The geographical location of KSA is considered a huge obstacle to the successful securing of its ports and coasts, as KSA is surrounded by 13 countries. Some of these countries are very poor in terms of their economy and security level. There are also several political conflicts surrounding KSA, and every year thousands of migrants try to enter KSA looking for work or trying to perform religious pilgrimage. In addition, many methods are used for the trade of drugs, explosives and arms. All these issues are tackled in the study with the aim of setting a strategy for the protection of Saudi ports. The researcher uses a questionnaire to obtain data from Saudi borders guards in order to recognize the role of these forces in protecting Saudi ports. At the end the researcher reaches conclusions and makes important recommendations for the KSA government to consider, for example: Saudi authorities may wish to approve the strategy suggested by the researcher to protect Saudi ports from maritime terrorism, illegal trade and illegal immigration using the latest technology. KSA must further develop and activate this security strategy. Saud Arabia should use advanced technology systems for monitoring and protecting ports, especially pilotless planes (UAVs) to monitor the coasts.

Modern economies are inescapably service economies. For several decades now, services have been our main source of wealth and jobs. In fact, services represent more than 70 % of employment, and value added. The process of deindustrialisation began a long time ago in all the developed countries. While it is hardly surprising that the profound economic and social upheavals linked to deindustrialisation have given rise to anxieties, both legitimate and fantastical, the persistence of these anxieties in certain cases is, on the other hand, quite difficult to understand. After all, the service society is still quite frequently associated with negative images of servitude, state bureaucracy and industrial decline. Thus despite some changes of attitude, it is still sometimes regarded with a certain degree of suspicion, in both academic studies and political discourse . These academic and political concerns which are recurrent in periods of crisis are based on a number of particularly hardy myths about the service economy and its performance, the quality of its jobs and its capacity for innovation.Thus the relationship between services, on the one hand, and innovation and performance, on the other, continues to be a matter of considerable debate. In the still influential industrialist or technologist approach to this relationship, innovation efforts and performance levels in services are underestimated. It is this approach that is responsible for the existence of two gaps: an innovation gap and a performance gap. The innovation gap indicates that our economies contain invisible or hidden innovations that are not captured by the traditional indicators of innovation, while the performance gap is reflected in an underestimation of the efforts directed towards improving performance in those economies. These gaps have their origin in the more or less ancient myths about the fundamental nature of services and the errors of measurement associated with them. They may have harmful consequences for the validity of the public policies implemented at national or European level. Since they are based on imperfect or even erroneous forecasts, these policies may also prove to be inappropriate. The aim of this work is to help fill the innovation and performance gaps, or in other words to rescue these invisible innovations and forms of performance from the relative oblivion to which they have been consigned.This work is organized into four sections. The first section is a framing section devoted to a discussion of the main myths about services and innovation in services and to the real or supposed specificities of these activities. It also addresses the hypothesis of the convergence between goods and services and the blurring of their boundaries. The second section is devoted to an account of the notion of service innovation, from the point of view of its nature, and its organisation processes. The third section addresses, in a prospective way, a certain number of megatrends of the innovation dynamics in services. In the fourth section we analyze how the innovation gap and the performance gap interact and may lead to a policy gap.

Closing keynote to the Scribani International Conference in Madrid, and European premiere of the documentary "Harvest of Loneliness," a critical reexamination of the bilateral US-Mexico contract labor program instituted in 1942 ostensibly to meet temporary labor shortages in the U.S. during World War II. But the program did not end when the war ended in 1945; at the behest of the corporate growers, it kept being extended by the U.S. Congress until 1964, becoming the largest such "guest worker" program of its kind to date — and one of the largest mass movements of workers in history. The program was presented to the public via newscasts, newspapers, journals and government publications as an ideal program that uplifted the economy of Mexico and satisfied the need for workers in the United States. The reality was much different. The Bracero Program was implemented to ensure accessible, cheap, controlled and disposable labor with little regard for the adverse and irreversible impact it had on Mexican families. During its 22 years no agricultural labor union succeeded in organizing or carrying out a strike — it was not until the end of the Bracero Program, which cut off of the supply of Mexican workers, that saw the emergence of the United Farm Workers. Still, after the Bracero Program ended formally in 1964 it was de facto maintained informally by growing streams of undocumented immigrant labor, leading to the present moment. Practically all of Mexico has been affected: fewer than 4% of Mexico's 2,443 municipalities have no migrants living and working in the U.S. Mexican-born immigrants in the U.S. today number nearly 12 million; over half of them are undocumented. In the U.S. the political vacuum left by the failure of the federal government to pass "comprehensive immigration reform" — given the irreconcilable conflict between those who sought "enforcement" solutions to the presence of millions of migrant workers (from their criminalization and deportation to fencing the southern border) to those who sought to forge paths to their eventual legalization and integration (denigrated as "amnesty" by opponents) — has been filled by hundreds of attempts by state and local governments to assume federal immigration control functions in a growing climate of fear and enforced opprobrium. Yet it is not an American problem but a worldwide issue of vast consequence that will grow in magnitude in the years to come. In looking to the future it is wise to reexamine the experience and lessons of the past — especially given Europe's parallel needs for manual laborers. These new braceros have been dubbed "outcasts of modernity," "irregular" labor migrants, "illegal aliens" — terms which describe an unequal master status affecting every aspect of the life of a subclass of people without rights. They are products of a globalized political and economic system that creates illegality by displacing people and then denying them equal rights to do what they have to do to survive: move to find work. As migration pressures continue to mount as a result of global inequality, so will fear of the foreigner — the xenophobia of what has been called a "society of contempt."

World War I, no doubt, was a pivotal event in the history of the Middle East, as it marked the transition from empires to nation states. Taking Beirut and Mount Lebanon as a case study, the dissertation focuses on the experience of Ottoman civilians on the homefront and exposes the paradoxes of the Great War, in its totalizing and transformative nature. Focusing on the causes and symptoms of what locals have coined the `war of famine' as well as on international and local relief efforts, the dissertation demonstrates how wartime privations fragmented the citizenry, turning neighbor against neighbor and brother against brother, and at the same time enabled social and administrative changes that resulted in the consolidation and strengthening of bureaucratic hierarchies and patron-client relationships. This dissertation is a detailed analysis of socio-economic challenges that the war posed for Ottoman subjects, focusing primarily on the distorting effects of food shortages, disease, wartime requisitioning, confiscations and conscriptions on everyday life as well as on the efforts of the local municipality and civil society organizations to provision and care for civilians. Although all residents of Beirut and Mount Lebanon took part in the same war, their experiences were often different, mediated by existing gender and class differences and communal belongings, which the international conflict - and concomitant interventions by the state as well as international relief agencies - both exposed and exacerbated. The war aggravated the inequalities embedded in late Ottoman and European colonial definitions of citizenship, since class and communal affiliation determined people's access to food, their ability to avoid conscription, fight disease, obtain provisions, and secure relief funds. Moreover, mutual sacrifice, collective martyrdom and communal resistance rule loom large in state-sponsored national narratives about World War I. Post-colonial Lebanon is no exception. This dissertation reveals how attempts to construct a dominant 'collective' memory of World War I to promote national unity served to mask the continued perpetuation of social inequalities and contributed to tensions within post-independence Lebanese society.This dissertation contributes to the general scholarship of World War I, which so far has dismissed the experience of civilians on the Ottoman homefront as peripheral. Second it shifts the historiographical focus of World War I in the Middle East as a political diplomatic event, toward it being understood as a dynamic social, economic and political process the outcome of which was dependent as much on the immediate necessities of war, its political economy and strain on civilians, as on long-term historical developments that had left the region vulnerable to the wartime disruptions in the world market and hence more susceptible to famine. Third, this social history of World War I in the Middle East outlines interactions between the Ottoman military authorities, provincial representatives of the state, municipal council members, religious leaders, greedy merchants, bakers and local law enforcement agencies and their relations to the urban and rural poor, that force us to rethink common perceptions of Ottoman tyranny and ambivalence in regards to its civilians and poses a challenge to sectarian interpretations of the war experience on the homefront.

The municipal bond market is a financial market that does not draw much attention from academics, researchers, the government or practitioners. However, that changed recently when the largest recession since the Great Depression impacted the U.S. economy. Now everyone is struggling to understand two major questions: 1) How do we mark to market bonds in illiquid markets? and 2) Why are 50% of new issues insured in a market that has the lowest default rate of any bond market other than the treasury market? This dissertation examines those questions in three parts.The first part, The Effect of Insurance on Municipal Bond Yields, studies the difference between insured and uninsured municipal bond yields. I find that although some of that difference is attributable to the effect of insurance, another channel comes from self selection to insure -- municipalities that choose to insure differ significantly from municipalities who choose not to insure. Without accounting for the latter self selection the insurance benefit appears undervalued. By focusing on municipalities with both outstanding insured and uninsured bonds (mixed municipalities), I identify that in the pre-crisis period insurance for such municipalities reduces municipal bond yields by 8 basis points. But analysis of homogeneous municipalities reveals the self selection effect raises yields by 6 basis points. However, during the recent financial crisis, insurance continued to lower yields by 8 bps, whereas the self selection effect increased yields by 18 basis points. Thus, my work explains the recent initially puzzling phenomenon when insured yields rose above uninsured yields. The second part, The Effect of Insurance on Liqudity, examines liquidity in the municipal bond market during the recent financial crisis. I analyze the effects of insurance on liquidity for municipal bonds and estimate how the effects of insurance change when the insurers face a loss of capital and rating downgrades. I measure liquidity in the three ways most suited for illiquid markets: the Amihud measure, Roll's bid-ask measure, and turnover. By all three measures, both before and after the financial crisis, bonds with insurance are less liquid than bonds without insurance. I also find that the liquidity of bonds with insurance decreases over the financial crisis. These findings indicate that insurance does not improve liquidity.The third part, A Municipal Bond Market Index Based on a Repeat Sales Methodology, introduces a repeat sales methodology to create an index for the municipal bond market based on transactional prices, because the current indices are based on estimated bond prices. The repeat sales methodology can calculate an index for any municipal bond characteristic. I create and analyze indices for the municipal bond market and separate indices by rating, maturity, and characteristics such as insurance and bond type (i.e. General Obligation or Revenue). Repeat sales methodology is based on the assumption that characteristics of the bond do not change over time which means the movements in bond prices are due to evolving market conditions. I compare the repeat sales indices with the existing municipal bond indices and find the repeat sales indices highly correlated with the current indices with a correlation of .8.

Employing a recursive dynamic computable general equilibrium (CGE) model of the Spanish economy, this study explicitly aims to characterise the potential impact of Kyoto and European Union environmental policy targets on specific agricultural activities up to 2020. The model code is modified to characterise the emissions trading scheme (ETS), emissions quotas and carbon taxes, whilst emissions reductions are applied to all six registered greenhouse gases (GHGs). Compared to a 'business-as-usual' baseline scenario, by 2020, GDP and employment fall 2.1% and 2.4%, respectively, whilst the retail price index rises 3.4%. In agriculture, the indices of output (4.3% fall), and supply price (7.7% rise) perform relatively worse, whilst there is a concomitant cumulative fall in aggregate farm incomes of €1,510 million by 2020. The more notable impact in agriculture is attributed to its relatively higher emissions intensity. Consequently, we record an agricultural marginal abatement cost estimate of €86 ton-1 of CO2 equivalent by 2020, which is consistent with other estimates in the literature. In addition, we find that the optimal mix of emissions reductions across specific agricultural sectors is a function of the degree of substitutability of their emitting activities. In light of estimated income losses within the strategically important farm sector, a final simulation contemplates an 'agricultural cost-neutral' emissions reduction policy akin to a cross compliance payment between 2013 and 2020. This is found to reduce food price rises, whilst altering the optimum mix of agricultural emissions reductions across specific agricultural activities. ; Empleando un modelo dinámico recursivo de equilibrio general computable (EGC) de la economía española, este estudio analiza el impacto de las políticas medioambientales de Kioto y de la Unión Europea (el acuerdo '20/20/20'), sobre distintas actividades agrarias hasta 2020. En comparación con el escenario de referencia, se pronostican caídas en el PIB y el empleo de un 2,1% y 2,4%, respectivamente, en 2020, mientras que el índice de precios al consumo sube un 3,4%. En agricultura, el índice de producción (que cae un 4,3%) y el de precios (aumenta un 7,7%), empeoran y además los ingresos acumulados de los agricultores bajan 1.510 millones de euros en 2020. El impacto más acusado en el sector agrario se atribuye a la mayor intensidad de sus emisiones donde se estima un coste marginal de reducción de 86 € t-1 de CO2 equivalente para 2020, lo cual es consistente con las estimaciones existentes en la bibliografía. Además se observa que la combinación óptima de reducción de emisiones en los diferentes sectores agrarios depende del grado de sustitución de las actividades emisoras. A la vista de las pérdidas de ingresos observadas en el sector agrario, se contempla un escenario de mitigación de coste-cero para los agricultores, semejante a un pago de condicionalidad, entre 2013 y 2020. Los resultados señalan una mitigación en el incremento de los precios de los alimentos y una redistribución en la combinación óptima de las emisiones en los sectores agrarios.

Analysis of government stimulation means is urgent, because business is a basis of economic structure. Even 99,5 percent of all working companies in Lithuania are small or medium business. Namely this sector helps solving employment problems, it strengthens economic structure of separate regions, flexibly adapts to economical changes, introduces innovations, it is also a start of becoming a large business. For present day, in difficult, large competition environment, SMB subject attention should be concentrated not only onto creation of innovative and marketable products and their successful lead to market, capability of great vitality functioning in market, but also seek for a successful business expansion. That is because it is important to clear up and evaluate possible mechanism of business support, which could be as the most important and crucial survival SMB subject competition advantage. In difficult economy period, expansion of small and medium business became one of the most priority targets of economic policy. Government of the republic of Lithuania supports SMB stimulation, but because of lack of financial resources it supports small and medium business as far as possible. Arises problem, government of the republic of Lithuania actively tries to improve business conditions in Lithuania and stimulate creation and expansion of new business, but new business is started very slowly, especially in smaller towns and districts, their growth and expansion are not fast enough. Hypothesis of research: small and medium business do not use efficiently enough business support means provided by a government. Purpose of this work: to analyze the Lithuanian Government business incentives and to evaluate the need for such measures. Tasks: discuss meaning of importance of small and medium business for Lithuania economic structure, carry out analysis of legislation, which define standpoint of government on business and also regulate business environment, overlook means for business support, investigate business environment and business conditions in Lithuania; according to a chosen and described research methodology carry out research on business man point of view on present business conditions, business stimulation means provided by government, also what type of measures should be taken from their point of view, in order to improve business conditions in Lithuania. Methods of research – analysis of scientific literature, analysis of legal documents, analysis of statistical data, analysis of data received from social research (form questioning). After investigating small and medium business activity conditions and environment, business stimulation and support means, fulfilled research of government support means lets us make a conclusion, that small and medium business point of view on business support means is rather negative. Business uses them very sluggishly, because of insufficient bureaucracy, redundant demand for documents, difficult procedures, confidence, that institutions, responsible for allocation of support, are corrupted and support could not be received and because of lack of knowledge, that such a means of support does exist at all. In order to improve business conditions in Lithuania, tax and legislation system should be improved, business should be wider informed on provided support means, their approaching and attractiveness should be made easier.