Mestrado de dupla diplomação com a Université Moulay Taher ; Honey is considered a natural sweet substance produced by honeybees, from the nectars of plant flowers and honeydews. Honey has always been regarded as a food that is beneficial for human health with several therapeutic qualities described. The quality of honey is still a top concern for experts as no good method has been defined so far for the simultaneous detection of different types of honey. Consequently, the development of easy, quick, precise analytical tools that may give data for assessing honey authenticity, is important. Because of that, it is essential to inform consumers of the mislabeling of honey with lower quality. This study aimed to evaluate the physicochemical characteristics and to assess the quality of Algerian honey from different botanical and geographical origins. For that, ten samples of honey with different marked botanical origins were analyzed, including three samples from rosemary honey, three from tamarisk honey, three from milk thistle honey and one multiflora honey. The quality of the samples was determined through different parameters. Melissopalynological and physicochemical analyses (color, moisture, pH, acidity, electrical conductivity, diastase index, proline, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, mineral content, proteins, carbohydrates, energy, and ash) were performed, as well as the profile evaluation of sugar and phenolic compounds. Antioxidant activity (reducing power and DPPH free radical scavenging activity) antitumor and anti-inflammation activity were also evaluated. Finally, the presence of antibiotics, recurrent residues in honey, such as tetracyclines and sulphonamides were screened using the multi-analyte receptor assay system Charm II. The melissopalinological analysis showed the presence of 10 major types of pollen grains, with Rosmarinus officinalis, Cytisus stratitus and Centaurea sp. pollens as the most abundant. Furthermore, since no honeydew elements were detected, all the samples were classified as nectar honeys. Samples R1, R2, and R3 were classified as rosemary monofloral honey; samples T1, T2 and MF were classified as Cytisus striatus honey; CH1-CH3 were classified as Centaurea sp. and T3 as multifloral, which not always agreed with the labeled botanical origin. Generally, honey samples presented values of moisture, free acidity, 5-HMF, proline content, and diastase index within the limits of the legal requirements, suggesting that the honey was extracted at a correct ripeness stage. The results showed that almost all honey samples have light amber color, except the rosemary honeys which presented an extra white amber color. Although exhibiting a normal diastase index, the R2 and R3 samples presented a 5-HMF value higher than the admitted in the legislation, suggesting that less adequate heat treatments and/or conservation methods might have been employed. The most common minerals were potassium, sodium, calcium, manganese, while copper and Manganese were present in some samples in minor quantities and the heavy metals (cadmium and lead) are absent from all samples. The sugar profile, analyzed by high pressure liquid chromatography with refractive index detection (HPLC-RI), showed that fructose and glucose were the most abundant compounds, representing more than 60% of total sugars. Other sugars, such as turanose, maltulose and maltose were also detected in a lower proportion. Regarding the phenolic profile, nineteen compounds (eight phenolic acids and seven flavonoids), two isoprenoid compounds (trans, trans- and cis, trans- abscisic acid), one spermidine and one phenolic diterpene were identified. T2 sample showed a higher amount of phenolic acids than flavonoids. However, the most abundant compounds were the benzoic acid derivative which was detected in all samples. Concerning the evaluation of the antitumor activity and anti-inflammatory activity the samples showed a significant potential. Finally, concerning the antibiotics screening, not all the samples showed negative results. ; O mel é considerado uma substância doce natural produzida pelas abelhas, a partir dos néctares das flores das plantas e de meladas. O mel sempre foi considerado um alimento benéfico para a saúde, com várias qualidades terapêuticas descritas. A sua qualidade ainda é uma das principais preocupações para os especialistas, pois não há um método ideal para a classificação simultânea de diferentes tipos de mel. Consequentemente, é importante o desenvolvimento de ferramentas analíticas simples, rápidas e precisas que possam fornecer dados que permitam avaliar a autenticidade do mel. Por esse motivo, é essencial informar os consumidores da incorreta rotulagem de méis com baixa qualidade. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar as características físico-químicas e desse modo aferir a qualidade de méis argelinos com diferentes origens botânicas e geográficas. Para isso, foram recolhidas dez amostras de méis rotulados com diferentes origens botânicas, nomeadamente: três de mel de alecrim, três de mel de tamarino, três de mel de cardo e um de mel multifloral. A qualidade dos méis foi aferida através de diferentes parâmetros. Foram realizadas análises melissopalinológicas e físico-químicas (cor, humidade, pH, acidez, condutividade elétrica, índice diastático, prolina, 5-hidroximetilfurfural, conteúdo em minerais, proteínas, hidratos de carbono, energia e cinzas), bem como a avaliação do perfil em açúcares e compostos fenólicos. Também foi avaliada a atividade antioxidante (poder redutor e poder bloqueador de radicais livres) e atividade antitumoral e antiinflamatório. Finalmente, a presença de antibióticos, resíduos recorrentes no mel, como tetraciclinas e sulfonamidas, foram investigados através do sistema de despistagem Charm II. A análise melissopalinológica mostrou a presença de 10 tipos de grãos de pólen maioritários, sendo os pólenes de Rosmarinus officinalis, Cytisus stratitus e Centaurea sp. os mais abundantes. Além disso, e como não foram detetados elementos de melada, as amostras analisadas foram classificadas como méis de néctar: as amostras R1, R2 e R3 foram classificadas como mel monofloral de alecrim; as amostras T1, T2 e MF foram classificadas como mel de Cytisus striatus; CH1-CH3 foram classificados como de Centaurea sp. e T3 como multifloral, nem sempre coincidindo com a classificação utilizada no rótulo. De uma forma geral, as amostras de mel apresentaram valores de humidade, acidez livre, 5-HMF, teor de prolina e índice de diástase dentro dos limites requeridos legalmente, sugerindo que os méis foram extraídos no nível de maturação correto. Os resultados mostram que quase todas as amostras de mel apresentaram uma color âmbar clara, exceto o mel de alecrim que apresentou uma color âmbar extra clara. Apesar de apresentarem um índice de diástase normal, as amostras R2 e R3 apresentaram um valor de 5-HMF superior ao admitido na legislação, sugerindo a utilização de tratamentos térmicos e/ou métodos de conservação menos adequados. Os minerais mais comuns identificados foram o potássio, sódio, cálcio, enquanto cobre e manganês estiveram presentes em algumas amostras em quantidades menores e os metais pesados (cádmio e chumbo) estão ausentes em todas as amostras. O perfil dos açúcares, analisado por cromatografia líquida de alta pressão com deteção de índice de refração (HPLC-RI), mostrou que a frutose e a glucose foram os compostos mais abundantes, representando mais de 60% dos açúcares totais. Outros açúcares, como a turanose, a maltulose e a maltose, também foram detetados em menor proporção. Em relação ao perfil fenólico, foram identificados dezanove compostos (oito ácidos fenólicos e sete flavonóides), dois compostos isoprenóides (ácido trans, trans- e cis, trans-abscísico), uma espermidina e um diterpeno fenólico. No que diz respeito à avaliação da atividade antitumoral e atividade anti-inflamatória, as amostras apresentam potencial significativo. Finalmente, após o estudo de deteção de antibióticos verificou-se que nem todas as amostras estão isentas de resíduos.
Kanadas geographischer Norden liegt in dem Territorium Nunavut. Von hier aus ist es ebenso weit zum geographischen Nordpol wie zur US-kanadischen Grenze. Nunavut nimmt etwa 1/5 der kanadischen Landmasse ein, hat mit circa 38.000 Einwohnern jedoch bei weitem die kleinste Bevoelkerungsdichte des Landes. 85% der Einwohner sind Inuit deren Kultur sich in den vergangenen 70 Jahren radikal geaendert hat. Daher hat das Territorium heute mit mehreren Generationen von Inuit zu kaempfen die entweder traumatisiert sind oder zumindest schwer von den kulturellen und wirtschaftlichen Veraenderungen seit Ende des zweiten Weltkrieges gepraegt sind. Zur damaligen Zeit startete die Gruendung von festen Siedlungen in Nunavut und die Landflucht aus den temporaeren traditionellen Doerfern in die neuen Gemeinden. Egal ob wir von Senioren, Erwachsenen im mittleren Alter oder Jugendlichen sprechen, jede Generation hat eine Vielzahl von Veraenderungen erfahren, und erfaehrt sie immer noch. Diese beinhalten die Infragestellung persoenlicher und kultureller Identitaet, finanzielle Sicherheit, Wohnformen, Nahrungsmangel, Alkohol- und Drogenmisbrauch, Bildungssytem und der Wandel sozialer Werte wie inter-generationeller Wandel, Aufkommen neuer Geschlechterrollen, oder die Einfuehrung eines fremden politischen Systems und einer neuen Rechtsprechung. Andererseits werden heute auch weiterhin innerhalb von Inuitfamilien viele der traditionellen sozialen Werte praktiziert. Neben der Tragoedie, die mehrere aufeinanderfolgende Inuitgenerationen erleben mussten, bemueht sich die Gesellschaft das starke indigene Selbstbewusstsein wiederzubeleben, das sowohl dem Individuum als auch der Gesellschaft erlaubt ihre Kultur zu bewahren. Insbesondere Landrechtsorganisationen der Inuit oder indigene Nichtregierungsorganisationen treten fuer den Kulturerhalt ein, indem sie fuer mehr Anerkennung von und Stolz auf historische und rezente Errungenschaften der eigenen Kultur kaempfen. Die sozialen Probleme sowie die inner- und intra-kulturellen Prozesse die ich in meiner Arbeit beschreibe treffen nicht nur ausschliesslich auf Nunavut oder Inuitkultur zu. Stattdessen zeigen Studien aus anderen Regionen Kanadas und der Welt (LaPrairie 1987; Jensen 1986; Nunatsiaq News 6/30/2010) strukturell viele Aehnlichkeiten zur Situation in Nunavut auf. Obowhl durch den ueberregionalen Vergleich viele strukturelle Gemeinsamkeiten erkannt werden koennen, z.B. Marginalisierung der lokalen indigenen Bevoelkerung, Kolonialismus, Paternalisms und daraus entstehende Probleme wie persoenlicher und kultureller Identitaetsverlust, ist es ebenso wichtig einen tiefgruendigeren Blick auf die jeweiligen Besonderheiten der einzelnen regionalen Fallbeispiele zu werfen. Meiner Meinung nach, kann eine nachhaltige Verbesserung der Situation einer Gruppe, eines Dorfes oder Region nur dann erfolgen, wenn man kulturelle Besonderheiten in der Sozialisation, Kommunikation und Philisophie beruecksichtigt. Daher wird sich meine Dissertation ausschliesslich auf Nunavut und einige ausgewaehlte Fallbeispiele aus der Region konzentrieren. Die Fallbeispiele sollen lokale Unterschiede in der historischen Entwicklung und Gegenwartssituation illustrieren was zu einem besseren Verstaendnis der aktuellen Lage in den jeweiligen Doerfern sowie Nunavut als uebergordnete Einheit beitragen kann. Die Arbeit untersucht sowohl historische als auch rezente Ursachen die zu den vielen Problemen Nunavuts beitragen. Meine zeitgeschichtliche Einteilung in "Fruehkontaktphase", "Kontaktphase", "1. Generation" und "2. Generation" lehnt sich an Damas (2002: 7, 17) Terminologie von "Fruehkontaktphase", "Kontkat-Traditionsphase" und "Umsiedlungsphase" an. Er beschreibt damit drei Zeitperioden die sich deutlich in Bezug auf den Einfluss von Nicht-Inuit auf Inuit abheben. Kapitel zwei soll dabei die Kernaspekte der gegenwaertigen Sozialproblematik beschreiben. Diesbezueglich schaue ich auf die 4 Hauptfaktoren die meiner Meinung nach die Gesellschaft in Nunavut praegen: 1) Gewalt und andere soziale Probleme, 2) Die entsprechenden Organisationen und Programme die auf diese Probleme reagieren, 3) Bildung, 4) Inuitkulturspezifische Besonderheiten bezueglich Kommunikation und Sozialisation Diese vier Bereiche bilden die Grundlage fuer meine weiter Arbeit. Die darauffolgenden Kapitel fuehren den Leser durch den Wandlungsprozess einer vorkolonialen, halbnomadischen Gesellschaft zu einer sesshaften Gemeinschaft die sehr stark von einer Euro-kanadischen Lebensweise beeinflusst ist. Die einzelnen Kapitel behandeln jeweils eine neue Phase des kulturellen Wandels den ich in "Vor-Siedlungsphase, Erste, Zweite und Dritte Generation" unterteilt habe. Dabei untersuche ich die Formen und Relevanz von Gewalt und sozialer Probleme fuer die jeweilige Phase, wie sie mit der gesamtgeschichtlichen Entwicklung der Region zusammenhaengen, und wie die jeweiligen Generationen mit den Veraenderungen und Problemen umgegangen sind. . ; Canada's geographic centre lies in the Territory Nunavut. From here the distance to the geographic North Pole is as far as to the US border. Nunavut takes up about 1/5 of the Canadian land mass but has by far the smallest population with currently about 38,000 residents. 85% of its population are Inuit whose culture dramatically changed within the last 70 years. As a result, the territory is dealing with several generations of Inuit that are traumatized or at least severely affected by cultural and economic changes that started after World War 2 with the resettlement from the land into permanent communities. No matter if we are talking about the actual elders, mid-age adults or pre-teenagers, each of this generation experienced and still experiences various personal and cultural challenges of identity, financial and housing insecurity, food insecurity, substance abuse education, change of social values ranging from inter-generational and gender relationships to the introduction of a foreign political and legal system. On the other side, a lot of the traditional societal values are still being practiced in Inuit families. Despite all the tragedies that several generations of Inuit have experienced by now, the society keeps generating the strength and cultural pride that allows many Inuit both, as individuals and as a collective under the umbrella of either Inuit Land Claims or not for profit organizations to advocate on behalf of Inuit culture, to fight for more acknowledgement of Inuit culture and to enhance pride in the historic and present day cultural achievements of Nunavut's indigenous population. The social issues, inter- and intra-cultural processes described in my thesis are not exclusive to the situation in Nunavut or to Inuit. Studies from other regions, in Canada or from around the world (LaPrairie 1987; Jensen 1986; Nunatsiaq News 6/30/2010) reveal similar challenges. Though many structural similarities can be identified by comparing these studies with each other, e.g. marginalization of the indigenous local population, colonization, paternalism and resulting issues like personal and cultural identity loss, it is important to have a more in depth look into the single cases to determine which individual events and developments causes and maybe still cause such a devastating social situation as it is found among many indigenous peoples across the world. From my perspective effective improvements of the situation of a group, a respective community or region can only happen when particularities of socialization, communication and philosophy in the single cultural entities are being considered. That is why my thesis will exclusively focus on developments in Nunavut and use various case studies of communities. The case studies shall help to identify local differences in historic and recent developments and thus provide starting points for explanations of different developments in different Nunavut communities. The thesis is looking at both, historic and recent root causes for the many issues in Nunavut. The data that my my thesis is based on are a combination of literature and about 60 formal and informal interviews that I conducted in three Nunavut communities (Iqaluit, Whale Cove, Kugluktuk) during my 18 months of field work between October 2008 and March 2010. Many more spontaneous unstructured conversations between me and community members added to the pool of first-hand information that I gathered. Since my field work is limited to those three communities it has a very strong qualitative character. The quantitative side, which allows me to confidently apply my research analyses to entire Nunavut, comes from literature research as well as many informal conversations and a few formal interviews that I conducted with people who had some experience in other communities than Iqaluit, Kugluktuk and Whale Cove. Furthermore, while I was living at the old residence of the Nunavut Arctic College in Iqaluit, I spend time with college students from across Nunavut. Through them, I obtained "case studies "from following communities: Iqaluit, Qikiqtarjuaq, Kimmirut, Pangnirtung, Clyde River, Pond Inlet, Igloolik, Repulse Bay, Cape Dorset, Chesterfield Inlet, Baker Lake, Rankin Inlet, Whale Cove, Arviat, Taloyoak, Kugluktuk. My general categorization of "early contact period", "contact", "1st generation" and "2nd generation" is very similar to Damas' terms of "early contact phase", "contact – traditional", "resettlement" that he uses to create a timeline that describes the major phases of impact for Inuit society (Damas 2002: 7, 17). Chapters 2 is meant to provide an inventory of the key aspects of current social issues in Nunavut. In this context I am looking at the four major aspects that in my opinion shape Nunavut's society: 1) violence and other forms of social dysfunctions 2) the associated services and delivering agencies that try to address those matters 3) Education 4) Inuit cultural particularities in communication and socialization Those four areas are forming the foundation for the rest of my work. The following chapters will guide the reader through the historic transformation process of Inuit pre-colonial semi-nomadic society to a society that is living in permanent settlements, strongly influenced if not in many ways dominated by Euro-Canadian culture. Each of those chapters will be referring to the social and cultural changes that happened in the different time periods that I labeled with "Pre-settlement, First, Second, and Third Generation". The relevance of violence and other social dysfunctions, their context and strategies how each generation dealt with those matters will be analyzed while I will be also referring to the impacts that non-Inuit, primarily Euro-Canadians and Euro-Americans had and have on Inuit society. .
Virtually the entire scientific, political, business, and social community is aware of the importance of climate change. Countries adhering to the Kyoto Protocol have taken up the challenge of reducing carbon emission, implementing national policies that include the introduction of carbon emissions trading programs, voluntary programs, taxes on carbon emissions and energy efficiency standards. In this context, the business world must be able to generate a carbon reduction strategy to ensure long-term success, considering also that customers (and investors) are ever more interested in the well-being of the environment, and increasingly demand their suppliers to be eco-friendly. This thesis has addressed the problem of designing (or redesigning) the supply chain to reduce carbon emission in an economically viable and, as far as possible, optimal way. The thesis addresses the problem by designing a complete and formalized methodology, which also includes a mathematical model to determine the best decisions to take. The research begins, as usual, with a review of the basic terminology, standards and the scientific literature related to the topic. From the review of the literature, it has been concluded that, although there are authors who propose models related to the design of the supply chain including carbon reduction, there is a lack of formalized methodologies that can be applied to real cases . The methodology consists of 4 stages: 1) The creation of a corporate carbon strategy; 2) The alignment with strategic financial planning; 3) The development of a mathematical model; and 4) The implementation and tracking. In the first stage a six-step guide is developed to create a corporate carbon strategy. The steps are: 1) Determine the type of emission; 2) Boundaries definition; 3) Planning and performance information; 4) ldentify carbon reduction opportunities; 5) Determine carbon reduction goals; 6) Participating in programs and carbon markets . In the second stage, the corporate carbon strategy is evaluated from a financial point of view and integrated into the strategic planning. In the third stage, a Mixed lnteger Linear Programming (MILP) model is proposed to obtain a plan for the supply chain redesign, so that: 1) the carbon reduction targets are achieved; 2) the strategic financial plan is taken into account; 3) all the real possibilities are contemplated to redesign the supply chain; and 4) a solution is achieved to optimize the economic results of the company. The carbon reduction methodology , including the mathematical model, has been applied to three case studies that are useful for adjusting sorne elements and for its validation . The first case study corresponds to a company that operates in the Home and Personal Care sector in Brazil, where the system of taxes is more complex than in other countries and illustrates how the mathematical model can be adapted to any context. The second case study deals with a multinational company which operates in the Foods sector in Spain and requires a redesign of the supply chain to improve its product cost. Finally, the third case used a company in the U.S. to show the effect of the scope definition on the carbon strategy. In the three cases, the solution of the mathematical model maximizes the net profit, whilst the carbon reduction target is achieved. Therefore, the carbon reduction methodology is useful for achieving economic and environmental benefits, as well as providing benefits related to the improvement of the corporate image, strengthening of brands and avoiding possible carbon taxes risks. In conclusion, the carbon reduction methodology proposed in this thesis, was developed to support companies that want to generate a competitive advantage and a sustainable development. In addition, it was designed to be flexible enough to adapt to the needs of each business and facilitate its execution in the business world. ; Prácticamente toda la comunidad científica, política, comercial y social es consciente de la importancia del desafío medio ambiental relacionado con las emisiones de Gases de Efecto Invernadero (GEi). Los paises adheridos al Protocolo de Kioto han asumido el desafío de reducir los GEi, implementando políticas que incluyen programas de comercio de emisiones , programas voluntarios, impuestos sobre la emisión de GEi y normas sobre eficiencia energética. En este contexto, el mundo empresarial debe ser capaz de generar una estrategia de reducción de GEi para garantizar el éxito a largo plazo, considerando además que los clientes están cada vez más interesados en el bienestar del medio ambiente . Esta tesis ha abordado el problema de diseñar (o rediseñar) la cadena de suministro como vía para la reducción de GEi de una manera económicamente viable y, en la medida de lo posible, óptima. La tesis aborda la problemática diseñando una metodología completa y formalizada, que incluye también un modelo matemático para determinar las mejores decisiones a tomar. De la revisión de la literatura, se ha concluido que, si bien existen autores que proponen modelos relacionados con el diseño de la cadena de suministro que incluyen la reducción de GEi, no existen trabajos que propongan una metodología completa y suficientemente formalizada que puedan ser aplicados a la realidad. La metodología consta de 4 etapas que son: 1) La creación de una estrategia corporativa para la reducción de GEi; 2) La alineación con la planificación financiera estratégica; 3) El desarrollo de un modelo matemático; y 4) La implementación y seguimiento. En la primera etapa se desarrolla una guía de seis pasos para crear una estrategia corporativa para la reducción de GEi, los pasos son: 1) Determinar el tipo de emisión; 2) Definir el alcance; 3) Establecer las bases de la medición; 4) Identificar oportunidades de reducción de GEi; 5) Establecer los objetivos; 6) Planificar la participación en programas de reducción de GEi. En la segunda etapa, la estrategia corporativa antes propuesta, se evalúa desde un punto de vista financiero y se integra en la planificación estratégica. En la tercera etapa, se propone un modelo de Programación Lineal Entera Mixta para obtener un plan para et rediseño de ta cadena de suministro, de modo que: 1) se logren tos objetivos de reducción de GEi; 2) se tenga en cuenta el plan financiero estratégico; 3) se contemplen todas las posibilidades reales para rediseñar la cadena de suministro; y 4) se optimicen tos resultados económicos de la empresa. La metodología, incluyendo el programa matemático se ha probado en tres casos de estudio. El primer caso de estudio corresponde a una multinacional del sector de productos de higiene del hogar y cuidado personal que opera en Brasil, donde el modelo matemático fue adaptado para integrar beneficios fiscales. El segundo caso trata de una multinacional del sector alimentario basada en España que requiere un rediseño de la cadena de suministro para mejorar el coste de producir. Finalmente, en el tercer caso se utiliza una empresa del sector del metal basada en EE. UU., para ilustrar la importancia de la definición de límites y responsabilidades corporativas . En los tres casos de estudio, el modelo matemático maximiza el beneficio neto mientras alcanza el objetivo de reducción de GEi. Por lo tanto, la metodología es útil para conseguir beneficios económicos y medio ambientales, además de brindar beneficios relacionados con la mejora de la imagen corporativa, fortalecimiento de las marcas y el evitar posibles riesgos impositivos . En conclusión, la metodología propuesta fue desarrollada para que su implementación pueda generar en las empresas una ventaja competitiva y un crecimiento fundamentado en la sostenibilidad ambiental; asimismo, fue diseñada para que sea lo suficientemente flexible y pueda adaptarse a las necesidades de cada negocio ; Postprint (published version)
Virtually the entire scientific, political, business, and social community is aware of the importance of climate change. Countries adhering to the Kyoto Protocol have taken up the challenge of reducing carbon emission, implementing national policies that include the introduction of carbon emissions trading programs, voluntary programs, taxes on carbon emissions and energy efficiency standards. In this context, the business world must be able to generate a carbon reduction strategy to ensure long-term success, considering also that customers (and investors) are ever more interested in the well-being of the environment, and increasingly demand their suppliers to be eco-friendly. This thesis has addressed the problem of designing (or redesigning) the supply chain to reduce carbon emission in an economically viable and, as far as possible, optimal way. The thesis addresses the problem by designing a complete and formalized methodology, which also includes a mathematical model to determine the best decisions to take. The research begins, as usual, with a review of the basic terminology, standards and the scientific literature related to the topic. From the review of the literature, it has been concluded that, although there are authors who propose models related to the design of the supply chain including carbon reduction, there is a lack of formalized methodologies that can be applied to real cases . The methodology consists of 4 stages: 1) The creation of a corporate carbon strategy; 2) The alignment with strategic financial planning; 3) The development of a mathematical model; and 4) The implementation and tracking. In the first stage a six-step guide is developed to create a corporate carbon strategy. The steps are: 1) Determine the type of emission; 2) Boundaries definition; 3) Planning and performance information; 4) ldentify carbon reduction opportunities; 5) Determine carbon reduction goals; 6) Participating in programs and carbon markets . In the second stage, the corporate carbon strategy is evaluated from a financial point of view and integrated into the strategic planning. In the third stage, a Mixed lnteger Linear Programming (MILP) model is proposed to obtain a plan for the supply chain redesign, so that: 1) the carbon reduction targets are achieved; 2) the strategic financial plan is taken into account; 3) all the real possibilities are contemplated to redesign the supply chain; and 4) a solution is achieved to optimize the economic results of the company. The carbon reduction methodology , including the mathematical model, has been applied to three case studies that are useful for adjusting sorne elements and for its validation . The first case study corresponds to a company that operates in the Home and Personal Care sector in Brazil, where the system of taxes is more complex than in other countries and illustrates how the mathematical model can be adapted to any context. The second case study deals with a multinational company which operates in the Foods sector in Spain and requires a redesign of the supply chain to improve its product cost. Finally, the third case used a company in the U.S. to show the effect of the scope definition on the carbon strategy. In the three cases, the solution of the mathematical model maximizes the net profit, whilst the carbon reduction target is achieved. Therefore, the carbon reduction methodology is useful for achieving economic and environmental benefits, as well as providing benefits related to the improvement of the corporate image, strengthening of brands and avoiding possible carbon taxes risks. In conclusion, the carbon reduction methodology proposed in this thesis, was developed to support companies that want to generate a competitive advantage and a sustainable development. In addition, it was designed to be flexible enough to adapt to the needs of each business and facilitate its execution in the business world. ; Prácticamente toda la comunidad científica, política, comercial y social es consciente de la importancia del desafío medio ambiental relacionado con las emisiones de Gases de Efecto Invernadero (GEi). Los paises adheridos al Protocolo de Kioto han asumido el desafío de reducir los GEi, implementando políticas que incluyen programas de comercio de emisiones , programas voluntarios, impuestos sobre la emisión de GEi y normas sobre eficiencia energética. En este contexto, el mundo empresarial debe ser capaz de generar una estrategia de reducción de GEi para garantizar el éxito a largo plazo, considerando además que los clientes están cada vez más interesados en el bienestar del medio ambiente . Esta tesis ha abordado el problema de diseñar (o rediseñar) la cadena de suministro como vía para la reducción de GEi de una manera económicamente viable y, en la medida de lo posible, óptima. La tesis aborda la problemática diseñando una metodología completa y formalizada, que incluye también un modelo matemático para determinar las mejores decisiones a tomar. De la revisión de la literatura, se ha concluido que, si bien existen autores que proponen modelos relacionados con el diseño de la cadena de suministro que incluyen la reducción de GEi, no existen trabajos que propongan una metodología completa y suficientemente formalizada que puedan ser aplicados a la realidad. La metodología consta de 4 etapas que son: 1) La creación de una estrategia corporativa para la reducción de GEi; 2) La alineación con la planificación financiera estratégica; 3) El desarrollo de un modelo matemático; y 4) La implementación y seguimiento. En la primera etapa se desarrolla una guía de seis pasos para crear una estrategia corporativa para la reducción de GEi, los pasos son: 1) Determinar el tipo de emisión; 2) Definir el alcance; 3) Establecer las bases de la medición; 4) Identificar oportunidades de reducción de GEi; 5) Establecer los objetivos; 6) Planificar la participación en programas de reducción de GEi. En la segunda etapa, la estrategia corporativa antes propuesta, se evalúa desde un punto de vista financiero y se integra en la planificación estratégica. En la tercera etapa, se propone un modelo de Programación Lineal Entera Mixta para obtener un plan para et rediseño de ta cadena de suministro, de modo que: 1) se logren tos objetivos de reducción de GEi; 2) se tenga en cuenta el plan financiero estratégico; 3) se contemplen todas las posibilidades reales para rediseñar la cadena de suministro; y 4) se optimicen tos resultados económicos de la empresa. La metodología, incluyendo el programa matemático se ha probado en tres casos de estudio. El primer caso de estudio corresponde a una multinacional del sector de productos de higiene del hogar y cuidado personal que opera en Brasil, donde el modelo matemático fue adaptado para integrar beneficios fiscales. El segundo caso trata de una multinacional del sector alimentario basada en España que requiere un rediseño de la cadena de suministro para mejorar el coste de producir. Finalmente, en el tercer caso se utiliza una empresa del sector del metal basada en EE. UU., para ilustrar la importancia de la definición de límites y responsabilidades corporativas . En los tres casos de estudio, el modelo matemático maximiza el beneficio neto mientras alcanza el objetivo de reducción de GEi. Por lo tanto, la metodología es útil para conseguir beneficios económicos y medio ambientales, además de brindar beneficios relacionados con la mejora de la imagen corporativa, fortalecimiento de las marcas y el evitar posibles riesgos impositivos . En conclusión, la metodología propuesta fue desarrollada para que su implementación pueda generar en las empresas una ventaja competitiva y un crecimiento fundamentado en la sostenibilidad ambiental; asimismo, fue diseñada para que sea lo suficientemente flexible y pueda adaptarse a las necesidades de cada negocio ; Postprint (published version)
Falta palabras claves ; Introduction Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic systemic inflammatory disease characterized by inflammation of the synovial membrane and progressive destruction of the articular cartilage and bone. (Salgado and Maneiro 2014). RA patients exhibit an inflammatory chronic condition, which usually affects symmetrically arthrodial and small joints of hands and feet Global prevalence of RA has been estimated to be around 0.5-1.0% of adults in developed countries with a large variation across regions and approximately three-times more common in the female gender. The disease may begin at any age, but around 80% of all patients initiate the disease between the ages of 35 and 50 years (Rudan et al. 2015). Although the specific triggers and exact mechanisms of tissue damage in RA is still unknown, an increase in inflammatory mediators as well as a dysregulation of the immune system with uncontrolled T cell activity, play a remarkable role in its pathogenesis. Pharmacological treatment in AR including nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), glucocorticoids, disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) and biological agents have improved the signs and symptoms of RA, but these drugs are only effective in a fraction of patients and have other limitations including a high cost, the requirement for parenteral administration and important side effects. Therefore, new therapeutic strategies are under investigation including nutritional therapy. The beneficial effects of the Mediterranean diet have been proven not only in cardiovascular diseases but also in diabetes, obesity, arthritis and cancer (Cardeno, Sanchez-Hidalgo, and Alarcon-de-la-Lastra 2013). Evidence points out that Mediterranean diet decreases both pain and disease activity leading to better outcomes, and decreasing the doses of anti-inflammatory drugs, which exhibit important secondary effects (Smedslund et al. 2010). Olive Oil is the characteristic culinary fat of the Mediterranean area being described as a key bio-active food (Puertollano et al. 2010). Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is obtained from the fruit of the olive tree (Olea europea L.) solely by mechanical or other physical means under conditions that do not alter its natural composition. Traditionally the beneficial effects of EVOO have been ascribed to its monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) (Bermudez et al. 2011). However, a wide range of evidence indicates that many of the beneficial effects of EVOO intake are due to its minor highly bioactive components (about 1–2 % of oil weight) (Alarcon de la Lastra et al. 2001) Among them, phenolic compounds such as hydroxytyrosol, tyrosol and oleuropein have shown anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects (Omar et al. 2010). Current experimental studies support a beneficial role of polyphenols from EVOO in several inflammatory diseases, including RA (Martinez-Dominguez, de la Puerta, and Ruiz-Gutierrez 2001; Impellizzeri et al. 2011; Gong et al. 2009). Although EVOO has demonstrated anti-inflammatory effects, it has not reported so much evidence of its possible immunomodulatory effects. Therefore, the objectives of this thesis were: 1. To determinate the possible protective effect of dietary extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) in collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) in DBA 1/J mice, an experimental model of RA and explore the biochemical routes and possibly intracellular signalling pathways. 2. To evaluate the oral polyphenolic extract from EVOO treatment in murine collageninduced arthritis and study the biochemical routes and signalling pathway involved. 3. To investigate the effects of hydroxytyrosol (HTy) or hydroxytyrosol acetate (HTy- Ac), polyphenolics compounds from EVOO enriched-diets in experimental arthritis model in mice and elucidate the molecular mechanisms and signalling pathways involved. Results and Discussion 1. Dietary extra-virgin olive oil prevents inflammatory response and cartilage matrix degradation in murine collagen‑induced arthritis. (Rosillo et al. Eur J Nutr. 2015 In press) Three-week-old male DBA-1/J mice were randomized into four experimental groups: (1) Sham sunflower diet (SO-Sham) group received a diet elaborated with a marketable sunflower oil; (2) CIA sunflower diet (SO-CIA) group received a diet elaborated with a marketable sunflower oil; (3) Sham EVOO diet (EVOO-Sham) group were fed with a diet made with a marketable EVOO picual variety and (4) CIA EVOO diet (EVOO-CIA) group were fed with a diet made with a marketable EVOO picual variety. After 6 weeks, arthritis was induced by type II collagen. Experiments followed a protocol approved by the Animal Ethics Committee of the University of Seville, and all experiments were in accordance with the recommendations of the European Union regarding animal experimentation (Directive of the European Counsel 2010/630/EU) Our results revealed, that EVOO, as the lipid component of the diet, effectively exhibited preventive and therapeutic effects in the development of inflammatory arthritis and joint damage in CIA arthritic mice in comparison with those CIA mice fed with SO. This effect was correlated to an improved arthritis score, a minor inflammatory cells infiltration into articular tissues, reduced exudation into the synovial space, synovial hyperplasia and cartilage erosion. Overexpression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as IL-1β, TNF-α and IL-17 may activate osteoclasts and macrophages and recruit leukocytes in inflamed joints. Besides, it is well-known that IL-17 is able to induce the release of IL-8 and IL-6, and plays a remarkable role in the additive/synergistic effects induced by TNF-α and IL-1β (Jeong et al. 2004). Our results indicate that animals fed with EVOO diet showed a significant reduction in IL-1β, TNF-α and IL-17 proinflammatory cytokines levels in paw homogenates. Cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) is a matrix protein with a great potential as a biological marker of cartilage metabolism in arthritis (Saxne and Heinegard 1992). In addition, COMP is a putative substrate for metalloproteinases (MMPs). Particularly, MMP-3 is a proteinase secreted by synovial fibroblasts and chondrocytes and its activity results in degradation of aggrecan core protein, cartilage link protein, fibronectin and collagen. Our data showed that the production of both cartilage (COMP) and synovial (MMP-3) biomarkers was significantly inhibited by dietary EVOO treatment in CIA mice. Abnormal signalling pathways play an important role in the inflammatory process and can lead to a dysregulation of the inflammatory response being crucial in RA pathogenesis. Nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) is a crucial transcriptional activator for the expression of multiple proinflammatory genes involved in the microenvironment of the arthritic joints, playing an important role in the development of RA. (Morel and Berenbaum 2004; Okamoto et al. 2010). Our results suggested that dietary EVOO treatment suppressed NF-κB activation in CIA-induced arthritic mice. Similarly, the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) family also plays critical roles in RA pathogenesis (Han et al. 2001; Suzuki et al. 2000) regulating cytokine production, and activating the janus kinase-signal transducer and activator of transcription (JAK-STAT) signalling pathway through STAT-3 phosphorylation (Aaronson and Horvath 2002). Our results demonstrated that EVOO diet intake reduced significantly both MAPKs and STAT-3 activation. On the other hand, nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) plays a central role for expression of heme oxigenase 1 (HO-1), antioxidant enzyme. Our data showed that HO-1 could represent a potential molecular target susceptible to EVOO modulation, since dietary EVOO treatment strongly augmented Nrf2 and HO-1 protein expression conferring a role of HO-1 in the beneficial effects of EVOO in this murine model of chronic inflammation. Altogether, our results confirm, for the first time, that EVOO intake dramatically attenuated the progression and severity of arthritis in CIA DBA/1 J mice through Nrf2/HO-1 upregulation and NF-κB, MAPKs and JAK-STAT signalling pathway inhibition, decreasing the inflammatory cascade induced by CIA. ; Premio Extraordinario de Doctorado US
This dissertation argues that the psychic force that Freud named "the death drive" would more precisely be termed "the disability drive." Freud's concept of the death drive emerged from his efforts to account for feelings, desires, and actions that seemed not to accord with rational self-interest or the desire for pleasure. Positing that human subjectivity was intrinsically divided against itself, Freud suggested that the ego's instincts for pleasure and survival were undermined by a competing component of mental life, which he called the death drive. But the death drive does not primarily refer to biological death, and the term has consequently provoked confusion. By distancing Freud's theory from physical death and highlighting its imbrication with disability, I revise this important psychoanalytic concept and reveal its utility to disability studies. While Freud envisaged a human subject that is drawn, despite itself, toward something like death, I propose that this "something" can productively be understood as disability. In addition, I contend that our culture's repression of the disability drive, and its resultant projection of the drive onto stigmatized minorities, is a root cause of multiple forms of oppression."The Disability Drive" opens with a question: "What makes disability so sexy?" This is a counterintuitive query; after all, the dominant culture usually depicts disability as decidedly unsexy. But by performing a critical disability studies analysis of Freud's writings about sexuality and the death drive, I theorize sex as an intrinsically disabling experience and suggest that fantasies of disability may have an unrecognized sexual appeal. These possibilities lead me to introduce a new interpretive framework, "the sexual model of disability," which I posit as an alternative to disability studies' prevailing analytic paradigm, the social model of disability. While the social model defines disability as a system of oppression that isolates and excludes disabled people, the sexual model of disability goes deeper than this, locating the impetus for these exclusions in our culture's repression of the disability drive. Because disability may provoke an erotic excitement that the ego cannot bear to acknowledge, ableist culture is often torn between an urge to witness disability (e.g., by staring at disabled people) and an impulse to hide disability from view (e.g., by confining disabled people to institutions). The sexual model of disability has the potential to make interventions not only in disability studies but also in a range of other disciplines. In Chapter 1, I bring my account of the disability drive to bear on signal texts in queer theory. In doing so, I proffer an answer to a question that has long troubled disability scholars: given the many similarities between ableism and homophobia, why have queer theorists often been reluctant to engage with disability studies? Observing that founding texts in queer theory repudiate "feminist identity politics" and liken this discourse to madness and to figurative states of blindness and paralysis, I argue that these texts project the disability drive onto feminism, thus allowing queer theory to portray its own erotics as mobile, playful, and physically and mentally able. In Chapter 2, I show that the sexual model of disability can subvert a foundational concept in psychoanalysis: the disease category "hysteria." Analyzing Freud's case history Dora, which was published in 1905, in conjunction with Beyond the Pleasure Principle, which was published in 1920, I argue that Freud's notion of hysteria adumbrates his later theorization of the drive. The diagnostic category of hysteria, I contend, constitutes a projection of the disability drive onto people with what I call "undocumented disabilities," that is, nonapparent impairments for which mainstream western medicine cannot identify biological causes. One effect of this projection is that people with undocumented disabilities are figured as epistemologically disabled; that is, we are seen as distinctively lacking in the capacity to know ourselves.The social position of people with undocumented disabilities differs from that of the paradigmatic subject of disability studies: while people with undocumented impairments are often denied recognition of the disabling suffering that shapes our lives, people with disabilities that are visible and/or documented are frequently subjected to unwanted displays of pity. For this reason, "no pity" has long been a rallying cry of the disability rights movement. But is it possible to proscribe pity? In Chapter 3, I argue that instead of seeking to banish the affect of pity, disability scholars might do better to attend to the complex ways in which this affect can be incited and expressed. Toward this end, I propose a distinction between what I call "primary pity" and "secondary pity." The term "secondary pity" accords with the everyday understanding of pity, in which a person who feels pity is assumed to occupy a position of superiority in relation to a person who is pitied. Primary pity refers to a very different affective process, which is profoundly destabilizing to the ego of the person who feels pity. Derived in part from Freud's notion of "primary narcissism," my concept of primary pity occupies a liminal position between the erasure of the ego that primary narcissism entails and the buttressing of the ego involved in secondary narcissism. Because primary pity involves a complex process of identification, in which the subject and the object of pity risk becoming fantasmatically indistinguishable, this emotion threatens the ego's belief in its self-sufficiency and autonomy. I argue that primary pity's threat to the ego can be understood as a manifestation of the disability drive, and I suggest that the "no pity" position taken up by disability activists and scholars may be invested in a fantasy of overcoming the disability drive.This dissertation argues that rather than seeking to overcome the disability drive, cultural critics and activists should work to acknowledge the myriad ways in which the drive determines us. It is important to recognize and acknowledge one's determination by the disability drive because denying or repressing the ways in which this psychic force governs us will inevitably lead to the drive's being abjected onto groups of stigmatized others. In Chapter 4, I argue that in contemporary US American culture fat people constitute one such group. This chapter focuses on the drive to eat, a compulsion that I define as inseparable from the disability drive. Dependence, (on food), loss of mastery (over the intensities of the pleasures of eating), and failures of control (over what, and how much, one eats) combine to make hunger a fundamentally disabling drive. But instead of acknowledging that we are all disabled by the drive to eat, our culture abjects this drive onto fat people, whom it depicts as being driven, in ways that thin people are assumed not to be, by an out-of-control compulsion to eat. US American culture's projection of the disability drive onto fat people is intensified by racially inflected assumptions about "primitive" versus "civilized" forms of embodiment and by heteronormative constructions of "perversion." Resisting fatphobia therefore necessitates an intersectional analysis of the disability drive, an approach that takes measure of the ways in which repressing the drive reinforces multiple forms of prejudice.The central aim of this thesis is to show that the disability drive is a force that we must understand if we are to effectively challenge the many intersecting and overlapping modalities of oppression that define present-day cultural and social relations. "The Disability Drive" offers an invitation, to scholars and activists in a variety of cultural locations, to consider the ways in which our own beliefs and practices may be implicated in a hegemonic cultural endeavor whose goal is to overcome the disability drive. Because denying the drive results in the reentrenchment of oppressive social structures, I maintain that it is imperative to develop political strategies that resist the impulse to overcome the disability drive.
The Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) was first introduced in all commercial forest reserves in Sabah in 1997. This policy gives hope to the state government to manage the forests in a sustainable manner following the forest development phase of revenue oriented timber exploitation, which has contributed to the decline in forest resources; the increase in forest degradation and the decrease in state income earned from the forestry sector. Under the SFM concept, the forest of the state was divided into Forest Management Units (FMUs) managed by FMU holders under different institutional arrangements of state, state enterprise and private sector. This study was conducted to investigate the corporate-stakeholder interrelation under the SFM concept implemented by the FMU holder in Sabah, Malaysia. The research was based on the 'Triple Typology Perspective of Stakeholder Theory', which encapsulates three different perspectives of 'conceptual', 'corporate' and 'stakeholder' centric. The 'conceptual' perspective explores the overall SFM concept and its relation to the FMU holder – stakeholder interaction. The 'corporate' view investigates how the FMU holders as the corporate part of the SFM concept deals with their stakeholders; and the 'stakeholder' perspective analyses the relation between stakeholders, the FMU holders and SFM implementation. Stakeholder analysis was used to gather information with the application of methods incorporating literature reviews, expert interviews, focus groups, meetings and discussion, questionnaire surveys and Q methodology. Four FMUs were selected as study areas, which managed by the state, state enterprise and private sector. The respondents were encompassed personal of Sabah Forestry Department (SFD), FMU managers and FMU workers, various governmental and non-governmental agencies, and local communities of eight villages located within and in the fringe of FMU areas involved in the study. Under the 'conceptual centric', different groups of stakeholders were identified based on SFM documentation, which also provide the normative basis for the SFM concept. The contemporary implementation of SFM was assessed based on stakeholders' perspective, which indicated that the overall SFM contribution entailed mainly on satisfaction of environment objectives, followed by economic and, to a lesser degree, social objectives. Different categories of stakeholders were identified based on their perceptions of various issues under SFM implementation. These include the level of cooperation or conflict; degree of stakeholder participation; views of specific individuals and a thorough comparison of individual subjectivity. There is, however, an agreement to the statements on the influential factors towards effective SFM implementation, which include the administration and leadership of SFD, and good collaboration between SFD and the FMU holders. Other consensuses were related to the roles of participation in promoting learning about synergy and the importance of various forest uses, and that it should be able to influence the decision-making during the consultation process. The implementation of SFM was agreed in influencing towards investment in the forestry sector and the development of the rural area in the state. The 'corporate centric' indicates the different approaches of stakeholder management under the different arrangements of FMU holders. The SFM operations with a high level of stakeholder involvement were identified as community forestry programme followed by forest conservation, forest protection, development and preparation of plans, administration, human resource development, and research and development. The important stakeholders, according to their degree of involvement in SFM operations were the internal stakeholders of FMU workers, followed by external stakeholders of the staff of SFD, contractors, local communities, local authorities, consultants, businessmen/traders and researchers/scientists. Other stakeholders were various state government agencies, manufacturers, shareholders, NGOs (local), international agencies, NGOs (international), donors, federal government agencies and other FMU holders. The 'stakeholder centric' identifies the various stakeholders interests and claims associated with SFM implementation that depend on stakeholder affiliation. The main groups in this study were multi-interest stakeholder groups (n=104) and the local community groups of the selected villages (n=332). The interests and claims of the multi-interest stakeholder group were related to SFM objectives such as good management of the forest, protection and conservation of environment and biodiversity, and protection of water catchment areas. The local community groups, on the other hand, were mainly concerned with the importance of the forest as a source for foods, land for agriculture and other livelihood purposes. There are various approaches for stakeholder relation management (SRM) that are employed by the FMU holders and stakeholders. These may consist of management quality system, CSR program, the community forest development project; inter agency meetings and dialogue; and collaboration and cooperation with other agencies and institutions. SRM can assist in balancing conflicts that arise, promoting cooperation, and advancing the knowledge and understanding on the SFM concept among the stakeholders. The SRM approaches under the SFM implementation can augment participation by the stakeholders, which in turn will promote effective and efficient implementation of SFM. The mutual relation of the SFM concept and SRM is advancing stakeholder participation in promoting effective implementation of SFM at the FMU level. The inter-relation of the 'triple perspective typology of stakeholder theory' was integrated as new contexts to achieve objectives for sustainability under SFM policy, with the business case of corporate sustainability, and the wider scope of the ecosystem approach and the sustainable development. ; Das Konzept Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) wurde erstmals in allen kommerziellen Waldreservaten in Sabah, Malaysia, im Jahr 1997 eingeführt. Mit dieser Politik verbindet die Landesregierung die Hoffnung, dass die Wälder nun in einer nachhaltigen Art und Weise bewirtschaftet werden können, nachdem die fast ausschließlich auf Einnahmen orientierte Holznutzung zum Rückgang der Waldbestände, zur Zunahme der Waldzerstörung und damit letztendlich auch zum Rückgang der Staatseinnahmen aus der Forstwirtschaft beigetragen hat. Zur Umsetzung des SFM-Konzepts wurde der Staatswald in Forest Management Units (FMU) unterteilt, die von FMU Haltern aus verschiedenen Staatsinstitutionen, Staatsunternehmen und der Privatwirtschaft verwaltet werden. Die vorliegende Arbeit untersucht das Verhältnis zwischen Unternehmen als FMU-Bewirtschaftern und Stakeholdern im Konzept nachhaltiger Waldbewirtschaftung, das von FMUs in Sabah, Malaysia implementiert wurde. Die Arbeit basiert auf der "Triple-Typology Perspective of Stakeholder Theory", welche drei verschiedene Perspektiven beinhaltet, die konzeptionell, unternehmensbezogen oder Stakeholder-zentriert sind. Dabei untersucht die konzeptionelle Perspektive SFM-Konzepte und die daraus resultierenden Beziehungen zwischen FMU-Bewirtschafter und ihren jeweiligen Stakeholdern. Die unternehmenszentrierte Sicht legt den Schwerpunkt darauf, wie FMU-Bewirtschafter als Teil des SFM-Konzeptes mit Stakeholdern interagieren. Die Stakeholder-Perspektive analysiert das Verhältnis zwischen Stakeholdern, FMU-Bewirtschafter und der SFM-Implementierung. Die Daten wurden mit Hilfe der Stakeholder-Theorie unter Anwendung quantitativer und qualitativer Methoden wie Literaturrecherche, Experteninterviews, Fokusgruppen, informellen Treffen und Diskussionsrunden, schriftlichen Befragungen und der Q-Methodologie erhoben. Als Untersuchungseinheiten wurden vier FMUs ausgewählt, die durch den Staat, den staatlichen Forstbetrieb und den privatem Sektor bewirtschaftet werden. Die Befragungsteilnehmer setzten sich aus Personal der Forstverwaltung Sabah (Sabah Forestry Department, SFD), den FMU-Bewirtschaftern und –Mitarbeitern, verschiedenen Regierungs- und Nicht-Regierungsorganisationen und lokalen Gemeinschaften in acht Dörfern innerhalb sowie im Randgebiet der FMUs zusammen. In Bezug auf die konzeptionelle Perspektive wurden, basierend auf der SFM-Dokumentation, verschiedene Stakeholder-Gruppen identifiziert, die die normative Basis für das SFM-Konzept liefern. Dessen Implementation wurde aus Sicht der Stakeholder analysiert. Es zeigte sich, dass der gesamte Beitrag zum SFM vornehmlich umweltbezogene Zielsetzungen erfüllt, gefolgt von ökonomischen und, zu einem noch geringeren Grad, sozialen Zielen. Mehrere Kategorien von Stakeholdern wurden auf Grundlage ihrer Wahrnehmung verschiedener Aspekte im Zuge der SFM-Implementation identifiziert. Diese umfassen die Kooperations- oder Konfliktebene, den Grad der Stakeholder-Beteiligung sowie individuelle Betrachtungen. Es gibt eine Übereinstimmung zu Äußerungen, welche Einflussfaktoren hinsichtlich effektiver SFM-Implementierung entscheidend sind. Dabei wurden vor allem das Management und die Führung der, der SFD sowie gute Zusammenarbeit zwischen dem SFD und den FMU-Bewirtschaftern genannt. Weitere Übereinstimmung besteht darin, die Weiterbildung über die Bedeutung unterschiedlicher Waldnutzungen und deren Ausbalancierung zu stärken, um die Entscheidungsfindung im Konsultationsprozess beeinflussen zu können. Auch herrschte Einigkeit darin, durch Investition in den Forstsektor und Entwicklung ländlicher Regionen die Implementation von SFM zu stärken. Der unternehmensbezogene Fokus konzentriert sich auf die verschiedenen Ansätze des Stakeholder-Managements unter unterschiedlichen Charakteristika der FMU-Bewirtschafter. SFM-Maßnahmen mit einem hohen Grad an Stakeholder-Beteiligung sind Gemeinschaftsforstprogramme (community forestry programmes), gefolgt von Waldnaturschutz, Waldschutz, Entwicklung und Vorbereitung von Plänen, Verwaltung, die Entwicklung von Humanressourcen sowie Forschung und Entwicklung. Die wichtigsten Stakeholder, bezogen auf ihren Beteiligungsgrad in SFM-Maßnahmen, waren intern die Mitarbeiter der FMUs und extern die Mitarbeiter der SFD, Vertragsnehmer, lokale Gemeinschaftsgruppen und Verwaltungen, Berater, Geschäftsleute/Händler und Forscher/Wissenschaftler. Weitere Stakeholder waren verschiedene Regierungsorganisationen, Produzenten, Aktionäre, internationale Behörden, lokale und internationale NGOs, Behörden der föderalen Regierung und andere FMU-Bewirtschafter. Die Stakeholder Perspektive identifiziert verschiedene Interessen und Forderungen der Stakeholder, die sich auf die SFM-Implementation beziehen und von der Stakeholder-Zugehörigkeit abhängen. Die Hauptgruppen in dieser Studie waren sogenannte Mehrinteressen-Stakeholder-Gruppen (n=104) und lokale Gemeinschaftsgruppen (n=332). Die Interessen und Forderungen der Mehrinteressen-Stakeholder-Gruppen waren bezogen auf SFM-Ziele wie gute Waldbewirtschaftung, Schutz und Erhaltung der Umwelt und Biodiversität sowie Schutz von Wassereinzugsgebieten. Andererseits stand der Wald als Quelle für Nahrung, landwirtschaftliche Flächen und andere Aspekte des Lebensunterhaltes im Mittelpunkt des Interesses lokaler Gemeinschaftsgruppen. Es gibt zahlreiche Ansätze für das Management von Stakeholder-Beziehungen (Stakeholder Relation Management, SRM), welches durch FMU-Bewirtschafter und Stakeholder genutzt wird. Der SRM-Ansatz besteht aus dem Bewirtschaftungsqualitätssystem, CSR-Programm, dem Gemeinschaftswaldentwicklungsprojekt, multilateralen Treffen und Dialog zwischen den Behörden, und Zusammenarbeit und Kooperation mit anderen Behörden und Organisationen. SRM kann dazu dienen, mögliche Konflikte auszubalancieren, Kooperation zu begünstigen sowie das Wissen und Verständnis von SFM zu fördern. Die Einbindung von SRM in die Implementation von SFM erweitert die Beteiligung der Stakeholder, was wiederum zu einer effektiveren und effizienteren Implementation von SFM auf FMU-Ebene führen kann. Die Wechselbeziehungen zwischen der "Triple-Perspective Typology of Stakeholder Theory" und dem Ökosystemansatz, der unternehmensbezogenen Nachhaltigkeit und dem Konzept des Sustainable Forest Management bilden die Grundlage, um das Ziel einer umfassenden Nachhaltigkeit zu erreichen.
Dottorato di ricerca in Economia e territorio ; Le aziende agrarie stanno affrontando un momento di particolare difficoltà, per l'aumento dei costi di produzione e le imprevedibili oscillazioni di mercato dei prodotti agricoli; esiste, inoltre, l'incertezza sulle scelte future di Politica Agricola Comunitaria. Le medio-grandi aziende estensive, poste in aree marginali, hanno basato il loro ordinamento su attività dipendenti dal regime di compensazioni comunitario. Le nuove prospettive della multifunzionalità, connesse con la capacità propria del settore agricolo di produrre Beni Pubblici, possono consentire alle aziende di fornire dei servizi diretti alla collettività. La fornitura di tali servizi può essere finanziata dal PSR ed altri strumenti di pianificazione (Life, POR, etc.) e sarà, probabilmente, integrata nella attesa Riforma della PAC. In tale ottica, sono stati analizzati gli aspetti della domanda di caccia e le tipologie di attività proposte, da parte di aziende agrarie. La caccia è un'attività di antica tradizione, che in Italia gode di un particolare ordinamento dell'attività venatoria. L'unica forma di istituto venatorio che consenta, secondo il nostro ordinamento giuridico, di trasformare la selvaggina cacciabile in risorsa del proprietario del fondo è l'Azienda agrituristica venatoria (o Aatv). Oggetto della tesi è l'indagine su di un gruppo di aziende agrituristico venatorie, attive in due province del Centro Italia e dotate, in quasi tutti i casi, di agriturismo, attivo sia per i cacciatori, sia per ospiti non praticanti la caccia. La metodologia applicata è stata basata sulla selezione, mediante interviste a testimoni privilegiati, di un gruppo di Aatv, attive nelle province di Terni e Grosseto. Dopo aver contattato gli imprenditori che gestiscono le aziende, gli stessi sono stati intervistati, presso l'azienda, compilando, insieme con loro, un modello, in cui venivano analizzati diversi aspetti aziendali: tipo ed entità di attività agricole esistenti, destinazione delle superfici, strutture venatorie realizzate ed investimenti relativi; sono stati elaborati dei conti economici, che tenessero conto dei costi di gestione medi e delle tipologie di caccia offerte. Nello stesso modello, sono stati esaminati gli aspetti basilari dell'agriturismo, soprattutto per le connessioni tra attività venatoria ed ospitalità. Sulla base delle interviste, sono stati elaborati dei sintetici conti economici, che hanno consentito di sviluppare degli indicatori di bilancio, quali incidenza dei singoli costi della gestione venatoria (sorveglianza, lavoro, alimentazione, acquisti di selvaggina, manutenzioni ed ammortamenti delle strutture), sulla produzione lorda vendibile. Per i ricavi medi stimati, sono state elaborate delle disaggregazioni per tipologie di caccia. Sono stati anche descritti gli effetti nella produzione di Public goods (mantenimento del paesaggio, tutela del territorio e delle strutture aziendali, diminuzione della pressione venatoria sul territorio a libera caccia e sulle specie migratorie, maggior controllo in generale delle attività venatorie), da parte delle aziende oggetto della tesi. Gli obiettivi dell'analisi erano, sostanzialmente, riconducibili alla valutazione dell'esistenza o meno di una redditività, nonché della trasferibilità di questa tipologia di aziende. I risultati considerati sono, in primo luogo, la minore redditività delle Aatv, rispetto gli anni passati, per maggiore concorrenza e per il momento economico. La redditività è legata alla figura dell'imprenditore, alla sua capacità relazionale e di saper attirare le tipologie di clienti, con possibilità di caccia non ordinarie. Anche la gestione dell'azienda agraria ha importanza, perché può fornire come produzione secondaria sostentamento per la fauna. Per l'agriturismo, la presenza dei cacciatori usa la struttura ad autunno-inverno, quando l'afflusso di agrituristi ordinari è minimo. In media, dalle 50-60 notti di impegno per singolo letto all'anno si può arrivare alle 70 - 80 notti, che consentono di incrementare sensibilmente il reddito aziendale. La conclusione è che le aziende che riescono a mantenere, anche in momenti di crisi, una certa redditività sono soprattutto quelle che ottengono delle sensibili sinergie ed economie di scopo tra i diversi settori aziendali. ; Agricultural farms are presently facing particular difficulties due to the increase of production costs on one hand and the occurrence of unpredictable fluctuations of agricultural products markets on the other; additionally, there exists also uncertainty of Common Agricultural Policy choices to be taken in the future. Medium and large sized farms, practicing extensive production and located in marginal areas have based their production patterns overall on activities benefiting from the European Community compensation scheme. New prospective of multifunctionality, related to the agricultural sector specific capacity to produce public goods, allows farms to provide direct services to the community. The provision of such services may be funded by the Rural Development Plan (RDP) and other planning tools (Life, ROP, etc.) and will probably be integrated into the pending reform of the CAP. In this context, the aspects of the application for hunting and the types of activities proposed by agricultural companies have been analyzed. Hunting is an activity of ancient tradition, which in Italy benefits from a particular ordering. The only formal possibility, according to italian legal system, to enable that game present on a farm's territory, become a resource for the same farm is the establishment of a Agri-Tourism and Fee Hunting Farm, "Azienda Agri-turistica Venatoria" (Aatv). Scope of the present Thesis is a research implemented on a group of Aatv, located in two provinces of central Italy and having, in almost all cases, agri-tourism facilities, open for both active hunters and guests who do not practice hunting. The methodology used has been based on the selection, made by interviews with privileged witnesses, of a group of Aatv active in the province of Terni and Grosseto. Entrepreneurs who run businesses were contacted and interviewed in the respective farms. In occasion of interviews and together with the entrepreneurs, a model of their farm was built permitting hence to analyze various aspects of business: type and extent of existing agricultural activities, land use pattern, hunting structures and related investments; economic accounts, which took into account average costs and types of hunting opportunities, have been accordingly developed. In the same model were also investigated some basic aspects of the farm, and, in particular, inter-relations between agritourism and hunting activities. On the basis of the interviews synthetic economic accounts have been developed, permitting hence to develop budget related indicators, such as the impact of costs related to different aspects/elements of hunting management (security, workforce, food, game purchase, maintenance and depreciation of structures) on gross marketable production. Average revenue estimates were drawn up by type of hunting. Effects on the production of public goods (landscape conservation, protection of land and corporate structures, reduced hunting pressure on the territory, better control of hunting in general) by subject farms were also described. The objectives of the analysis were substantially related to the assessment of the level of profitability, as well as to the replicability potential of the identified models. The results have indicated that current level of profitability of Aatv, which is currently lower than in the past years, is due to, on one hand, to increased competition and, on the other, to the current economic climate. It has also been observed that the level of profitability is linked to ability of the entrepreneur in relating with and attracting the customers with hunting possibility, which may be out of ordinary. Also the farm management is important, as it can provide inputs/support for wildlife production. Regarding agri-tourism, the presence of hunters is concentrated mainly in autumn-winter season, when the presence of other guests is minimal. On average, the presence of hunters results in an increased number of overnights, raising hence from about 50-60 nights per bed per year to about 70 - 80 nights/bed/year, which permits to substantially increase the farm income. The conclusion shows that farms which are able to maintain, even in times of crisis, a certain profitability are primarily those that are able to create significant synergies and economies of scope among the different farm branches.
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Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro went to presidential elections on Sunday with the hope of gaining the legitimacy he lacked from the widely questioned 2018 presidential elections. Instead, his regime is receiving perhaps its deepest challenge yet, as the victory announced by the electoral authority has been questioned nationally and internationally. Turnout seems to have been massive on Sunday with an estimated participation of 63% or 80%. It's hard to actually know, given that over 20% of the population has emigrated in recent years, rendering any calculation difficult based on an outdated electoral registry. The turnout, as well as a number of exit polls that were circulating on social media, raised expectations of a significant win for opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez, supported by the opposition's leader, María Corina Machado. However, when the National Electoral Council (CNE) provided results close to midnight Sunday, it showed Maduro with a 51% majority and an "irreversible tendency" based on 80% of the votes having allegedly been counted. This immediately spurred protests given the reports across the country of grave irregularities at the end of the process. In Venezuela's system, when the voting ends, the voting machine is finalized and spits out a paper tally of the votes received by that machine. Each party witness is supposed to receive a copy. However, in most cases this did not happen, and the opposition ended up with only 30-40% of the paper tallies. Furthermore, the CNE did not, and still has not, published the voting data on its webpage, as it is required to do by law. Shortly afterwards from their campaign headquarters, Machado and Gonzalez charged that the CNE's results were fraudulent and that the tallies they did have showed that Gonzalez had won handily. They called for people to go to the electoral centers to defend the vote. However, they did not call for street mobilizations, in order to avoid violence which could play into the government's hands.What they did do was work with the witnesses of other opposition candidates, to collect as many paper tallies as they could. Based on that work, they announced Monday evening that with 73.3% of the tallies, Edmundo Gonzalez had an irreversible lead of 3.5 million votes. As early as Sunday night, regional leaders had expressed doubts about the CNE's results. Chilean President Gabriel Boric set the tone saying on X:The Maduro Regime should understand that the results it has published are hard to believe. The International community and above all the Venezuelan people, including the millions of Venezuelans in exile, demand complete transparency of the vote tallies and the process, and that the international observers not committed to the government testify to the veracity of the votesChile will not recognize any result that is not verifiable.The situation only became more critical on Monday and Tuesday as more international leaders, many with an institutional or ideological commitment to moderation joined the chorus, including the United Nations Secretary General and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs which has been facilitating negotiations since 2019. President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum reiterated Mexico's traditional emphasis on non-intervention but said the way to put aside doubts would be the complete transparency of the vote. U.S. President Joe Biden, whose administration carefully negotiated sanctions relief in exchange for democratic elections called for the release of detailed voting data, as did the top foreign policy official of the European Union, Josep BorrellOn Tuesday the Carter Center, which brought the most significant international effort at elections monitoring, announced that it was removing all personnel from Venezuela. When it returned to Atlanta, it released a scathing report saying that, from beginning to end, the elections did not meet international standards. In Washington, the Organization of American States' election observation department suggested that "The events of election night confirm a coordinated strategy, unfolding over recent months, to undermine the integrity of the electoral process."The critical positions of Colombia, Brazil are particularly important given that they are border countries and are on the ideological left and exerted an important impact during the electoral campaign with timely statements criticizing aspects of the process. Although they have not yet issued a much anticipated joint statement, there are hopes they still could, and perhaps engage in direct diplomatic engagement with Maduro. Colombian President Gustavo Petro Wednesday called for the release of detailed vote tallies.On the other side, Russia, China, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Honduras and Cuba congratulated Maduro on his reelection shortly after the CNE announced its results.The Maduro government itself has responded so far by leaning into the situation, transmitting outrage and pushing forward. Maduro jubilantly and aggressively declared himself Venezuela's next president. Already on Monday morning, the CNE, still having failed to publish voting data and with its website out of service, held a ceremony proclaiming Maduro's purported victory.This proclamation predictably detonated protests across the country as frustrated citizens took to the streets. These protests were quite different from previous anti-Maduro protests that were predominantly mobilized by the middle classes and students. Yesterday it was residents of poor and working class districts of the capital Caracas, such as Caricuao and Petare, who took to the streets. At least 16 people have been killed in clashes across the country since the vote Sunday, reported the rights group Foro Penal and a survey of hospitals, according to the Washington Post. At least 750 people have reportedly been arrested.The social base of these protests creates difficult optics for Chavismo — the leftist, revolutionary movement begun by the late Hugo Chávez — and for the government's attempts to portray them as the work of the same violent protesters of 2014 and 2017. However, it's not yet clear that the opposition leadership has a strategy to capitalize on citizen outrage. Instead, they have rightfully focused on their demand that the CNE release the voting data as required by law. They also want to avoid easy accusations that they seek to generate violence. Machado called for the convening of citizen assemblies in the middle-class areas of Caracas. But it is not clear this will overcome a long-term class division in opposition mobilization. The Maduro government responded to international rejection of its election by breaking relations with seven Latin American nations, including Argentina, Panamá, Costa Rica, Peru, Chile, Uruguay, and the Dominican Republic, and ordering diplomatic personnel to leave immediately. The most immediate threat of this move is that Machado's campaign leadership has been operating from the Argentinian Embassy since orders for their arrests were issued in March. In the past, the Maduro government has successfully neutralized opposition leaders by either arresting them or forcing them into exile through campaigns of harassment. It has tolerated Machado's campaign and González's candidacy as part of its search for normalization with the rest of the world and the easing of U.S. and E.U. sanctions. Now that that project seems to be on the rocks, however, the government could well go after them. Yesterday, President of the National Assembly Jorge Rodriguez said that Machado and Gonzalez were fascist leaders who should be in jail.For now, the U.S. has reacted with caution. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said "there will be consequences," but officials have suggested that economic sanctions that were suspended last year in order to encourage the government to conduct a free and fair electoral process will not be immediately restored and that the policy will be reviewed in terms of "overall U.S. national foreign policy interests."What seems clear is that with such high exit costs, Nicolás Maduro and his officials have decided it is better to weather the storm than to hand over power, a decision that could generate more instability and suffering. There have been efforts by the opposition and international stakeholders to negotiate the terms of an orderly transition that would avoid a witch-hunt. It has been the Maduro government that has rejected these efforts in large part because the glue that keeps their coalition together is the idea that the revolution started by Hugo Chávez in 1999 is irreversible. Considering the possibility that this might not be the case could lead to defections. However, having sunk to a new low in international and national credibility as a result of Sunday's election and the way the government has (mis)handled it, perhaps the coalition could be open to renewed efforts at negotiation.
Il sistema universitario italiano ha conosciuto, a partire dall'inizio degli anni novanta, un processo riformatore, caratterizzato dall'introduzione di maggiore autonomia e valutazione tra gli atenei, con l'obiettivo di migliorare le prestazioni in termini di efficienza. L'esigenza di combinare maggiore autonomia con esigenze di finanza pubblica, ha portato il legislatore a definire, nel tempo, due indicatori volti al monitoraggio delle spese di personale e di indebitamento delle università statali. Questo lavoro di ricerca si concentra, in particolare, sull'analisi dell'andamento dell'indicatore delle spese di personale e si propone di misurare quante università nel corso del tempo hanno superato il limite di tale indicatore. L'osservazione è volta a verificare se il superamento di tale indicatore ha un impatto sulle spese di personale e sul gettito della contribuzione studentesca. La prima parte del lavoro mette in rilievo, attraverso un'analisi dei dettati normativi, gli obiettivi del legislatore nel fissare determinati limiti alle spese di personale delle università. La seconda parte analizza empiricamente l'andamento delle spese di personale e del gettito delle tasse studentesche negli anni 2011-2019 e prova a verificare se, a fronte di un superamento del limite di spesa per il personale (attualmente fissato nella misura massima dell'80%), gli atenei hanno messo in atto politiche di contenimento delle spese di personale o di aumento della contribuzione studentesca. Il processo di analisi che è partito dall'osservazione dei dati delle spese di personale e del gettito delle tasse studentesche di tutti gli atenei, è proseguito con un'osservazione più circoscritta di tali fattori concentrando, dunque, l'attenzione solo su quelle università i cui valori della percentuale di spesa erano inferiori all'80%. Analogamente si è proceduto con gli atenei che hanno superato la soglia (metodo discontinuità attorno alla soglia). L'analisi è stata così impostata: - individuazione di quelle università che, rispetto alla differenza dell'incidenza percentuale tra 2011 e 2019, presentavano una distanza dalla soglia pari a -/+ 3 e +/-6 punti percentuali, distinguendole in 4 gruppi di intervallo; - raggruppamento delle università sulla base dei quattro intervalli individuati [74,00 - 77,00); [77-80); [80-83); [83-86); - calcolo del tasso di variazione delle spese di personale e del gettito delle tasse studentesche per singolo gruppo individuato; - in relazione ai due macro-gruppi [74 – 80) e [80 – 86), verifica della significatività statistica della differenza tra le medie dei due gruppi; - verifica della presenza di valori anomali all'interno dei gruppi, considerando inizialmente i dati di tutti gli atenei e, successivamente, i dati relativi agli intervalli [74 – 80) e [80 – 86); - valutazione sull'andamento delle spese di personale e del gettito delle tasse studentesche confrontando gli atenei che si trovano sotto la soglia stabilita (80%) e quelli che hanno superato; - analisi dei risultati ottenuti e verifica delle dinamiche che hanno portato alcuni atenei ad un aumento della spesa di personale e conseguenti correttivi apportati volti al contenimento della stessa, nonchè delle dinamiche che hanno portato ad un aumento o riduzione della contribuzione studentesca. Dall'analisi è risultato che le università che nel 2011 presentavano un indicatore di spese di personale compreso nell'intervallo [74 - 80) rispondono a un tasso medio di variazione di spese maggiore, pari a -8,31%, rispetto a quelle università che presentavano un indicatore di spese di personale compreso nell'intervallo [80 - 86) e rispondenti a un tasso medio di variazione di spese pari a -13,23%. Per quanto attiene, invece, il dato relativo al gettito delle tasse studentesche, a parità degli stessi parametri considerati come riferimento per l'analisi delle spese di personale (considerati atenei con valore dell'indicatore di spese di personale compresi tra i due intervalli [74 - 80) e [80- 86), si è osservato che le università con un valore dell'indicatore compreso nel primo intervallo, presentano un tasso medio di variazione del gettito delle tasse inferiore, pari al -2,84%, rispetto a quelle università con un valore di indicatore compreso nel secondo intervallo e rispondenti a un tasso medio di variazione del gettito delle tasse pari a 4,46%. Tali risultati hanno portato ad analizzare, nello specifico, le motivazioni che hanno spinto alcuni atenei ad adottare determinate politiche sul reclutamento di personale e sulla contribuzione studentesca. University budget indicators. What effects on personnel expenses and student contributions? Since the early nineties, the Italian university system has experienced a reform process characterized by the introduction of greater autonomy and evaluation between universities with the aim of improving performance in terms of efficiency. The need to combine greater autonomy with public finance needs has led the legislator to define, over time, two indi-cators aimed at monitoring the personnel and debt expenses of state universities. This research work focuses, in particular, on the analysis of the trend of the personnel expenses indicator and aims to measure how many universities over time have exceeded the limit of this indicator. The observation is aimed at verify-ing whether exceeding this indicator has an impact on staff costs and the revenue from student fees. The first part of the work highlights, through an analysis of the regulatory provisions, the objectives of the legislator in setting certain limits on university personnel costs. The second part empirically analyzes the trend in personnel expenses and student tax revenues in the years 2011-2019 and tries to verify whether, in the face of exceeding the spending limit for personnel (currently set at a maximum of 80 %), universities have implemented policies to contain staff costs or increase student fees. The analysis process, which started from the observation of the data on personnel expenses and student tax revenues of all universities, continued with a more limited observation of these factors, thus focusing attention only on those universities whose values of the percentage of expenditure were less than 80%. Similarly, the work is proceeded with the universities that exceeded the threshold. The analysis was set up as follows: - identification of those universities which, compared to the difference in the percentage incidence between 2011 and 2019, had a distance from the threshold equal to -/+ 3 and +/- 6 percentage points, distinguishing them into 4 interval groups; - grouping of universities on the basis of the four identified intervals [74.00 - 77.00); [77-80); [80-83); [83-86); - calculation of the rate of change in personnel expenses and student tax revenues for each individual group identified; - in relation to the two macro-groups [74 - 80) and [80 - 86), verification of the statistical significance of the difference between the means of the two groups; - verification of the presence of anomalous values within the groups, initially considering the data of all universities and, subsequently, the data relating to the intervals [74 - 80) and [80 - 86); - assessment of the progress of personnel expenses and student tax revenues by comparing the universities that are below the established threshold (80%) and those that have exceeded. - analysis of the results obtained and verification of the dynamics that have led some universities to an increase in per-sonnel expenditure and consequent corrections made aimed at containing it, as well as of the dynamics that have led to an increase or reduction in student contributions. The analysis showed that the universities that in 2011 presented an indicator of personnel expenses included in the range [74 - 80) respond to a higher average rate of variation of expenses, equal to -8.31%, compared to those universi-ties which presented an indicator of personnel expenses in the range [80 - 86) and corresponding to an average rate of change of expenses equal to -13.23%. On the other hand, as regards the data relating to student fees, with the same parameters considered as a reference for the analysis of personnel expenses (considered universities with the value of the personnel expenses indicator in-cluded between the two intervals [74 - 80) and [80- 86), it was observed that universities with a value of the indicator included in the first interval, have a lower average rate of change in tax revenue, equal to -2.84%, than universities with an indicator value included in the second interval and responding to an average rate of change in tax revenue equal to 4.46%. These results led to an analysis, specifically, of the reasons that led some universities to adopt certain policies on staff recruitment and student contributions.
For some time now, Nigeria has faced the threat of secession from different groups. Each of the groups feels that the country is not representing their interest. In particular, most of the groups feel that the interest of their people has not been properly represented in terms of power sharing. Nigeria operates a democratic system of government with three tiers namely the executive, the judiciary and the legislature. The country also has six geo-political zones for the purposes of power sharing. The zones are North East, North West North, North Central South East, South West and South-South. The 36 states of the federation are, therefore, groups into the various zones with unequal number of states. For example, the North East has six states, the North West has seven, the North Central has six the same as South-South and South-West. However, the South-East has only five states. The unequal number of states among the geo-political zones has serious implications for power sharing in the country. For example, each state has three elected senators and a number of house of representative members depending on the population of the state. What this means is that the South-East has less number of senators and House of Representative members. Their counterparts from North-West is likely is likely to have the highest number of representatives. Zones like North Central, North East, South-West and South-South will have equal number of Senators but the number of House of Representatives may differ depending on the population. This unequal representation could have implications on the promotion of bills and policies and motions in the National Assembly that address issues that affect the welfare of each of the people of each geo-political zones. The mere thinking that South-East is outnumbered in the National Assembly could also make people of the zone to view almost every government programme and policy with suspicion. People of the area may be thinking that the government at the centre does not represent their interest. They may also be thinking that the country does not mean well for them. All these could provide fertile ground for agitations to fester. This partly explains why the country has faced agitations from people from South-East who have over the years sought to separate from Nigeria. Such agitations have also been reported in the media. This paper investigates audience perception of this reporting. The study sought answers to four research questions. Survey research was adopted for the study. A total of 384 respondents were recruited for the study. The questionnaire was the instrument for data collection. The data generated were analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. It was found that most of the respondents studied reported high frequency of exposure to media reports on secession agitations. The result also showed that the media of exposure were radio, TV, and newspapers. The sample studied perceived media reports on secession agitations as supporting such actions. The result also showed a significant relationship between exposure to media reports on secession and public perception. The researchers recommend, among others, that the Nigerian Union of journalists should step up their monitoring mechanism to ensure that media reports do not compromise national unity. ; В истории Федеративной Республики Нигерии, начиная от получения этой страной независимости в 1960 году, неоднократно имели место попытки нарушения государственной целостности. Каждая из сепаратистских групп, от которых исходила такая угроза, утверждала, что федеративное правительство не представляет его интересы. В частности, большинство групп считают, что интерес их представителей недостаточно представлен при распределении власти. В Нигерии действует демократическая система управления с тремя ветвями власти: законодательной, исполнительной, судебной. В стране имеется шесть геополитических зон для разделения властей. Зоны - Северо-Восток, Северо-Западная Север, Северо-Центральный Юго-Восток, Юго-Запад и Юг-Юг. Итак, 36 субъектов федерации являются группами из разных зон с различным количеством штатов. В частности, Северо-Восток имеет шесть субъектов, Северо-Запад - семь, Северо-Центральная зона - шесть, так же, как Юг-Юг и Юго-Запад. Однако Юго-Восток имеет только пять субъектов федерации. Неравное количество субъектов в геополитических зонах вызывает серьезные проблемы при распределении власти в стране. Каждый субъект федерации имеет трех выбранных сенаторов и ряд палат представительных членов в зависимости от населения региона. Это означает, что на Южном Востоке меньшее количество сенаторов и членов Палаты представителей. Их коллеги из Северо-Запада имеют наибольшее количество представителей. Такие зоны, как Северо-Центральная, Северо-Восток, Юго-Запад и Юг-Юг имеют одинаковое количество сенаторов, но количество Палаты представителей может отличаться в зависимости от численности населения. Неравномерное представительство влияет на продвижение законопроектов и предложений в Национальной Ассамблее, касающихся социальных вопросов в каждой из геополитических зон. Именно тезис о том, что Юго-Восток недостаточно представлен в Национальной Ассамблее, может заставить людей этого региона с подозрением относиться к любым правительственных программ. Население региона может считать, что федеральная власть не защищает их интересы, а следовательно страна как таковая им не нужна. Все это создает плодотворную почву для спекуляций и частично объясняет, почему страна сталкивается с агитацией сепаратистов Юго-Востока, которые длительное время стремятся отделиться от Нигерии. О таких агитациях сообщалось также в СМИ. В статье исследуется восприятие аудиторией такой информации. Авторами был проведен опрос 384 респондентов, а также проанализированы данные описательной и аналитической статистики. Было установлено, что большинство опрошенных респондентов сообщили о высокой частоте упоминания в СМИ агитации за отделение. Результат также показал, что основными медиа-каналами их распространения были радио, телевидение и пресса. Респонденты воспринимали сообщения СМИ об агитации сецессии как поддержку таких действий. Была также установлена связь между сепаратистскими сообщениями медиа и восприятием этих идей общественностью. Среди практических рекомендаций исследователи указывают на необходимость активизации механизма мониторинга содержания сепаратистских агитации нигерийским союзом журналистов для минимизации угроз национальному единству страны. ; В історії Федеративної Республіки Нігерії, починаючи від отримання цією країною незалежності в 1960 році, неодноразово мали місце спроби порушення державної цілісності. Кожна з сепаратистських груп, від яких виходила така загроза, стверджувала, що федеративний уряд не представляє її інтересів. Зокрема більшість груп вважають, що інтерес їх представників недостатньо репрезентований при розподілі влади. У Нігерії діє демократична система управління з трьома гілками влади: законодавчої, виконавчої, судової. У країні є шість геополітичних зон для розподілу влади. Зони - Північний Схід, Північно-Західна Північ, Північно-Центральний Південний Схід, Південний Захід та Південь-Південь. Отже, 36 суб'єктів федерації є групами з різних зон з неоднаковою кількістю штатів. Зокрема, Північний Схід має шість суб'єктів, Північний Захід - сім, Північно-Центральна зона - шість, так само, як Південь-Південь і Південний Захід. Однак Південний Схід має лише п'ять суб'єктів федерації. Нерівна кількість суб'єктів у геополітичних зонах спричиняє серйозні проблеми при розподілі влади в країні. Кожен суб'єкт федерації має трьох обраних сенаторів і ряд палат представницьких членів залежно від населення регіону. Це означає, що на Південному Сході менша кількість сенаторів та членів Палати представників. Їхні колеги з Північного Заходу мають найбільшу кількість представників. Такі зони, як Північно-Центральна, Північний Схід, Південний Захід та Південь-Південь матимуть однакову кількість сенаторів, але кількість Палати представників може відрізнятися залежно від кількості населення. Нерівномірне представництво впливає на просування законопроектів та пропозицій у Національній Асамблеї, які стосуються соціальних питань у кожній з геополітичних зон. Саме теза про те, що Південний Схід недостатньо представлений у Національній Асамблеї, може змусити людей цього регіону з підозрою ставитися до будь-яких урядових програм. Населення регіону може вважати, що федеральна влада не захищає їх інтереси, а отже країна як така їм не потрібна. Усе це створює плідне підґрунтя для спекуляцій і частково пояснює, чому країна стикається з агітацією сепаратистів Південного Сходу, які тривалий час прагнуть відокремитись від Нігерії. Про такі агітації повідомлялося також у ЗМІ. У статті досліджується сприйняття аудиторією такої інформації. Авторами було проведене опитування 384 респондентів, а також проаналізовано дані описової та аналітичної статистики. Було встановлено, що більшість опитаних респондентів повідомили про високу частоту згадування в ЗМІ агітації за відокремлення. Результат також показав, що основними медіа-каналами їх розповсюдження були радіо, телебачення та преса. Респонденти сприймали повідомлення ЗМІ про агітацію сецесії як підтримку таких дій. Було також встановлено зв'язок між сепаратистськими повідомленнями медіа та сприйняттям цих ідей громадськістю. Серед практичних рекомендацій дослідники вказують на необхідність активізації механізму моніторингу змісту сепаратистських агітацій Нігерійським союзом журналістів задля мінімізації загроз національній єдності країни.
For some time now, Nigeria has faced the threat of secession from different groups. Each of the groups feels that the country is not representing their interest. In particular, most of the groups feel that the interest of their people has not been properly represented in terms of power sharing. Nigeria operates a democratic system of government with three tiers namely the executive, the judiciary and the legislature. The country also has six geo-political zones for the purposes of power sharing. The zones are North East, North West North, North Central South East, South West and South-South. The 36 states of the federation are, therefore, groups into the various zones with unequal number of states. For example, the North East has six states, the North West has seven, the North Central has six the same as South-South and South-West. However, the South-East has only five states. The unequal number of states among the geo-political zones has serious implications for power sharing in the country. For example, each state has three elected senators and a number of house of representative members depending on the population of the state. What this means is that the South-East has less number of senators and House of Representative members. Their counterparts from North-West is likely is likely to have the highest number of representatives. Zones like North Central, North East, South-West and South-South will have equal number of Senators but the number of House of Representatives may differ depending on the population. This unequal representation could have implications on the promotion of bills and policies and motions in the National Assembly that address issues that affect the welfare of each of the people of each geo-political zones. The mere thinking that South-East is outnumbered in the National Assembly could also make people of the zone to view almost every government programme and policy with suspicion. People of the area may be thinking that the government at the centre does not represent their interest. They may also be thinking that the country does not mean well for them. All these could provide fertile ground for agitations to fester. This partly explains why the country has faced agitations from people from South-East who have over the years sought to separate from Nigeria. Such agitations have also been reported in the media. This paper investigates audience perception of this reporting. The study sought answers to four research questions. Survey research was adopted for the study. A total of 384 respondents were recruited for the study. The questionnaire was the instrument for data collection. The data generated were analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. It was found that most of the respondents studied reported high frequency of exposure to media reports on secession agitations. The result also showed that the media of exposure were radio, TV, and newspapers. The sample studied perceived media reports on secession agitations as supporting such actions. The result also showed a significant relationship between exposure to media reports on secession and public perception. The researchers recommend, among others, that the Nigerian Union of journalists should step up their monitoring mechanism to ensure that media reports do not compromise national unity. ; В истории Федеративной Республики Нигерии, начиная от получения этой страной независимости в 1960 году, неоднократно имели место попытки нарушения государственной целостности. Каждая из сепаратистских групп, от которых исходила такая угроза, утверждала, что федеративное правительство не представляет его интересы. В частности, большинство групп считают, что интерес их представителей недостаточно представлен при распределении власти. В Нигерии действует демократическая система управления с тремя ветвями власти: законодательной, исполнительной, судебной. В стране имеется шесть геополитических зон для разделения властей. Зоны - Северо-Восток, Северо-Западная Север, Северо-Центральный Юго-Восток, Юго-Запад и Юг-Юг. Итак, 36 субъектов федерации являются группами из разных зон с различным количеством штатов. В частности, Северо-Восток имеет шесть субъектов, Северо-Запад - семь, Северо-Центральная зона - шесть, так же, как Юг-Юг и Юго-Запад. Однако Юго-Восток имеет только пять субъектов федерации. Неравное количество субъектов в геополитических зонах вызывает серьезные проблемы при распределении власти в стране. Каждый субъект федерации имеет трех выбранных сенаторов и ряд палат представительных членов в зависимости от населения региона. Это означает, что на Южном Востоке меньшее количество сенаторов и членов Палаты представителей. Их коллеги из Северо-Запада имеют наибольшее количество представителей. Такие зоны, как Северо-Центральная, Северо-Восток, Юго-Запад и Юг-Юг имеют одинаковое количество сенаторов, но количество Палаты представителей может отличаться в зависимости от численности населения. Неравномерное представительство влияет на продвижение законопроектов и предложений в Национальной Ассамблее, касающихся социальных вопросов в каждой из геополитических зон. Именно тезис о том, что Юго-Восток недостаточно представлен в Национальной Ассамблее, может заставить людей этого региона с подозрением относиться к любым правительственных программ. Население региона может считать, что федеральная власть не защищает их интересы, а следовательно страна как таковая им не нужна. Все это создает плодотворную почву для спекуляций и частично объясняет, почему страна сталкивается с агитацией сепаратистов Юго-Востока, которые длительное время стремятся отделиться от Нигерии. О таких агитациях сообщалось также в СМИ. В статье исследуется восприятие аудиторией такой информации. Авторами был проведен опрос 384 респондентов, а также проанализированы данные описательной и аналитической статистики. Было установлено, что большинство опрошенных респондентов сообщили о высокой частоте упоминания в СМИ агитации за отделение. Результат также показал, что основными медиа-каналами их распространения были радио, телевидение и пресса. Респонденты воспринимали сообщения СМИ об агитации сецессии как поддержку таких действий. Была также установлена связь между сепаратистскими сообщениями медиа и восприятием этих идей общественностью. Среди практических рекомендаций исследователи указывают на необходимость активизации механизма мониторинга содержания сепаратистских агитации нигерийским союзом журналистов для минимизации угроз национальному единству страны. ; В історії Федеративної Республіки Нігерії, починаючи від отримання цією країною незалежності в 1960 році, неодноразово мали місце спроби порушення державної цілісності. Кожна з сепаратистських груп, від яких виходила така загроза, стверджувала, що федеративний уряд не представляє її інтересів. Зокрема більшість груп вважають, що інтерес їх представників недостатньо репрезентований при розподілі влади. У Нігерії діє демократична система управління з трьома гілками влади: законодавчої, виконавчої, судової. У країні є шість геополітичних зон для розподілу влади. Зони - Північний Схід, Північно-Західна Північ, Північно-Центральний Південний Схід, Південний Захід та Південь-Південь. Отже, 36 суб'єктів федерації є групами з різних зон з неоднаковою кількістю штатів. Зокрема, Північний Схід має шість суб'єктів, Північний Захід - сім, Північно-Центральна зона - шість, так само, як Південь-Південь і Південний Захід. Однак Південний Схід має лише п'ять суб'єктів федерації. Нерівна кількість суб'єктів у геополітичних зонах спричиняє серйозні проблеми при розподілі влади в країні. Кожен суб'єкт федерації має трьох обраних сенаторів і ряд палат представницьких членів залежно від населення регіону. Це означає, що на Південному Сході менша кількість сенаторів та членів Палати представників. Їхні колеги з Північного Заходу мають найбільшу кількість представників. Такі зони, як Північно-Центральна, Північний Схід, Південний Захід та Південь-Південь матимуть однакову кількість сенаторів, але кількість Палати представників може відрізнятися залежно від кількості населення. Нерівномірне представництво впливає на просування законопроектів та пропозицій у Національній Асамблеї, які стосуються соціальних питань у кожній з геополітичних зон. Саме теза про те, що Південний Схід недостатньо представлений у Національній Асамблеї, може змусити людей цього регіону з підозрою ставитися до будь-яких урядових програм. Населення регіону може вважати, що федеральна влада не захищає їх інтереси, а отже країна як така їм не потрібна. Усе це створює плідне підґрунтя для спекуляцій і частково пояснює, чому країна стикається з агітацією сепаратистів Південного Сходу, які тривалий час прагнуть відокремитись від Нігерії. Про такі агітації повідомлялося також у ЗМІ. У статті досліджується сприйняття аудиторією такої інформації. Авторами було проведене опитування 384 респондентів, а також проаналізовано дані описової та аналітичної статистики. Було встановлено, що більшість опитаних респондентів повідомили про високу частоту згадування в ЗМІ агітації за відокремлення. Результат також показав, що основними медіа-каналами їх розповсюдження були радіо, телебачення та преса. Респонденти сприймали повідомлення ЗМІ про агітацію сецесії як підтримку таких дій. Було також встановлено зв'язок між сепаратистськими повідомленнями медіа та сприйняттям цих ідей громадськістю. Серед практичних рекомендацій дослідники вказують на необхідність активізації механізму моніторингу змісту сепаратистських агітацій Нігерійським союзом журналістів задля мінімізації загроз національній єдності країни.
RESUMO Introdução: As doenças crónicas são a principal causa de mortalidade em toda a Europa. O aumento da prevalência de doenças crónicas está a gerar a necessidade de reformas nos sistemas de saúde. Estas reformas abordam a gestão de doenças crónicas com base em equipas multidisciplinares, com novos papéis atribuídos a profissionais não-médicos, como enfermeiros e farmacêuticos comunitários (CP). A comunicação entre profissionais e cidadãos é fundamental em todos os modelos multidisciplinares, o que torna o uso de Sistemas e Tecnologias de Informação (IST) cada vez mais indispensável. É de extrema importância para a ciência e a sociedade entender como serviços suportados por IST - eHealth - podem ser desenvolvidos e utilizados para enfrentar os constrangimentos e desafios dos futuros sistemas de saúde. Objetivo: O objetivo principal deste projeto foi o de desenvolver, implementar e avaliar um serviço farmacêutico de gestão de doença suportado por IST, no contexto da farmácia comunitária, utilizando a metodologia Design Science Research (DSRM) como metodologia de investigação. Métodos: A aplicação de DSRM decorre em seis fases, desde a definição e caracterização do problema até à avaliação da solução (ou artefacto). A primeira fase foi constituída por um exercício de cenarização, um estudo observacional de tempo e movimento e um questionário de preenchimento online, para avaliar as futuras possibilidades para os farmacêuticos comunitários no sistema de saúde, e a atual prestação de serviços farmacêuticos suportados por IST em farmácia comunitária. Na segunda fase, foram realizadas entrevistas qualitativas com utentes de serviços de saúde. Estas duas fases informaram o desenho da plataforma web de suporte ao serviço, que foi o objetivo da terceira fase. De seguida, nas duas etapas seguintes, a plataforma web foi testada e a usabilidade avaliada através de um estudo de caso com utentes selecionados numa universidade sénior. Resultados: A partir do exercício de cenarização, foi possível identificar as incertezas críticas que serão os "motores da mudança" para os farmacêuticos comunitários. Estas são a "capacidade de inovar e desenvolver serviços" e o "ambiente legislativo". Tanto no estudo observacional como no inquérito, verificou-se que todas as farmácias utilizam os IST para a dispensa de medicamentos e tarefas administrativas; apenas 15% das farmácias respondentes usam os IST para responder a questões de saúde dos utentes; 50% do tempo diário do farmacêutico é despendido em interação com os utentes da farmácia e 38% em tarefas administrativas. Em média, os farmacêuticos observados têm 54 minutos de tempo livre por dia, maioritariamente em micropausas distribuídas pelo dia de trabalho. Os custos calculados para os serviços farmacêuticos observados foram muito semelhantes nas três farmácias. O custo médio do serviço de dispensa de medicamentos foi de €3,66 e do serviço de aconselhamento €1,34. Dos utentes entrevistados, 46% admitiram que procuraram o farmacêutico para informações sobre questões de saúde ligeiras antes de ir a um médico, enquanto a entrega de medicamentos ao domicílio foi o novo serviço mais solicitado. Na fase de demonstração da plataforma, verificou-se que o registo, monitorização e armazenamento de dados bioquímicos e fisiológicos, tanto pelo utente como pelo farmacêutico, contribuiu para aumentar o interesse comum na gestão da doença, o que poderá permitir uma melhoria nos resultados da saúde. Na avaliação de usabilidade, verificou-se a necessidade de melhorar o acesso rápido à informação, bem como a vi necessidade de melhorar a legibilidade da informação para melhorar a experiência de utilização dos utentes seniores. Conclusão: Atualmente, o uso de IST nas farmácias comunitárias portuguesas está principalmente focado na dispensa de medicamentos. Parece existir uma necessidade de reorganização interna das farmácias de forma a permitir aumentar a eficiência da prestação de serviços farmacêuticos e permitir a prestação de serviços farmacêuticos de eHealth. Para os serviços farmacêuticos de eHealth estarem mais integrados no modelo de negócio atual, é necessário melhorar o marketing do serviço, de forma a aumentar o recrutamento de utentes e demonstrar o valor do serviço para os doentes crónicos e médicos. A qualidade e usabilidade da plataforma eHealth é fundamental. No entanto, também o acompanhamento por um profissional de saúde e a integração dos serviços farmacêuticos com os cuidados de saúde primários são importantes para uma melhor gestão da doença. A DSRM demonstrou ser útil no desenvolvimento e implementação de serviços de eHealth, proporcionando um maior envolvimento dos utilizadores, aumentando a utilidade percebida do serviço. No próximo ciclo de DSRM, vão ser necessários os inputs de médicos de cuidados primários e outros profissionais de saúde, de modo a desenvolver um novo artefacto, para testar e avaliar o valor clínico e económico dos serviços farmacêuticos eHealth. ; Background: Chronic diseases are the main cause of mortality throughout Europe. The increasing prevalence of chronic diseases is leading to the necessity of health system reforms. These reforms address chronic-disease management based on multidisciplinary teams, with major roles for non-physicians, such as nurses and community pharmacists (CP). A cornerstone on every multidisciplinary model is the communication between stakeholders, for which the use of Information Systems and Technologies (IST) is increasingly indispensable. It is of importance to science and society to understand how IST supported services – eHealth - could be developed and used to address the challenges and constrains of future health systems. Aim: The main goal of this project was to design, implement and evaluate a disease management web-based interactive pharmaceutical service, within a community pharmacy setting, using Design Science Research Methodologies (DSRM). Methods: The application of DSRM six stages' is described, from the definition and characterization of the problem to the evaluation of the artefact. The first stage consisted of a scenario exercise, a time and motion observational study and an online survey, to assess future roles for community pharmacists and current pharmaceutical services provision supported by IST in community pharmacy. In the second stage, qualitative interviews with health services' users were performed. These two stages helped to inform the design of the web-platform, which was the goal in the third stage. After this, the web-platform was tested and the usability evaluated in the two following stages, through a case study with selected patients from the participant pharmacies and from a senior university. Results: The scenario exercise allowed to identify the critical uncertainties that will be the drivers of change for the Community Pharmacists. These were found to be the "Ability to develop Services", and the "Legislative Environment". From both the survey and observational study, it was found that pharmacies' IST is mainly used for dispensing medicines and administrative tasks with only 15% of the respondent pharmacies using IST to answer patients' queries; 50% of pharmacists daily time is spent with patients, 38% on administrative tasks, while still having an average of 54 minutes of idle time spread through the day, mainly in micro-pauses. The overall costs of Pharmaceutical services across three pharmacies were found to be very similar, with the average dispensing service cost at €3.66 and €1.34 for the counselling service; 46% of the interviewed users admitted that they sought healthcare provision with the CP for minor issues before going to a physician, while home delivery was the most requested new service. In the demonstration stage, we found that the registration, monitoring and storage of biochemical and physiological data, recorded by the CP and the patients in the platform, contributed to a common interest that may allow an improvement in patients' health outcomes. From the usability evaluation, concerns about the quick access to information were perceived as well as the need to improve legibility, addressing senior users' difficulties. Conclusion: The current state of IST usage in Portuguese community pharmacies is mainly focused on medicine dispensing. There seems to exist a need for internal reorganization of pharmacies allowing for more efficient pharmaceutical services provision and to enable eHealth pharmaceutical services provision. To make eHealthpharmaceutical services more integrated in the current pharmacy daily business, marketing efforts need to be done, to recruit and demonstrate value to the chronic patients and physicians. The quality and usability of the web-based platform is critical, as is the close professional follow-up and integration of pharmacy and primary care services focused in disease management. DSRM helps in developing and implementing eHealth services through a higher involvement of the stakeholders, increasing the perceived usefulness of the service. The next DSRM cycle will need to use the input of primary care physicians and other health professionals in order to develop an artifact to test and evaluate the clinical and economic value of eHealth pharmaceutical services.
Inhaltsangabe:Abstract: The emergence of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) has launched a global debate (digital or technological revolution) about a paradigm shift from an industrialised towards an Information Society. In the front of this debate lies the assertion that the application of ICT is the impelling factor of transformation which will result in far reaching changes within all parts of the economy, the society and the State. The State plays therefore an important role for this transformation. First, the creation of a 'New Economy' which stands for a branch of industry that develops and produces hardware, software and communication equipment and its penetration and application into the whole economy. The emergence of e-buzzwords such as e-commerce or e-business are related to the application of ICT within the economy. Second, after a laissez-faire policy implementation through the State, it has to care for social aspects such as to connect the society to the internet and create a digital literate society. This 'second stage' of the Information Society has its expression in the common used catchword 'digital divide'. Finally, the State itself comes under pressure to apply ICT within government institutions, expressed by the latest catchwords of e-government and e-governance. Their hype (chiefly technologically determined) can be equated with the emergence of the 'New Economy' within the global debate about the Information Society. Emerged from developed countries, e-government and e-governance experience an increasing use in developing countries. Their advocates (i. e. international development organisations) stress the catchwords for the purpose of poverty alleviation, improved living standards and economic growth, in developed and particularly in developing countries. Furthermore, both subjects of the thesis have started up a new tractive force within the debate of public administration reforms. Both can be summarised as ICT-led public administration reform. They are deemed to be an 'impelling factor of organisational change and transformation' of governmental institutions. Moreover, the literature concerning both catchwords, is full of positive expectations (i.e. enhance participation, accountability, transparency and overall democracy) and thus, they are seen as a medium to implement and support their theoretical concepts New Public Management (NPM) and Good Governance. Fairly few observations in developed countries stressed the significance of internal structures within governmental institutions which can influence the introduction of ICT in general and the developing countries. However, they are unrecognised within the debate of e-government and e-governance. Furthermore, the debate of these catchwords contains a lack of concern about and notice of a possible influence of internal structures of public administrations on the implementation of e-government and e-governance regarding developed and especially developing countries. Under this review and in bringing back the e-government/e-governance debate into reality, the central question of this thesis is: which preconditions have to be considered before the implementation of both catchwords in non-Weberian bureaucracies in developing countries? In answering this question, the case of Indonesia is taken as a basis because it is planning to implement an extensive e-government project since the end of 2001. The thesis will reveal that an ICT-led public administration reform through e-government or e-governance will certainly fail, as long as the developed preconditions in the constructed test model are unrecognised. E-government and/or e-governance will reinforce and strengthen existing internal structures within public administrations instead of transform them towards the normative concepts. In approaching the central question, the thesis is compiled as follows: First, chapter one discusses the catchwords' theoretical background under consideration of ICT and their general critiques. Then, the catchwords themselves are defined in the scope of the Information Society and their present critiques. Both sections expose the necessary preconditions for the implementation of e-government and e-governance. The preconditions are: The networking effects (totality of integration), the analysis of internal structures of public administrations (micro-level) and the analysis of related actors' interests (macro-level). From this point of view, chapter two constructs a test model where these more broad preconditions are substantiated and operationalised through the application of several theories. Chapter three applies the test model to the case of Indonesia. On the macro-level the theory of bureaucratic developmental State by Elsenhans is applied with an emphasis on the ICT sector. This section reveals that on the supply side within the ICT sector there are existing tendencies where indigenous and non-indigenous conglomerates regain there position on the economy, namely on the emerging ICT sector and their influence on IBRA (Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency). Furthermore on the telecommunication sector there exists a duopoly of State-owned companies. Both findings are related to a segmentation of the State Class which favours more indigenous conglomerates instead of non-indigenous as in the pre-Soeharto area. The demand side of ICT is summarised through the analysis of the stage of networking effects. It includes quantitative indicators from 1997 to 2001 and policy indicators. It emphasises that at the present stage of networking the internet is biased towards an educated high-income group within the Indonesian society. The speed of developing a 'connected society' is reduced by weaknesses in policy formulation, implementation and monitoring. On the micro-level the duality of structure by Giddens and applied by Killian/Wind (1997) is used. This analysis concludes that the mesh of formal and informal structures and the old vision of political thinking lead to a concentration of power, authority and control over resources in the hands of top officials who are part of the State Class. With the emergence of ICT a new powerful group within the public administration can evolve which will challenge existing power and authority holders. Thus, in stabilising and guaranteeing their traditional economic and informational resources, the patrons (top officials) have to co-opt the ICT unit (new powerful group) to obtain control over the access, transfer and selection of information. The thesis finishes with a conclusion that emphasises important questions which should borne in mind before implementing e-government and/or e-governance. Table of Contents: Table of Contents AcknowledgementsI Table of ContentsII List of FiguresV List of TablesVI IntroductionVII 1.E-Government and e-Governance Against the Background of Their Theoretical Classification1 A.Theoretical Classification: New Public Management and Governance2 I.New Public Management2 a)Reasons for the Adoption of New Public Management2 b)Objectives of NPM3 c)Raise the Issue of Internal Structures in Developing Countries5 d)ICT as Driving Power for Civil Service Reforms in Developing Countries?8 II.The Concept of Governance10 a)The Basics10 b)The Emergence of Networking within the Concept through ICT12 1.Characteristics of Networking12 2.Tendencies so Far13 3.Critical Issues14 B.Definitions in the Scope of the Information Society16 I.Framework of the Information Society17 a)Technological and Economic Dimensions18 b)Policy Dimension20 II.E-Government22 a)Definition and Orientation in the Scope of e-Buzzwords22 b)Reasons for the Adoption of e-Government Concepts25 c)Objectives of e-Government26 d)Barriers or Challenges: Do Structures Matter?27 III.E-Governance29 a)Definition of e-Governance29 b)Reasons for the Adoption of e-Governance Concepts31 c)Objectives of e-Governance31 d)Barriers or Challenges: Do Structures Matter?33 C.Further Development? A Provisional Result34 2.Preconditions of e-Government/e-Governance for Their Implementation: Constructing a Test Model38 A.The Macro-level: The Bureaucratic Developmental State38 B.The Micro-level: Theory of Structuring40 C.Networking Effects: Summary of Quantitative Indicators and the Policy Environment42 3.Testing the Model: The Case of Indonesia46 A.Why Indonesia?46 B.Polit- and Socio-Economic Conditions in Post Soeharto Era and Networking Effects48 I.Reinforcing Economy: Government-Business Networks and ICT48 a)The Government-Business Networks in Indonesia49 b)The Destruction of Conglomerates by IBRA52 c)The ICT Sector and Telecommunication Market: Conglomerate's Impetus and State-owned Duopoly56 II.Unconnected Society: Multiplicity of Divide59 a)The Development of the Telecommunication Infrastructure59 b)Evaluating Networking Effects63 C.The Public Administration in Indonesia69 I.Civil Service Reform in Post-Soeharto Era70 a)Decentralisation Reform70 b)ICT-led NPM Reform71 II.The Ascendancy of Duality of Structures Within ICT-led Reforms73 a)Following Old Visions: Political Thinking in the Public Administration74 b)Backing the System: Formal Structures76 c)Human Factor: Informal Structures80 D.Summarising the Test Results84 Conclusion86 AppendixVI BibliographyIX Eidesstattliche ErklärungXXIII
