Suchergebnisse

137 p. Cd ; La Discapacidad ha evolucionado en el tiempo, pasando de un modelo medico a un modelo social, donde el contexto de la persona con discapacidad es el principal determinante de la misma. Es así que las acciones del Estado a través de sus políticas públicas deben tener un enfoque intersectorial para dar respuesta integral a las problemática reales de la población. El municipio de Bucaramanga según censo DANE 2005 tiene 30.799 personas con discapacidad, por lo tanto requiere una política pública que este acorde a las necesidades de su población para que los programas y proyectos ofertados por la administración municipal generen impacto real y efectivo que mejore la calidad de vida de la población con discapacidad y promueva el goce efectivo de sus derechos. Objetivo: Dar a conocer la experiencia en la formulación de una política pública de Discapacidad para el municipio de Bucaramanga a partir del acuerdo 053 del 2010 Métodos: Es una investigación cuantitativa de tipo descriptiva, que se realizo a través de tres fases. Primero, se realizo un estado del arte de la Discapacidad y políticas públicas, segundo, un diagnostico comunitario de la situación problema de la población con discapacidad del municipio de Bucaramanga y finalmente se formulo la política pública de discapacidad con participación de todos los actores. Resultados: Se logra un diagnostico de la situación real de las personas con discapacidad de las 17 comunas de Bucaramanga como documento base para la formulación de la política pública de discapacidad que es aprobada según acuerdo 039 del 2011. Conclusión: La política pública de Bucaramanga fue formulada desde la participación activa de la población con discapacidad organizada, la academia y la administración municipal, con una mirada externa desde el Ministerio de la Protección Social y la comunidad en general, con la voluntad política del honorable concejo municipal, basado en el diagnóstico contextual de la población, la normatividad, las experiencias y saberes propios y ajenos, que orientaron los principios que la rigen, los componentes que abordan la problemática, las líneas de acción y actividades que la van a poner en práctica, haciendo de esta una política pública que cumple con su esencia y fin. ; Disability has evolved over time, moving from a medical model to a social model, where the context of the person with disabilities is the main determinant of it. Thus, the actions of the state through its public policies should have a cross-sectoral approach to respond comprehensively to the real population problem. The municipality of Bucaramanga as DANE census 2005 has 30,799 people with disabilities, therefore public policy requires this according to the needs of its population for programs and projects offered by the municipal administration and effective generate real impact that improves the quality of life of people with disabilities and promote the full enjoyment of their rights. Objective: To present the experience in the formulation of public policy of Disability for the municipality of Bucaramanga from the agreement 053 of 2010. Methods: A descriptive quantitative research, conducted through three phases. First, there was a state of the art of Disability and Public Policy, second, Community diagnosis of the problema situation of the disabled population of the municipality of Bucaramanga and finally made public disability policy with participation of all stakeholders. Results: We achieved a diagnosis of the real situation of people with disabilities in the 17 municipalities of Bucaramanga as the base document for the formulation of public policy on disability that is approved by the agreement 039 of 2011 Conclusion: Bucaramanga public policy was formulated from the active participation of people with disabilities organized, academia and local government, with an external view from the Ministry of Social Protection and the community at large, with the political will of the honorable city council, based on the diagnostic context of the population, the regulations, the experiences and knowledge themselves and others, that guided the principles that govern, the components that address the problem, the lines of action and activities that will be put in practice, making this a public policy that metes its essence and purpose. ; INTRODUCCIÓN 13 FORMULACIÓN DEL PROBLEMA 16 JUSTIFICACIÓN 19 OBJETIVO GENERAL 21 OBJETIVOS ESPECÍFICOS 21 CAPITULO I 22 1. ESTADO DEL ARTE DE DISCAPACIDAD Y POLÍTICAS PÚBLICAS. 22 1.1. DIAGNÓSTICO TERRITORIAL E INSTITUCIONAL. 22 1.2. DISCAPACIDAD. 25 1.3. DATOS EPIDEMIOLOGICOS EN DISCAPACIDAD. 34 1.3.1. Discapacidad en Colombia. 35 1.3.2. Discapacidad en Santander. 37 1.3.3. Discapacidad en Bucaramanga. 44 1.4. NORMATIVIDAD EN DISCAPACIDAD. 48 1.4.1. La discapacidad antes de la Constitución de 1.991. 49 1.4.2. La discapacidad en la Constitución de 1.991. 51 1.4.3. Desarrollo normativo de la discapacidad con ocasión del nuevo estatuto constitucional. 53 1.4.4. Concepto de discapacidad en el ordenamiento jurídico colombiano. 64 1.5. POLÍTICA PÚBLICA PARA DISCAPACIDAD. 68 1.5.1. Definiciones de Políticas Públicas 72 1.5.2. Aspectos generales de una política pública. 78 1.5.3. Pasos para la formulación de políticas públicas. 82 1.5.4. Modelos para la formulación de políticas públicas. 83 1.5.4.1. Modelo racional o racionalista. 83 1.5.4.2. Modelo incremental o incrementalista. 85 1.5.4.3. Modelo de las elites o elitista. 85 1.5.4.4. Modelo de los grupos, grupista o interaccionista. 86 1.5.4.5. Modelo de las instituciones o institucionalista. 87 1.5.4.6. Modelo de sistemas o sistémico. 88 1.6. EVALUACIÓN DE POLÍTICAS PÚBLICAS. 88 CAPÍTULO II 94 2. DIAGNÓSTICO COMUNITARIO PARA LA FORMULACIÓN DE LA POLÍTICA PÚBLICA EN DISCAPACIDAD. 94 2.1. ANTECEDENTES. 94 2.2. PROPÓSITO. 99 2.3. METODOLOGÍA. 99 2.3.1. Propuesta Metodológica. 99 2.3.2. Convocatoria. 99 2.3.3. Logística. 100 2.3.4. Desarrollo de los talleres. 102 2.3.5. Instrumento aplicado. 104 2.4. RESULTADOS Y ANÁLISIS DE LOS RESULTADOS. 109 CAPITULO III. 111 3. FORMULACION DE LA POLÍTICA PÚBLICA DE DISCAPACIDAD DEL MUNICIPIO DE BUCARAMANGA 111 3.1. Propósito. 111 3.2. Metodología. 112 3.3. Resultados. 115 3.3.1. Exposición de motivos. 115 3.3.2. Política Pública de Discapacidad para el municipio de Bucaramanga. 118 3.3.2.1. Marco Legal. 118 3.3.2.2. Artículos Modificados. 119 3.3.3. Documentos. 123 CONCLUSIONES 124 RECOMENDACIONES 127 BIBLIOGRAFÍA 129 TABLAS. Tabla 1. Indicadores Económicos de Bucaramanga. 24 Tabla 2. Visión de conjunto de la CIF. 31 Tabla 3. Grupos de Edad, según Categorías de Discapacidad – 2013. 46 Tabla 4. Normas sobre discapacidad antes de la Constitución de 1.991. 50 Tabla 5. Normas sobre discapacidad en la Constitución de 1991. 52 Tabla 6. Normas sobre discapacidad a partir de la Constitución de 1.991. 53 Tabla 7. Clasificación de las políticas públicas. 78 Tabla 8. Registro de los talleres y entidades participantes. 102 Tabla 9. Número de preguntas por líneas de acción del acuerdo 053 del 2010. 105 Tabla 10. Resultados Obtenidos del diagnóstico Comunitario de las diecisiete (17) comunas de Bucaramanga. 110 Tabla 11. Elementos de la matriz a diligenciar por cada secretaría o ente descentralizado para la construcción de las líneas de acción de la política pública. 113 MAPA. Mapa 1. Población por Comuna. 23 GRÁFICA. Gráfica 1. Plan de desarrollo de Bucaramanga 2012- 2015. 25 FIGURA. Figura 1. Limitación en las Actividades de la Vida Diaria (AVD). 36 ANEXOS: Anexo 1. Metodología y plan de trabajo. Anexo 2. Acuerdo No 053 del 10 de diciembre de 2010. Anexo 3. Soportes documentales del diagnostico comunitario. 1. Resultados y análisis de los resultados. 2. Registro fotográfico. 3. Instrumento de recolección de la información. 4. Registro de Asistencia. Anexo 4. Soportes documentales para la formulación de la política Publica de Discapacidad del municipio Bucaramanga. 1. Matriz diligenciada por secretaría de despacho o Instituto descentralizado. 2. Resumen de Actas. Anexo 5. Exposición de Motivos y proyecto de acuerdo para la Modificación del acuerdo 053 del 2010. Anexo 6. Acuerdo No 039 del 29 de diciembre de 2011. Anexo 7. Artículo publicado en la revista ASCOFI. ; Ej. 1 ; Maestría ; Magister en Gestión Pública y Gobierno

Als Reaktion auf die fortschreitende, anthropogen bedingte Veränderung und Zerstörung der Ökosysteme fand 1992 die Konferenz der Vereinten Nationen über Umwelt und Entwicklung in Rio de Janeiro statt. Die Konferenz markiert aus heutiger Sicht einen Startpunkt multilateraler Umweltschutzbemühungen, da offiziell formuliert wurde, dass die lokal auftretenden Umweltprobleme durch globale Veränderungen hervorgerufen werden und nur durch gemeinsame Bemühungen auf internationaler Ebene zu bewältigen sind. Ergebnis dieser Konferenz war die Verabschiedung verschiedener internationaler Abkommen zum Umweltschutz. Wälder spielen dabei in ihrer Funktion als Kohlenstoffspeicher und als terrestrischer Lebensraum mit der höchsten Artenvielfalt eine zentrale Rolle. Vor diesem Hintergrund stellen sich für die Waldinventur neue Aufgaben, sowohl bezüglich der zu erfassenden Zielgrößen als auch hinsichtlich der Rahmenbedingungen, da die erhobenen Informationen nicht mehr nur auf Betriebsebene für die Planung der Bewirtschaftung verwendet werden, sondern auch für die Erfüllung der internationalen Berichtspflichten. Als zentrale Größe des Waldmonitorings muss die Waldfläche gesehen werden, da sie die Grundlage für die meisten Berechnungen ist. Daneben wird die Waldfragmentierung, also die Form und räumliche Verteilung der Waldflächen, häufig als Indikator für die Biodiversität diskutiert. Die fernerkundliche Erfassung der Waldfläche und die Beschreibung der Waldfragmentierung mit Landschaftsstrukturmaßen (LSM) im Kontext der internationalen Umweltabkommen ist Gegenstand der vorliegenden Arbeit. Zielsetzung ist es, kritische methodische und technische Aspekte, welche die Schätzung der Waldfläche und die Berechnung der LSM beeinflussen, zu identifizieren und ihre Wirkungen zu analysieren. Anhand einer Literaturrecherche wurden zunächst vier kritische Faktoren identifiziert: i) die Walddefinition, ii) die Waldranddefinition, iii) der Beobachtungsmaßstab und iv) das Landschaftsmodell, welches für die Berechnung der LSM verwendet wird. Die Effekte und Wechselwirkungen zwischen den vier genannten Faktoren wurden im zweiten Teil der Arbeit auf Grundlage einer Simulationsstudie untersucht. Dafür wurden Kronenkarten und Geländemodelle auf Basis von Gauß'schen Zufallsfeldern in verschiedenen Auflösungstufen simuliert. Durch Variation der Mindestüberschirmung und der Größe der Referenzfläche, auf der die Überschirmung gemessen wird, konnten aus den Kronenkarten Waldkarten mit unterschiedlichen Wald- und Waldranddefinitionen erstellt werden. Zusätzlich wurde der Einfluss des Landschaftsmodells auf die Berechnung der LSM untersucht. Dies geschah mit Hilfe eines neuen Verfahrens, das die Berechnung der LSM im dreidimensionalen Raum ermöglicht. Die Ergebnisse der Simulation zeigen, dass alle vier Faktoren einen wesentlichen Einfluss auf die Waldflächenkarten haben können. Dabei ergeben sich besonders für die Kronenüberschirmung und die Referenzflächengröße spezifische Wechselwirkungen, die sich teilweise mit einem einfachen geometrischen Waldrandmodell theoretisch erklären lassen. So zeigt sich, dass besonders für Walddefinitionen mit einer Mindestüberschirmung, die stark von 50 % abweicht, die Referenzflächengröße einen erheblichen Einfluss auf die Waldfläche und Fragmentierung hat. Basierend auf den Ergebnissen der Simulationstudie wurde im 3. Teil der Arbeit ein Klassifikationschschema entwickelt, das es ermöglicht spezifische Kriterien einer Walddefinition in den Auswertungs- und Klassifikationsprozess von Fernerkundungsdaten zu integrieren, um standardisierte Waldkarten zu erstellen. Beispielhafte Grundlage war die Walddefinition der Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), die Wald als eine Landnutzungsform beschreibt. Im Gegensatz zu Landbedeckungsformen können Landnutzungsklassen nicht direkt in Fernerkundungsdaten beobachtet werden. Zur Erstellung einer Landnutzungskarte müssen daher neben den Landbedeckungsklassen weitere Kontextinformationen berücksichtigt werden. Dafür wurde in der vorliegenden Arbeit ein hierarchischer Klassifikationsschlüssel entwickelt, der ausgehend von einer Landbedeckungskarte, eine Landnutzungs- und eine Waldkarte generiert. Die benötigten Kontextinformationen werden dabei mit Hilfe von Entscheidungsbäumen, die auf eine fixe Referenzfläche angewendet werden, berücksichtigt. Dieses Verfahren ermöglicht es, Waldkarten zu erstellen, die einer bestimmten vorher festgelegten Walddefinition entsprechen. Insofern kann das Verfahren zur Standardisierung der Waldflächenerfassung beitragen. Darüber hinaus bietet es die Möglichkeit die Walddefinition durch Änderung der Kriterien oder der Schwellenwerte flexibel anzupassen, sodass es als wissenschaftliches Werkzeug zur Analyse des Effektes verschiedener Walddefinitionen verwendet werden kann. Im letzten Teil der Arbeit wurde eine Fallstudie durchgeführt, die untersucht inwieweit sich das entwickelte Verfahren operational für die Waldflächenerfassung einsetzen lässt. Da der Fokus der internationalen Umweltabkommen auf den tropischen Waldgebieten liegt, wurden für die Fallstudie zwei unterschiedliche tropische Waldlandschaften in Costa Rica ausgewählt. Zur Klassifikation der Landbedeckung kamen Satellitenbilder des RapidEye-Systems mit einer räumlichen Auflösung von 5 m zum Einsatz. Für die Klassifikation der Landbedeckung wurde zunächst eine Software entwickelt, welche atmosphärische und topographische Korrekturen, Bildverbesserung, nicht-parametrische Klassifikationsverfahren und den, im dritten Teil der Arbeit entwickelten hierarchischen Klassifikationsansatz für die Erstellung der Landnutzungskarten, implementiert. Die Ergebnisse der Fallstudie zeigen, dass das entwickelte Verfahren geeignet ist, Waldkarten für stark fragmentierte tropische Landschaften zu erstellen. Die Waldkarten entsprechen einer zuvor festgelegten Walddefinition (z. B. FAO), in der die einzelnen Kriterien (u. a. Mindestüberschirmung, Mindestgröße, vorherrschende Landnutzung) während der Klassifikation explizit geprüft werden. Die vorliegende Arbeit zeigt theoretisch, empirisch und auch in der praktischen Anwendung, dass eine Vielzahl von Faktoren die Erfassung der Waldfläche beeinflusst. Einer der wichtigsten Faktoren ist dabei die Walddefinition. Die übliche Praxis bei der fernerkundlichen Erstellung von Waldkarten, die Klasse "Wald" ohne expliziten Bezug auf geeignete Kriterien direkt auszuweisen, führt zu großen Unsicherheiten bei der Waldflächenschätzung und ist im Rahmen von international verbindlichen Abkommen kaum akzeptabel. Die Entscheidung welche Walddefinition verwendet werden soll, wird in politischen Verhandlungen bestimmt. Aufgabe der Waldinventur muss es dann sein, diese politischen Vorgaben umzusetzen. Die hier vorgestellten Methoden können insofern zur Standardisierung der fernerkundlichen Waldflächenerfassung beitragen, als das sie transparente Entscheidungsregeln implementieren und somit konsistente Waldkarten erzeugen. ; In reaction to the ongoing anthropogenetic changes of the earth' ecosystems the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development was hold in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro. This conference was an important starting point in environmental negotiations as it was recognized that locally observed problems are caused by global changes in the ecosystems and thus global actions are required. The conference resulted in the agreement on different international environmental conventions including the Convention on Biological Diversity (UN-CBD) and the Framework Convention on Climate Change (UN-FCCC) which in turn led to the Kyoto protocol. Forests play a significant role in both conventions either as being a carbon pool or as host to greater biodiversity. In this context forest monitoring faces new challenges regarding the target variables as well as the usage of the information which will no longer only be used for forest management decisions but also to fulfill international reporting obligations. The forest area and its fragmentation are the most fundamental variables of the required monitoring then. The topic of this work is the remote sensing based assessment of forest area and characterization of its fragmentation by means of landscape metrics in the context of international environmental conventions with the specific objective to identify and analyze critical methodological and technical aspects and their relevance for forest cover monitoring systems. Based on a literature review four critical factors were identified: i) forest definition, ii) forest edge definition, iii) scale of observation, and iv) the landscape model used to derive the landscape metrics. The effects and interactions of these factors were analyzed in the second part of the study using a spatial simulation based on artificial landscapes. Therefore tree crown maps and elevation models were simulated with different spatial resolutions using Gaussian random fields. By varying the minimum crown cover threshold and the reference area on which crown cover is determined, forest maps with different underling forest and forest edge definitions were generated. To analyze the effects of the landscape model on the calculation of landscape metrics a new approach which enables the calculation of landscape metrics in the three dimensional space was taken. The simulation results showed that all of the studied factors have an influence on the forest area estimates and the derived landscape metrics. Significant interactions between crown cover and the size of the reference area were found and could be explained partly by the analysis of a simple geometric forest edge model. A major finding of the simulation study is, that if the crown cover threshold is different from 0.5, significant effects are to be expected from the size of the reference area. Based on the findings from the simulation a classification framework was developed in the third part of the study which allows the integration of a specific forest and forest edge definition into the analysis of remote sensing data. The FAO forest definition is most widely used in the context of international environmental conventions and defines forest as a land use class. Land use can not be observed directly in remote sensing data without the integration of context information. Therefore a hierarchical classification key which allows the generation of land cover, land use and forest cover maps was developed. The required context information was collected by applying the concept of a fixed reference area. This approach allows the implementation of specific criteria of forest definitions and separates the process of image classification form the application of a forest definition. Thus forest definitions can easily be adopted to the user requirements and forest maps with different forest definition can be generated, which makes the framework an interesting research tool. In the last part of the work the operational practicability of the developed approach was tested in a case study. Therefore two tropical highly fragmented forest landscapes in Costa Rica were selected. For both study sites land cover maps were generated from RapidEye satellite images. Therefore a software was programmed which implements the 6-S atmospheric correction, topographic correction, image enhancement and the Random Forests classifier. The results of the case study demonstrated that the developed approach is capable of producing forest cover maps for highly fragmented tropical landscapes. The forest maps are in line with the current forest definitions (e.g. FAO) as the criteria (e.g. crown cover, minimum area, predominantly land use) are evaluated individually during the classification. The study at hand shows theoretically, empirically and also practically that a number of factors influence the assessment of forest cover and fragmentation. The most important factor is the forest definition. The widespread practice to generate forest maps without the implication of specific forest definitions leads to large uncertainties of the forest area estimates which are hardly acceptable in the context of international conventions. The decision on criteria and thresholds of forest definitions are negotiated in a political debate. The forest inventory will be responsible to transcript the political guidelines into an operational monitoring system. The proposed approaches can contribute to the standardization of forest cover monitoring as they implement transparent definitions to generate consistent forest cover maps.

A hurricane threat, a shortened schedule, some botched scheduling and an audience that couldn't get excited in unison were just a few of the challenges that confronted the Republican Party's Convention that concluded this past week in Tampa, Florida. The main purpose was to reintroduce Mitt Romney to the file and rank of his own party as well as to the wider national audience and to show that, besides business experience and his CEO approach to politics, the man is also human. With the help of Ann Romney, this was arguably accomplished. However, once humanized, the candidate had to convey a compelling message, a vision of the future that would sway the 8% undecided, and convert the anti-Obama into pro-Romney voters. In this, the Convention fell short. His strategic efforts as a candidate in the Primary Election were dedicated to convincing the right wing of the Republican party that his ideas and values had "evolved "from his times of governor of Massachusetts: he is now pro-life and not pro-choice, and his signature health care reform for that state, based on an individual mandate, had very little resemblance to Obamacare. He succeeded then, but these ultra conservative positions alienated two fundamental blocs of voters he will need for the general election, namely, women and Latinos. Indeed, the gender gap puts Obama ahead, with 51% of women voting for Obama and 41% for Romney. The Latino voter gap is at 63% for Obama to 28% for Romney. The campaign's political calculation was thus to use the Convention to appeal to the wider audience by showing the party's "diversity", by "humanizing" the candidate and by convincing the Evangelical right that being Mormon is not a monstrosity. Testimonials by members of his congregation, a convincing speech by Ann Romney and a black- and- white biographical video succeeded in meeting this goal. We learned that Mr. Romney is a wonderful husband and father, a patient man who tries to live by a set of values; that his years as head of a Mormon community were devoted to helping the needy, accompanying the lonely and counseling the troubled. It was also revealed that his tithing was uncommonly and consistently generous. The Convention was carefully staged to show younger, more diverse GOP "rising stars" in order to bring into the fold some of still persuadable minorities. Paul Ryan, the Catholic, strictly anti- abortion 42-year old that completes the ticket, gave an ideological speech that charmed the older generation, with references to "central-planners" and direct attacks on Obama's "socialist" policies, using what could be described at best as half-truths. A great admirer of atheist right-wing writer Ayn Rand, Ryan, a Representative from Wisconsin, rose to fame this past year by presenting a budget plan that would lower taxes for the upper-income bracket, privatize Medicare and harshly restrict social programs. Portraying himself as a compassionate conservative, he is supposed to bring in the Catholic vote. Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Florida Senator Marco Rubio used their personal stories aptly and were able to get two of the few electrifying moments of the Convention. Rice's appearance was important after a period of what seemed to be her retirement from politics; she talked optimistically about America, its unbound freedoms, its role as an underwriter of world order, and unquestionably, the land of exceptional opportunity: channeling Obama, she offered her story as a testament of these possibilities. In spite of growing up in the Jim Crow South, she rose to Secretary of State and here she was today, the first "stateswoman" of the Republican Party. Rubio, a fresh-faced 41 year old and the son of working class Cuban immigrants, was the Latino version of the same idea. He had the difficult task of introducing Mitt Romney after the audience was still puzzled at Clint Eastwood's imaginary dialogue with President Obama (represented by an empty chair). After an awkward moment during which the seniors in the audience were still trying to process the meaning of Eastwood's sometimes off-color parody, Rubio managed the transition quite well and soon people were paying him undivided attention. One of the best-received portions was an anecdote about his father, who worked for years at a bar. "He stood behind a bar in the back of the room all those years, so one day I could stand behind a podium in the front of a room," Rubio said, bringing in a huge applause. There were many of these "rag-to-riches" stories aimed at reassuring the viewers that the candidate's wealth is not an obstacle to Romney and Ryan's newly found empathic conservatism. Mitt Romney's entrance along a cordoned red carpet, shaking hands and nodding to groups of supporters on each side, as well as the first few lines of his acceptance speech were shrewdly staged to evoke the State of the Union address. In line with the general theme, he devoted two thirds of his speech to his own biography and very little to the specifics of his economic agenda. While conventions are seldom memorable affairs, and while this one is most likely going to be remembered by the bizarre spectacle of actor Clint Eastwood talking, at times incoherently, to an empty chair, there were other minor headlines running parallel to it that deserve more attention for what they reveal of the long-term GOP plan to re-take government. Under the pretext that voter fraud is prevalent in presidential elections (a claim unsubstantiated by serious research), at least 14 Republican-dominated state legislatures, mostly (but not all) in the South, have been quietly passing new laws aimed at making the act of voting more difficult in those states. The intention is clear: to keep just enough demographic groups likely to vote for the Democrats (namely, young people and minorities) away from the polls. This voter suppression strategy takes different forms, the most prevalent of which is requiring the presentation of government- issued photo IDs, such as a driver's license or a US passport, at the polls It is a well-known fact that many elderly minorities and disabled citizens who don't drive lack these (Social Security cards in the US do not have photos, and there is not voting document such as a "credencial civica" in the US). These groups of people would have a hard time getting one, sometimes requiring them to travel miles away to get to the closest Public Safety office. In the case of young students, university-issued student identification cards for the most part are not accepted at the polls. Other bills and rules were aimed at shortening early voting time frames, repealing Election Day registration laws, and preventing non-profit, non-partisan groups such as the League of Women Voters from organizing voter registration campaigns. This week, however, a three-judge panel of the Federal District Court in Washington DC struck down a Texas voter ID law. Two days earlier, a different three-judge panel for the same court found that, in its redrawing of the electoral-district map (a practice that takes place every ten years following a national Census), the Texas legislature had intentionally discriminated against minority voters More important than any platform, more lasting than any emotional appeal to voters, voter suppression attempts constitute a politically divisive outrage that goes to the heart of our democracy. Indeed, it is unfathomable that over a century and a half after the Emancipation Proclamation and the Fifteenth Amendment, and half a century after the Voting Rights Act of 1965, minorities in the United States still have to rely on the court system to protect their right to vote. In a presidential election year and with a race as tight as the one we are about to witness in two months, voter turnout is fundamental. Laws aimed at discouraging citizens to vote are a surreptitiously shrewd, anti-democratic way to ensure victory.

Solare Kühlung ist eine Technologie, die sich noch auf dem Weg in die Wettbewerbsfähigkeit zu herkömmlichen, in der Regel mit Strom angetrieben Kompressionskältemaschinen befindet. Ein Schlüssel für die angestrebten Primärenergieeinsparungen und Kostenvorteile ist ein effizientes Betriebsverhalten der Solarkollektoren über einen Zeitraum von 20-25 Jahren. Die vorliegende Arbeit untersucht daher verschiedene thermische und hydraulische Eigenschaften von Solarkollektoren für solare Kühlung. Das übergeordnete Ziel ist es, wichtige Faktoren, die zu Leistungsminderung führen, zu identifizieren und Methoden und Techniken für eine detaillierte thermische und hydraulische Analyse der Solarkollektoren in Bezug auf diese Faktoren zu entwickeln, um schließlich praktische Richtlinien für Auslegung und Betrieb der Kollektoren vorzuschlagen. Ein beispielhaftes System ist im Bundespresseamt der Bundesregierung in Berlin installiert. Es besteht aus zwei LiBr/H2O Absorptionskältemaschinen mit je 35 KW Kühlleistung, einem Feld aus Vakuumröhrenkollektoren mit einer Gesamtfläche von 348 m2 und zwei 800-Liter-Heißwassertanks als Wärmespeicher. Zunächst wurde eine Analyse der Betriebseigenschaften des Systems auf der Grundlage von Messdaten für die thermischen Energieumsätze der verschiedenen Heiz- und Kühlanlagen und für den Stromverbrauch der elektrischen Komponenten durchgeführt. Ein spezielles Bewertungsverfahren wurde angewendet, bei welchem verschiedene zentrale Leistungsgrößen für den Betrieb des Systems wie der thermische und elektrische COP (Coefficient of Performance, entspricht Wirkungsgrad), solare Deckungsgrad und Primärenergieeinsparung im Vergleich zu einer nicht solar basierten Klimaanlage bestimmt werden. Die Ergebnisse wurden für verschiedenen Monate des Jahres 2007 bis 2009 ausgewertet und die Ergebnisse werden in Form von Kennzahlen dargestellt. Die Ergebnisse zeigen einen sehr niedrigen thermischen Wirkungsgrad der Solarkollektoren und sehr geringe Primärenergieeinsparungen. Mögliche Ursachen hierfür und Optionen zur Verbesserung werden ebenfalls diskutiert. Weiter wurde eine einfache experimentelle Vorgehensweise entwickelt, um im Labor den Einfluss des Druckes der Restgase im Inneren der evakuierten Glasröhre auf den Wärmeverlustkoeffizienten (U-Wert) einer einzelnen Vakuumröhre des Kollektors zu finden. Eine Reihe von Kollektorröhren gleicher Geometrie wurden nach dem Zufallsprinzip aus der genannten Solaranlage ausgewählt und einzeln getestet. Die Messergebnisse zeigen, dass die meisten der untersuchten Kollektorröhren höhere Wärmeverlustkoeffizienten haben als erwartet und sich entsprechend eine erhebliche Menge an Gas im Inneren der Glashülle befinden muss. Für gleiche Bedingungen wurde ein theoretisches Modell für die näherungsweise Berechnung der U-Werte entwickelt. Das theoretische Modell wurde mit den experimentellen Ergebnisse für eine bei Atmosphärendruck mit Luft gefüllte Röhre verglichen und eine gute Übereinstimmung wurde festgestellt. Dann wurde der Einfluss des Gasdruckes für verschiedene Gase untersucht. Mögliches Vorhandensein von Luft, Wasserstoff, Helium und Argon wird diskutiert. Eine CFD-Analyse (Computational Fluid Dynamics) wurde durchgeführt, um die Druckverluste von den Verteiler- und Sammlerelementen (T-Stücke) zu finden, die die parallel geschalteten Vakuumröhren im Solarkollektor wärmeträgerseitig verbinden. Simulationen wurden für eine Reihe von Strömungsverhältnissen und Reynolds-Zahlen durchgeführt und für die sich ergebenden Druckverlustkoeffizienten wurden Näherungsgleichungen entwickelt. Mit Hilfe der Ergebnisse für den laminaren Bereich wurde die isotherme und nicht-isotherme Strömungsverteilung im Kollektor, bestehend aus 60 parallelen Vakuumröhren, die entweder in U-Konfiguration oder in Z-Konfiguration verbunden sind, abgeschätzt. Die Ergebnisse der U-Konfiguration konnten mit experimentellen Daten verglichen werden und es ergibt sich eine gute Übereinstimmung. Ein stationäres Modell wurde entwickelt, um die thermische Leistungsfähigkeit einer einzelnen Vakuumröhre eines Solarkollektors mit koaxialer Wärmeträgerführung (Direct Flow-Typ) sowohl bei einphasiger als auch bei zweiphasiger Strömung (partial stagnation) zu studieren. Ein System von Gleichungen, welches die verschiedenen Wärmeübertragungsmechanismen und Strömungsverhältnisse beschreibt wurde aufgestellt, diskretisiert und iterativ gelöst. Für den Fall eines intakten Vakuums (10-5 mb) weicht die berechnete Wirkungsgradkurve für einphasige Strömung bei steigender Kollektortemperatur wesentlich von Experimenten ab, während sie für den Fall von Wärmeleitung durch Restgas innerhalb des Glaskolbens bei geringem Druck (< <1mb) durch die entsprechende Erhöhung der Wärmeverlustkoeffizienten mit den Experimenten übereinstimmt. Die Ergebnisse der Modellierung zeigen, dass der Kollektorwirkungsgrad mit abnehmendem Durchfluss abnimmt. Bei den dann erreichten hohen Temperaturen kann lokal Zweiphasenströmung durch Sieden und Rückkondensation auftreten. Sobald die Flüssigkeit den Siedepunkt bei einem bestimmten Massenstrom erreicht ist keine signifikante Reduktion des Wirkungsgrades mehr zu beobachten, was in Übereinstimmung mit Experimenten ist. Schließlich werden für optimale Leistungsfähigkeit eines ganzen Kollektorfeldes aus parallel geschalteten Vakuumröhrenkollektoren eine Reihe von Leitlinien und Regeln aufgestellt, die während Auslegung und Betrieb des Kollektorfeldes zu beachten sind. ; Solar cooling is an emerging technology and in a process of development to be competitive with the conventional systems generally based on electricity driven vapor compression cooling machines. Efficient performance of the solar collectors consistently over a time span of 20-25 years is the key towards achieving the required primary energy savings and cost benefits. The present research work investigates various thermal and hydraulic aspects of the solar collectors used for a solar cooling application. The overall aim is to identify major factors contributing to solar collector's performance reduction and to develop methods and techniques for a detailed thermal and hydraulic analysis of solar collectors pertaining to these factors, in order to suggest the optimal operating guidelines to be implemented in practice for solar collector design and operation. An exemplary system is installed at the Federal Press Information Center, Berlin. It consists of two LiBr/H2O absorption chillers with 35 KW cooling capacity for each one, a collector field made up of vacuum tube collectors having a total gross area of 348 m2, and two 800 liters of heat storage tank. Initially, the overall performance monitoring of the system was carried out, based on the on-field measured data for thermal energies of the various heating/cooling components of the system and electricity consumption of the electrical components. A monitoring procedure was then implemented and various key performance factors related to the system operation are determined such as total electrical COP, solar heat management efficiency, fraction of primary energy savings compared to a non-solar based air-conditioning system. The results are evaluated for various months of year 2007 to 2009, and the outcomes are presented in the form of performance figures. The results showed quite a low thermal efficiency of the solar collector and primary energy savings. Possible causes of the reduced collector performance and options for improvement are discussed also. A novel simplified experimental strategy is devised to find the overall heat loss coefficient (U-value) of an individual vacuum collector tube in the laboratory, with regard to the pressure of the remaining gas inside the evacuated glass envelope. A number of collector tubes of same geometry are randomly selected from an installation of a solar based air-conditioning system and tested individually in the laboratory for the determination of the U-value. Measurement results indicate that most of the examined collector tubes have higher overall heat loss coefficients than expected corresponding to a significant amount of gas inside the glass envelope. For the same conditions, an approximate theoretical model is developed for the evaluation of the U-value. The theoretical model is validated against the experimental results for a collector tube having air inside the glass cover at atmospheric pressure and found to be in close agreement. Then, the influence of gas pressure is studied for various gases. Possible presence of air, hydrogen, helium and argon is discussed. A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis has been conducted to find the pressure losses for dividing and combining fluid flow through a tee junction of a solar collector manifold. Simulations are performed for a range of flow ratios and Reynolds numbers and equations are developed for pressure loss coefficients at junctions. A theoretical model based on successive approximations then is employed to estimate the isothermal and non-isothermal flow distribution in laminar range through a collector consisting of 60 vacuum tubes connected in parallel in a reverse (U-configuration) and parallel (Z-configuration) flow arrangement. The results are in reasonable agreement with the available experimental results for U-configuration. An analytical steady state model is developed to study the thermal performance of an individual vacuum tube solar collector with coaxial piping (direct flow type) incorporating both single and two-phase flows. A system of equations which describe the different heat transfer mechanisms and flow conditions was established, discretized, and solved in an iterative manner. For the case of good vacuum condition (10-5 mb) the calculated efficiency curve for single phase flow deviates significantly from the experiments with increasing collector temperature, but agrees well for the case of gas conduction inside the glass envelope at very low pressure (« 1mb) due to the corresponding increase in overall heat loss coefficient (U-value). For two-phase flow, the occurrence and propagation of flow boiling and condensation inside the collector piping under saturated condition is hypothesized. The modeling results indicate that for all-liquid-single-phase fluid flow, the collector efficiency decreases with decreasing mass flow rate. Once the fluid reaches the boiling point at a certain mass flow rate, no significant reduction in efficiency is observed anymore, which is in accordance with the experimental study. Finally, performance predictions are made for the whole collector consisting of a number of vacuum tubes connected in an array. This leads to devise a set of guidelines and strategies, which needs to be taken care off during design and/or operation phase to optimize the collector operation.

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.

In general, policymakers are often faced with a different choice, i.e., the choice between using regulation-based approaches and using incentive-based approaches, where the policy instruments could be based either on mandatory approach or voluntary approach with economic incentives in market. Historically, industrial economists have regarded the issue of policy design as the one focused primarily on the choice among alternative policy instruments, where those are generally viewed as falling into two broad categories: regulation-based instruments and incentive-based instruments. Through the theoretical and empirical analysis, this study identifies some key features that are likely to increase both the effectiveness and efficiency of industrial policies with voluntary and mandatory approaches. On the other hand, we also investigate the existence of a strong relationship between innovation and industrial policies. In particular, we divide investment activities of firms into two parts like explorative and exploitative investments. Then we find that the explorative innovation increases the incentives for participation in long-term but also reduces the financial incentives in short-term. In sum, when based on the understanding and consideration on the nature of innovation and other impact factors, industrial policy can provide a mechanism for meeting industrial quality goals both effectively and efficiently. Considering firms' characteristics and industry sector also increases the synergy effect of policies and regulations. This understanding also can help policy makers to decide whether or not use of such policy approach is advisable and to design the policy ensuring that it is as effective and efficient as possible. Consequently, the current research investigates the difference and tendency of industrial policy approaches and the type of innovation carrying out three analyses according to the mandatory and voluntary approaches. With the assumption that the mandatory approach has short-run impact to prompt new technology or grow a specific industry, we firstly assess the impact of regulation, such as privatization of nature monopoly. Using the firms level data of 20 OECD countries between 1994 and 2008, we tested assumptions in telecommunication market, where there exist competition and privatization regulations. Based on the empirical results, we can claim that considering interaction among liberalization policies and allowing the industry characteristics are critical to determine for the Profitability effect and Operational efficiency effect and level of investments. This means that firms seek strategies for exploitative investments in the case where competition becomes severe and many dimensions are faced. Therefore, it is necessary for policy regulators to take account of the interactions among liberalization policies providing an incentive to create new knowledge and technologies. Secondly, we analyze the voluntary industrial policies with comparing of environmental and sustainable behaviors. This approach has long-run effective characteristics and can be applied to more general industry. Based on our assumption that the Corporate Environmentalism is a bilateral agreement between a policy maker and a firm, we try to find the relationship between voluntary activities and the nature of innovation. 1032 observations are divided into specific groups according to the Carbon Discloser Project (CDP) Global 500 report and the list of Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) between 2008 and 2009. From the empirical analysis, we identify the correlation between the 'Corporate Environmentalism' and innovative activities. These results show that the variations of firms' sustainable and environmental behaviors are varied depending on the industry sectors, firm characteristics, and environmental and sustainable activities. Finally, this study identifies the relationship between 'Business-led Initiatives (CSR)' and innovation activities of firms. We assume that CSR is a business-led initiative that recognizes that the impact businesses have on society is more than purely financial. In particular, this study advocates a new approach to incorporate sustainability with innovation strategies by taking into account voluntary sustainable activities not just for investors, but also for other shareholders including communities firms serve. Using the Vigeo rating and the Thomson Reuters financial data in 2009, we divided 619 firms into groups according to their industry sectors, regions, and firm characteristics such as size and age. This study identifies the relationship between CSR and innovation activities of firms based on the assumption that innovative investment is needed to prepare tomorrow's profits not only by considering investments in technology and in R&D, but also by dealing with sustainability to human, social, environmental, technical, and economic investments. Consequently, when the firm builds their short- and long-run business strategies, the consideration of the relationship between types of investment and CSR practice will lead to more cooperating effect on the outcome of investments. The findings of this study could provide a comprehensive understanding on the effect of sustainable management strategies on the innovation and sustainability of firms. ; De manière générale, différentes approches s'offrent aux décideurs politiques lorsqu'il s'agit de promouvoir l'innovation. Pour reprendre la distinction posée par la plupart des économistes industriels, les politiques peuvent être de nature presciptive ou incitative. A travers une série d'analyses théoriques et empiriques, cette thèse identifie plusieurs facteurs clés qui déterminent l'efficacité des politiques d'innovation, que l'approche adoptée soit de nature prescriptive ou incitative. En guise de préambule, nous soulignons que les politiques mises en oeuvre constituent un déterminant fondamental des capacités d'innovation d'une industrie, notamment parce que les incitations marchandes à engager des activités de recherche fortement exploratoires sont limitées. Par ailleurs, nous signalons que la nature des politiques susceptibles de favoriser l'innovation dépend fondamentalement des caractéristiques des industries, et même des firmes, auxquelles elles sont destinées. La mise en oeuvre de politiques (incitatives ou presciptives) efficaces requiert ainsi une compréhension approfondie du secteur d'activité que l'on souhaite promouvoir et de la nature des processus d'innovation qui impliquent notamment différents types d'investissements (à plus ou moins long terme, plus ou moins risqués et plus ou moins exploratoires). Cette thèse analyse ensuite, à travers trois études de cas, l'incidence de différentes politiques (incitatives ou presciptives) mises en oeuvre dans des contextes industriels distincts. Partant de l'hypothèse selon laquelle les politiques presciptives ont un impact bénéfique sur l'innovation et le développement technologique d'un secteur à court terme mais des effects plus incertains à long terme, nous étudions l'impact des politiques de libéralisation (ouverture à la concurrence et privatisation des opérateurs historiques) qui ont été mises en oeuvre dans le secteur des télécommunications. A travers une étude économétrique portant sur un panel de 20 pays de l'OCDE sur la période 1994-2008, nous soulignons que l'impact de la concurrence sur les décisions d'investissement s'exerce à travers deux effects : l'effet " profitabilité " et l'effet " efficacité opérationnelle ". Nous soulignons par ailleurs que la relation entre intensité concurrentielle et investissement varie signicativement entre entreprises publiques et firmes privées. Dans une seconde étude, nous analysons le lien entre la propension des firmes à adopter spontanément des comportements écologiques (mesurée à partir des données du Carbon Discloser Project et du Dow Jones Sustainability Index) et la nature de leurs innovations. Ce travail fait apparaître de forte différences inter-industries et inter-entreprises mais permet de valider l'hypothèse d'une relation positive entre le niveau des investissements de R&D et la propension à adopter des comportements écologiques. Nous nous intéressons enfin à la relation entre responsabilité sociale d'entreprise et innovation. Nous utilisons pour cela le classement Vigeo que des données financières sur l'année 2009. Notre étude met en évidence une relation positive entre responsabilité sociale d'entreprise et capacité des firmes à innover. Nous interprétons ce résultat de la manière suivante : la responsabilité sociale d'entreprise conduit les firmes à réaliser des investissements non seulement de court terme mais également de long terme et à tenir compte de la complémentarité de ces investissements. La responsabilité sociale d'entreprise accroît ainsi les synergies entre les différents types d'investissement réalisés par les firmes.

Cotxes, camions, tractors, avions. tots necessiten els neumàtics com a component imprescindible per al seu funcionament. Malauradament, degut al desgast per ús, els neumàtics tenen una vida útil limitada que obliga a renovar-los cada cert temps passant a ser Neumàtics Fora d'Ús (NFU). Paradògicament, els neumàtics són formulats per a suportar condicions extremes d'ús i, entre d'altres matèries primeres contenen cautxú vulcanitzat, una elevada quantitat d'estabilitzants i d'altres additius que fan dels neumàtics un material no biodegradable. Fins al 2006, era possible desar els NFU en abocadors però aquesta pràctica va ser prohibida per la Comunitat Europea (directiva 1993/31/EC). Aquesta directiva conjuntament amb la creixent consciència mediambiental ha potenciat la investigació per a trobar noves aplicacions per les 3.4milions de tones de NFU que es generen a l'any a Europa. Els NFU són emprats com a font d'energia o en aplicacions civils, però cada vegada més, són emprats en autopistes o per usos decoratius després de patir un procés de separació i trituració (NFU triturat). Les propietats físico-químiques dels NFU en fan un material molt interessant per la comunitat científica internacional que es centra en buscar noves vies de reciclatge mitjançant aplicacions d'alt valor afegit. Una opció per reciclar grans volums de NFU és utilitzar-los granulats com a càrrega en matrius termoplàstiques, encara que aquesta és una tasca difícil degut a la baixa compatibilitat entre aquests dos materials. Les seves característiques superficials són les responsables d'aquesta baixa compatibilitat. Cal afegir també que el tamany de les partícules de NFU obtingudes a partir de processos industrials és entre 400 and 600μm, sent aquest un tamany massa gran per poder ser fàcilment embolcallades per qualsevol matriu. D'altra banda, el cautxú dels neumàtics és troba altament vulcanitzat i, per tant, aquest reaccionarà químicament amb dificultats amb d'altres materials. Totes aquestes propietats fan dels NFU un material difícil de treballar-hi. La present tesis estudia diferents mètodes de compatibilització d'un Polietilè D'alta Densitat (PEAD) de grau d'injecció i NFU triturat obtingut a partir de processos estàndards de molturació. La resina de PEAD va ser escollit com a matriu degut al seu ampli rang d'aplicacions d'injecció. L'objectiu principal és explorar diferents mètodes de compatibilització d'aquests dos materials per obtenir òptimes propietats mecàniques, tèrmiques i morfològiques en aplicacions d'injecció. Els composites són optimitzats per a que continguin la màxima quantitat de NFU, una adequada transformació i el mínim cost. Després d'un estudi preliminar de composites basats en NFU i PEAD s'han estudiat tres mètodes diferents per millorar l'adhesió entre aquests dos materials. El primer mètode consisteix en oxidar la superfície de les partícules de NFU granulat amb tractament basats en àcids, amb l'objectiu de proporcionar rugositat per a un anclatge mecànic. En el segon mètode s'han emprat additius humectants i ceres, ja que aquestes substàncies redueixen la tensió interfacial entre les partícules de NFU i la matriu de PEAD. En l'últim mètode, es va estudiar la influència de l'Etilè Propilè Diè Monòmer (EPDM). Amb aquest mètode, les partícules de NFU són embolcallades per l'EPDM, aquest efecte pot ser millorat amb l'ús de peròxids. Les propietats dels "composites" són bastant diferents en funció del mètode emprat. Després d'una comparació dels "composites" obtinguts pels tres mètodes, s'ha trobat que el que conté 30% d'EPDM i dos peròxids, corresponent a la formulació:: 30% NFU + 40% PEAD + 30% EPDM + 0.5% Trigonox 311 + 0.1% Peròxid de Dicumil compleix els objectius fixats en la tesis: bona adhesió entre les partícules de NFU i el PEAD on l'elevat valor d'elongació n'és una conseqüència directa, la seva obtenció mitjançant un procés de compatibilització de cost reduït, un nou material amb una elevada quantitat de NFU (30%), la seva facilitat de transformació,, i el més important, una nova via de reciclatge dels NFU per a una aplicació d'alt valor afegit. ; Cars, trucks, tractors, airplanes. all need tyres as essential component to work. Unfortunately, due to its continuous use, tyres suffer from wear and have a limited lifetime; therefore, they must be changed every certain time becoming end of life tyres (EOL tyres). Paradoxically tyres are formulated to withstand difficult conditions and among other raw materials, they contain vulcanizated rubbers, high amount of stabilizers and other additives that turn tyres into non biodegradable material. Until 2006, disposal of EOL tyres in landfills was a common practice but it was banned by the European Community (directive 1993/31/EC). This European legislation together with an increasing environmental consciousness has instigated researchers to find applications for 3.4million tonnes of used tyres generated per year in Europe. Some extended uses for EOL tyres are energy recover and civil applications but the use of tyres after separation and grinding processes (material know as Ground Tyre Rubber - GTR), has increased during the last decade. Physical and chemical properties of EOL tyres make them an interesting material for the international research community focused today on finding new ways to recycle tyres for value added applications. A good option to recycle big volumes of discarded tyres is using GTR particles as filler in thermoplastic matrixes, although this is a difficult task due to the low compatibility between the two materials. The surface characteristics of the GTR particles are responsible of this low compatibility. Despite these facts, the particle size obtained from standard industrial grinding processes is between 400 and 600μm. These particles are too large to be entrapped easily in polymeric matrixes. These characteristics in conjunction with the fact that GTR is made of highly crosslinked rubber with difficulties to react chemically to other materials, make GTR a material very difficult to work with. The present thesis deals with the study of different compatibilization methods for an injection moulding grade of High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) and GTR obtained from standard industrial grinding process. The HDPE resin was chosen due to its wide range of injection moulding applications. The aim is to explore different methods to mix these two materials and obtain optimum mechanical, thermal and morphological properties for injection moulding applications. The composites are optimized to obtain the highest GTR amount, adequate processability and minimum cost. After a preliminary study of the composites based on GTR and HDPE, three different methods to improve the adhesion between these two materials are studied. The first method consists in an oxidizing treatment on GTR particles surface in order to promote mechanical anchoring. In the second method the influence of wetting additives and waxes is studied. These substances reduce interfacial tension between GTR particles and HDPE matrix. The third and last method, study the influence of Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer (EPDM) addition with and without peroxides. In this method, GTR particles are encapsulated by EPDM and this effect can be boosted by the use of peroxides. The composites properties are quite different depending on the used method. After a comparison of the composites obtained by the three different compatibilization methods, it is found that the one with 30% of EPDM plus two peroxides, corresponding to 30% GTR + 40% HDPE + 30% EPDM + 0.5% Trigonox 311 + 0.1% Dicumyl Peroxide fulfil the objectives of the thesis. This composite has good adhesion between GTR and HDPE that results in high elongation, it is obtained by a cheap compatibilization process and contains a high amount of recycled tyres (30%), it is easy to process, and the most important thing, it represents a new route to recycle scrap tyres for a value added application. ; Postprint (published version)

Cotxes, camions, tractors, avions. tots necessiten els neumàtics com a component imprescindible per al seu funcionament. Malauradament, degut al desgast per ús, els neumàtics tenen una vida útil limitada que obliga a renovar-los cada cert temps passant a ser Neumàtics Fora d'Ús (NFU). Paradògicament, els neumàtics són formulats per a suportar condicions extremes d'ús i, entre d'altres matèries primeres contenen cautxú vulcanitzat, una elevada quantitat d'estabilitzants i d'altres additius que fan dels neumàtics un material no biodegradable. Fins al 2006, era possible desar els NFU en abocadors però aquesta pràctica va ser prohibida per la Comunitat Europea (directiva 1993/31/EC). Aquesta directiva conjuntament amb la creixent consciència mediambiental ha potenciat la investigació per a trobar noves aplicacions per les 3.4milions de tones de NFU que es generen a l'any a Europa. Els NFU són emprats com a font d'energia o en aplicacions civils, però cada vegada més, són emprats en autopistes o per usos decoratius després de patir un procés de separació i trituració (NFU triturat). Les propietats físico-químiques dels NFU en fan un material molt interessant per la comunitat científica internacional que es centra en buscar noves vies de reciclatge mitjançant aplicacions d'alt valor afegit. Una opció per reciclar grans volums de NFU és utilitzar-los granulats com a càrrega en matrius termoplàstiques, encara que aquesta és una tasca difícil degut a la baixa compatibilitat entre aquests dos materials. Les seves característiques superficials són les responsables d'aquesta baixa compatibilitat. Cal afegir també que el tamany de les partícules de NFU obtingudes a partir de processos industrials és entre 400 and 600μm, sent aquest un tamany massa gran per poder ser fàcilment embolcallades per qualsevol matriu. D'altra banda, el cautxú dels neumàtics és troba altament vulcanitzat i, per tant, aquest reaccionarà químicament amb dificultats amb d'altres materials. Totes aquestes propietats fan dels NFU un material difícil de treballar-hi. La present tesis estudia diferents mètodes de compatibilització d'un Polietilè D'alta Densitat (PEAD) de grau d'injecció i NFU triturat obtingut a partir de processos estàndards de molturació. La resina de PEAD va ser escollit com a matriu degut al seu ampli rang d'aplicacions d'injecció. L'objectiu principal és explorar diferents mètodes de compatibilització d'aquests dos materials per obtenir òptimes propietats mecàniques, tèrmiques i morfològiques en aplicacions d'injecció. Els composites són optimitzats per a que continguin la màxima quantitat de NFU, una adequada transformació i el mínim cost. Després d'un estudi preliminar de composites basats en NFU i PEAD s'han estudiat tres mètodes diferents per millorar l'adhesió entre aquests dos materials. El primer mètode consisteix en oxidar la superfície de les partícules de NFU granulat amb tractament basats en àcids, amb l'objectiu de proporcionar rugositat per a un anclatge mecànic. En el segon mètode s'han emprat additius humectants i ceres, ja que aquestes substàncies redueixen la tensió interfacial entre les partícules de NFU i la matriu de PEAD. En l'últim mètode, es va estudiar la influència de l'Etilè Propilè Diè Monòmer (EPDM). Amb aquest mètode, les partícules de NFU són embolcallades per l'EPDM, aquest efecte pot ser millorat amb l'ús de peròxids. Les propietats dels "composites" són bastant diferents en funció del mètode emprat. Després d'una comparació dels "composites" obtinguts pels tres mètodes, s'ha trobat que el que conté 30% d'EPDM i dos peròxids, corresponent a la formulació:: 30% NFU + 40% PEAD + 30% EPDM + 0.5% Trigonox 311 + 0.1% Peròxid de Dicumil compleix els objectius fixats en la tesis: bona adhesió entre les partícules de NFU i el PEAD on l'elevat valor d'elongació n'és una conseqüència directa, la seva obtenció mitjançant un procés de compatibilització de cost reduït, un nou material amb una elevada quantitat de NFU (30%), la seva facilitat de transformació,, i el més important, una nova via de reciclatge dels NFU per a una aplicació d'alt valor afegit. ; Cars, trucks, tractors, airplanes. all need tyres as essential component to work. Unfortunately, due to its continuous use, tyres suffer from wear and have a limited lifetime; therefore, they must be changed every certain time becoming end of life tyres (EOL tyres). Paradoxically tyres are formulated to withstand difficult conditions and among other raw materials, they contain vulcanizated rubbers, high amount of stabilizers and other additives that turn tyres into non biodegradable material. Until 2006, disposal of EOL tyres in landfills was a common practice but it was banned by the European Community (directive 1993/31/EC). This European legislation together with an increasing environmental consciousness has instigated researchers to find applications for 3.4million tonnes of used tyres generated per year in Europe. Some extended uses for EOL tyres are energy recover and civil applications but the use of tyres after separation and grinding processes (material know as Ground Tyre Rubber - GTR), has increased during the last decade. Physical and chemical properties of EOL tyres make them an interesting material for the international research community focused today on finding new ways to recycle tyres for value added applications. A good option to recycle big volumes of discarded tyres is using GTR particles as filler in thermoplastic matrixes, although this is a difficult task due to the low compatibility between the two materials. The surface characteristics of the GTR particles are responsible of this low compatibility. Despite these facts, the particle size obtained from standard industrial grinding processes is between 400 and 600μm. These particles are too large to be entrapped easily in polymeric matrixes. These characteristics in conjunction with the fact that GTR is made of highly crosslinked rubber with difficulties to react chemically to other materials, make GTR a material very difficult to work with. The present thesis deals with the study of different compatibilization methods for an injection moulding grade of High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) and GTR obtained from standard industrial grinding process. The HDPE resin was chosen due to its wide range of injection moulding applications. The aim is to explore different methods to mix these two materials and obtain optimum mechanical, thermal and morphological properties for injection moulding applications. The composites are optimized to obtain the highest GTR amount, adequate processability and minimum cost. After a preliminary study of the composites based on GTR and HDPE, three different methods to improve the adhesion between these two materials are studied. The first method consists in an oxidizing treatment on GTR particles surface in order to promote mechanical anchoring. In the second method the influence of wetting additives and waxes is studied. These substances reduce interfacial tension between GTR particles and HDPE matrix. The third and last method, study the influence of Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer (EPDM) addition with and without peroxides. In this method, GTR particles are encapsulated by EPDM and this effect can be boosted by the use of peroxides. The composites properties are quite different depending on the used method. After a comparison of the composites obtained by the three different compatibilization methods, it is found that the one with 30% of EPDM plus two peroxides, corresponding to 30% GTR + 40% HDPE + 30% EPDM + 0.5% Trigonox 311 + 0.1% Dicumyl Peroxide fulfil the objectives of the thesis. This composite has good adhesion between GTR and HDPE that results in high elongation, it is obtained by a cheap compatibilization process and contains a high amount of recycled tyres (30%), it is easy to process, and the most important thing, it represents a new route to recycle scrap tyres for a value added application. ; Postprint (published version)

Der vorliegende Beitrag führt in die Thematik ein und erörtert zunächst 10 Gründe für die Psychotherapie in Österreich (z.B. gesundheits- und versorgungspolitische, berufsethische, Konsumentenrechte; Sicherung von Ausbildungsstandards etc.), sich in Hinkunft intensiver mit dem Thema der Qualität und Qualitätssicherung auseinanderzusetzen. Daran anschließend werden Aspekte der Ausbildungs- und der Behandlungsqualität im ambulanten Sektor und deren Sicherstellung erörtert. Die Ausbildung ist ein besonders qualitätsrelevanter Sektor der Psychotherapie. Eine Integration von Qualitätskonzepten hätte wichtige Konsequenzen für ihn (z.B. stärkere Ziel- und Kompetenzorientierung, Überprüfung der Zielerreichung, Einführung von Qualitätszirkeln für Ausbildner zur Verbesserung der Qualität der Ausbildung).Für niedergelassene Psychotherapeuten sind sowohl Aspekte der Struktur- (z.B. Praxisausstattung; eigene Kompetenzentwicklung), vor allem aber der Prozeß-(kontrollierte Gestaltung des therapeutischen Prozesses und des Einsatzes psychotherapeutischer Strategien und Methoden; Dokumentation) und Ergebnisqualität (regelmäßige Kontrolle des Fortschrittes und der Ergebnisse einer Therapie) relevant. Für die weitere Entwicklung sollten die einzelnen Schulen Standards der Behandlungsqualität entwickeln, parallel dazu wären systematische Programme zur Qualitätssicherung einzuführen; Einzelpraktiker sollten sich zu Qualitätszirkeln zusammenschließen, um dort systematisch an der Entwicklung und Verbesserung ihrer Behandlungsqualität zu arbeiten. Praxisbezogene Forschung ist ein integraler Bestandteil des Qualitätssicherungsprozesses in Ausbildung und Praxis.SchlüsselwörterQualität, Qualitätssicherung, Qualitätsmanagement, Psychotherapie, Gesundheitsversorgung. ; Introducing into the special issue on quality assurance of psychotherapy the present paper is divided into three parts. In the first one the main reasons for the necessity to integrate quality assurance into psychotherapy in Austria are discussed (professional standards of psychotherapy, consumer rights, the assurance of education and training in psychotherapy and the necessity to continually improve efficacy and practice in psychotherapy). The second part is dealing with quality assurance of education and training in psychotherapy. It is proposed that introducing conceptions of quality assurance would change psychotherapy-training very much. It should become more goal-oriented, more effective and more controlled. Additionally, it would be necessary to evaluate the courses and trainings continuously and to establish quality circles for the teaching staff to improve their quality.The main focus of part three is on structure-, process-and outcome-quality of ambulatory and outpatient-psychotherapy. The most important components of each of the three quality-conceptions are discussed (e.g. the necessity to continuosly evaluate the outcome of psychotherapy, and to rationally control the psychotherapeutic process and the application o/ psychotherapeutic strategies and methods). At the end of the paper it is concluded that away from now much work and many different steps are necessary to integrate quality assurance into psychotherapy in our country (establishing organizational structures, developing programs and methods, and conducting pilot projects). The psychotherapists by themselves however need not wait for such a long time; they actually should join to quality circles and so should try to improve the quality of their work. Empirical research will be a necessary and integrative component of all quality assurance-projects.KeywordsQuality, quality assurance, quality management, psychotherapy, health care. ; Le présent numéro thématique est le produit d'un projet visant à attribuer des priorités à la recherche en psychothérapie en Autriche, projet soutenu par le Ministère de la science, de la recherche et des affaires culturelles. Il s'agissait, dans son cadre, d'étudier le degré auquel des travaux de recherche dans les domaines de la garantie et de la gestion de qualité de la psychothérapie en Autriche peuvent être pratiqués. En vue de concrétiser cette tâche, nous avons organisé deux rencontres, au cours desquelles les quatre contributions publiées ci-dessous ont été présentées.Quant au présent article, il doit servir d'introduction. Nous cernons d'abord dix raisons pour lesquelles la psychothérapie autrichienne devra se préoccuper plus intensément à l'avenir du thème 'garantie de qualité'. Les principaux arguments en faveur de la mise en œuvre de structures visant à garantir la qualité des traitements psychothérapeutiques sont liés aux aspects suivants: politique de la santé publique (objectifs de santé de l'OMS), obligation au niveau de l'éthique professionnelle de fournir une offre adéquate en traitements garantis de bonne qualité, droits des consommateurs à recevoir des traitements correspondant aux derniers développements en la matière, garantie de la qualité de la formation et besoin d'évaluer les applications de routine de la psychothérapie. Garantir la qualité de la psychothérapie implique donc deux éléments: qualité de la formation et qualité du traitement. La seconde partie de l'article traite de quelques aspects pertinents à ce niveau, ainsi que de la manière dont ils peuvent être garantis et améliorés. La question de la qualité des traitements est examinée en fonction essentiellement des psychothérapies ambulatoires.Le secteur de la formation joue un rôle particulièrement important au niveau de la qualité, puisque c'est de la qualité de cette formation que dépendent les qualifications des futurs thérapeutes. Et pourtant, jusqu'à maintenant, on a trop peu examiné ce secteur sous l'angle de la qualité et de sa garantie. Des conséquences importantes au niveau de la formation résulteraient d'une intégration à ce secteur de concepts relatifs à la qualité, avec entre autres un travail mieux centré sur des objectifs et une recherche accrue des méthodes adéquates et efficaces permettant d'atteindre ces objectifs. On devrait aussi constamment vérifier que ces derniers ont été acquis aux différents niveaux (ceux des différentes étapes de la formation comme celui de l'ensemble de la formation). De plus, l'enseignement et la qualité de la formation s'amélioreraient à partir du moment où les formateurs seraient tenus au courant des résultats des évaluations et auraient l'occasion de débattre entre eux de la qualité de leur travail.Du point de vue de la qualité des traitements offerts par les psychothérapeutes ayant leur propre cabinet, ce sont certains aspects de la qualité des structures, mais surtout de celle des processus et des résultats, qui devraient avoir de l'importance. S'il est vrai que la qualité des structures est surtout I' affaire des administrations publiques et des responsables des assurances sociales, il reste qu'un aspect qualité structurelle se rattache aux psychothérapeutes individuels; il se manifeste au niveau des tâches et domaines suivants: collaboration à une gestion optimale de l'offre, standards concernant l'aménagement et l'équipement des cabinets (par ex., appareils, informations, littérature); responsabilité de chaque thérapeute pour un haut standard de qualification professionnelle et pour son amélioration continue; application de méthodes dont les effets sont connus.Dans le cadre de la qualité des processus le psychothérapeute a pour mission et pour devoir d'élaborer un plan de traitement mûrement réfléchi, incluant également des mesures alternatives et complémentaires, et de contrôler le déroulement du processus thérapeutique. Les méthodes et stratégies psychothérapeutiques doivent être appliquées de manière adéquate, en fonction de critères rationnels et selon les règles de l'art. L'élaboration régulière de rapports sur le déroulement du traitement constitue un moyen particulièrement utile de contrôle et de vérification, parallèlement à la supervision et à l'Intervision, ainsi qu'à la collaboration à des groupes s'intéressant spécifiquement à l'axe qualité.Concernant la qualité des résultats le/la psychothérapeute doit évaluer à intervalles réguliers l'avancement de la thérapie et son évolution; il/elle doit noter les résultats de cette évaluation. 11 s'agit également de rechercher les causes des évolutions négatives ou problématiques et d'appliquer des mesures d'intervention adéquates, permettant d'obtenir une amélioration ou de résoudre les problèmes.L'aspect garantie de qualité constitue un secteur relativement neuf de la psychothérapie. Pourtant, de nombreuses raisons existent de l'intégrer à la profession, en Autriche en particulier puisque ce pays dispose du cadre juridique requis. Cette démarche permet d'accomplir une étape importante vers une plus grande professionnalisation de la psychothérapie. A cette fin, il serait actuellement important de créer d'abord les conditions-cadres nécessaires au niveau logistique et conceptuel. Il faut demander aux associations professionnelles comme aux instances de l'Etat (université, ministère) de se charger de cette tâche. Il faudrait en outre que les différentes écoles formulent des standards et des directives concernant la qualité des traitements, ainsi que des programmes visant à garantir et à améliorer systématiquement la qualité. Lors d'étapes ultérieures, ces programmes pourraient être intégrés à l'offre sous forme de projets pilotes et leurs effets pourraient être évalués. Alors seulement il sera possible de mettre définitivement en œuvre des mesures visant à garantir la qualité sur le plan essentiellement interne (dans le secteur ambulatoire). La recherche scientifique doit être part intégrante de ce processus; sans elle, il n'est pas possible d'appliquer des modèles de qualité. 11 serait également important que les psychothérapeutes eux-mêmes deviennent mieux conscients du thème qualité de la psychothérapie et des problèmes y relatifs, et qu'ils commencent dès maintenant à élaborer des idées quant à la manière dont elle pourrait être garantie. Les thérapeutes travaillant dans leur propre cabinet pourraient organiser maintenant déjà des groupes intéressés, travaillant ainsi systématiquement à l'amélioration de leurs standards de traitement et intervenant, le cas échéant, pour que leur qualité s'améliore. ; unknown ; publishedVersion

Der vorliegende Beitrag führt in die Thematik ein und erörtert zunächst 10 Gründe für die Psychotherapie in Österreich (z.B. gesundheits- und versorgungspolitische, berufsethische, Konsumentenrechte; Sicherung von Ausbildungsstandards etc.), sich in Hinkunft intensiver mit dem Thema der Qualität und Qualitätssicherung auseinanderzusetzen. Daran anschließend werden Aspekte der Ausbildungs- und der Behandlungsqualität im ambulanten Sektor und deren Sicherstellung erörtert. Die Ausbildung ist ein besonders qualitätsrelevanter Sektor der Psychotherapie. Eine Integration von Qualitätskonzepten hätte wichtige Konsequenzen für ihn (z.B. stärkere Ziel- und Kompetenzorientierung, Überprüfung der Zielerreichung, Einführung von Qualitätszirkeln für Ausbildner zur Verbesserung der Qualität der Ausbildung).Für niedergelassene Psychotherapeuten sind sowohl Aspekte der Struktur- (z.B. Praxisausstattung; eigene Kompetenzentwicklung), vor allem aber der Prozeß-(kontrollierte Gestaltung des therapeutischen Prozesses und des Einsatzes psychotherapeutischer Strategien und Methoden; Dokumentation) und Ergebnisqualität (regelmäßige Kontrolle des Fortschrittes und der Ergebnisse einer Therapie) relevant. Für die weitere Entwicklung sollten die einzelnen Schulen Standards der Behandlungsqualität entwickeln, parallel dazu wären systematische Programme zur Qualitätssicherung einzuführen; Einzelpraktiker sollten sich zu Qualitätszirkeln zusammenschließen, um dort systematisch an der Entwicklung und Verbesserung ihrer Behandlungsqualität zu arbeiten. Praxisbezogene Forschung ist ein integraler Bestandteil des Qualitätssicherungsprozesses in Ausbildung und Praxis.SchlüsselwörterQualität, Qualitätssicherung, Qualitätsmanagement, Psychotherapie, Gesundheitsversorgung. ; Introducing into the special issue on quality assurance of psychotherapy the present paper is divided into three parts. In the first one the main reasons for the necessity to integrate quality assurance into psychotherapy in Austria are discussed (professional standards of psychotherapy, consumer rights, the assurance of education and training in psychotherapy and the necessity to continually improve efficacy and practice in psychotherapy). The second part is dealing with quality assurance of education and training in psychotherapy. It is proposed that introducing conceptions of quality assurance would change psychotherapy-training very much. It should become more goal-oriented, more effective and more controlled. Additionally, it would be necessary to evaluate the courses and trainings continuously and to establish quality circles for the teaching staff to improve their quality.The main focus of part three is on structure-, process-and outcome-quality of ambulatory and outpatient-psychotherapy. The most important components of each of the three quality-conceptions are discussed (e.g. the necessity to continuosly evaluate the outcome of psychotherapy, and to rationally control the psychotherapeutic process and the application o/ psychotherapeutic strategies and methods). At the end of the paper it is concluded that away from now much work and many different steps are necessary to integrate quality assurance into psychotherapy in our country (establishing organizational structures, developing programs and methods, and conducting pilot projects). The psychotherapists by themselves however need not wait for such a long time; they actually should join to quality circles and so should try to improve the quality of their work. Empirical research will be a necessary and integrative component of all quality assurance-projects.KeywordsQuality, quality assurance, quality management, psychotherapy, health care. ; Le présent numéro thématique est le produit d'un projet visant à attribuer des priorités à la recherche en psychothérapie en Autriche, projet soutenu par le Ministère de la science, de la recherche et des affaires culturelles. Il s'agissait, dans son cadre, d'étudier le degré auquel des travaux de recherche dans les domaines de la garantie et de la gestion de qualité de la psychothérapie en Autriche peuvent être pratiqués. En vue de concrétiser cette tâche, nous avons organisé deux rencontres, au cours desquelles les quatre contributions publiées ci-dessous ont été présentées.Quant au présent article, il doit servir d'introduction. Nous cernons d'abord dix raisons pour lesquelles la psychothérapie autrichienne devra se préoccuper plus intensément à l'avenir du thème 'garantie de qualité'. Les principaux arguments en faveur de la mise en œuvre de structures visant à garantir la qualité des traitements psychothérapeutiques sont liés aux aspects suivants: politique de la santé publique (objectifs de santé de l'OMS), obligation au niveau de l'éthique professionnelle de fournir une offre adéquate en traitements garantis de bonne qualité, droits des consommateurs à recevoir des traitements correspondant aux derniers développements en la matière, garantie de la qualité de la formation et besoin d'évaluer les applications de routine de la psychothérapie. Garantir la qualité de la psychothérapie implique donc deux éléments: qualité de la formation et qualité du traitement. La seconde partie de l'article traite de quelques aspects pertinents à ce niveau, ainsi que de la manière dont ils peuvent être garantis et améliorés. La question de la qualité des traitements est examinée en fonction essentiellement des psychothérapies ambulatoires.Le secteur de la formation joue un rôle particulièrement important au niveau de la qualité, puisque c'est de la qualité de cette formation que dépendent les qualifications des futurs thérapeutes. Et pourtant, jusqu'à maintenant, on a trop peu examiné ce secteur sous l'angle de la qualité et de sa garantie. Des conséquences importantes au niveau de la formation résulteraient d'une intégration à ce secteur de concepts relatifs à la qualité, avec entre autres un travail mieux centré sur des objectifs et une recherche accrue des méthodes adéquates et efficaces permettant d'atteindre ces objectifs. On devrait aussi constamment vérifier que ces derniers ont été acquis aux différents niveaux (ceux des différentes étapes de la formation comme celui de l'ensemble de la formation). De plus, l'enseignement et la qualité de la formation s'amélioreraient à partir du moment où les formateurs seraient tenus au courant des résultats des évaluations et auraient l'occasion de débattre entre eux de la qualité de leur travail.Du point de vue de la qualité des traitements offerts par les psychothérapeutes ayant leur propre cabinet, ce sont certains aspects de la qualité des structures, mais surtout de celle des processus et des résultats, qui devraient avoir de l'importance. S'il est vrai que la qualité des structures est surtout I' affaire des administrations publiques et des responsables des assurances sociales, il reste qu'un aspect qualité structurelle se rattache aux psychothérapeutes individuels; il se manifeste au niveau des tâches et domaines suivants: collaboration à une gestion optimale de l'offre, standards concernant l'aménagement et l'équipement des cabinets (par ex., appareils, informations, littérature); responsabilité de chaque thérapeute pour un haut standard de qualification professionnelle et pour son amélioration continue; application de méthodes dont les effets sont connus.Dans le cadre de la qualité des processus le psychothérapeute a pour mission et pour devoir d'élaborer un plan de traitement mûrement réfléchi, incluant également des mesures alternatives et complémentaires, et de contrôler le déroulement du processus thérapeutique. Les méthodes et stratégies psychothérapeutiques doivent être appliquées de manière adéquate, en fonction de critères rationnels et selon les règles de l'art. L'élaboration régulière de rapports sur le déroulement du traitement constitue un moyen particulièrement utile de contrôle et de vérification, parallèlement à la supervision et à l'Intervision, ainsi qu'à la collaboration à des groupes s'intéressant spécifiquement à l'axe qualité.Concernant la qualité des résultats le/la psychothérapeute doit évaluer à intervalles réguliers l'avancement de la thérapie et son évolution; il/elle doit noter les résultats de cette évaluation. 11 s'agit également de rechercher les causes des évolutions négatives ou problématiques et d'appliquer des mesures d'intervention adéquates, permettant d'obtenir une amélioration ou de résoudre les problèmes.L'aspect garantie de qualité constitue un secteur relativement neuf de la psychothérapie. Pourtant, de nombreuses raisons existent de l'intégrer à la profession, en Autriche en particulier puisque ce pays dispose du cadre juridique requis. Cette démarche permet d'accomplir une étape importante vers une plus grande professionnalisation de la psychothérapie. A cette fin, il serait actuellement important de créer d'abord les conditions-cadres nécessaires au niveau logistique et conceptuel. Il faut demander aux associations professionnelles comme aux instances de l'Etat (université, ministère) de se charger de cette tâche. Il faudrait en outre que les différentes écoles formulent des standards et des directives concernant la qualité des traitements, ainsi que des programmes visant à garantir et à améliorer systématiquement la qualité. Lors d'étapes ultérieures, ces programmes pourraient être intégrés à l'offre sous forme de projets pilotes et leurs effets pourraient être évalués. Alors seulement il sera possible de mettre définitivement en œuvre des mesures visant à garantir la qualité sur le plan essentiellement interne (dans le secteur ambulatoire). La recherche scientifique doit être part intégrante de ce processus; sans elle, il n'est pas possible d'appliquer des modèles de qualité. 11 serait également important que les psychothérapeutes eux-mêmes deviennent mieux conscients du thème qualité de la psychothérapie et des problèmes y relatifs, et qu'ils commencent dès maintenant à élaborer des idées quant à la manière dont elle pourrait être garantie. Les thérapeutes travaillant dans leur propre cabinet pourraient organiser maintenant déjà des groupes intéressés, travaillant ainsi systématiquement à l'amélioration de leurs standards de traitement et intervenant, le cas échéant, pour que leur qualité s'améliore.

A relação entre água, energia e alimento é um tema que tem recebido atenção no meio acadêmico. Diante da escassez dos recursos naturais, da degradação que tem ocorrido não somente no Brasil, mas no mundo todo, os recursos naturais têm sérios riscos de esgotarem. E há que se pensar em uma gestão que possibilite a recuperação do meio ambiente de forma eficiente e sustentável. Compreendendo que o debate de nexo envolve um conjunto de inter-relações entre os recursos naturais utilizados como insumo para os serviços básicos da vida humana, neste sentido, a presente pesquisa objetivou analisar se há possibilidade de integrar a floresta ao nexo água-energia-alimentos, com vistas a não comprometer as demandas futuras e como isso pode contribuir para alcançar os Objetivos de Desenvolvimento Sustentável (ODS). Os objetivos específicos são identificar a interligação entre água, energia, alimento e floresta; apontar a necessidade de integrar a floresta ao nexo tradicional visando alcançar um desenvolvimento mais sustentável e controlar, prevenir as consequências dos impactos ambientais. A metodologia da revisão literária ocorreu com o levantamento por termos previamente identificados nas bases de dados Scopus, Web of Science e Periódico Capes, sendo a pesquisa classificada com abordagem qualitativa e método dedutivo. Os resultados apontaram que a floresta possui relação direta com os elementos água-energia-alimentos, sendo possível contribuir com as seguranças hídrica, energética e alimentar. Concluiu-se que vincular as florestas ao nexo existente, proporcionará uma maior preocupação para garantir a sustentabilidade e o equilíbrio ambiental.

Referências

ALROY, John. Efeitos da perturbação do habitat na biodiversidade da floresta tropical. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, v. 114, n. 23, pág. 6056-6061, 2017.
ARRIAGADA, Rodrigo et al. Analysing the impacts of PES programmes beyond economic rationale: Perceptions of ecosystem services provision associated to the Mexican case. Ecosystem Services, v. 29, p. 116-127, 2018.
ARIAS, Mauricio E. et al. Paying the forest for electricity: a modelling framework to market forest conservation as payment for ecosystem services benefiting hydropower generation. Environmental Conservation, v. 38, n. 4, p. 473-484, 2011.
BARDAZZI, Elisa; BOSELLO, Francesco. Critical Reflections on Water-Energy-Food Nexus in Computable General Equilibrium Models: A Systematic Literature Review. Environmental Modelling & Software, p. 105201, 2021.
BELLFIELD, Helen. Water, energy and food security nexus in Latin America and the Caribbean. Global Canopy Programme, 2015.
BIGGS, E. et al. Sustainable development and the water–energy–food nexus: A perspective on livelihoods. Environmental Science & Policy 54: 389-397, 2015.
BIZIKOVA, Livia et al. The water-energy-food security nexus: Towards a practical planning and decision-support framework for landscape investment and risk management. Winnipeg: International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2013.
BRASIL. Ministério do Meio Ambiente. Fortalecimento comunitário em unidade de conservação: desafios, avanços e lições aprendidas no Programa Áreas Protegidas da Amazônia (ARPA). [recurso eletrônico]. Ministério do Meio Ambiente, Secretaria de Biodiversidade, Programa Áreas Protegidas da Amazônia. – Brasília, DF: MMA, 2018.
CADORE, Jéssica Stefanello; TOCHETTO, Márcio. Recursos Hídricos: Panorama Geral do Setor e Perspectivas ao Atendimento da Agenda 2030. Revista Brasileira de Meio Ambiente, v. 9, n. 3, 2021.
CONSTANT, Natasha Louise; TAYLOR, Peter John. Restoring the forest revives our culture: Ecosystem services and values for ecological restoration across the rural-urban nexus in South Africa. Forest Policy and Economics, v. 118, p. 102222, 2020.
CHANG, Y. et al. Quantifying the water-energy-food nexo: situação atual e tendências. Energias 9 (2), 65. 2016.
CHAZDON, Robin L. et al. When is a forest a forest? Forest concepts and definitions in the era of forest and landscape restoration. Ambio, v. 45, n. 5, p. 538-550, 2016.
DEFRIES, Ruth; NAGENDRA, Harini. Ecosystem management as a wicked problem. Science, v. 356, n. 6335, p. 265-270, 2017.
DIAS, R. et al. Utilização de ferramentas livres para gestão do nexo água e energia. Desenvolvimento e Meio Ambiente. Vol. 30:109-126, 2014.
DÍAZ, Sandra et al. Pervasive human-driven decline of life on Earth points to the need for transformative change. Science, v. 366, n. 6471, 2019.
ELLISON, D.; MORRIS, C. E.; LOCATELLI, B.; et al. Trees, forests and water: Cool insights for a hot world. Global Environmental Change, v. 43, p. 51-61, 2017.
FAO. Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations. Global Forest Resources Assessment 2015: How are the World's Forests Changing? 2015
FAO. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Agricultura Irrigada Sustentável no Brasil: Identificação de Áreas Prioritárias. Brasília, 2017.
FEARNSIDE, Philip M. Desmatamento na Amazônia: dinâmica, impactos e controle. Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia - INPA. Coordenação de Pesquisas em Ecologia-CPEC. Acta Amazônica, VOL. 36(3) 2006: 395 – 400. 2006.
FEARNSIDE, Philip Martin. O próximo coronavírus virá da Amazônia? Desmatamento e o risco de doenças infecciosas. Amazônia Real. 2020.
FERROUKHI, R. et al. Renewable Energy in the Water, Energy & Food Nexus. IRENA. 2015.
FONSECA, A. et al. Boletim do desmatamento da Amazônia Legal (maio 2021) SAD. Belém: Imazon. 2021.
GIATTI, L.L. et al. O nexo água, energia e alimentos aplicados no contexto da Metrópole Paulista. Estudos Avançados. 30/88: 43-61, 2016.
GOMBEER, Sophie et al. Exploring the bushmeat market in Brussels, Belgium: a clandestine luxury business. Biodiversity and Conservation, v. 30, n. 1, p. 55-66, 2021.
HANSEL, Cláudia Maria; RUSCHEINSKY, Aloísio. Riscos socioambientais e precaução: direitos humanos face a face do consumo. Cidadania, meio ambiente e sustentabilidade [recurso eletrônico] Marcia Maria Dosciatti de Oliveira et al (org.). Caxias do Sul, RS: Educs, 2017.
HOFF, H. Understanding the Nexus. Background Paper for the Bonn 2011 Conference: The Water, Energy and Food Security Nexus. Stockholm Environment Institute, Stockholm. 2011.
LECK, H. et al. Tracing the Water–Energy–Food Nexus: Description, Theory and Practice. Geography Compass, 9/8, p. 445–460, 2015.
LIU, J. et al. Nexus approaches to global sustainable development. Nature Sustainability, v. 1, p. 466-76, 2018.
KOBIYAMA, M. Ruralização na gestão de recursos hídricos em área urbana. Revista OESP Construção, São Paulo: Estado de São Paulo, Ano 5, n. 32, p.112-117, 2000.
MACHEL, J. et al. The water energy food nexus – challenges and emerging solutions. Environmental Science Water Research & Technology 1: 15-16, 2015
MARIANI, L. et al. Análise de oportunidades e desafios para o Nexo Água-Energia. Desenvolvimento e Meio Ambiente 37: 9-30, 2016.
MELO, F. P. L., ARROYO-RODRÍGUEZ, V., FAHRIG, L., MARTÍNEZ-RAMOS, M. & TABARELLI, M. On the hope for biodiversity-friendly tropical landscapes. Trends Ecol. Evol. 28, 462–468 (2013).
MILANEZ, Artur Yabe et al. Biogás de resíduos agroindustriais: panorama e perspectivas. 2018.
MOHTAR, R. H.; DAHER, B. Water, energy, and food: The ultimate nexus. Encyclopedia of agricultural, food, and biological engineering. CRC Press, Taylor and Francis Group, 2012.
MOHTAR, Rabi H. Opportunities in the Water-Energy-Food Nexus Approach: Innovatively driving economic development, social wellbeing, and environmental sustainability. 2021.
MORAES, G. G. B. L; FERRAÇO, A. A. G. F. A Abordagem Científica-Instrumental do Nexus Water-Food-Energy como método para a construção de uma política ambiental integrada na gestão dos recursos hídricos. Revista Videre, Dourados, v.10, 19, p. 53-68, 2018.
MOUTINHO P, STELLA O, LIMA A et al. REDD no Brasil: um enfoque amazônico: fundamentos, critérios e estruturas institucionais para um regime nacional de Redução de Emissões por Desmatamento e Degradação florestal – REDD. 2011
NAÇÕES UNIDAS. Desenvolvimento da agricultura, segurança alimentar e nutrição, Relatório do Secretário Geral, Item 25. 71ª Sessão da Assembleia Geral da UN, Nova York. 2016.
PÄRN, J., VERHOEVEN, J.T.A., BUTTERBACH-BAHL, K. ET AL. Nitrogen-rich organic soils under warm well-drained conditions are global nitrous oxide emission hotspots. Nat Commun 9, 1135 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-03540-1
OLIVEIRA, Emerson Roberto de. Percepção e aprendizado de jovens sobre o nexo água-energia-alimentos: Estudo de caso em Caraguatatuba-SP. Dissertação apresentada à Faculdade de Engenharia do Campus de Guaratinguetá, Universidade Estadual Paulista. Guaratinguetá – SP. 2018.
OMER, A. et al. Water scarcity in the YellowRiver Basin under future climate change and human activities. Science of the Total Environment, v. 749, p. 1-13, 2020.
OZTURK, Ilhan. Sustainability in the food-energy-water nexus: Evidence from BRICS (Brazil, the Russian Federation, India, China, and South Africa) countries. Energy, v. 93, p. 999-1010, 2015.
PENDRILL, Florence et al. Deforestation displaced: trade in forest-risk commodities and the prospects for a global forest transition. Environmental Research Letters, v. 14, n. 5, p. 055003, 2019.
RINGLER, Claudia; BHADURI, Anik; LAWFORD, Richard. The nexus across water, energy, land and food (WELF): potential for improved resource use efficiency?. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, v. 5, n. 6, p. 617-624, 2013
RODRIGUES, C. J. M. O Nexo água-energia-alimento aplicados ao contexto da Amazônia Paraense. 2017. 92f. Dissertação (Mestrado) - Universidade Federal do Pará, Instituto de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Geografia, Belém, 2017.
SCOTT, Christopher A.; KURIAN, Mathew; WESCOAT, James L. The water-energy-food nexus: Enhancing adaptive capacity to complex global challenges. In: Governing the nexus. Springer, Cham, 2015. p. 15-38.
SALES FILHO, Pedro Cardoso et al. Relação entre a disponibilidade hídrica na bacia hidrográfica do Rio Irani, localizada no oeste de Santa Catarina, região Sul do Brasil e a cobertura vegetal das biomas Amazônia, Pantanal e Mata Atlântica. Metodologias e Aprendizado, v. 4, p. 112-118, 2021.
SILVA, Luiz Everson da Silva; ALBUQUERQUE, Ulysses Paulino de; AMARAL, Wanderlei do. Uso sustentável da biodiversidade e conservação de recursos naturais. Revista Brasileira de Desenvolvimento Territorial Sustentável. Guaju, Matinhos, v.3, n.1, p. 2-10, jan./jun. 2017.
SIMPSON, Gareth B.; JEWITT, Graham PW. The development of the water-energy-food nexus as a framework for achieving resource security: a review. Frontiers in Environmental Science, v. 7, p. 8, 2019.
SOUZA, Cintia Rodrigues de. Dinâmica de carbono em floresta explorada e em floresta nativa não explorada na Amazônia. 2012.
PARREIRA, Ivonete et al. IMPACTOS ANTRÓPICOS NO CLIMA. Agrarian Academy, v. 8, n. 15, 2021.
UNESCO - United Nations World Water Assessment Programme. The United Nations World Water Development Report 2014: Water and Energy, 2014. v. 1. Paris: UNESCO, 2014.
XU, X., SHARMA, P., SHU, S. et al. Global greenhouse gas emissions from animal-based foods are twice those of plant-based foods. Nat Food 2, 724–732, 2021.
VAN NOORDWIJK, Meine et al. Restoration of land based on nature centered on people through agroforestry systems: a typology. Land, v. 9, n. 8, p. 251, 2020.
Zhang P, Zhou Y, Xie Y, Wang Y, Li B, Li B, Jia Q, Yang Z, Cai Y. Assessment of the water-energy-food nexus under spatial and social complexities: A case study of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao. J Environ Manage. 2021

La presencia y distribución de contaminantes emergentes en compartimentos ambientales ha sido abordada intensamente en la literatura científica de los últimos años. Los avances en las técnicas y métodos analíticos empleados, el conocimiento de los rangos de concentración de algunos compuestos en determinados escenarios y sus potenciales efectos ecotoxicológicos, entre otros, han sido objeto de un interesante debate científico que ha trascendido a otros ámbitos como el de la legislación ambiental. La mayoría de estos estudios se han centrado en los compuestos tal y como son utilizados en el ámbito doméstico, industrial o agropecuario, pero aún siguen siendo muy escasos los dedicados a los productos de degradación o metabolitos ("los emergentes de los emergentes") en los que los compuestos originales en sus diferentes vías de introducción en el medio ambiente son transformados. De acuerdo con estos antecedentes, el objetivo global planteado en la presente tesis doctoral ha sido doble. Por un lado, el desarrollo de nuevos métodos analíticos, fiables y accesibles, para la determinación conjunta de contaminantes emergentes y metabolitos representativos en diferentes matrices ambientales atendiendo a las carencias advertidas en la literatura científica. Por otro lado, la aplicación de esos métodos, optimizados y validados, en la resolución de casos específicos de interés medioambiental. La tesis se ha estructurado en 5 capítulos. El capítulo 1, antecedentes, incluye una extensa revisión crítica del estado del arte sobre metabolitos de contaminantes emergentes en el medio ambiente. En él se abordan los mecanismos de metabolización de principios activos farmacéuticos y de productos de cuidado personal, las vías de entrada de estos compuestos y sus productos de degradación en el medio ambiente y los potenciales riesgos asociados, y las técnicas de tratamiento y determinación más empleadas en el análisis de estas sustancias en diferentes matrices, finalizando con un apartado sobre perspectivas futuras en este área de estudio. El capítulo 3 está formado por un compendio de 5 artículos científicos publicados, o en vías de publicación, en revistas de primer nivel internacional indexadas en el JCR (Journal Citation Reports). En estos trabajos se proponen nuevos métodos analíticos ad hoc para dar respuestas a las crecientes y recientes demandas, no sólo en el ámbito de la investigación, también en el de la legislación, en el campo de los contaminantes emergentes. Así, en el primer artículo se desarrolló un procedimiento para el análisis simultáneo de un conjunto de contaminantes emergentes propuestos para ser legislados en aguas superficiales, ante la ausencia de métodos de referencia o, en su defecto, lo suficientemente contrastados. Los artículos 2, 3 y 4, profundizan en los métodos y en las técnicas de preparación de diferentes tipos de matrices para la determinación conjunta de un grupo de compuestos representativos de principios activos farmacéuticos y productos de cuidado personal y sus productos de degradación (metabolitos, en este caso). Las propuestas se desarrollaron concretamente para muestras de aguas residuales urbanas y lodos de depuradora (principales fuentes de este tipo de contaminación) y para muestras de aguas superficiales, potables y suelos (principales primeros destinos de estos compuestos por las prácticas habituales de reutilización de aguas y lodos de depuración). Además de la optimización y validación pormenorizada de métodos completos, se realizó un análisis crítico de las propiedades analíticas principales y complementarias de diferentes técnicas para la extracción de los compuestos seleccionados en las matrices mencionadas. Por último, en el artículo 5 se aborda el desarrollo de un método aplicable a un eslabón más avanzado de la cadena de contaminación: la biota. Concretamente, se determinaron simultáneamente ibuprofeno y sus principales metabolitos en mejillones, también como antesala de unos primeros ensayos previstos de bioacumulación y toxicidad. El capítulo 4 está constituido por la reunión de 4 artículos científicos, asociado cada uno de ellos a una aplicación de interés medioambiental de los métodos anteriormente desarrollados. En el primer artículo de este capítulo (numerado como artículo 6), se realizó un seguimiento de los metabolitos y compuestos originales de principios activos farmacéuticos y productos de cuidado personal en las líneas de lodos de varias depuradoras de aguas residuales que empleaban distintas tecnologías. Ello permitió extraer información relevante acerca de la distribución de estos compuestos en relación con las fuentes y sobre su persistencia en el producto final de acuerdo con el tratamiento recibido. En el artículo 7 se estudió, mediante simulación en laboratorio de las condiciones reales, la dinámica de la carbamazepina y sus principales metabolitos en suelos que pueden contaminarse por estos compuestos a través del riego con aguas residuales depuradas o por la aplicación de lodos de depuradora como enmienda agrícola. Entre otros, se demostró la diferencia en los resultados de los ensayos de adsorción para los compuestos individuales y para el conjunto de los mismos, y la influencia de los distintos tipos de suelos ensayados en estos procesos. En el artículo 8 se evaluaron los procesos de degradación de todos los compuestos ya seleccionados en el primer artículo de este capítulo en tres suelos típicos mediterráneos, obteniéndose resultados muy interesantes acerca de la capacidad de adsorción de cada uno de los compuestos y de su persistencia o transformación; procesos todos dependientes de las propiedades físicoquímicas de las sustancias estudiadas y de las características de los suelos ensayados. Por último, en el artículo 9 se evaluó el comportamiento de arcillas modificadas como potencial tecnología de descontaminación para contaminantes emergentes en su formulación original y sus metabolitos; en concreto, se ensayó con la montmorillonita organofuncionalizada con octadecilamina como adsorbente de ibuprofeno y 3 de sus principales metabolitos. El capítulo 5 y último de la tesis recoge las principales conclusiones apuntadas de forma breve con anterioridad. ; The presence and distribution of emerging pollutants in environmental compartments has been intensively addressed in the scientific literature of recent years. The advances in the techniques and analytical methods used, the knowledge of the concentration ranges of some compounds in certain scenarios and their potential ecotoxicological effects, among other related topics, have been the subject of an interesting scientific debate that has transcended to other areas such as environmental legislation. Most of these studies are mainly based on the compounds just as they are used in the domestic, industrial or agricultural environment, but there are still very few studies devoted to degradation products or metabolites (the compounds ¨emerging¨ from emerging compounds) into which the original compounds are transformed in their different introduction routes into the environment. In accordance with these precedents, the global objective proposed in this PhD thesis has been twofold. On the one hand, the development of new, reliable and accessible analytical methods for the joint determination of emerging pollutants and representative metabolites in different environmental matrices, considering the shortcomings noted in the scientific literature. On the other hand, the application of these methods, optimized and validated, in the resolution of specific cases of environmental interest. The thesis has been structured in 5 chapters. Chapter 1, background, includes an extensive critical examination of the state-of-art in metabolites of emerging pollutants in the environment. It addresses the mechanisms of metabolization in pharmaceuticals and personal care products; the entry routes of these compounds and their degradation products into the environment and the potential associated risks, and the most widely used treatment and classification techniques in the analysis of these substances in different matrices, ending with a section on future perspectives in this study area. Chapter 2 describes the main and objectives of the research, as well as the work plan followed to achieve them, including the compounds and matrices selected for the study. Chapter 3 consists of a compendium of five scientific articles which either have been published or are in the process of being published, in leading international journals indexed in the JCR (Journal Citation Reports). In these articles, new ad hoc analytical methods are proposed to respond to recent growing demands, not only in the research but also in the legislative field, regarding emerging pollutants. Thus, in the first article, a procedure was developed for the simultaneous analysis of a set of emerging pollutants proposed to be legislated in surface waters, in the absence of reference methods or, failing that, sufficiently contrasted. Articles 2, 3 and 4 deepen into the methods and techniques for preparing different types of matrices for the joint determination of a group of representative compounds of pharmaceuticals and personal care products and their degradation products (metabolites, in this case). The proposals were developed specifically for samples of urban wastewater and sewage sludge (the main sources of this type of pollution) and for samples of surface water, drinking water and soils (the primary destinations of these compounds due to the common practice of reusing water and sewage sludge). In addition to the optimization and detailed validation of complete methods, a critical analysis of the main and complementary analytical properties of different techniques was carried out for the extraction of the selected compounds in the mentioned matrices. Finally, article 5 addresses the development of a method applicable to a more advanced step in the pollution chain: biota. Specifically, ibuprofen and its main metabolites were simultaneously determined in mussels, also as a prelude to planned bioaccumulation and toxicity tests. Chapter 4 is based on four scientific articles, being each of those associated with an environmental application of the methods previously developed. In the first article of this chapter (numbered as article 6), the metabolites and original compounds of pharmaceuticals and personal care products in the sludge originated in different step from various wastewater treatment plants using different technologies were monitored. That allowed to extract relevant information about the distribution of these compounds in relation to the sources and their persistence in the final product according to the treatment received. In article 7, the dynamics of carbamazepine and its main metabolites in soils that can be contaminated by these compounds through irrigation with treated wastewater or by the application of sewage sludge as organic amendment was studied by means of real conditions simulated in laboratory tests. Among others, the difference in the results of the adsorption tests of each individual compound and of them as a collective, and the influence of the different types of soil tested in these processes was demonstrated. In article 8, the degradation processes of all the compounds chosen in the first article of this chapter were evaluated in three typical Mediterranean soils, obtaining very interesting results about the adsorption capacity of each compound and about their persistence or transformation; processes which are all dependent on the physical-chemical properties of the substances being studied and the characteristics of the soils tested. Finally, in article 9, the behaviour of modified clays as a potential decontamination technology for emerging pollutants in their original formulation and their metabolites was evaluated; Specifically, organofunctionalized montmorillonite with octadecylamine was tested as an adsorbent for ibuprofen and 3 of its main metabolites. Chapter 5, the last chapter of the thesis, contains the most critical and important conclusions which were briefly pointed out previously.

COVID-19 pandemic has had a far-reaching impact along the agricultural value chains in Kenya. The Kenyan government placed drastic impact measures to flatten the curve of COVID-19 infections, which affected the value chain actors differently. To counter the economic mayhem caused by the pandemic, the usefulness of digital platforms has been amplified in agricultural value chains, especially in vegetables, root and tubers. It is not clear if, how and to what extent the existing digital platforms developed by several private companies or supported by donors have contributed and are still contributing to maintaining agri-food chains functional and securing the livelihoods of associated value chain actors in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMIC) countries during COVID 19 pandemic. It is on the foregoing that International Potato Center (CIP) implemented a study to understand the role of digital platforms in maintaining the value chains of vegetable, root and tuber crops functional in the face of COVID-19 pandemic in Kenya. Web-based portal, Android mobile App and Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) Short code services were the main digital platforms of focus. The study was built on case studies from Viazi Soko (NCPK) digital platform for farmers, Twiga food for traders and Soko Kijiji groceries digital platform for consumers. A participatory research methodology was used to integrate the desktop research, key informant/expert interviews, focus group discussion (FGD) and the surveys involving various value chain actors along the food value chain i.e., traders, transporters, consumers, and farmers. The study adopted mixed method approach with concurrent nested option. Both Quantitative and qualitative data were collected. Quantitative aspects of the study were collected using a structured questionnaire administered through face-to-face interviews to solicit primary information from 355 consumers, 100 traders and 370 farmers in the targeted sub-counties selected using multistage sampling technique. Quantitative data obtained was analyzed using Stata version 17 and SPSS version 28.0 to generate descriptive statistics. Propensity Score Matching was used to estimate the impact of the digital platforms on (i) the quantity of certified potato seeds used and (ii) the average weekly household expenditure on vegetables and fruits during the lockdown period. Structural equation model (SEM) was used to investigate (i) how producers' personality traits influence the usage of ViaziSoko for accessing quality farm Inputs and services and (ii) the role of entrepreneurial behavior in influencing use of digital platform in food purchase among consumers. For farmers, findings indicated that awareness and use of the digital platforms is still low. Approximately 32% of the interviewed farmers were aware of the digital platforms. Majority (86.55%) of those aware were medium and large-scale farmers. The use of apps through a mobile phone was the most preferred digital platform by roughly 91% of the farmers. The ease of accessing input information/services and awareness of digital application inspired the use of digital platforms. Farmers' attitude and proactiveness influenced perceived usefulness of the digital platforms. Despite being in existence even before the pandemic, most of the farmers started using digital platforms in response to the pandemic. Relatively, majority of farmers (32.05%) started using digital platforms to access quality seeds, while 12.82% started using them to access extension and advisory services on Good Advisory Practices (GAPs)as well as access to market/output information in response to the pandemic. The digital intervention contributed significantly to the increase in the frequency of use of digital platforms. The greatest increase in the frequency was observed in the services related to access to market/output information 3.85% (from 19.23% to 23.08%), extension and advisory services on GAPs 6.41% (from 16.67% to 23.08%) as well as pest and disease advisory services 6.41% (from 12.82% to 19.23%) respectively. The digital platform showed a gradual role in bridging the gap in terms of input access by farmers during the pandemic and approximately 95% of the interviewed farmers confirmed their intention to continue using the digital platforms (ViaziSoko) beyond the pandemic. For traders, the results revealed that most of them had procured their supplies over the mobile phone (91%) and through online platform (81%). On average, a single trader dealt in 16 different products. Vegetables was the most traded commodity across the three tie periods of analysis compared to roots and tubers. Fear or worry of getting infected with COVID-19 and liquidity constrain were the major threats affecting the business. Most of the traders procured their supplies from Nakuru before and during COVID-19 (77.97% and 88.52%). The increase in supplies during COVID-19 for Nakuru county resulted from Twiga foods supplies. Other traders procured their supplies from Nyandurua, Meru and Narok county. The quantity of vegetables and fruits sold to direct consumers, brokers/agents and sold to other outlets increased during COVID-19. Most traders (90.12%) started using online platform and 82.35% social media in response to the pandemic. Despite being the most adopted strategy in response to the pandemic, about 15% of traders are likely to cease or reduce the use of mobile phones to procure their supplies. This could be attributed to the high transaction costs involved in making payments for the supplies. Further, based on the perishability nature of agricultural products, traders would wish to physically see and choose products before making payments. Major sales and distribution strategies used in response to the pandemic are sales and distribution through social media (54.55%) and online platform (66.67%). Majority of traders (86%) reported to have made payments and financing electronically followed by advancing products as in-kind/trade creditors (73%) and lending cash to business partners (72%). Change in business working hours to avoid curfew and travel restrictions (90%) as well as the use of own savings to support business operation (86%) were the major business adaptation strategies used by traders. For consumers, about 41% used digital platforms to purchase fruits and vegetables out of which 97% of them used mobile application. Convenience (95.86%) and fear of health-related complication (84.83%) were the major motivational factors to use digital platforms. COVID-19 pandemic increased the demand for digital platforms among 85% of the consumers (where 63% started using and 22% increased the use digital platforms). About 81% of consumers were mainly using digital platforms to access market information. Consumer willingness to adopt the digital platform was influenced positively by group membership and negatively by age and education level of the household head and the dependency ratio. Group membership were basically social and informal groups in the urban areas where among other issues consumers discuss food and digital related issues as well as procurement strategies) Most consumers (76.56%) purchased fruits and vegetables from designated points followed by local retailers in the neighborhood (49.26%). Digital platforms gained popularity (from 13.35% to 38.53%) during the pandemic compared to other channels Streetcar booths (2.83%) was a new channel during the pandemic. Despite reducing popularity during the pandemic, designated markets channel supported about 48% of the proportion of purchase. Users of digital platform experienced fluctuating but above average in the weekly expenditure compared to their counterparts. Change in price of the vegetables and fruits was the major contributor to the fluctuation (90.54%). Findings revealed that at one point in time during the pandemic. all sampled consumers who purchased through the digital platform used mobile money transfer to make pay for fruits and vegetables, with 99.31% likely to continue using the platform beyond the pandemic. In terms of entrepreneurial behavior, proactiveness and Innovativeness positively and significantly influenced perceived behavioral control. This implies that the more a consumer acts in anticipation of future problems, needs, or changes and use of new ideas or methods, the more they will think of themselves as having the efficacy to use the digital platforms in purchasing vegetables. Attitude positively and significantly influence perceived usefulness implying that the more favorable a consumer's opinion of the vegetables purchasing digital tool is, the more the consumer will view the tool as useful. Perceived behavioral control influenced perceived usefulness positively implying that the more consumers considered themselves to have the ability to use the vegetables purchasing digital tool, the higher they will consider the tool as useful. Subjective norm was also found to positively and significantly influence perceived usefulness meaning that the more positive the consumer's peers' opinion about the vegetables purchasing digital tool is, the more the consumer will view the tool as useful. The study recommends the following suggestions: • It is clear agritech companies seeing pandemic is an opportunity for strengthening food value chain. However, they still lack sustainable business models for the agriculture contexts. Therefore, design for digital platforms need to integrate sustainable business models to avoid collapsing of the platforms due to heavy reliance on external support and inadequate revenue models. Adoption of a self-sustainable business approach as well as re-orienting the business approach towards public private partnerships and diversifying product/service portfolio by integrating different services and value chains, backward and forward integration to create new revenue streams provides some of the options for consideration by service providers. • Develop a framework for embedding farmer oriented in existing local extension services to support practical implementation of agronomic recommendations. • Enhancing entrepreneur behavior of farmers and traders is critical in adoption of agri-digital solutions. • Building agile business with flexibility to adjust to various shocks beyond the pandemic. Focusing on the transition post COVID will be critical in maintaining the business space of the digital platforms by building strong market offering. • Donor support is critical for digital startups at the beginning of the business as many startups are coming up during this pandemic time, however, it is critical for donor to analyze their business model for sustainability of digital platform especially the platforms with little or no commercial orientation but have a clear welfare gain with social enterprise business model. • Strong bio-security measures in the context of COVID-19 are important in enhancing trust especially in product handling by the agricultural digital service providers. • Combined county permits to allow one easily transaction in any county with fresh produce among digital platforms with strong cross county distribution of products to traders. This has implication in increasing cost of business. • Product differentiation is key in making the digital platforms competitiveness. Strong focus of the digital platforms in providing unique products and solutions in ever-changing environment is key in keeping pace with consumers dynamic needs, key among them Enhance interactiveness between agricultural digital solutions and clients e.g. chatbot Integrating youth entrepreneurs and higher education students to support development of ICT related agri solutions e.g., accessible database by use of USSD code for vendors to easily authenticate the quality of the produce as well as data science. This will facilitate creation of robust learning curve to trigger development of marketable and viable agricultural digital services.

Now before Ukraine on the way to the formation of a stable civil society, along with the problem of national consolidation, is also a problem of adjustment of the normal interethnic relations, protection rights of ethnic and national minorities. In the conditions of the political system's development in Ukrainian society ethnic and national minorities began to engage in the sphere of political activity, seeking to take a rightful place in the process of public and cultural construction.In the multinational composition of Ukraine from time to time the problems of settlement the relations with separate ethnic or national groups, including Russian, Tatar, Romanian and others, are updated and exacerbated. The Polish minority is one of the most numerous national minorities living on the territory of our state. It is marked out by movement strengthening to the self-organization and national identification, and also formation as a subject of policy. There is so important, from our point of view, to research, on the one hand, a role and place of Ukraine in the realization of rights and satisfaction of needs of Poles in Ukraine, and with another – the participations of this minority in social and political processes of the state.Considering the relevance and insufficient studying of this problem, the author set to himself the purpose: 1) to analyze the main features and trends of development of the Polish minority in Ukraine; 2) to identify the key aspects of the participation of the Polish community in the Ukrainian social and political processes.The object of study is the Polish minority in Ukraine as an important part of the civil society and its political system, and the subject is the process of formation, functioning and development of the Polish minority as a subject of modern social and political life of Ukraine.There are 144 130 Poles in Ukraine today, according to the last population census in 2001. It makes 0,3 % from the total number of the population of the state. The Polish take the eighth place in terms of population among the ethnic minorities in Ukraine (after Russians, Belarusians, Moldovans, Crimean Tatars, Bulgarians, Hungarians and Romanians).The resettlement of Poles in Ukraine historically was connected primarily with the Right Bank and Eastern Galicia. The most numerous Polish ethnographic communities formed here. The most part of Polish lived in 2001 in Zhytomyr (49 046 persons; 3,5 % of the population), Khmelnytsky (23 005 persons; 1,6 % of the population) and Lvov (18 948 persons; 0,7 % of the population) regions.In general, the present social, political and religious situation in the environment of the Polish minority is stable and loyal to the Ukrainian government. Social and political moods of Ukrainian Poles naturally determine by both positive and negative sentiments.In January 1992, in Lvov at the Congress of Ukrainian Poles the Federation of the Polish Organizations in Ukraine (FPOU) was founded. It is led now by E. Khmelyova. This organization and the Union of Poles in Ukraine are today the most influential organizational structures of the Polish minority in Ukraine.In November 1994, in Kyiv the societies «Consent», «Solidarity», Cultural and Educational Association of Adam Mickiewicz, Kyiv branch of «The Union of Poles» decided to create «The Coordinating Council of Polish Organizations in Kyiv». Before all Polish non-governmental organizations in this country is to not only revive the local Polish national identity, but also comprehensively facilitate to the productive cultural relations between the two countries.In January 2000, the Polish Institute in Kyiv was established with the support of the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It was led by P. Kozakiewicz. Its tasks include: development and promotion of the image of Poland as a modern and democratic state, supporting the exchange of views, the elimination of negative stereotypes in the Ukrainian-Polish relations.The Polish NGOs practiced such forms of activity: teaching the Polish language; establishment and functioning of libraries and publishing activities; research activities; organizing places and cultural sites associated with the history of Poland; organization of cultural and educational activities; assistance in the process of developing national performances etc.There are five schools with education in Polish in Ukraine. These schools, which have about two thousand pupils, function with the support of Polish NGOs. There are four Polish schools in the Lvov region. Two of these schools are located in Lvov, and another two are in the area of Mostynsk. Another school with education in Polish functions in Ivano-Frankivsk. The curriculum at schools with education in Polish introduced the subjects of «History of Poland» and «Geography of Poland».As a subject Polish is studied in Ukraine by more than 4 thousand students, and more than 3 thousand students study Polish facultatively or in circles. Polish is also studied in numerous Ukrainian universities. At the end of 2012 the Polish organizations in Ukraine initiated to provide Polish the status of regional language in the area of Mostynsk. There are about four villages, which population is made by Poles.The western regions, where the most part of the Poles is living, are characterized by vigorous activity of the Polish community in the media sector. Thus, «The Polish word» (25 min.) in the broadcasting of TV «Zhytomyr» is weekly published. And «TRK Union TV» broadcasts daily for the Polish community on the proposal TV «Polonia».Lvov is the capital of the Polish Radio in Ukraine: «Radio Lwow» tells at a frequency of the radio station «The Independence» in different days. There is a program «Program katolicki». The Lvov city NGO «Polskie Towarzystwo Radiowe» works here. An important role in cross-cultural communication is played by Polish Radio for the abroad. There are news, press reviews, comments and reports of correspondents all over the world, interviews and debates, literary and music plots in the broadcasting.Periodicals of the Polish national minority are represented by the following groups of editions:- informational: «Głos Podola» (Kamenetz-Podolsk), «The Monitor of Volyn» (Lutsk), «Kurier Stanisławowski» and «Kurier Galicyjski» (Ivano-Frankivsk), «The Polish Newspaper» (Zhytomyr), «Dzyennik Kiyovski» (Kyiv);- public: «Lwowskie Spotkania» (Lvov), «Harcerz Kresow» (Lvov), «Wspolne Dzedzictwo» (Ternopol), «KOTWICA» (Mykolaiv);- cultural and educational: «The Mosaic of Berdichev» (Berdichev), «The Voice of Teacher» (Drogobych), «Krynica» (Kyiv);- religious: «The Shouts from Volyn» (Ostrog), «The Joy of Belief» (Lvov).Recently the joint Ukrainian-Polish projects in the media sphere, for example, the international interdisciplinary magazine «Ucrainica Polonica» and «The Ukrainian Polonistic» gain the increasing popularity.The status of the Polish national minority in Ukraine is qualitatively different from the status of other minorities, such as Roma or Crimean Tatars. After all, the Poles have their historical homeland, the neighboring of Ukrainian state – the Republic of Poland, from which a financial and institutional support comes. Therefore the self-determination process in Polish minority is quite successful and quick.The negative phenomenon for the image of Ukraine is the fact that it works and develops mainly by financing from the government of Poland. At the current time, for example, all meetings of the Polish community in Lvov Church and departures of children on rehabilitation and training to the Republic of Poland are financed also by Poland.Thus, according to the Association of Polish culture in Lvov, the local administration level of care to ensure the interests of the Polish community in Lvov region, compared with a sponsorship of the Republic of Poland, is zero. Over the last few years the Association of Polish culture received for its needs from Lvov regional state administration only about 2 thousand UAN. It forces the Ukrainian Poles to address on the constant help to the bureaucracy of Poland. In this aspect the chairman of the society E. Legovich opposed a situation with ensuring of requirements of the Ukrainian diaspora in the territory of the Republic of Poland. There are considerable budgetary funds for the satisfaction of its interests, which in accordance with the established procedure are transmitted through the Sejm to the communities of national minorities. So, 2 million zloty (about 5 million UAN) are annually allocated for the needs of the Ukrainian diaspora in Poland. Thus, E. Lehovych notes that the Polish community would be sufficient amount of 100 thousand UAN.However, speaking about the presence of members of the Polish community in the Ukrainian elected authorities and government agencies, we have to note a negative trend associated with the low levels of its representation. Thus, Ukraine has not any political party of the Polish national minority (for example, Hungarian and Russian communities have its own political parties, such as «The Democratic Party of Hungarians of Ukraine», «KMKS» Party of Hungarians of Ukraine, «The Russian block» and others. And these parties of the national minorities stood on elections to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine). The Polish community is not represented in the Ukrainian parliament. There are two Poles among the 66 members of the regional council of Mostynsk (Lvov region). Poles make 20 % of the number of the residents of Mostynsk and 8 % of Poles are living in the area).Thus, we can conclude, that the Polish minority is one of the largest minorities in Ukraine, and it is on its way of the identification and a political subjektivation. Poles in Ukraine experienced the process of assimilation due to an extended stay in limited contacts with their historical homeland, as indicated the data from recent Ukrainian population census. However, a positive is the fact that today the Polish community in Ukraine will intensify its activities, key points of which are:1) preservation of cultural originality and development of cultural creativity;2) functioning of national and cultural, public organizations;3) contacts with the historical homeland and participation in interstate processes.The negative sides of the position of Polish national minority in Ukraine are:1) absence of political communities (political parties) for the representation the minority at official level;2) low level of participation in formation of power structures and representation at all levels of the power (from local to governmental and parliamentary).Also, despite the existence of numerous guarantees of the rights and protection of the freedoms of national minorities in Ukraine, approved at legislative level, the real practice shows an insufficient attention from the Ukrainian government to these questions. The existence and development of the Polish national minority in Ukraine is provided by the contacts with the historical homeland. It practically finances the diaspora. Therefore Ukraine have to accept a number of scientifically reasonable measures in order to the reforming, carried out in education, sciences, public administration and local government, don't entail to the restriction of the right of the minorities, including Polish, to get an education in a state language, to develop and protect own cultural and a creative heritage, to participate in formation of authorities and to have own representation in electoral bodies. ; Статья посвящена выявлению основных черт и тенденций развития польского национального меньшинства в Украине, а также определению ключевых аспектов участия поляков в украинских общественно-политических процессах. Сделана попытка показать уровень гражданской зрелости, политической культуры польской общины в Украине на современном этапе. Особое внимание уделено роли национальной политики украинского государства в процессе политической субъективации польского национального меньшинства. ; Статтю присвячено виявленню основних рис і тенденцій розвитку польської національної меншини в Україні, а також визначенню ключових аспектів участі поляків в українських суспільно-політичних процесах. Зроблено спробу показати рівень громадянської зрілості, політичної культури польської громади в Україні на сучасному етапі. Окрему увагу приділено ролі національної політики Української держави в процесі політичної суб'єктивації польської національної меншини.

The last three decades have witnessed an exponential increase in wildfire-related costs and losses in the United States, in part the result of rapid population migration from urban centers into relatively-undeveloped rural areas. By 2005, one in three American households was residing in volatile areas where human development is co-mingled with unaltered wildland vegetation, the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI). That proportion is expected only to rise in the coming decade. Mixing people and unaltered wildland vegetation has proved a deadly combination: each year, wildfires take lives. During these fires, scores of injuries occur, and hundreds of structures burn as millions of acres of sometimes ecologically-sensitive land is scorched. Federal agencies now spend more than one billion dollars on fire suppression activities each year, fielding thousands of wildland firefighters, aircraft, and equipment to protect communities at risk. As development of the WUI continues, it is critical that the nation work towards creating fire-adapted communities in which people and values are prepared to tolerate inevitable wildfire events with minimal loss of life and property. The importance of this goal was affirmed in the 2011 National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy. Doing so will necessarily mean involving communities and stakeholders in planning efforts and mitigation activities to reduce fire risk and prepare communities to withstand wildfires.This dissertation examines the issue of community involvement in fire risk abatement in order to identify the most effective tools to facilitate long-term engagement of the people who live and work in fire-prone areas. It presents several case studies in community fire risk abatement that focus on leveraging community involvement to achieve resource management goals and create fire-adapted communities. In Chapter 1, I outline recent changes in wildland fire policy pertinent to managers of parks and protected areas. Grasping the rapidly evolving nature of wildland fire policy, particularly federal policy, is fundamental to understanding current challenges, successes, and opportunities in community fire planning. The rapidly developing formation of the wildland-urban interface has left many parks and protected areas virtual islands of wilderness, surrounded by increasingly dense development. This situation has created new challenges for park managers, who must now contend with uncharacteristic fires originating outside park boundaries that threaten park resources. Managers also face potential liability from fires within their parks that escape park boundaries and threaten communities. By enlisting new neighbors in these communities as stakeholders or even partners in fire risk abatement, however, park managers may be able to leverage increasingly limited program funding to achieve resource management goals. In Chapter 2, I deal with the challenges of implementing broad community fire planning mandates through a resource management agency with a decentralized organizational structure. Focusing on the state agency primarily responsible for fire management in California, I examine the difficulties experienced in the implementation of a community fire planning program. These programs were envisaged in the California Fire Plan and mandated by the California Board of Forestry and Fire Protection, the Governor-appointed group responsible for setting forestry and fire policy in the state. The program received full funding from the California legislature, and a decade has passed since its creation. This program required all of the organizational divisions of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) create local fire plans, written by Pre-Fire Engineers. I find that, although efforts are in the works to revitalize the program, the local plans are challenged by a lack of currency as well as an erosion of stakeholder involvement in the plan development and implementation processes. These shortcomings reflect a common challenge experienced by decentralized natural resource agencies: an absence of clear frameworks for local implementation of policy mandates. The incongruity between the priorities of state policymakers and local leadership, as well as a lack of performance-based rewards or penalties tied to mandate implementation and a lack of a clear cost-sharing structure, has resulted in inconsistently implemented policy. I describe the institutional barriers that have barred effective policy implementation in the past, and identify changes that might result in greater policy actualization. Because most state and federal resource management agencies working on fire issues operate under similarly decentralized frameworks, my findings have as much relevance outside as within California for future attempts to implement state and national policy aimed at local community fire planning.In Chapter 3, I present results from paired surveys of stakeholders and agency facilitators involved in the development of local fire plans in California. Locally developed fire plans are designed to be instrumental in the creation of fire-adapted communities, communities resilient to disaster. Since 2003, federal fire policy has encouraged the development of Community Wildfire Prevention Plans (CWPP), and communities have been offered incentives to create the planning documents, such as eligibility to apply for federal hazard abatement funding, define the perimeter of their local wildland-urban interface (WUI), and provide input on the location and prioritization of fuel hazard abatement treatment on nearby federal lands. Though 70,000 WUI communities were identified by state and federal processes as at risk of wildland fire, just 6,000 have created CWPPs in the seven years since the program was created. In order to succeed in creating fire-adapted communities and reduce out-of-control wildfire-related costs and losses, we must better understand better what factors drive long-term stakeholder involvement in local fire plans. Understanding parallels and divisions in stakeholder and facilitator perceptions of community engagement and planning is crucial to this process. A statewide network of 27 Fire Management Plans (FMP) have been in continuous development by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) for more than a decade. I surveyed 810 stakeholders and 42 CAL FIRE Pre Fire Engineers involved in the FMP in two separate efforts to better understand multiple perceptions surrounding engagement and the planning process. Reports on fire planning efforts have typically focused either on the participants or the planners; rarely are results from both perspectives available. I found striking disparities between perceptions of stakeholder engagement by agency facilitators and agency-identified stakeholders. Encouragingly, problematic stakeholder engagement did not seem to dampen their willingness to engage in future planning efforts.In my fourth essay, I evaluate a group local Fire Management Plans (FMP) to determine their quality as planning documents. High-quality plans are more likely to be implemented, functional over the long-term, utilized by targeted stakeholders, and effective at achieving their goals. In constant development by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) for more than a decade, CAL FIRE's FMPs are plans aimed at efficiently reducing fire risk to communities through the creation of regional documents that list locally identified values and hazards and propose means of abating fire risk. Though locally-developed fire plans are increasingly wide-spread, with today as many as 10,000 in existence around the United States, only rarely are they evaluated as planning documents. Through a technique called Plan Quality Evaluation and heavily informed by prior hazard planning evaluations conducted by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), I evaluated a network of 27 FMPs in California. Despite the fact that the planners were hired and supported by CAL FIRE, the FMPs were inconsistent in size and scope as well as overall plan quality. My findings demonstrated some of the clear challenges for developers of local fire plans. In the fifth and final chapter of my dissertation, I examine how long-term collaboration between agencies, fire safe councils, and other stakeholders can significantly reduce the impact of a potentially catastrophic wildfire. This essay analyzes a recent significant human-caused wildfire event in California that burned in an area where extensive long-term interagency partnership with a local fire safe council had resulted in a network of shaded fuel breaks. Driven by extreme weather conditions, the wildfire had escaped ground and aerial suppression efforts and threatened multiple communities in central California's Kern County. Within three hours of its ignition, the Bull Fire was threatening homes. Firefighters, aided by the extensive network of fuel breaks around Kernville were able to stop the fire with minimal losses. I chronicle the eleven-year history of the Kern River Valley Fire Safe Council and the exceptional relationships forged with federal, state, and local agencies. This decade-long partnership gave rise to multiple opportunities for collaboration in fuel hazard risk abatement projects on public and private land. This study is a substantial demonstration of the value of devoting resources to collaborative planning and risk abatement activities, particularly in nurturing the success of community fire organizations in crafting and implementing CWPPs.In summary, my results suggest that, though the importance of community outreach and collaboration is widely accepted in the fire community, in practice it is still in its infancy - and experiencing growing pains. A structure for educating collaborative planners and facilitators is only now emerging. Uncertainty still exists as to the best way to educate or train collaborative planners and facilitators. Particularly in agencies responsible for fire suppression, facilitators and planners are most likely to enter their positions with significant fire management expertise but only limited experience with facilitating meetings, developing plans, or collaborating with stakeholder groups. As more and more people move into fire-prone WUI areas, the importance of the collaborative planner and facilitator can only grow. Professionalizing this role and the continuing maturation of the education process is likely to increase the efficacy of future planning efforts and enhance the creation of fire-adapted communities. As wildfire-related costs and losses continue to grow, finding ways to engage stakeholders who live and work in WUI areas is of increasingly important. The "Whole Community" initiative created by the Federal Emergency Management Agency recognizes the importance of the involvement of all levels of society in disaster preparedness. This new initiative segues well with the 2011 National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy (Cohesive Strategy), that recognizes that in order to develop a truly representative plan, all stakeholders must have a voice and input into completed plans. The Cohesive Strategy goes on to encourage the development of new relationships between agencies and stakeholder groups in order to collaboratively generate solutions that would have been unattainable individually. Two of the vital components in creating resilient communities adapted to the occurrence of wildfire are: stakeholder involvement in the development of local fire management plans and collaborative implementation of risk management projects. My research investigates collaborative planning and identifies barriers and drivers of local collaborative fire planning efforts. I hope that the research outlined in this dissertation assists in the development and implementation of future planning efforts, moving communities towards the goal of creating fire-wise communities