Les mouvances réglementaires entourant la profession comptable au lendemain de crises financières : propagation du discours néolibéral, production de mythes et gouvernance en silo

C’est en réponse aux plus récentes crises financières que plusieurs processus réglementaires – dont certains constituent les objets d’étude de cette thèse – ont été déployés pour concevoir et implanter diverses réformes « d’amélioration » au sein de la pratique professionnelle des auditeurs financiers. Tant la crise du début des années 2000 que celle de 2007-2008 auraient attiré de vives critiques à l’égard du travail des auditeurs et de leur contribution (prétendument défaillante) au sein du fonctionnement des marchés des capitaux. Considérant leur fonction de « chien de garde » qui est censée assurer, avant tout, la protection du public au sein de ces marchés, il semblait inévitable que leur travail soit, dans une certaine mesure, remis en doute à travers les processus de révision réglementaire mis en place. C’est ainsi que chacun des trois articles qui composent cette thèse offre une analyse de différents aspects – tels que la mise en place, le déroulement, la nature et la substance des discours et des résultats – liés à ces processus de révision réglementaire qui entourent la pratique professionnelle des auditeurs au lendemain des crises financières. En somme, en plus d’indiquer comment ces processus ne sont point à l’abri de controverses, les conclusions de cette thèse inciteront à ce qu’une attention sérieuse soit portée à leur égard afin de préserver le bienfondé de la profession des comptables et des auditeurs. Alors que, dans le premier article, il sera question d’illustrer l’infiltration (critiquable) d’un discours néolibéral au sein des débats qui entourent les processus de révision réglementaire dont il est question, dans le deuxième article, il sera question d’exposer, au sein de ces processus, un mécanisme de production de mythes prônant un certain statu quo. Par ailleurs, dans le dernier article, en plus de mettre en évidence le fait que les approches de gouvernance déployées à travers ces processus de révision réglementaire ne sont pas suffisamment englobantes, on pourra aussi prendre conscience de l’inféodation de l’expertise de l’audit face à son environnement (et plus précisément, face aux expertises de la normalisation comptable et de la financiarisation de l’économie). Sous un regard critique, et à travers des analyses qualitatives, chacun des articles de cette thèse permettra de remettre en question certaines facettes des processus réglementaires et institutionnels qui entourent le champ de la comptabilité et de l’audit.

Emprendimiento NORNA

La creación de Norna Ltda., motivada por la expansión mundial de la idea del cuidado por el planeta, junto con el avance económico de Colombia se implanta como la base de un movimiento social y cultural que pretende expandirse por el país. Para la empresa, el objetivo principal es realzar el valor de la conservación del medio ambiente, a través de un bien tangible, para evitar la perpetuación de la sostenibilidad ecológica e inclusión social como una idea impalpable. Para confrontar el Statu Quo de la moda rápida que regularmente se encuentra acompañada por condiciones laborales lamentables, Norna ltda., confecciona y distribuye chaquetas a base de algodón orgánico a través de su página virtual en Colombia.

Da intervenção da Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Évora: a qualidade das respostas sociais e satisfação percebida dos utentes internos da SCMÉ

O Relatório de estágio tem por desígnio, compreender e analisar, o statu quo das dimensões da satisfação (Contemplando o seu bem-estar pessoal e social) dos utentes das valências da Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Évora, por conseguinte, analisando e compreendendo a qualidade de vida desses mesmos utentes, debruçando-se, pois, sobre as potenciais e/ou evidentes necessidades institucionais por suprimir, e problemas sociais por erradicar. O levantamento da actual informação obteve-se através de dois instrumentos metodológicos de recolha de dados: inquérito por questionário de aplicação directa auto-administrada (utentes), e por intermédio de entrevistas semi-estruturadas (diretores técnicos das valências). Relativamente, aos métodos de tratamento de dados, no primeiro instrumento utilizou-se IBM SPSS 22, já no segundo análise de conteúdo. Após a detecção das necessidades existentes, procedeu-se a elaboração de uma proposta de intervenção sócio-organizacional, por forma a solucionar essas mesmas necessidades existentes. O presente documento estrutura-se em 4 eixos: o Eixo 1 – Componente teórica - ; o Eixo 2 – Componente metodológica - ; Eixo 3 – Componente dos resultados - ; Eixo 4 – Componente de intervenção sócio- organizacional; Abstract: Intervention of the Holy House of Mercy of Evora - The quality of the Social Responses and satisfaction perceived Internal SCME of users -. This work is to design, understand and analyze the status quo of the dimensions of satisfaction (Contemplating their personal and social welfare) of users of the valences of the Holy House of Mercy of Evora, therefore, analyzing and understanding the quality life of these same users, addressing therefore, on potential and / or obvious institutional needs to suppress and eradicate social problems. The survey of current information was obtained through two methodological tools for data collection: survey by self-administered direct application questionnaire (users), and through semi-structured interviews (technical directors of valences). With regard to the data processing methods, the first instrument was used SPSS 22, in the second content analysis. After detection of the needs, it proceeded to draw up a proposal for social and organizational intervention in order to solve these same existing needs. This document is divided into four axes: Axis 1 - Theoretical component -; Axis 2 - methodological component -; Axis 3 - Component of results -; Axis 4 - socio-organizational intervention component.

IMÓVEIS PÚBLICOS PARA HABITAÇÃO DE INTERESSE SOCIAL: “DIREITO A CIDADE” PARA QUEM?

O presente trabalho se constitui de um exercício reflexivo sobre a política de destinação de imóveis urbanos públicos federais, no Brasil chamados de imóveis da União, não utilizados e subutilizados para habitação de interesse social[1] na Zona Portuária da cidade do Rio de Janeiro e a sua relação com a promoção do “Direito a Cidade”, expressão criada no final da década de 60, pelo filósofo francês Henri Lefebvre. Considerando que o processo de produção da legislação urbana, no Brasil, deve ser sempre entendido a partir da perspectiva dos mesmos interesses que levaram a acumulação capitalista, este trabalho pretende apontar que o discurso da “gestão democrática”, da abertura institucional para com movimentos sociais e o discurso do “Direito a Cidade” estão longe de se apresentarem como ferramentas de transformação do status quo. Pelo contrário! Neste sentido, a intenção aqui é apontar que uma genuína promoção do “Direito a Cidade”, vale dizer,    uma verdadeira ampliação  democrática, conduzida muito além dos espaços deliberativos impostos pelo aparelho de Estado só pode ser entendida a partir da aproximação material e intelectual aos Movimentos Sociais, sob um ângulo autonomista. Por outro lado, apesar do aparelho de Estado se constituir intrínseca e essencialmente uma estrutura heterônoma de poder[2]- fundamentada nos moldes da sociedade capitalista e da democracia representativa – aprender hoje a participar dessas instâncias heterônomas de deliberação, com o devido cuidado para evitar pragmatismos e domesticação, se constitui de um importante desafio tanto para o pesquisador cientista/social engajado quanto para o movimiento social. Um diálogo horizontal entre geógrafos e movimentos sociais, despido de arrogância tecnocrática e pautado por um espírito tolerante e não-autoritário pode colaborar assim para importantes ganhos políticos e pedagógicos de autonomia, o que do ponto de vista sócioespacial significa  dizer que ajudando-se mutuamente podem aprender a agir com o Estado, apesar do Estado e essencialmente contra o Estado por uma cidade mais livre e mais justa. É o que se tentará apresentar.   [2] Para SOUZA, 2006a, está-se diante de uma situação de heteronomia (...) ”quando a ‘lei’, seja formal ou informal, escrita ou consuetudinária (normas, códigos, tabus) é imposta por um poder ‘superior’, ou percebida como imposta por um tal poder.” Neste sentido pode ser classificada a estrutura do aparelho de Estado como uma estrutura heterônoma de poder, uma vez seu aparato legislativo ser imposto a sociedade civil, sempre subjugado ao binômio democracia representativa + capitalismo. Mais detalhes, vide SOUZA, 2006ª

PRESERVAÇÃO DO PATRIMÔNIO CULTURAL: PRÁTICA SOCIAL UTILIZADA PARA MANUTENÇÃO DO PODER POLÍTICO

Este trabalho se situa na continuidade do debate incitado por vários estudiosos sobre as metamorfoses dos centros históricos. Procura-se enunciar algumas contradições entre discursos e práticas manifestadas na cidade de São Luís - MA tendo como pano de fundo o protagonismo do programa de revitalização versus atuação do poder público sobre o legado cultural. O objetivo principal consistiu em analisar como determinados políticos se apropriaram da questão da proteção do patrimônio histórico-cultural. Os temas referentes a (re)apropriação das áreas centrais antigas adquiriram na atualidade incontestável relevância. Na maioria das vezes, os resultados das intervenções nos centros antigos são apresentados como fatos que só têm lado positivo, já que, o movimento que seleciona a “memória oficial”, escolhida por governos em nome da tradição dá supremacia para a valorização do acervo cultural arquitetônico. Do ponto de vista teórico-metodológico, a pesquisa é de caráter exploratório permeada pela interdisciplinaridade. Foram consultados documentos institucionais relativos ao programa de preservação, partindo para identificação de fatos, e estratégias desveladas para sua implementação. Percebeu-se que a prática preservacionista funcionou, um lócus privilegiado, de oportunidades de investimentos rentáveis ao poder político, o que acabou resultando em novas configurações urbanas com a manutenção do status quo de determinados indivíduos.

Status of implementation of the System of National Accounts (SNA) 1993 in selected Caribbean countries

Includes bibliography

The status of Australian nurse practitioners : the second national census

Objectives. To profile Australian nurse practitioners and their practice in 2009 and compare results with a similar 2007 census. Methods. Self-administered questionnaire. Results. Atotal of 293 nurse practitioners responded (response rate 76.3%). The majority were female (n = 229, 81.2%); mean age was 47.3 years (s.d. = 8.1). As in 2007, emergency nurse practitioners represented the largest clinical specialty (n = 63, 30.3%). A majority practiced in a metropolitan area (n = 133, 64.3%); a decrease from 2007. Consistent with 2007, only 71.5% (n = 208) were employed as a nurse practitioner and 22.8% (n = 46) were awaiting approval for some or all of their clinical protocols. Demographic data, allocations of tasks, and patterns of practice remained consistent with 2007 results. ‘No Medicare provider number’ (n = 182, 91.0%), ‘no authority to prescribe using the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme’ (n = 182, 89.6%) and ‘lack of organisational support’ (n = 105, 52.2%) were reported as ‘limiting’ or ‘extremely limiting’ to practice. Conclusions. Our results demonstrate less than satisfactory uptake of the nurse practitioner role despite authorisation. Barriers constraining nurse practitioner practice reduced but remained unacceptably high. Adequate professional and political support is necessary to ensure the efficacy and sustainability of this clinical role.

The National Curriculum and history school textbooks in Australia and the Russian Federation

This chapter analyses recent policy reforms in the national history curriculum in both Australia and the Russian Federation. It analyses those emphases in the national curriculum in history that depict new representations and historiography and the ways in which this is foregrounded in History school textbooks. In doing so, it considers the debates about what version of the nation’s past are deemed significant, and what should be transmitted to future generations of citizens. In this discussion of national history curricula, consideration is made of the curriculum’s officially defined status as an instrument in the process of ideological transformation, and nation-building. The chapter also examines how history textbooks are implicit in this process, in terms of reproducing and representing what content is selected and emphasised in a national history curriculum.

Socialist Realism instead of Formalism : the Formation and Development of the Soviet Music Control System 1932-1950

Whereas it has been widely assumed in the public that the Soviet music policy system had a “top-down” structure of control and command that directly affected musical creativity, in fact my research shows that the relations between the different levels of the music policy system were vague, and the viewpoints of its representatives differed from each other. Because the representatives of the party and government organs controlling operas could not define which kind of music represented Socialist Realism, the system as it developed during the 1930s and 1940s did not function effectively enough in order to create such a centralised control of Soviet music, still less could Soviet operas fulfil the highly ambiguous aesthetics of Socialist Realism. I show that musical discussions developed as bureaucratic ritualistic arenas, where it became more important to reveal the heretical composers, making scapegoats of them, and requiring them to perform self-criticism, than to give directions on how to reach the artistic goals of Socialist Realism. When one opera was found to be unacceptable, this lead to a strengthening of control by the party leadership, which lead to more operas, one after the other, to be revealed as failures. I have studied the control of the composition, staging and reception of the opera case-studies, which remain obscure in the West despite a growing scholarly interest in them, and have created a detailed picture of the foundation and development of the Soviet music control system in 1932-1950. My detailed discussion of such case-studies as Ivan Dzerzhinskii’s The Quiet Don, Dmitrii Shostakovich’s Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk District, Vano Muradeli’s The Great Friendship, Sergei Prokofiev’s Story of a Real Man, Tikhon Khrennikov’s Frol Skobeev and Evgenii Zhukovskii’s From All One’s Heart backs with documentary precision the historically revisionist model of the development of Soviet music. In February 1948, composers belonging to the elite of the Union of Soviet Composers, e.g. Dmitri Shostakovich and Sergei Prokofiev, were accused in a Central Committee Resolution of formalism, as been under the influence of western modernism. Accusations of formalism were connected to the criticism of the conciderable financial, material and social privileges these composers enjoyed in the leadership of the Union. With my new archival findings I give a more detailed picture of the financial background for the 1948 campaign. The independent position of the music funding organization of the Union of Soviet Composers (Muzfond) to decide on its finances was an exceptional phenomenon in the Soviet Union and contradicted the strivings to strengthen the control of Soviet music. The financial audits of the Union of Soviet Composers did not, however, change the elite status of some of its composers, except for maybe a short duration in some cases. At the same time the independence of the significal financial authorities of Soviet theatres was restricted. The cuts in the governmental funding allocated to Soviet theatres contradicted the intensified ideological demands for Soviet operas.

The Vexing Case of Igor Shafarevich, a Russian Political Thinker

The Russian mathematician, academician and former dissident Igor Shafarevich (b. 1923) is commonly mentioned in Western scholarly studies on perestroika and post-perestroika-era Russian politics as one of the most notable anti-Semites and extreme nationalists of the country. This notoriety owes to Shafarevich’s old samizdat article Russophobia, which was published in 1988. The scandal surrounding Russophobia came to a head when the president of The National Academy of Sciences in the United States asked Shafarevich, its honorary member, to resign. Nothing like this had ever happened in the academy’s history. The present dissertation discusses Shafarevich’s political activities, his texts and ideas as well as their reception. Particular attention is given to Russophobia, whose detailed examination proves very clearly that its reputation as an anti-Semitic text is groundless. The reasons for Russophobia’s hasty but fierce condemnation were many, but only one was that when the Soviet system began to tumble, it was commonly assumed that a vigorous rise in anti-Semitism and extreme nationalism in the Soviet Union/Russia would be just a matter of time. Many observers were highly sensitised to detecting its signs and symptoms. The dissertation also shows that most of those to write the first criticisms of Russophobia and to liken Shafarevich to the ideologues of Nazi Germany were the same people he had criticised in Russophobia for their deterministic view of history and irrational manner of connecting things for the purpose of fanning the flames of distrust between Russia’s Jews and Russians. In retrospect, it is fairly evident that Shafarevich actually managed to effectively “neutralise” the message of many of those obsessed with the Jews among his Russian contemporaries and contributed to the fact that anti-Jewish sentiments have been a great deal less popular in post-communist Russia than so many had feared and expected. The thesis also thoroughly discusses Shafarevich’s other texts and activities before Russophobia’s appearance and after it. In the 1970s, Shafarevich was one of the best-known dissidents in the Soviet Union. He worked together with academician Andrei Sakharov in a dissidents’ unofficial human rights committee and co-operated closely with Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn before Solzhenitsyn’s exile. Then, during the chaotic years of perestroika, Shafarevich defended the basic rights of ordinary citizens and warned that the hype concerning democracy could become counterproductive if the most palpable result of the reforms was the disappearance of citizens’ basic security and elementary social justice. One of the conclusions of the thesis is that even if the world around Shafarevich has changed considerably, his views have remained essentially the same since the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Rätt som argument : Leo Mechelin och finska frågan 1886-1912

Right as an Argument. Leo Mechelin and the Finnish Question 1886-1912 At the turn of the 20th century the Finnish Question rose up as a political and juridical issue at the international arena. The vaguely précised position of Finland in the Russian empire led to diverse conclusions concerning the correctness of the February manifesto of 1899. It was predominantly among a European elite of politicians, cultural workers and academics the issue rose some interest. Finns were active making propaganda for their cause, and they put an emphasis on the claim that the right was on the Finnish side. In the study Elisabeth Stubb compare the Finnish, Russian and European statements about the Finnish Question and analyse their use of right as an argument. The Finnish Question offers at the same time a case study of a national entity which possesses a political sphere of life but is not fully independent, and its possibilities to drive its interests in an international context. Leo Mechelin (1839-1914), the leader of the Finnish propaganda organization abroad, is used as a point of departure. The biographical stance is formed into a triangle, where Leo Mechelin, the idea of right and the Finnish Question abroad are the three cornerstones. The treatment of one cornerstone sheds a ligth on the two others. The metaphor of triangulation also worked as a method to reach "a third stance" in a scinetific and political issue that usually is polarised into two opposite alternatives. An adherence to a strict legal right could not in the end offer a complete, unquestionable and satisfactory solution to the Finnsih Question, it was dependent on "the right of state wisdom and sound insight". The Finnish propaganda abroad used almost completely alternative ways of making politics. The propaganda did not have a decisive effect on countries' official politics, but gained unofficial support, especially in the public opinion and in academic statements. Mechelin claimed that the political field was dependent on public opinion and scientific research. Together with the official politics these two fields formed a triangle that shared the task of balancing the political arena and preventing it from making unwise decisions of taking an unjust turn. The international sphere worked as a balancing part in the Finnish Question. Mechelin tried by claiming the status of state for Finland's part to secure the country a place at the official international arena. At the same time, and especially when the claim was not fully adopted, he emphasised, and in a European context worked for, that right would become the guiding light not only for international relations, but also for the policy making in the inner life of the state.

Habitat mapping effort at the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary – Current status and future needs

With elevating interest to establish conservation efforts for groundfish stocks and continued scrutiny over the value of marine protected areas along the west coast, the importance of enhancing our knowledge of seabed characteristics through mapping activities is becoming increasingly more important, especially in a timely manner. Shortly after the inception of the Seabed Mapping Initiative instituted with the US Geological Survey (USGS), the National Marine Sanctuary Program (NMSP) assembled a panel of habitat mapping experts. They determined that the status of existing data sets and future data acquisition needs varied widely among the individual sanctuaries and that more detailed site assessments were needed to better prioritize mapping efforts and outline an overall joint strategy. To assist with that specific effort and provide pertinent information for the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary’s (OCNMS) Management Plan Review, this report summarizes the mapping efforts that have taken place at the site to date; calculates a timeframe for completion of baseline mapping efforts when operating under current data acquisition limitations; describes an optimized survey strategy to dramatically reduce the required time to complete baseline surveying; and provides estimates for the needed vessel sea-days (DAS) to accomplish baseline survey completion within a 2, 5 and 10 year timeframe. (PDF contains 38 pages.)

Photographing Vladimir Putin: Masculinity, Nationalism and Visuality in Russian Political Culture

This article introduces the study of photographs of politicians as an object of geopolitical analysis. It does this through exploring the holiday photographs of Vladimir Putin released by the Kremlin in 2007, 2009, and 2010. Putin's biography provides a backdrop to a detailed analysis of the geopolitical representations contained in the photographs of him. In the same fashion as other images, the photographs seek to provide a contemporary view of events and, at the same time, serve as a medium through which particular political scripts are narrated. The photographs also help to reproduce (and question) hegemonic discourses about public forms of masculinity in Russia. This article is intended to contribute to the debate on how visual images can help make sense of the geopolitical world

Análisis de la Política Exterior Rusa en materia energética, comercial y militar hacia la República de Moldavia (Período 2000-2010)

Rusia sufrió grandes cambios tras la desintegración de la URSS en 1991. No obstante, con la llegada de Vladimir Putin al poder, los intereses geoestratégicos de Rusia sobre el espacio postsoviético revivieron con nuevo ímpetu debido a una mayor cantidad de recursos a disposición del Estado. La República de Moldavia es un claro ejemplo del resurgir de la política exterior rusa hacia el espacio postsoviético, siendo incluso, una región clave en la lucha de la Federación Rusa por recuperar su zona de influencia.