International cooperation for development in tourism destinations

The main goal of this thesis is to propose a conceptual theoretical model of critical success factors of International Development Cooperation programmes that are based in knowledge transfer approaches in the context of tourism development. The research was structured around three main theoretical pillars: international development cooperation (IDC), tourism as a tool for development, and knowledge transfer (KT). By exploring these pillars�� main interrelations, it was possible to gather the necessary background to develop the theoretical model and apply it to a real context. It was adopted a qualitative research approach using as a case study an IDC programme in tourism - the UNWTO.Volunteers programme. The key contribution of this thesis in the theoretical realm is the bridging of fields of study that are insufficiently covered in the scientific literature. The resulting model proposal applied to a real context of an IDC programme implementation permitted to test it partially providing useful insights for future research. It is postulated that IDC programmes in these contexts constitute a process rather than an end in itself. Therefore, they should be seen as a way of changing the state of the art of the tourism system in a sustainable manner so that it potentially generates positive development changes. This study suggested that it is not possible to achieve positive results if, instead of encouraging a KT and learning environment, it is simply disseminated knowledge in a linear, static, north-south approach. The characteristics of these interventions should be reviewed in that it was found that it is very difficult to guarantee the maintenance of the development changes induced by them if it is not safeguarded the necessary conditions and accountability to implement the recommended actions. While it was perceived a great potential for development changes to be induced by some IDC programmes in tourism destinations, it was concluded that these processes are too much dependent on the local political systems and existing power relations, as well as on the level of tourism development of the destination. However, more research is needed to examine the ability to generalise the findings to other IDC programmes and different destinations of developing countries.

Explaining party cohesion and discipline in democratic legislatures: purposiveness and contexts

Legislative party discipline and cohesion are important phenomena in the study of political systems. Unless assumptions are made that parties are cohesive and act as unified collectivities with reasonably well-defined goals, it is really difficult, if not impossible, to consider their electoral and legislative roles usefully. But levels of legislative party cohesiveness are also important because they provide us with crucial information about how legislatures/ parliaments function and how they interact with executives/governments. Without cohesive (or disciplined) parties,1 government survival in parliamentary systems is threatened because executive and legislative powers are fused while in separated systems presidents' bases of legislative support become less stable. How do we explain varying levels of legislative party cohesion? The first part of this article draws on the purposive literature to explore the benefits and costs to legislators in democratic legislatures of joining and acting collectively and individualistically within political parties. This leads on to a discussion of various conceptual and empirical problems encountered in analysing intra-party cohesion and discipline in democratic legislatures on plenary votes. Finally, the article reviews the extant empirical evidence on how a multiplicity of systemic, party-levels and situational factors supposedly impact cohesion/discipline levels. The article ends with a discussion of the possibilities and limitations of building comparative models of cohesion/discipline.

Introduction: the impact of the 'War on Terror' on executive���legislative relations: a global perspective

In democratic polities, constitutional equilibria or balances of power between the executive and the legislature shift over time. Normative and empirical political theorists have long recognised that war, civil unrest, economic and political crises, terrorist attacks, and other events strengthen the power of the executive, disrupt and threaten constitutional politics, and damage democratic institutions: crises require swift action and executives are thought to be more capable than parliaments and legislatures of taking such actions. The terrorist attacks on New York and Washington on 11 September 2001 and the ensuing so-called 'war on terror' declared by President Bush clearly constituted a crisis, not only in the United States but also in other political systems, in part because of the US's hegemonic position in defining and shaping many other states' foreign and domestic policies. Dicey, Schmitt, and Rossiter suggest that critical events and political crises inevitably trigger the concentration of (emergency) powers in the hands of the executive. Aristotle and Machiavelli questioned the inevitability of this process. This article and the articles that follow in this Special Issue utilise empirical evidence, through the use of case studies of the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, Australia, Israel, Italy and Indonesia, to address this debate. Specifically, the issue explores to what extent the external shock or crisis of 9/11 (and other terrorist attacks) and the ensuing 'war on terror' significantly changed the balance of executive-legislative relations from t (before the crisis) to t+1 (after the crisis) in these political systems, all of which were the targets of actual or foiled terrorist attacks. The most significant findings are that the shock of 9/11 and the 'war on terror' elicited varied responses by national executives and legislatures/parliaments and thus the balance of executive-legislative relations in different political systems; that, therefore, executive-legislative relations are positive rather than zero-sum; and that domestic political contexts conditioned these institutional responses.

Strategies of newsroom convergence: comparing UK and Chinese newspaper groups

This research examines media integration in China, choosing two Chinese newspaper groups as cases for comparative study. The study analyses the convergence strategies of these Chinese groups by reference to an Role Model of convergence developed from a literature review of studies of cases of media convergence in the UK ��� in particular the Guardian (GNM), Telegraph Media Group (TMG), the Daily Mail and the Times. UK cases serve to establish the characteristics, causes and consequences of different forms of convergence and formulate a model of convergence. The model will specify the levels of newsroom convergence and the sub-units of analysis which will be used to collect empirical data from Chinese News Organisations and compare their strategies, practices and results with the UK experience. The literature review shows that there is a need for more comparative studies of media convergence strategy in general, and particularly in relation to Chinese media. Therefore, the study will address a gap in the understanding of media convergence in China. For this reason, my innovations have three folds: Firstly, to develop a new and comprehensive model of media convergence and a detailed understanding of the reasons why media companies pursue differing strategies in managing convergence across a wide range of units of analysis. Secondly, this study tries to compare the multimedia strategies of media groups under radically different political systems. Since, there is no standard research method or systematic theoretical framework for the study of Newsroom Convergence, this study develops an integrated perspective. The research will use the triangulation analysis of textual, field observation and interviews to explain systematically what was the newsroom structure like in the past and how did the copy flow change and why. Finally, this case study of media groups can provide an industrial model or framework for the other media groups.

The neo-liberal state and the crisis of public service broadcasting in the Anglo-American democracies /

The NeO'liberal State and the Crisis ofPublic Service Broadcasting in the Anglo-American Democracies The purpose ofthis analysis ofthe present condition ofpublic service broadcasting in the Anglo- American democracies was to investigate whether such media can still be regarded as the primarypublic spherefor a dialogue between each nation 's civil society and the State. The motivationfor this thesis was based on a presumption that such fora for public discussion on the central issues of each society have become viewed as less relevant bypoliticians andpolicy-makers and thepublics they were intended to serve in the Anglo-American democracies over thepast two decades. It is speculated that this is the case because ofa beliefthat the post-war consensus between the respective States andpublics that led to the construction of the Keynesian Welfare State and the notion ofpublic service broadcasting has been displaced by an individualistic, neo-liberal, laissez-faire ideology. In other words, broadcasting as a consumer-oriented, commercial commodity has superseded concerns pertaining to the importance ofthe public interest. The methodology employed in this thesis is a comparative analysisfrom a criticalpolitical economy perspective. It was considered appropriate to focus on the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and the\ United States because they comprise the four largest Anglo-American nations with democratic political systems andprimarily market economies. Justificationfor this particular sample is reinforced by thefact that case study countries also share a common socio-political and economic tradition. The evidence assembledfor this thesis consisted almost exclusively ofexisting literature on the subjects ofpublic service broadcasting, global economic andpolitical integration, and the ascendance ofthe 'free-market ' ethos in Western democracies since the late mid- to late-1970s. In essence, this thesis could be considered as a reinterpretation ofthe existing literature relevant to these issues. Several important common features werefound among the political, economic and broadcasting systems of the four case study nations. It is proposed that the prevalence of the neo-liberal world view throughout the political and policy environments of the four countries has undermined the stability and credibility of each nation 's national public service broadcasting organization, although with varying intensity and effect,. Deregulation ofeach nation 's broadcasting system and the supremacy ofthe notion of 'consumer sovereignty' have marginalized the view of broadcasting on any basis other than strictly economic criteria in thefour case study countries. This thesis concludes that,for a reconstruction ofa trulyparticipatory anddemocraticpublicsphere to be realized in the present as well as thefuture, a reassessment ofthe conventional concept ofthe 'public sphere ' is necessary. Therefore, it is recommended that thefocus ofpolicy-makers in each Anglo-American democracy be redirectedfrom that which conceived ofan all-encompassing, large, state-ownedand operated public broadcasting service toward a view which considers alternativeforms ofpublic communication, such as local community and ethnic broadcasting operations, that are likely to be more responsive to the needs of the increasingly diverse and heterogeneous populations that comprise the modem Anglo-American democracies. The traditional conception of public broadcasters must change in accordance with its contemporary environment if the fundamental principles of the public sphere and public service broadcasting are to be realized.

Histoire de Rome et providence divine selon Arnobe de Sicca

L���Adversus nationes est un texte pol��mique o�� l���auteur, Arnobe de Sicca, d��fend le christianisme en plus d���attaquer le paganisme. Nous y retrouvons les principales accusations lanc��es contre le christianisme ainsi que les attaques des intellectuels chr��tiens contre les pa��ens. Il s���agit de l���un des derniers textes apolog��tiques r��dig�� avant la paix de Milan (311). Arnobe y explique l���importance de s�����loigner des erreurs du paganisme et d���adh��rer au christianisme dans le but de sauver son ��me. Bien qu���il ne s���agisse pas d���une ��uvre �� caract��re historique, Arnobe fournit, pour ��tayer son argumentation, plusieurs indices sur sa conception de l���histoire romaine. L���Adversus nationes, qui n���est pas traduit int��gralement en fran��ais �� ce jour, n���a pas ��t�� tr��s souvent ��tudi�� du point de vue de l���interpr��tation de l���histoire. Une telle ��tude permet de comprendre la pens��e de son auteur sur Rome, son histoire et ses p��riodes politiques. La premi��re partie de ce m��moire pr��sentera une petite biographie d���Arnobe ainsi qu���un survol du contexte historique dans lequel il vivait. Puis, les principales caract��ristiques de l���histoire rh��torique seront expos��es au deuxi��me chapitre. La seconde partie du m��moire traitera de l���analyse de passages de l���Adversus nationes. Le troisi��me chapitre sera consacr�� aux grands personnages romains. Le quatri��me chapitre traitera de la providence divine dans l���histoire romaine. Finalement, le cinqui��me chapitre cherchera �� retrouver les sources d���Arnobe lorsqu���il traite d�����v��nements historiques importants. Ce m��moire offre, comme conclusions, une nouvelle hypoth��se concernant la datation du livre 1 de l���Adversus nationes et une nouvelle influence concernant certains r��cits historiques rapport��s par Arnobe.

The Jurisprudence of Surveillance:a Critical Look at the Laws of Intimacy

Affirmer que les citoyens des d��mocraties occidentales sont l���objet d���une surveillance syst��matique efficace et �� grande ��chelle a de quoi provoquer une r��action incr��dule. D��magogie, diront certains. Pourtant, les progr��s r��alis��s dans les technologies de collecte, de traitement et de stockage d���information forcent une r��flexion sur cette hypoth��se. Il a ��t�� soulign�� justement que les co��ts ��lev��s li��s aux moyens rudimentaires employ��s par les polices secr��tes d���antan endiguaient en quelque sorte la menace. Les filatures, les infiltrations, les rapts nocturnes de dissidents p��chaient par manque de subtilit��. Au contraire, le g��nie des techniques modernes vient de ce qu���elles n���entravent pas le quotidien des gens. Mais au-del�� du raffinement technique, le contr��le panoptique de la masse atteint un sommet d���efficience d��s lors que celle-ci est amen��e �� y consentir. Comme le faisait remarquer le professeur Raab��: ����[TRADUCTION] La surveillance prosp��re naturellement dans les r��gimes autoritaires qui ne s���exposent pas au d��bat public ni �� la critique. Lorsqu���elle est utilis��e dans des r��gimes dits d��mocratiques, elle est l��gitim��e et circonscrite par des arguments de n��cessit�� ou de justifications sp��ciales, tout comme la censure ��[1]. Or, le droit, en tant que discours de rationalit��, accomplit savamment ce travail de l��gitimation. C���est dans cet esprit qu���une analyse radicale des r��gles de droit encadrant le droit �� la vie priv��e apporte une lucidit�� nouvelle sur notre faux sentiment de s��curit��.

La influencia de la construcci��n y recuperaci��n del espacio p��blico f��sico, en los procesos de fortalecimiento y formaci��n de ciudadan��a

Est�� investigaci��n es un an��lisis de las pol��ticas, discursos y programas que tratan sobre el espacio p��blico en las administraciones de Bogot�� iniciando desde la de Jaime Castro hasta la de Luis Eduardo Garz��n. Este an��lisis demostr�� que los gobiernos distritales relacionaron el mejoramiento y generaci��n de espacio p��blico en la construcci��n de un ciudadano con una cultura pol��tica de partipante, ya que este territorio es el lugar donde se relacionaba y generaba procesos de auto reflexi��n y autodeterminaci��n. Este discurso fue puesto en comprobaci��n, para ello se usaron distintos estudios de renta del suelo, anomia, the broken windows, igualmente se analizaron encuestas de precepci��n realizadas por organismos institucionales y privados. Probando que la incidencia en el mejoramiento y adecuaci��n del espacio p��blico puede incidir positivamente en la construcci��n de la cultura pol��tica, siempre y cuando se realice adecuaciones en el espacio p��blico intangible y f��sico, y se garanticen en primera medida los derechos fundamentales de los ciudadanos.

International Organizations: Fostering Democracy ���at Home���: From Silent Players to Salient Players?

The international dimension of democratisation is a major concern in the study of contemporary political systems. The analysis of domestic political transformations in which International Organisations (IOs) may be salient actors compromises the traditional inward-looking approach of comparative politics that holds democracy to be a domestic affair par excellence. Nevertheless, the maturity of any process of democratisation relies upon the establishment and sustainability of institutions that genuinely reflect the interests and socio-political identity of the citizens of that polity. The role of external influence, whether progressive or abrupt, is clearly limited in constructing and sustaining this process. However, the relevance of international variables in influencing the renaissance or enhancement of democracy has not been overlooked by either scholars or politicians over the past fifteen years. As a number of political systems went through what became known as the third wave of democratization, the role of IOs in breaking down undemocratic strongholds and in neutralising possible reversals began to gain momentum. Contending approaches and controversial case studies alike appear to elicit very different conclusions concerning the legitimacy and the effectiveness of international actors in this field. This analysis addresses the rationale underpinning the deployment of multilateral external actors as agents of democratisation. Drawing on an integrative theoretical approach and a comparative case study involving the democratisation agendas of the Organization of American States (OAS) and the United Nations (UN) in Latin America (LA), contrasting international models of deployment are assessed. It is argued that IOs��� democratisation strategies are based on institutional roadmaps leading towards the attainment of targets which vary according to three key ��guidelines���: how democracy is conceptualised, what cooperative strategies are used, and what frameworks for democratisation are adopted.-----La dimensi��n internacional de la democratizaci��n representa un fen��meno importante de los sistemas pol��ticos contempor��neos. El hecho de que la transformaci��n pol��tica interna sea incluida bajo el t��tulo de organizaciones internacionales (OI) indica un rompimiento con el enfoque tradicional de observaci��n interna de la pol��tica comparativa, si se parte de la suposici��n de que la ���democracia��� es un asunto interno por excelencia. Hay procesos complejos que limitan la viabilidad de la fortuna democr��tica en la pol��tica interior, los cuales dependen de las estructuras representativas del poder que fluye de la legitimidad nacional y la identidad pol��tica. No obstante, los est��mulos internacionales que sostienen a los sistemas nacionales de gobierno, estructurados alrededor de la construcci��n y la consolidaci��n de la democracia, est��n en el centro de la pol��tica comparativa contempor��nea. Cuando varios sistemas pol��ticos atravesaban la tercera ola de democratizaci��n, las OI asumieron r��pidamente una posici��n significativa como agentes que neutralizaban los miedos a la inversi��n de pol��ticas, rompiendo lazos con formas antidemocr��ticas de gobierno y eliminando las normas informales de los juegos democr��ticos. Las din��micas mencionadas dan fundamento para abordar el debate sobre los modelos externos de apoyo. Mediante un enfoque te��rico integrador y un estudio comparativo de casos de las agendas de democratizaci��n de la Organizaci��n de Estados Americanos y las Naciones Unidas dirigidas a la problem��tica democr��tica latinoamericana, se aclaran modelos internacionales ���ocultos��� de despliegue. Se argumenta que las estrategias de las OI para democratizar se fundamentan en que los planes de desarrollo institucionales para la democratizaci��n lleguen a los objetivos democr��ticos a trav��s de tres ���gu��as��� multilaterales: conceptualizaci��n de la democracia, estrategias de cooperaci��n y marcos de referencia especiales para la democratizaci��n.

La seguridad en las fronteras ecuatorianas y venezolanas: la dimensi��n ambiental

La relaci��n entre seguridad y medio ambiente ha sido tema de debate de m��ltiples escuelas de pensamiento en los ��ltimos treinta a��os desde la Cumbre de Estocolmo en 1972, cuando en las Naciones Unidas los gobiernos se comprometieron con el principio 21 seg��n el cual las actividades al interior de la jurisdicci��n nacional de un pa��s no pueden causar da��os ni en otros Estados, ni m��s all�� de su jurisdicci��n o control. En la Cumbre de R��o, el tema del deterioro ambiental adquiere un status pol��tico que compromete a todos los pa��ses en las Naciones Unidas. Paralelamente a ��ste desarrollo en la pol��tica internacional, ha habido un desarrollo acad��mico que a su vez ha facilitado un mayor acercamiento a esta tem��tica al centrarse en buscar una explicaci��n a la relaci��n entre seguridad y medio ambiente.

Forms of participatory democracy: an analytical framework based on the experiences of Bolivia, brazil and Colombia

Based on the experiences of Colombia, Brazil and Bolivia, the paper proposes a general analytical framework for participatory mechanisms. The analysis is oriented to detect the incentives in each system and theethics and behavior sustaining them. It investigates about the sustainability of participatory democracy, in the face of tensions with representative democracy. The article presents a theoretical framework built from theseexperiences of institutional design and political practice, and confronts it against the theoretical conceptualizationsof participatory democracy in Bobbio, Sartori, Elster and Nino, among others. In this context, different waysin which those schemes can be inserted in the political systems become apparent, along with the variables thatresult from combining elements of direct, representative and participatory democracy���

Sobre a conjuntura atual

As caracter��sticas espec��ficas aos sistemas pol��ticos e de partidos existentes em Portugal condicionaram o processo pol��tico desde as anteriores elei����es legislativas dada a dificuldade em criar uma maioria est��vel. Situa����o agravada pela conjuntura internacional e nacional nos dom��nios econ��mico e financeiro. Como superar os fatores que dificultam a forma����o de alian��as de Governo �� esquerda?

O Bin��mio ��Esquerda/Direita�� no Portugal p��s-25 de Abril

A esquerda e a direita est��o, passados 35 anos, diferentes do que eram, mas iguais na clivagem que as distingue. PCP e CDS/PP alargaram at�� o grau de polariza����o, PS e PSD tornaram-se ami��de irm��os siameses que o eleitorado premeia ou penaliza ciclicamente, mas aos quais concede, desde 1975, o seu voto de confian��a. na verdade, desde ent��o o PCP est�� sozinho �� esquerda e o CDS/PP �� direita, aguardando sempre que um dos partidos chamados a formar governo (PS ou PSD) necessite de uma coliga����o.

El sumak kawsay y sus restricciones constitucionales (Tema Central)

El sumak kawsay es un principio milenario del mundo andino. Sin embargo de ello, cuando la Asamblea Constituyente introdujo en el tapete de la discusi��n, aparecieron diferentes reacciones: unos que defienden al sumak kawsay como un modelo de vida, que rige todo un nuevo sistema econ��mico, social y pol��tico del pa��s, otros que asimilaron a ciertos derechos sociales, e, inclusive, llegaron a sostener que ���es un invento de alg��n trasnochado���.1 Trataremos de aclarar que el sumak kawsay en la filosof��a andina es un sistema de vida, por ello, en primer lugar realizaremos un acercamiento al sumak kawsay desde la filosof��a andina, en donde trataremos de desarrollar algunos principios que viabilizan el sumak kawsay, en segundo lugar, realizaremos un an��lisis muy breve del sumak kawsay recogido en la Constituci��n de la Rep��blica y las limitaciones que ��sta impone, asimilando por un lado como principio constitucional, luego como derechos del buen vivir y r��gimen del buen vivir.